How can people entertain/believe the idea that Trump's COVID-19 infection is a hoax?

[Metaphor]

That's odd. I'm browsing the same forum and I haven't seen anyone say they believe it's a hoax. Not even in this thread as you claim. What I do see in this thread is folks entertaining you by answering your question with possible reasons of how people can believe it's a hoax.

Quite a few people expressed the idea that it could be a hoax when the news broke. That's why I started the thread.

Now, the people who believed/entertained the idea then do not believe so now. That is, they changed their mind. That's good: it would be even weirder to believe it was a hoax now. But I thought it was a weird thing to believe then, too.

Dude - you believed Scientific American observed that Trump was responsible for every US Covid death - something even weirder to believe.

No, I said their sloppily written sentence implied it, and that people believing Trump is responsible for every single COVID-19 death in America is not a phantasia I concocted, but a reality I observed.

 

[Jarhyn]

Like, incredulity immediately following the claim of a well known liar in the period before evidence existed? That's perfectly reasonable.

The point of the original doubt was to encourage close observation. That observation yielded many things to be concerned about, though faking Covid wasn't one of them, in the end. The potemkin *resident risking the lives of everyone in the Whitehouse, the risks to the secret service, exposing people, planning on exposing people... That's what we got instead. I really wish it HAD been a lie. Now we have him on steroids in addition to adderall.

 

[TV and credit cards]

So President NDA has the virus. Watching that sad lump of meat ascend the staircase and stand there breathing through his teeth, saluting god knows what was telling. Good for him. And for every moron in his orbit who also contracted the virus. Your despicable existence is deserving of no less.
Fat Chris, you are smart enough that you should have known better. If they can manage to keep your overburdened heart going, good for you. Maybe this will be your coming to Jesus moment. That would be something for a politician, eh?

 

[Playball40]

Okay Meta - you win.
My last shred of doubt was dashed this morning when I saw the assistant assistant press secretary's assistant struggling and sputtering to avoid answering Hallie Hackson's question "when was the President's last negative test?".

The poor guy... I mean, yeah it was funny in the usual tragicomic way of the Trump White House. But obviously nobody was there to prep him, they just trotted him out like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
It's pretty certain they wouldn't have done that if they had had anyone from the A Team (or the B, C or D team) to field that pop up.

I can just as easily believe he never had COVID with he does have COVID. I do not believe ANYTHING that comes out of this administration.

Sorry, PB40 - NONE of them is THAT good (bad?) of an actor.

And all reason says you're correct. But if they laid out trump's dead body in a glass casket, there would still be a small part of me that wasn't sure if he was just faking his own death. NOTHING that man says or does is honest, truthful or without personal gain. NOTHING.

 

[Elixir]

I'd amend your premise to say that if you believe this President couldn't (or wouldn't) fake having Covid-19, it's a sign you could believe anything.

Meta seems to be a card carrying trumpster - he has even intimated (mostly by mocking those who disagree) that Trump would graciously accept defeat if he loses the election.
Now that it has become apparent that he IS going to lose the election and IS going to contest that result, he seems to have fallen silent on the subject.
Go figure.

For fuck's sake: stop lying about me.

You don't recall mocking me and others for saying he wouldn't accept defeat regardless of margin?
Color me unsurprised.

I said it was ludicrous to believe the handover of power wouldn't happen or that it would somehow be 'non-peaceful'.

Thank you for admitting what you just denied.

 

[Shadowy Man]

. If anything, I'd expect a lie to go the other direction: Trump testing positive but trying to hush it up.

Since no one is willing to say when his last negative test was, it appears that you are right and a cover up was started. It’s possible they knew he was positive at the time of the debate.

 

[Rhea]

Someone in Trump's inner circle tested positive. Other people in Trump's inner circle tested positive. Trump didn't orchestrate that as a hoax. If anything, I'd expect a lie to go the other direction: Trump testing positive but trying to hush it up.

Your repeated changes of direction make the conversation dizzy.

First you say you can't believe anyone could believe it.
Then you say, Not even at the first instant he said it.
Then you say, because look several people around him had positive tests. Even though that was not announced when he first announced it (Only Hicks)

So I no longer wish to try to follow which moment in time you can't believe people doubted Trumps truthfulness.

Trump isn't a mastermind.

No. He is a bully. And even bullies can clumsily get people to keep quiet for short periods of time.

You asked how people could believe that Trump was lying.
People told you how.
You said they were all stupid and their arguments didn't apply to your changing set of conditions.


For others in the discussion and reading - besides you and your moving goalposts and apparent desire to be 100% right and not acquire any new information through discussion - the discussion has brought forth interesting commentary.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Now Twitler McCrazyPants does a medical evaluation with a doctor in another state on State News Media (Fox) and we get "Look how crazy some Democrats are for believing he's not sick a week ago!!!111!" Meanwhile, that guy is trying his best to overturn centuries of democratic institutional normalcy and is completely untrustworthy, but let's focus on the rare people from a week ago.

 

[Rhea]

For example, Trump is not a mastermind, but we didn't find out until days later that he didn't take a test prior to the debate, and we didn't find out for days after that about his lack of taking tests regularly, even though the White House repeatedly announced "everyone gets tested daily."

So are people correct to be skeptical about any statement he makes about his COVID status? Yes.
Later, the truth will trickle out, but in the first few hours or days? Well, there's a track record of lying and obfuscation.

Ignore it at your peril.

 

[Rhea]

Now Twitler McCrazyPants does a medical evaluation with a doctor in another state on State News Media (Fox) and we get "Look how crazy some Democrats are for believing he's not sick a week ago!!!111!" Meanwhile, that guy is trying his best to overturn centuries of democratic institutional normalcy and is completely untrustworthy, but let's focus on the rare people from a week ago.

It's worked for him. Look at what caught Metaphor's eye for a discussion.

 

[laughing dog]

Dude - you believed Scientific American observed that Trump was responsible for every US Covid death - something even weirder to believe.

No, I said their sloppily written sentence implied it, and that people believing Trump is responsible for every single COVID-19 death in America is not a phantasia I concocted, but a reality I observed.

I stand corrected but your obstinate belief in your ridiculous misinterpretation is just a weird as anyone's initial reaction to the initial report of Trump's covid-19 infection.

 

[Metaphor]

Someone in Trump's inner circle tested positive. Other people in Trump's inner circle tested positive. Trump didn't orchestrate that as a hoax. If anything, I'd expect a lie to go the other direction: Trump testing positive but trying to hush it up.

Your repeated changes of direction make the conversation dizzy.

I haven't changed direction once.

First you say you can't believe anyone could believe it.
Then you say, Not even at the first instant he said it.

Huh? As soon as it was announced that Trump had COVID, I believed it.

Then you say, because look several people around him had positive tests. Even though that was not announced when he first announced it (Only Hicks)

Hicks was positive. If the "skeptics" were correct, it would mean either Trump had this plan a while and got very, very lucky with his timing that he could pretend he'd caught it from Hicks, or he concocted the deceit very quickly after Hicks' positive test.

So I no longer wish to try to follow which moment in time you can't believe people doubted Trumps truthfulness.

It was weird to believe at any time that Trump was lying about having COVID-19.

No. He is a bully. And even bullies can clumsily get people to keep quiet for short periods of time.

You asked how people could believe that Trump was lying.
People told you how.
You said they were all stupid and their arguments didn't apply to your changing set of conditions.

My conditions didn't change. I said it would be even weirder to believe it right now, but it wasn't rational to believe it back then, either.

For others in the discussion and reading - besides you and your moving goalposts and apparent desire to be 100% right and not acquire any new information through discussion - the discussion has brought forth interesting commentary.

My goalposts didn't move. It was unreasonable to believe Trump was lying when his infection was first announced and it would be even more unreasonable to believe it now.

 

[Metaphor]

For fuck's sake: stop lying about me.

You don't recall mocking me and others for saying he wouldn't accept defeat regardless of margin?
Color me unsurprised.

You literally just lied about me again. I mocked the idea that Trump's handover of power would be "non- peaceful" and I expressed surprise and disbelief that somebody could believe Trump could prevent it entirely.

Trump isn't stronger and cleverer than America's institutions.

 

[Keith&Co.]

For example, Trump is not a mastermind, but we didn't find out until days later that he didn't take a test prior to the debate, and we didn't find out for days after that about his lack of taking tests regularly, even though the White House repeatedly announced "everyone gets tested daily."

That is weird, innit? That slow drip-feed of facts accumulating over time, even of the most powerful man in the country on the subject of his biggest political vulnerability ever.

But if Pelosi walks ten feet without a mask, FOX has the tape the next day.

 

[Rhea]

It was unreasonable to believe Trump was lying when his infection was first announced and it would be even more unreasonable to believe it now.

Your vote in the poll has been noted.
Let the record show that you asked why people might, and you received answers. You declared them all unreasonable.
Got it. Great discussion, Metaphor!

 

[Metaphor]

It was unreasonable to believe Trump was lying when his infection was first announced and it would be even more unreasonable to believe it now.

Your vote in the poll has been noted.
Let the record show that you asked why people might, and you received answers. You declared them all unreasonable.
Got it. Great discussion, Metaphor!

I declared their belief unreasonable.

 

[laughing dog]

It was unreasonable to believe Trump was lying when his infection was first announced and it would be even more unreasonable to believe it now.

Your vote in the poll has been noted.
Let the record show that you asked why people might, and you received answers. You declared them all unreasonable.
Got it. Great discussion, Metaphor!

I declared their belief unreasonable.

Your declaration was based on poor reasoning - it confused obvious initial skepticism with belief.

 

[Metaphor]

I declared their belief unreasonable.

Your declaration was based on poor reasoning - it confused obvious initial skepticism with belief.

No, it didn't.

 

[laughing dog]

I declared their belief unreasonable.

Your declaration was based on poor reasoning - it confused obvious initial skepticism with belief.

No, it didn't.

Yes, it did. And it is unbelievable you think otherwise.

 

[Jarhyn]

No, it didn't.

Yes, it did. And it is unbelievable you think otherwise.

And of course, there is actually evidence for this: if it was based on belief, like it seems most of Metaphor's positions are, people who held that position would not have changed their positions.

As it was based on skepticism, people who held that position quickly abandoned it because skepticism requires verification and testing.

We tested out positions of skepticism, a skepticism borne from the reality of the administration's constant lies and a potential angle that such lies could serve, and found that in the face of later revelations (Trump's wheezing, struggling to breath, oxygen feeds, the potemkin shot of him signing blank papers from a hospital room, and now the steroids), the skeptical view of his infection lost viability.

The question is, how could someone be so blind of the past as to NOT doubt the claims of the administration?