8 ms·
Trump: “Tonight, FLOTUS and I tested positive for Covid-19.”
- mhh__ 6y agoAaand it's flagged. How dull
- bmcn2020 6y agoOf course, no one deserves to die this way and we hope he gets better. But the...irony (?) here is pretty thick
- torified 6y agoIf you could imagine a person who does deserve to die this way, what would they act like? Just a little bit similar?
- bmcn2020 6y ago:D I'm trying my best to be...diplomatic. In any case, Lord of the Rings taught me that no one deserves death, and that's my motto by default... even when I sometimes disagree with it
- 0goel0 6y agoWhy do you hope he gets better?
- slg 6y agoI will ignore the human aspect of Trump being sick because I don't think that is nearly the most important part. America needs to reckon with everything Trumpism has revealed about our country. Him getting seriously ill or dying would let a lot of people escape that reckoning. Not to mention that there is a non-negligible portion of this country that still refuses to believe the seriousness of this pandemic. If Trump becomes seriously ill or dies, those people are likely to view this as some sort of assignation, coup, or assault on our country. There could be real violence or prolonged civil unrest as a result. I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of this country was for Biden and the Democrats to have a decisive victory in November, put Trumpism to bed, and force the GOP to reevaluate how they allowed someone like him to take control of their party.
- torified 6y agoYes, I agree. I would rather he lost decisively and then died.
- dang 6y agoPlease don't post poisonous comments like this to HN. You may not owe you-know-who better, but you definitely owe this community better if you're participating in it. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- neilsense 6y agoWhy would you hope he doesn't? Wishing harm on any human isn't a reasonable stand to take just because of political beliefs.
- dragonwriter 6y ago> Why would you hope he doesn't? Wishing harm on any human isn't a reasonable stand to take just because of political beliefs. Sue, but there is a distinction between beliefs (including attenuated actions like voting behavior) and consequential actions here. If it's legitimate to use deadly force in self defense, it's certainly must also be to wish deadly harm as, while not an ideal outcome, a better-than-status-quo one on one that is the source of ongoing, conscious policy with unwarranted deadly harms for which there is no probable other immediate remedy.
- owowow 6y agoShould we shed tears for someone who repeatedly chose to expose himself, his family and our nation to a dangerous virus despite being fully aware of the consequences?
- sershe 6y agoYes, I also don't think the poor virus deserves to be extinguished by something as horrible as Trump.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- mhh__ 6y agoI hope that he doesn't die purely so he can be tried when he hopefully loses the election. Even if he gets pardoned somehow he'll probably be at war with NY for the rest of his waking hours.
- phobosanomaly 6y agoIt's only a personal suspicion, but I think this is his way to step down from the presidency with a sense of dignity and hope it will give him some sympathy credit when the dust settles.
- slg 6y ago>with a sense of dignity Are we thinking about the same guy? When has he shown any desire for dignity?
- phobosanomaly 6y agoHe'll want to return to Manhattan some day after he leaves the presidency. I assume he doesn't want to be a pariah in the city that has meant so much to him over the course of his life. I think he's perfectly fine with his peers shunning him while he's in office, but when he leaves office and the rallies and MAGA hats are behind him, he's going to be all alone.
- therealdrag0 6y agoIf it’s a strategy, he could also use it to brag about how big and strong and awesome he is after he recovers.
- phobosanomaly 6y agoUnfortunately for him, the media portrayal of his illness doesn't seem to be following that narrative arc.
- pimlottc 6y agoWhat evidence do you see that makes you think he wants to step down?
- phobosanomaly 6y agoI'm assuming that his legal team is trying to game out different approaches to avoiding future tax-evasion charges following the NYT articles. Some of those scenarios have to include the possibility of not winning re-election.
- heedlessly3 6y agogood fuck em
- dang 6y agoPlease don't do this here.
- CameronNemo 6y agoI understand that this is a tough topic to moderate, but can we expect that there will be no discussion of this development on HN at all? Every related post is getting flagged and dying. Edit: if there will be no allowed discussion, you should at least sticky a note to the front page stating the intention and rationale.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- tim333 6y agoThere seems to be some discussion here.
- dis-sys 6y agoTrump: "more bleach injection please!"
- rvz 6y agoAs stupid as to what Trump has done to not take the virus and this pandemic seriously enough, Twitter now reveals its true sickening evil face.
- d1str0 6y agoTwitter just now is showing it’s evil face? You really havent been on twitter much have you.
- rvz 6y ago> Twitter just now is showing it’s evil face? 'True' sickening evil face. You clearly failed to read my comment didn't you. To all public officials they don't like that has been the case. Now it is plunged to a new nadir.
- s5300 6y agoMaybe you should step back for a second, actually look at the twitter posts/comments, and realize the majority of what's offending you is being posted from bots/troll farm.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- starpilot 6y agoZero members of Congress have died, while at least 18 have tested positive. The disease mostly kills the poor and those who do not have access to quality medical care. Trump will probably be fine.
- mhh__ 6y agoTrump is particularly unfit and old so I am not confident that he'll come out unscathed
- berbec 6y agoHermain Cain, the co-chairman of Black Voices for Trump, died of Covid-19 on July 30th, 2020. [1] 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain#Health_and_death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain#Health_and_death
- starpilot 6y agoNot a member of Congress. A bunch of state level politicians have died too, but they definitely don't have the clout/power of senators/reps.
- kart23 6y agoAgreed he most likely won't die, but Boris Johnson had a very severe case, and was in pretty bad shape for a while.
- apexalpha 6y agoWhile almost everyone is "probably fine" after he is in a risk age group at 74. Being overweight and not eating healthy is only going to make it riskier. He will have world class treatment, though. But it's still a roll of the dice at that age.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Krasnol 6y agoDidn't he take hydroxychloroquine? I guess the discussion about that should be over now in public channels.
- yread 6y agoYes, he was taking it prophylactically not sure why you're being downvoted https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-prophylactic-hydroxychloroquine-covid-19-192837899.html https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-prophylactic-hydroxychloroquin... EDIT: Also this came out just 2 days ago and found no effect: "Efficacy and Safety of Hydroxychloroquine vs Placebo for Pre-exposure SARS-CoV-2 Prophylaxis Among Health Care Workers" https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2771265 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...
- jerryluk 6y agoGoogle Meet or Zoom or Microsoft Team for the next presidential debate? Finally the moderator can mute the candidates!
- user568439 6y agoYes please. I think it’s a great idea. Not only would put the politicians in the same situation that rest of us are but also I can’t wait for a debate where every candidate can speak his views without interruptions.
- ikerdanzel 6y agoWhy would a single person like moderator allows to choose what I can hear or not? Muting should be my choice not someone determining what I can hear or not? The debate was not even between candidate. It was the worst presidential debate moderation ever. It looks as if Chris is running as Democratic candidate.
- foogazi 6y agoI thought it was because the rules allowed for interruption free segments Wallace called that out - those segments were not for back and forth Also if someone is answering a question why would the other candidate start talking?
- krapp 6y ago>Also if someone is answering a question why would the other candidate start talking? Because many Americans want to see displays of defiance and aggression in their political candidates. Most couldn't care less about what the other party has to say, they want to see their side dominate and smack down the other side, or they want to see who the alpha dog is and vote for them.
- jimmydddd 6y agoChris Wallace (the moderator of the debate earlier this week) actually made that point this morning. He said that he would not feel comfortable as a moderator deciding to cut off what a candidate was saying. He advised against muting by the moderator.
- tluyben2 6y agoAs someone who never uses twitter unless someone links it from reddit or here, what are the 1000s of replies with the weird chars[0]? [0] https://twitter.com/decadee_/status/1311907476254658561?s=21 https://twitter.com/decadee_/status/1311907476254658561?s=21
- vsviridov 6y agoSome new zalgo type thing... If you click "translate" it's all some kind of apocalyptic texts
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- howlgarnish 6y agoEdit: Language ID fail. See below.
- bmcn2020 6y agothey leaked Azerbaijan Navy details, so seems to be an online-ish conflict as well: https://cybernews.com/news/nagorno-karabakh-war-azeri-navy-data-including-passports-numbers-leaked-on-russian-forums/ https://cybernews.com/news/nagorno-karabakh-war-azeri-navy-d...
- var55 6y agoThats Aramaic and NOT Armenian
- howlgarnish 6y agoGoogle Translate says Amharic (Ethiopian)? But not Armenian, so my bad, seems to be run of the mill religious doomsday prophecying. https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=auto&tl=en&text=%E1%8A%83%E1%8C%A2%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%B0%E1%8A%9B%20%E1%8A%90%E1%8D%8D%E1%88%B5%E1%88%85%20%E1%8A%A8%E1%88%98%E1%8B%B3%E1%8A%95%20%E1%89%A0%E1%88%8B%E1%8B%AD%20%E1%8A%93%E1%89%B5%20%E1%8A%A5%E1%8A%93%E1%88%9D%20%E1%88%B0%E1%88%8B%E1%88%9D%E1%8A%95%20%E1%8B%88%E1%8B%AD%E1%88%9D%20%E1%88%A5%E1%89%83%E1%8B%AD%E1%8A%95%20%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%B3%E1%8B%8D%E1%89%85%E1%88%9D%20%E1%8D%A3%20%E1%8B%A8%E1%8A%95%E1%88%B5%E1%88%90%20%E1%89%85%E1%8B%9D%E1%89%83%E1%8B%9C%20%E1%89%A5%E1%89%BB%20%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%A5%E1%89%85%E1%89%B7%E1%88%8D%20%E1%8D%A3%20%E1%88%9D%E1%8A%AD%E1%8A%95%E1%8B%AB%E1%89%B1%E1%88%9D%20%E1%8A%83%E1%8C%A2%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%B6%E1%89%BD%E1%88%85%20%E1%8A%A8%E1%88%9B%E1%8A%95%E1%8A%9B%E1%8B%8D%E1%88%9D%20%E1%89%B0%E1%88%8D%E1%8A%A5%E1%8A%AE%20%E1%8B%A8%E1%88%8B%E1%89%80%20%E1%88%B5%E1%88%88%E1%88%86%E1%8A%90%20%E1%8D%A3%20%E1%88%98%E1%8C%A8%E1%88%A8%E1%88%BB%E1%8B%8D%20%E1%89%80%E1%88%AD%E1%89%A7%E1%88%8D%20%E1%8D%A3%20%E1%8B%A8%E1%8A%83%E1%8C%A2%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%B5%20%E1%88%98%E1%88%AD%E1%8A%A8%E1%89%A6%E1%89%BD https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=auto...
- rubatuga 6y agoNever seen an article so heavily weighted down on HN before. I think there could be some interesting discussion about predicting what treatment the President will receive.
- tertiary 6y agoDoesn't matter that there could be useful discussion here. People see stuff like this as an attack on Trump (and on their politics) and flag it for ideological reasons.
- bmcn2020 6y agoYes, normally this type of post would be #1 on the front page, but there's too much partisanship and the probability of a flamewar is a bit too high. Not a big fan of this kind of heavy-handed moderation sometimes, but I guess I understand it
- tertiary 6y agoMy assumption was that this is user generated flagging. It's not moderation. It's people saying "we don't want to see this stuff". Same reason people are down voting our comments right now :)
- bmcn2020 6y agoAh, yes, I see. For some reason, I always assumed HNews users leaned a bit more left than the general internet population
- mercer 6y agoThere's a big contingent of right-leaning libertarians, and there are a decent number of conservatives and centrists present too. Even more than a few Trump fans! I'm often surprised by the variety, in a positive way.
- 6y ago
- doctoboggan 6y agoThis brings up an interesting question: If a party's nominated presidential candidate is incapable of assuming the presidency, is there a mechanism for the party to nominate someone else?
- bmcn2020 6y agoWouldn't it just be easier for him to be nominated in name and then hand the presidency over to his running mate, in the case that he wins? Or does his running mate automatically get the nod in case the worst happens before election night?
- torified 6y agoIf the worst happens... he will be fit and well and accept his presidency.
- dereg 6y agoIf the candidate dies pre-election: the party picks a replacement. If they die after winning but pre-electoral college: electors pick. If they die after the electors vote: then standard succession rules apply.
- vhold 6y agoThe election is already under way, so does that rule out the first option?
- akmarinov 6y agoNo, the election is November, between November and inauguration is option 2 and then 3
- CameronNemo 6y agoMany people have already voted, ballots are being sent out, there is not enough notice to reprint ballots.
- elipsey 6y agofirst reaction: is this authentic? how can i tell?
- etxm 6y agoThe E-6Bs make it seem pretty authentic. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24659548 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24659548
- apexalpha 6y agoI'm sorry I have no idea whaty you're saying. They're talking about (military) planes, right?
- detaro 6y agoFlying command posts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury
- apexalpha 6y agoAnd what does this have to do with Covid? Is the President on these planes now? Is he always when he gets ill? edit: for other non-Americans: apparently the US Gov has a procedure to start flying these planes everytime anything happens to the POTUS just in case they might need to nuke everyone. Seems hardly relevant here but political reporters are using the execution of the tax money burning ritual as a sign that POTUS might actually have Covid.
- roboyoshi 6y agoAfter reading through the tweets, it seems that plane is very special and contains launch codes for nukes. If the president would be harmed or in general the security at the white house unable to operate, this plane takes over. A precaution, it seems, in case somebody wants to attack the USA. But as I understood it, starting the plane is more of a signal for defense readiness conditions (DEFCON) and helps signaling other planes and stations to be aware. It's pretty interesting IMHO that the plane started before the president announced it on twitter or anything, giving a solid hint that something is very off in DC.
- anonzzz 6y agoThis is going two ways... 1. Trump recovers quickly and declares coronavirus just a bad cold. 2. Trump has a severe case of coronavirus and becomes more cautious moving forward in his speech and actions as they relate to coronavirus. I think I’d put my money on number 1.
- antaviana 6y agoIt would be movie material if the illness was faked to plan reappearing in 2 weeks as the indestructible leader. Overcoming a major obstacle is a huge comeback material which translates into votes. Not a fake, but in 1995 Spanish candidate Aznar had a terrorist attack during the election campaign were he was pictured without a scratch next to his bombed car. The comeback was so big he won the election.
- gremlinsinc 6y agoWhat not option 3: He has a really bad case ends up on ventilator for 2-3 weeks, dies or becomes severely limited in activity for a long time like that actor who had his leg cut off then died like 180 days later. Maybe he dies or doesn't, but he may be an invalid and that could change him quite a bit being wheelchair bound and on his death bed.
- aaron695 6y agoThis will be good for his election chances. Probabilistically nothing much will happen to him, which aligns with his governing.
- Trasmatta 6y agoIn what way could this possibly be good for his election chances?
- yokaze 6y agoWell, he can claim, that he is there evidence, that it isn't so bad (assuming her comes though fine) And that he doesn't put the population through anything he himself did experience.
- Trasmatta 6y agoI seriously doubt that would sway any undecided voters, and it certainly won't sway a single decided voter. It has the potential to throw things into a bit of chaos, and maybe the uncertainty could give them something they could take advantage of. But I doubt it, and I don't buy the conspiracy theories around this.
- Balgair 6y agoHe is a morbidly obese man in his 70s with a 'history' of cardiovascular problems. He does get a lot of vitamin-D and some moderate exercise via golf. And he has the absolute best medical care in the world, probably better that the Queen of England. It's a bit of a toss-up, but his underlying health issues aren't pulling up any anchors. There is a very real chance he ends up like Boris.
- ModernMech 6y agoDisagree, this is very bad for him. Trump’s entire brand is a strong man who will protect America from harm. Him and his family catching this disease reveals he can’t even protect himself or his family against the backdrop of 200,000 dead. The last thing he wants to be talking about it Covid. Now we are not only going to be talking about this non stop, for the next few news cycles we will be asked to hypothetically picture his VP as the next president. The last thing a nominee wants going into an election is the country picturing his running mate as his successor. Not to mention the fact that this derails his campaign rallies, derails the debate he desperately needs to do well at, and calls into question the timeline of his Supreme Court nomination as now the nominee as well as GOP senators are all potentially exposed. This is a clusterfuck collapse for the campaign.
- Ancapistani 6y agoHypothetical: Biden tests positive in a week, then dies a couple of weeks before the election. The potential complications are daunting.
- dariusj18 6y agoBut the autopsy shows novichok.
- Ancapistani 6y agoNow that’s a little out there. It’s not that I see it as impossible, but that my scenario doesn’t require malicious actors - it’s reasonably likely given only random chance at this point.
- opk 6y agoThe timing does seem rather, um, convenient. Quarantine fully passed in time for the election, get's to show he's one with the voters, perhaps even some sympathy. But gets to skip a tricky debate. And in a couple of weeks he'll be declaring how strong and healthy he is as evidenced by having brushed aside covid with only mild symptoms. No need to bribe a doctor to declare him as in the greatest of great health. Will be his version of Putin's manly horse riding pictures.
- etxm 6y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24659548 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24659548
- gdubs 6y agoSince this is flagged for politics, but people are still here looking for a conversation — I think the interesting conversation is around chain of command, readiness, and protocol. That’s not really politics per se, but more about the “systems design” of the government. The many many hours I’ve spent watching West Wing have taught me that White House protocol is pretty wild when it comes to any potential threats within. This will make the tick-tock reporting (who knew what when, not the social network) particularly interesting in the coming days.
- amai 6y agoWill he get disinfectant injections as treatment?