Trump Needs to Stay the Hell Out of New Jersey
One of the many, many things that I hate about Trump is his belief that the rules don’t apply to him. Case in point: he is ignoring the mandatory quarantine in New Jersey so that he can play golf at his resort in Bedminster this weekend.
We will forego a discussion of the amount of taxpayer funds being paid into his companies every time he plays golf at one of his resorts. Instead we will concentrate on his arrogant belief that he can do whatever the hell he wants whenever the hell he wants wherever the hell he wants.
Here in NJ, we have been through hell and back. Once the epicenter of the pandemic, everyone in NJ has either had the virus or knows someone who has had the virus. And most of us know at least one person who died from the virus. But we managed to flatten the curve after much pain and suffering. We were locked in our homes for months. Thousands lost their jobs. Lines at food pantries stretched for miles. Store were closed. Public spaces were closed. There was a curfew. I’ve never seen the roads so empty. It was frightening.
And now we are tentatively opening back up. Always with the threat that if infections and deaths start to rise again, we will be locked in our homes again. To ensure our safety, the governor has imposed a mandatory 14 day quarantine on anyone coming to NJ from another state with a high infection rate.
Which brings us to Trump who just visited Arizona where the infection rate is rapidly climbing. He held one of his beloved rallies at a megachurch (a large indoor space) where almost no one, including Trump was wearing a mask.
So we have been given two excuses why Trump does not need to quarantine in NJ. The first reason is ridiculous. It is claimed that because Trump and those around him are tested every day, there is no danger of infection. Here in NJ, we know better. We know from experience that you can test negative one day and be positive the next day. Or even come down with a full-blown infection the next day. A negative test is meaningless.
The second reason is the one that infuriates me. We are told that Trump is not a civilian so the quarantine requirement doesn’t apply to him. Yes it does. Trump is not a king, ruling by divine right. He is a civilian like the rest of us who happens to hold the office of president. He is a public servant. We are his boss because unlike a king, we voted him into office and we can vote him out of office.
We don’t want him in NJ, bringing his entourage who are probably infected with the virus. They will pass it on to the other guests and the staff at the resort who, in turn, will infect their families and the cycle will start all over again.
Then he will leave and we will suffer the consequences. Another lockdown. People dying again. All so that Trump can play a few rounds of golf.
He needs to stay the hell out of NJ. We don’t want him or his germs. We’ve suffered enough already.
