Trump wants to be seen as Mister Strong (that’s President Strong to you peasants).

Trump has sought to project the strongman image, flying to the White House by helicopter at sunset, standing on the balcony and taking off his face mask while still contagious, bragging that he feels better than he did 20 years ago and urging the public to neither fear the virus nor let it dominate their lives.

But if he wants to project the strongman image, why…

He’s not in that photo because he chose to ride in a golf cart instead. It was only a short walk…

His campaign has sent out fundraising emails preaching a similar if-I-can-beat-it-so-can-you-message, hoping to turn personal and political disaster to their electoral advantage against the cautious Joe Biden.

Wait though. It doesn’t follow. If he can beat it it doesn’t follow that so can we, because he got special treatment. He didn’t have to go get in line for admission to a crowded hospital full of other covid patients, with insufficient ventilators and PPE and beds and nurses and doctors. He got rushed straight to his very own suite at Walter Reed and the undivided attention of a whole staff of doctors and whatever medication they suggested. The rest of us don’t have that.