One thing Trump has consistently proven is that he is smarter than those who try to bring him down. His success largely derives from using a type of reverse psychology which his adversaries seem unable to anticipate, counter or even understand. I suggest this is because he actually uses his defects to his advantage. For every vote lost due to his irresponsible, selfish behavior, two more votes are gained from those who respect his cheekiness and individuality.

The purpose of this essay is to speculate on the deeper meaning of Trump's skirmish with covid-19. After searching the internet I have found little in the way of a critical analysis of recent events that might go some way to elucidating how his illness may fit within his overall political strategy. There are no conspiracy theories here - just analysis of the known facts.

My perspective on Trump's illness is informed by my scepticism about the both the lethality of the virus and the main method (RT-PCR) used to test for infection. My scepticism is deep, and has been reinforced over many months from reading a wide variety of independent views from many experts. My observations of Trump over the same period lead me to conclude that Trump and his team are also sceptical about the virus, for the same reasons. This view is confirmed in the narrative that Trump has downplayed the virus and flouted various health precautions, found widely in mainstream media, which is being used against him, often accompanied by a gloating attitude toward his current health status. I will argue here that this attitude is about to backfire, badly.

I will set the stage by quoting from the recent wikipedia entry: White House COVID-19 outbreak:

In late September and early October 2020, multiple individuals connected to the Trump Administration and the White House tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 during the pandemic in Washington, D.C. On September 16, it was reported that unnamed White House staffers had tested positive. At least eight individuals tested positive after attending a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden for the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, where seating was not socially-distanced and participants were mostly unmasked. Multiple White House personnel also attended the first presidential debate on September 29, where many of them failed to comply with the masking requirement. At least eleven people involved in preparing for the debate later tested positive.

On October 1, it was announced that press advisor Hope Hicks had tested positive for the virus. At 12:54 a.m. EDT the following day, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump had both tested positive. Trump was hospitalized later that day.

Wikipedia is not my favourite source of information on politically sensitive topics, however it does provide a fairly consistent barometer for the common interests of the ideological left, establishment conservatives and most of the mainstream press, who have been the consistent enemies of Trump. For this reason it is helpful as a reference to understand the narrative which is being constructed by these actors.

The wikipedia article continues with a highly tendentious speculation that the White House outbreak was triggered by a "super-spreader" at a Rose Garden event (shown in the photo at the top of this story):

On September 26, 2020, an event was held in the White House Rose Garden announcing Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. More than 150 people attended; they were told they did not need to wear masks if they had tested negative that day. Chairs for the outdoor ceremony were placed side by side, and there were two crowded indoor receptions. At least eight attendees tested positive for the coronavirus in the following week: the president, the first lady, Hicks, Tillis, Lee, Jenkins, former Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Conway's daughter Claudia revealed on social media on the evening of October 2 that Kellyanne Conway had tested positive for COVID-19. The same day, Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis were revealed to have tested positive. Christie confirmed on October 3 that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Christie had been present at debate preparation for Trump as well as the nomination ceremony for Barrett. Later that day, Christie announced he was hospitalized after his condition worsened.

Lee was filmed hugging other attendees while not wearing a mask. Five of these people were seated in the front three rows at the event, in close contact with other Republican senior officials. Jenkins later issued a statement saying: "I regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden."

Infectious disease physician Robert L. Murphy said that if the infections are traced to the Rose Garden ceremony, they may have been started by a super-spreader (a highly contagious person), and that they could have been avoided if face masks were worn and social distancing was practiced. He said, "Whoever got this thing going is a superspreader". Multiple attendees, included Barrett, had suffered infection before testing negative, leading to potentially-unfounded speculation that they may have been the super-spreader.

Those against Trump are getting as much mileage as they can from highlighting the lax attitude toward wearing masks shown not just by Trump but by many of those around him. The photos from the Rose Garden event show that most of the guests, along with Trump himself, were not wearing masks. Trump is portrayed as a dangerous influence on Americans. They are also doing their best to hype the gravity of his illness. The objective obviously is to make Trump look irresponsible and not fit for office, a theme which has been part of the propaganda war throughout his Presidency.

Trump, on the other hand, has been doing his best to make light of of his illness. He has been filmed at Walter Reed hospital twice, dressed in business attire, and has staged a drive by in a sealed SUV. The situation may have changed by the time you read this, but at the present time his doctors are saying that he is doing fine and will probably return to work on Monday.

There has been an odd hiccup in the whole process, the true meaning of which is now becoming clear. This glitch has thrown a spanner in the works of those who are trying to capitalise on his misfortune. It started with a quote from an unnamed source, who later turned out the be White House chief of staff Mike Meadows:

The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.

This mysterious and alarming statement caused a huge reaction in the media over the weekend, and seemed to catapult Trump's enemies into gaslighting him even more and interpreting every sign they could in a negative way. However, as we have seen so many times before, Trump turned the tables on his adversaries and made them look like fools by suddenly showing himself to be rather well and looking at a swift return to work.

https://twitter.com/QuickTake/status/1312868911273181185

TRUMP IS SMARTER THAN HIS ADVERSARIES

One thing Trump has consistently proven is that he is smarter than those who try to bring him down. His success largely derives from using a type of reverse psychology which his adversaries seem unable to anticipate, counter or even understand. I suggest this is because he actually uses his defects to his advantage. For every vote lost due to his irresponsible, selfish behavior, two more votes are gained from those who respect his cheekiness and individuality. He has adapted perfectly to the emotional climate of the times in which we live. In order to understand this you have to look beyond the headlines which are made by the same people who are trying to control our thoughts, as Trump has done, to see a great wave of seething resentment and anger from the silent majority. This is the same silent majority which put him in power in 2016, and which will probably increase his mandate in November 2020.

The Deep State establishment which has been trying to crush Trump relies on the peer pressure of millions of obedient citizens who have been indoctrinated and passified by political correctness, diversity training, anti-discrimination law, rainbow politics, racial guilt, feminism, climate change alarmism and now, virus hysteria. These mental bonds serve to keep people compliant and subservient. People are kept under control by a mixture of guilt and peer pressure. Such people can also be easily "weaponised" when a target is presented to them who flouts the ideologies which they follow.

These collectivist mind control techniques have striking parallels with the communist regimes of the mid 20th century. It's not my goal here to expand on this topic, but it's important to understand that Trump is succeeding specifically because he is the antithesis of all these trends. I am not saying this as a fan of Trump, and will be the first to admit he has many serious faults. There are some aspects of his political philosphy such as his endorsement of torture and his support of the illegal State of Israel that I will never accept. I do however give respect where it is due, and I do see him as something of an antidote to the cult of corporate collectivism and conformism which is making people compliant slaves and gradually stripping them of every vestige of dignity. Contrary to what you've been told, there is a significant market for his individualist, capitalistic ideology. It is a demographic which we know little about because the MSM has been working hard to tell us that it doesn't exist, or is merely made up of "deplorables".

Trump's implicit rejection of coronavirus hysteria will be reinforced if he does indeed return to work and make a full recovery over the next few days. He is refusing to play into the hands of those who want the public to remain terrified of the virus, and a swift recovery will do immeasurable damage to the global propaganda campaign which is being waged by corporate interests, for profit and power. I cannot but see this as a good thing.

There will no doubt be many conspiracy theories floated in the coming weeks. The left will probably fall into speculation that the whole thing was faked - but this will make them look ridiculous as they were previously gloating over his impending death. Michael Moore's twitter stream provides a good example of the befuddled attempts of the left to make sense of it all. Trump has left them all in the dust, trying to figure out what just happened.

https://twitter.com/MMFlint/status/1312476321172189184

The right may opt to believe that Trump and his people were deliberately infected by the opposition. The role of Mike Meadows remains unclear. If he quietly resigns in the next month or so, then that will be an indication that he was working to undermine his boss. This has happened several times already and should come as no surprise.

One thing seems clear to me at this point in time: Trump has once again outsmarted his enemies.