I just got back from getting my first COVID test

Well, it will be very difficult to do any worse.  And, oh, remember,  "it's going to just disappear . . . like a miracle."

If the Defense Production Act had been invoked to produce N95 masks, many medical personnel and first responders would not have died.

But don't let that keep you up at night, Boilerman.

Trump's incompetence has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. I guess that's how Trump Made America Great Again.

I suppose we can at least be grateful that the crisis that the Orange Asshole botched was a pandemic and not a world war. He might have nuked San Francisco.

Your nonsensical indictment of Trump killing hundres of thousands is rediculous. On February 12, 2020 the CDC informed America that masks wern't necessary for the general public. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0212-cdc-telebriefing-transcript.html

On April 2, 2020 Trump invoked the defense production act to produce ventilators and N95 masks. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/politics/defense-production-act-ventilator-supplies/index.html

On April 3, 2020 the CDC and the Trump admistration were not exactly together with wearing face masks. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/03/white-house-cdc-turf-battle-over-guidance-broad-use-face-masks-fight-coronavirus/

On May 15, 2020 Trump annopunced operation warp speed to develop a vaccine https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/05/15/trump-administration-announces-framework-and-leadership-for-operation-warp-speed.html On June 20, 2020 Trump made his infamous "slow the testing down" comment https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-tells-tulsa-crowd-he-wanted-slow-down-covid-19-n1231658  

June 20, 2020 should be remembered as the date that Trump lost his viability to be reelected. From that point on it became apparent that he was not going to take this pandemic seriously. Had Trump put resources into getting faster more accurate covid-19 testing, along with embracing mask wearing, he would have won the election. Trump never forced anybody to attend his ego stroking rallies. Trump never ordered anybody to slow the testing for covid-19. Trump never forced anybody to not wear a mask. If there is blame to placed, then it must be placed on the public. Those that won't wear a mask, those that have to congregate in large gatherings indoors and those gathering in large crowds shoulder to shoulder outdoors. I live next door to a pro democrat family. They opted to not attend a Christmas gathering in California. They told us yesterday that their whole family had come down with covid-19. It's not just republicans that won't adhere to stringent mitigation measures. Wake up to the fact that most people will not always act in their own best interests much less their communities. Hell, my wife and I went to Laughlin on January 5, 2021. That wasn't acting in our best interests, but I have no reservations about going. Pandemic fatigue is only going to exacerbate the transmission of this disease. People that have been doing all the right things are, at some point in time, going to say "f*&%it". However, it's still ludicrous to say that Trump has killed anyone. His inaction on testing is not proof of a killing. As for the lack of a coherent vaccine distribution and injection plan, blame the states and counties of America. They've had plenty of time to get their acts together.

David, is that you?

Mark, hopefully your test comes back negative and all is okay 👌 

If I'm an air traffic controller, and two planes are on a collision course, and instead of warning them, I do nothing because I'm busy playing with my IPhone, and they collide, I've killed everyone on board both planes even though I wasn't either pilot.

In other words, I had a responsibility to keep people safe and I failed because of my negligence. Get it?

I can make an equally inappropriate allegory. The air traffic controller does notify the pilots that they're on a collision course, but..... The pilot and copilot on both planes are busy texting their friends about that nights big party and ignore the warning. Just plain drivel.

People are far more likely to be influnced by their social media and/or radio talk show hosts than what the president does or doesn't advocate. White supremacists and all other extreme right wing radicals are already philosophically entrenched in their doctrines without presidential influence. Pesonally, I think they're libertarians giving republicans undeserved notoriety. The same is just as true for those radical left wing zealots. Personally, I think of them as democratic socialists bastardizing the democratic party with their extreme ideals. Moderate republicans and democrats are equally as likely to engage in behavior that spreads the virus. Libertarians will more than likely always engage in behavior that spreads the virus. Democratic socialists not so much. A mask wearing democrat that contracts covid-19 from a republican/libertarian without a mask and spreads the virus to people at a gathering of friends and family, is just as culpable as the republican/libertarian. People are responsible for the spread of this virus. People choose to believe their social media feeds and radio/television talk show hosts where masking is concerned. I'm sure it will influence their decisions on getting the vaccine, also. Yes, Trump is an inefectually blusterous buffoon, but it's the social media, radio and television personalities that are  dangerously affecting the extreme right wing wackos thinking and actions.

Your point of view would be reasonable if you didn't betray your lack of understanding. You call democratic socialists "left wing radicals," even though this country operates under a democratic socialist political and economic framework. You and all the other folks bitching about SOOOOOOOCIALISM need to understand this,

To address your main point, yes, of course, people are influenced by social media. But the degree to which that happens, and the extent to which misinformation (and disinformation!) is distributed, depends on whether there are other, more trustworthy sources of information available. Trump not only failed to counter social media-fueled conspiracy theories about the pandemic; he embraced and propagated them himself. For that, he is greatly culpable. He also choked off and/or contradicted legitimate sources of info such as the CDC and Dr. Fauci.

You see, leadership matters, and so does lack of leadership. Yes, Trump's failures were mostly passive, scurrying away to jerk off on the golf course rather than doing anything constructive. But that doesn't excuse him in the slightest. I very much disagree that what Trump says or does doesn't matter. Many of the right-wing wack jobs take their cues directly from him. They also ape his behavior---they see him not wearing a mask, and in fact yelling at reporters to take theirs off, and they figure they don't need to wear masks themselves.

Don't underestimate the damage Trump has done and will, unfortunately, continue to do.

Thank you for your kind wishes.