Donald Trump and the face mask war

HAVANA – The face mask has become one of humanity’s most coveted articles of clothing. They became fashionable to protect oneself against the coronavirus. And like every object of great value, it is also a source of conflict in the world in which we live.

In contrast to the heroic and solidarity acts of so many people, in the absence of really effective global cooperation mechanisms, capitalist competition has been unleashed for obtaining the necessary products to face the pandemic, especially the face masks, one of the items most in demand. The United States has been placed at the center of the dispute and Donald Trump has declared himself a “war president,” something more dangerous than the disease.

In what has been called an act of “modern piracy,” the French and Germans have seen U.S. merchants steal supplies of face masks purchased in China. Trump himself ordered the 3M company to stop the export of masks destined for Canada and Latin America. Barbados complains of the same thing, and who knows how many secret operations have been carried out to seize at all costs the modest number of masks available.

The president threatens companies that do not comply with his hoarding provisions and does so under the legal backing of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as if to remind us that it is not the first time the country has done this. Actually, acting by force is what the United States is best at, and does it instinctively. Donald Trump or even Ronald Reagan, who made the slogan fashionable, did not invent the idea of ‘America First.’ It is a philosophy ingrained in the American DNA and expressed by the “American Way of Life.” U.S. leaders are measured by the ability to apply it. It is therefore not a coincidence that the sale of arms has boomed in the midst of the epidemic. 

Trump is aware that this war will decide his political future and acts with the despair of a wounded animal. Scarcity of resources as basic as face masks is an example of the shortcomings of a health system that ranks among the worst in developed countries. Robert Reich, secretary of labor during the Bill Clinton administration, has recently stated that the pandemic has shown that the United States does not actually have a public health system.

Trump’s policies have only exacerbated the problem. The crisis emerged with a weakened epidemiological system, and as a consequence of its conceptions and the internal contradictions that have characterized his administration. Against the experts’ judgment, he downplayed the importance of the pandemic and blamed Democrats for exploiting it to harm him politically. He refused to apply the World Health Organization’s (WHO) tests, since it damaged the interests of pharmaceutical companies that support him, and instead of alerting about the dangers of the virus, he transmits message of false triumphalism daily, only supported by his words and the typical “greatness of the American people,” and other such things. And to top it off, he named a universal neophyte like Mike Pence to head the team fighting the pandemic in the U.S.

That is why it is not surprising to see the richest country on earth not capable of offering minimal coverage to many of the sick; that the levels of infestation are the highest on earth; that hospital seem to be collapsing; that nurses complain and demand supplies for protection; and that doctors are telling stories of not being able to provide vital services to their patients. And Donald Trump’s response has been to accuse health workers of wasting resources, and has made it clear that his role is only one of support to the states, often favoring those governed by sycophantic Republicans. In other words, the dead are not his responsibility.

The health authorities have ordered the use of the face masks by all citizens of the country. However, the president stated that it was a voluntary measure and said that he personally does not intend to use one. Some believe that he acts in this way because he is stubborn and boastful, I believe that he does not really have enough face masks to supply the country and prefers some collateral casualties so that he does not have to admit this fact. Probably… the Oval Office is most likely protected by one giant face mask.

Trump will not be able to solve these problems, but is counting on the fact that he can win the propaganda battles associated with the war against the pandemic. His strategy has been to manage the crisis with this objective. This is the reason for his constant media exposure, where he takes advantage of the situation to promote his candidacy. It has gotten to the point where some television networks have decided to edit his press conferences in order to discard the manipulation by the president. 

He says one thing on Tuesday and contradicts himself on Wednesday. Then he recommends a medicine, disavowing the specialist, and not endorsed by scientific criteria. He knows no limits between truth and lies. When the press points out these abuses by him, he tells his followers to turn off their TVs. And amazingly, many do as they are told. That thing about ‘plausible deniability’ invented by the CIA as cover up of operations doesn’t seem to matter much to Trump or his followers. The only hope is that his approval ratings slowly decrease, based on what Abraham Lincoln once said that “you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

This time, the terrain of war is not the Third World because it seems that the poor are not designed to wear face masks. But there surely will be more than a few who are made at low cost, but with great profits, for entrepreneurs. We should not be surprised when brand name face masks pop up with innovative designs, and sold to the wealthy. The truth is that this virus has been too promiscuous and in some way differences have to be established.

Despite the fact that the U.S. government insists on preventing the rest of us from importing them, in Cuba there are lines to buy chicken, but everyone walks around with their face mask. The formula is that many people make them at home and distribute them for free. In any case, face masks not escape the greed of some here either: a group of criminals who stole them from state warehouses to sell them on the black market has just been captured. It seems that the ghost of Donald Trump is everywhere and he wouldn’t be satisfied with winning the war by finding the vaccine that finally detains this virus.