This archive report was first published on 18 May 2020.
On May 18, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world, I found myself glued to my TV screen watching a US Senate committee question top epidemiologists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, about the Trump administration's handling of the crisis.
What struck me was the reluctance of Dr. Fauci and his colleagues to speak truth to power, to tell the Senate that they were working under the direction of a president who prioritized reopening the country over saving lives.
Dr. Fauci and others handled Trump with kid gloves, despite his administration's woeful handling of the pandemic. They seemed to be afraid of crossing him, of losing their jobs or facing his wrath.
But I now realize that the joke is on me. Trump is President, and with that comes a certain mystique, a sense of invincibility. He is part of an elite club, alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan.
As I counted the silver linings in the dark clouds, I came to a disturbing conclusion: being President is the most rewarding job in the world, not because of the power or the prestige, but because of the fear and respect it commands.
With the President, you don't need to know what you're talking about, and you can disregard science and reason. People will still applaud you, and if anyone dares to disagree, you can simply fire them.
It's a strange and unsettling reality, one that I'm not sure I'm ready to accept. But it's a reminder that, in the world of politics, power is a potent force that can bend reality to its will.
