Trump invented this imaginary invitation because he was jealous that Dr. Anthony Fauci was throwing out the first pitch at Nationals Park before Thursday night's Yankees-Nationals season-opener.
Yesterday, Trump mused out loud about why Fauci's approval ratings are so much higher than his when it comes to information about COVID-19. Several months ago, annoyed at the good press Fauci had been receiving, Trump stopped inviting him to the Coronavirus Task Force press briefings. (And then, after being ridiculed for suggesting Americans inject bleach into their lungs to fight the virus, Trump stopped the briefings altogether.)
When questions about the Yankees' invitation arose, Trump suddenly canceled his appearance via Twitter, claiming he was far too busy to spend a few minutes at the ball park three weeks in the future.
You don't have to be a very stable genius to understand that Trump, a malignant narcissist and sociopath who cannot stand competing for media attention with anyone, was consumed with jealousy that Fauci was throwing out a first pitch and he was not. (Indeed, Trump has not thrown out a pitch at any baseball game as president. He appears in public only at his rallies, because he knows he will be booed.)
Finally, about an hour before Fauci walked to the Nationals Park mound, Trump couldn't stand it any longer and lied to the press, acting like an ignored four-year-old: "I got an invitation, too!"
Randy Levine is a great friend of mine from the Yankees. And he asked me to throw out the first pitch, and I think I'm doing that on August 15 at Yankee Stadium.As the New York Times reported:
There was one problem: Mr. Trump had not actually been invited on that day by the Yankees, according to one person with knowledge of Mr. Trump's schedule. His announcement surprised both Yankees officials and the White House staff.On Sunday, Trump tweeted:
But Mr. Trump had been so annoyed by Dr. Fauci's turn in the limelight, an official familiar with his reaction said, that he had directed his aides to call Yankees officials and make good on a longtime standing offer from Mr. Levine to throw out an opening pitch. No date was ever finalized.
Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won't be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15. We will make it later in the season!"and much else" ... lol ... 2020 would be the perfect season for Trump to attend a major league game, since with no fans in attendance, he would not be booed. That was not the case during last year's World Series. When Trump's image appeared on the large video screen at Nationals Park during Game 5, the capacity crowd booed loudly and a loud chant of "Lock Him Up! echoed throughout the park. Trump's smile vanished in an instant and he looked like he was seething.
This was not the first time that Trump, annoyed that someone else would be getting attention, lied about his schedule. Back in April, the day before Vice President Mike Pence was to speak at the Air Force commencement ceremony in Colorado, Trump suddenly announced he would be speaking at West Point. As the Times stated: This was news to West Point.
Trump also put Pence in charge of the virus task force, assuming that when it failed, Pence would get the blame. But then Pence got some good press about his public comments and that was when Trump stepped in and took over the briefings, pushing Pence to the sideline and often speaking and avoiding questions for more than an hour.
Trump has clashed with Fauci ever since the virus appeared in the US in Feburary. Fauci is a scientist and has not endorsed Trump's increasingly insane comments and theories; he has instead stated the opposite, mentioning that of course the death toll would be much, much lower had Trump followed even basic health guidelines.
Fauci has also publicly criticized Trump's effort to limit or stop his television appearances. In recent weeks, Fauci has not been invited to meetings regarding the virus held by a new group of White House officials, led by Jared Kushner, the president's ignorant and incompetent son-in-law.
Trump did it again today. He announced that the military would be distributing the COVID vaccine (whenever it exists). No one told the military.
ReplyDeleteTrump has mentioned his military distribution plan at least four times. It doesn't exist. The military has no distribution plan. The military has not been asked to come up with a distribution plan.
MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS after first being warned about the virus (November 2019), Trump is STILL flying blind, with no plan for any aspect of this crisis. ... More than 153,000 Americans are dead.