COVID19 Update - Day 223

US Tests: 117,366,770*

US Cases: 8,171,703*

US Deaths: 211,846*

Worldwide Cases: 40,344,310*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,117,539*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Imagine, if you will, that our planet was afflicted with a deadly pandemic.  And further imagine that the United States was fortunate enough to have a highly-respected immunologist who has served every U.S. president for the past 36 years, with more than a half-century of experience in the field of infectious diseases.

If the United States were fortunate enough to be able to call on such a person, it's difficult to imagine that we wouldn't call on him to lead us through the challenges the pandemic presents.  It's even more difficult to imagine that person (and his family) would be subjected to death threats, simply because he advises the president to the best of his ability in order to keep the country safe.

And it's completely impossible to imagine that the president himself is the reason for the death threats.  And yet, here we are:

On Monday, Trump continued throwing more punches at Fauci via Twitter as he complained about the nation’s top infectious disease expert’s interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired the night before. The President tweeted that Fauci “seems to get more airtime than anybody since the late, great, Bob Hope.”

Later Monday, Fauci was asked during an interview on KNX 1070 about his response to Trump’s reported campaign conference call when he asserted that people are “tired of” Fauci.

Fauci declined to comment directly on Trump’s reported remark, calling “all that other stuff” a “distraction” and that he “would really prefer to stay away from that.”

Fauci emphasized he did not want to get involved in a “me against the President” discussion because it’s a distraction amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 215,000 Americans thus far.

“That’s the only thing I really care about. That other stuff, it’s like in ‘The Godfather:’ nothing personal, strictly business as far as I’m concerned,” Fauci said. “I just want to do my job and take care of the people of this country.”

When asked about how he mentioned during his interview with “60 Minutes” on Sunday that he and his family are under protection due to threats, Fauci replied that he’s worried less about himself than the harassment that his wife and children face.

“I have federal agents guarding me, but there are people out that continually harass my family,” Fauci said.

Trump isn't merely a bully, a white supremacist, a misogynist, and epically corrupt.  He's a national security risk, in more ways than one.

Casting a vote for another four years of this is one of the stupidest things a person can do.