By Kiyomi Kishaba
Opinion Editor
My mom and I recently started watching West Wing, a ‘90s show depicting the excitement of a fictional presidency, so we could pretend for an hour each night the White House is staffed with a charming entourage of generally competent people. A CNN alert during one such episode jolted us back to the reality where Trump is charading as the president; a president who contracted COVID-19.
Initial reactions: joy, bliss, vengeful tweeting, and a Facetime screenshot with my mom to commemorate the glorious moment. After months of Trump endangering American lives by playing down the severity of the pandemic and refusing to wear a mask, karma finally caught up to him. And boy, did I want him to suffer. I wanted him to have explosive diarrhea and a ventilator shoved down his throat. I wanted him to experience the discomfort and fear that 7 million Americans faced because he continued to lie and discredit scientists even when he knew better.
As I scrolled through Twitter with an odd sense of triumph, I came across Joe Biden’s and Barack Obama’s tweets, both wishing the President and First Lady a speedy recovery. Apparently Biden pulled all campaign ads showing Trump in a negative light. Even Stephen Colbert wished Trump well on his impromptu episode of the Late Show the night after. I saw people criticizing others who had the same reaction as I did: celebration. And so I asked myself, am I an awful person for wanting the President of the United States to have explosive diarrhea?
After some deliberation, my answer is no. Absolutely not. It was Trump’s own irresponsible actions that caused him to contract COVID-19, and I am merely basking in the aftermath. Sure, it’s not exactly following Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” pep talk, but when she said that we weren’t 200,000 American deaths deep into a pandemic. I think she’d make an exception.
Honestly, I see no harm in savoring the thought of Trump suffering from the virus he called a hoax. I am certainly not “sending prayers of a fast recovery.” What a load of hooey. Biden publicly called Trump a “clown” and the “worst president America has ever had” (arguably accurate) and I’m supposed to believe he and Jill are “sending prayers”? Maybe Biden’s Christian ideals influenced his decision to wish the President well, but he must have at least an inkling of satisfaction. Trump’s team didn’t even have the respect to inform Biden’s team of the President’s positive test just two days after the presidential debate. Talk about going low.
Ally Henny, a freelance writer and speaker who focuses on race and race healing in America, addressed people policing negative responses and pointed out the element of privilege that comes with sending well-wishes to Trump: “It doesn’t make you morally superior…It just means that the actions of this individual have not affected you or your community in the same way.” Henny believes that if people have the capacity to send well wishes to Trump, all the power to them, but people shouldn’t attack those who don’t feel the same way. Communities of color, for example, have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, so they shouldn’t be expected to support the president who never supported them.
Trump held an indoor reception without masks. That is literally the recipe for catching COVID-19. Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show said it best: “that’s not karma, that’s consequences.”
I wish Trump handled this pandemic responsibly, and took his role as the President seriously, and did anything whatsoever that would elicit my respect, but he didn’t. And so, I have no shame in sending prayers of a long, uncomfortable recovery. Although I do feel bad for Melania, as I would for anyone who might have to quarantine with Trump. You hang in there girl.
