Trump’s Coronavirus Denials Sound like the First Act of Every Disaster Movie

I’m not looking forward to Act Two.

If you were writing the next Hollywood disaster movie, you could construct a first act more or less by scanning the headlines from the past few weeks. We’ve got it all: workaday scientists racing to sound the alarm about a looming existential threat. Science-denying government officials ignoring those alarms. Heroes and helpers amidst the uncertainty. Gal Gadot singing for some reason.

And of course, the president. Trump’s performance here has been a real tour de force. He seems to have modeled himself on those villainous politicians in every disaster movie. He’s ignored experts, shifted the blame, repeatedly downplayed the threat, stoked racism, and spread misinformation.

Watch our video above to see how eerily similar Trump’s approach has been to climate-denying officials in The Day After Tomorrow, the captain of the Titanic, and the spineless apparatchiks in charge of the response to Chernobyl.

Thankfully we’ve begun to see a shift in some of the most visible skeptics. But remember: That’s only the start of Act Two. We still have a long way to go.

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No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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