COVID-19 Update
U.S. President Piles on More Provocations to an Already Disgraceful Situation
- Pierre Chénier -
U.S. President Donald Trump held a press
conference on June 5, where he stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has
been largely overcome and is under control in the U.S. He declared that
the country has been pacified through the use of the National Guard and
their domination of the streets against looting. He declared that the
United States is on its way to a great economic recovery and renewed
dominance in world affairs.
Domination of the streets and in world affairs
were a recurrent theme at the press conference. The claim that the
pandemic is largely a thing of the past was graphically illustrated
through the violation of social distancing of reporters' chairs at the
press conference. According to the media, the chairs had initially been
positioned consistent with social distancing guidelines, but
were moved closer together by White House staff shortly before the
event began. "Even you, I notice you're starting to get much closer
together, looks much better, not all the way there yet, but you'll be
there soon," Trump remarked to reporters.
The press conference had been triggered by a
Department of Labor report released that day that claimed that the
unemployment rate had dropped to 13.3 per cent in May, compared with
14.7 per cent in April and that 2.509 million jobs had been gained,
following a record plunge of 20.687 million in April. Combined with the
surge in stock markets, Trump referred to this as the "greatest
comeback in American history."
"This is a great day for everybody in terms of
equality," he said.
The press conference appeared to be a wild and
desperate act in to dominate the faction of the ruling imperialist
elite Trump represents. This includes electoral dominance -- the U.S.
presidential election is scheduled to take place in November -- over
its rivals and the American people who have been persistently
protesting racial injustice and state violence and impunity since the
killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police on May 25. Similar
actions by the world's peoples have been taking place in a large number
of countries.
Trump created a lot of anger amongst the American
people and the peoples of the world when he dared to claim that George
Floyd would be happy with the job numbers and the so-called
pacification of the streets through brutal force, including through the
use of the National Guard.
"Hopefully George is looking down right now and
saying 'this is a great thing that's happening for our country,'" Trump
said in a most vulgar and provocative way. "This is a great day for
him. It's a great day for everybody. "
Provocation and desperation filled the air as the
U.S. President expressed the willingness of the ruling imperialist
faction in power in the U.S. to further sacrifice peoples' lives with
no-holds-barred de-confinement, claiming that the " economy" supersedes
any other consideration as the source of U.S. imperialist power at home
and abroad. He had no words of remorse or even regret for the 107,000
people in the U.S. who have died so far of COVID-19. In fact, he
presented these deaths as a victory. Millions, he said, could have
died, had the U.S. had not closed its borders to China, and to the
peoples of the countries of the European Union and others who were
infected by what he referred to as "the plague," a "gift from China."
He said that employment figures will greatly improve once all U.S.
States agree to end confinement and the "economy" is allowed to
develop, uncontrolled and unchecked, with the lifting of measures to
stop the spread of COVID-19.
This is the wild card this ruling imperialist
faction is playing at the expense of the health and safety and the
dignity and rights of the people in the U.S. and the peoples of the
world. It is fraught with danger, including the risk of a full-fledged
civil war between the factions of the elite. This highlights the
necessity for the peoples of the U.S. and of the world to develop their
own independent politics for their own empowerment, while stepping up
the fight for their rights, including against racial injustice, state
violence and impunity.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 20 - June 6, 2020
Article Link:
COVID-19 Update: U.S. President Piles on More Provocations to an Already Disgraceful Situation - Pierre Chénier
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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