Richard Nixon is looking better than ever these days. And frankly, so is James Buchanan.

And all because of a lying, manhood-impaired and very scared president named Donald and Trump. Yep, the same Trump who scrambled to a bunker deep inside the White House for protection after peaceful protesters showed up in numbers outside. This is the same Donald Trump who says he’s a “dominator.”

Later, after he emerged unscathed from hiding, he ordered his military to clear the protestors — using tear glass and rubber bullets — so he, accompanied by some of his uniformed authorities, could safely a few blocks to a nearby Episcopal Church.

And once there, he of course went inside to pray for this nation.

Oops, you didn’t really believe that, did you? If your name isn’t Mitch McConnell of Lindsay Graham, you probably did. But no, Trump wanted to hold up a Holy Bible outside the church for a photo op. Was the Bible his? Nope. Did he read from it? Nope (we’re not positive he can read from anything).

No, and he never asked the Bishop of that church is he could come and use it as backdrop. That’s morally repugnant and shameless, but those are good descriptions of Donald Trump regardless of the circumstances.

The result of this attempt to show himself as a strong man backfired in a big way. Religious leaders here and abroad condemned him (including, somehow, Pat Robertson, who once made headlines for claiming gay people caused hurricanes. Trump’s attempt to be a man simply showed him as a weakling.

So why would he did all that and go to that much trouble? Well, remember his was a draft dodger, claiming his had a foot injury that would keep him from going to war. So ever since he’s been trying to prove he’s a man not a coward. Didn’t;t work out very well, however. No matter how many military and police he calls out, he’s still a frightened little boy tying to be a grown-up.

And sure enough, he’s a grown-up now. An incompetent, malignant, mentally unstable buffoon of a grown-up.

One of the late H.L. Mencken’s quotes widely circulated since Donald Trump’s 2016 election is from a column he wrote 96 years ago predicting that, “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

How in the world did he know Trump was coming?

We have arrived at the Memorial Day weekend with remembrances of and tributes to the men and women who have served and are serving in the armed forces. but it is also a timer we must remember those Americans who have died of the coronavirus in 2020. The numbers of heartbreaking: nearly 100,000 (and more than 3,600 people in Connecticut).

And they all have this in common: Donald Trump could care less about any of them. And yes, that sounds cruel, doesn’t it? But try to think of a moment of empathy and sincerity to come out of his mouth about the victims of the pandemic. Sincerity? Ha, there is no such thing from him unless it concerns the honesty of a payoff to a porn star but keeping quiet about his infidelity.

So how did Trump acknowledge Memorial Day? Well, let’s see: he played golf several times. He moaned about how he’s not getting enough credit for getting America back on its economic feet. Can you feel the empathy? Empathy? For the dead, for anyone?

There’s really not not much more to be said. It’s a sad Memorial Day, a time of grieving and remembrance. Unless your name is Donald Trump, and you just don’t give a shit.

If Donald Trump possessed a shred — even a shred — of human decency, he would resign immediately and apologize for his unbridled narcissistic incompetence.

And if popcorn could talk, it would walk your dog.

This beleaguered nation suffers the most dangerous, truth-challenged, bullying president in our history. James Buchanan, Herbert Hoover, look ’em up: they dazzled as profoundly brilliant chief executives compared with the maladroit and foolish Trump and his horrible mismanagement of our pandemic crisis.

Where to start? Go back to the beginning. InJanuary a White House warning of a pandemic coming. Ignored by Trump who insisted every this was under control. Trump claims credit for blockading anyone from China to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Yeah, and since that order more than 40,000 people have arrived on our shores from China. Worried about the economy more than people in his off-hand comments?

How about health authorities recommending social distancing and quarantines. The president’s response: not necessary. When the use of face masks was recommended, Trump said he wouldn’t do it. What kind of leadership is that? It called “No Leadership.”

With a nation scared and fearful, Trump lies, says business will be heading back to normal by Easter. Wrong. Even the liar had to recant his words. Does anyone get confidence from his news briefings which he uses to glorify his TV ratings, bash any reporter who asks legitimately questions his words and actions, and simply lie, lie, lie?

This is a man who believes he knows more than any scientist. Really. He lacks the brains to keep himself out of bankruptcy – four times. Yes, that has nothing to do with the virus, but it’s another manifestation of his gross and dangerous incompetence and stupidity.

Yes, if he were a decent and responsible human being, he would resign. And what could possibly go wrong with that? Well, for one he might try to appoint as his replacement Jared Kushner, who is resolving the virus crisis (?) a mere few weeks after settling the wars in the Middle East (?). One fool and another.

This has got to end.

The coronavirus continues to spread, and we still have a dithering response from the federal government, starting at the top with President Donald J. Trump, a man most unfit for this crisis.

Here’s why we know the government response isn’t working (courtesy of columnist David Leonhardt at The New York Times (you know, the fake media?):

1) There is still no sign of the curve flattening. Daily deaths in the United States have exceeded 1,000, and total deaths are now about 6,000. The number of new confirmed cases per day has exceeded 30,000, also a new high.

2) The caseload is growing more rapidly here than in Europe. In the chart above, I’ve compared the pace of growth in both the United States and a section of western Europe with a nearly identical combined population. (The European region includes 16 adjacent countries, all on the Continent; the full list is below.) The outbreak began earlier in Europe, so it still has a higher caseload. But the United States is on pace to overtake it.

3) The shortage of medical supplies continues. Doctors, nurses and other health care workers are having to take terrible risks, as a result. “Everyone is scared. Patients are scared. Staff is scared,” Erika Sawyer, a nurse-midwife, told The Times Magazine. “All masks are being rationed, and we don’t know how many we have.”

4) There is still a testing shortage. Without tests, it’s impossible to know who has the virus and who needs to be quarantined. But the United States has still conducted only about 3,300 total tests per million people, compared with 8,000 tests per million people in South Korea, according to a new Center for American Progress report.

5) Nationwide, the policy response remains inconsistent. There are still 12 states without stay-at-home orders, against expert advice. Florida, which is finally putting in place such an order today, has made an exception for religious services — a provision certain to spread the virus further. “It’s unacceptable,” Ezekiel Emanuel, a doctor, University of Pennsylvania administrator and co-author of the new report, told me. “I’m feeling deprived not being able to go to synagogue. It really bothers me. But it’s really important.”

Sad. And so very, very dangerous. May you all be safe and healthy in spite of failing efforts on the part of some among us.

Dangerous times demand great leaders step up.

How very unfortunate for this nation that Donald Trump is not such a man. When a nation is fearful, looking for courage, direction and above all honesty, Donald Trump concerns himself with his television ratings, with accusations that health care workers are stealing vital equipment, and complaints that the media doesn’t give him credit for all the good he does.

What an incompetent, whiny disgrace of a president he is.

Surely even his most ardent supporters can see through his pretenses. His evasions, flip-flops and lies have mushroomed in the weeks since the U.S. confronted the coronavirus. First, as the pandemic began its rseacjd into this country, Trump assured us everything was under control. As the virus surged out of control, he refused to issue guidelines for the public and washed his hands (figuratively at least) of responsibility for inadequate preparations. He tweeted insane instructions which he quickly changed. His refused to accept the warnings of scientists and health care authorities because “I know best.”

The catastrophic results are pouting in, and they reveal that to his core Donald Trump lacks leadership, lacks knowledge, lacks humanity and cares only about himself and his re-election. Why, for instance, did he say he wanted federal guidelines relaxed and business back to normal by Easter then have to recant after advisors told him he would thereby be responsible for thousands of deaths which could doom his reelection.

Donald Trump acted out of self-interest, as always, and accepted that advice. But it seems clear, over and over, that his primary concern is for the economy, not people. If the economy tanks, he knows he will not be elected again.

And, as further evidence of that, consider this: his administration is rolling back Obama-era regulations requiring auto manufacturers to increase mileage in new cars by eliminating pollution requirements. More pollution is acceptable because it MAY lead to lower costs for new cars and will free automakers of costly rules. Yet his administration also admits that their own calculations show more people will die from pollution with regulations trimmed.

Is there any other way to read that than as Trump’s concern for manufacturers’ trumping concern for people?

At moments like this, history calls for great leaders. Lincoln. FDR. Names that will never be spoken in the same breath as the insignificant and inept Donald Trump.

Please, Dear Lord, spare us Donald Trump.

This man wants to “have the county opened up and just raring to go, by Easter.” This against the every advice of every single health authority in this country. Not just some authorities. All of them. They all say the same thing: lifting guidelines on business shutdowns and social distancing are wrong.

Trump compares the number of people dying in the virus to the number of people who die in car accidents, pointing out that far more people die in cars, yet no one suggests ceasing the manufacture of vehicles. Is that the thinking of a diseased mind or just a stupid one?

Trump’s words are working against the words from governors and mayors and health officials who say he is making their life-saving jobs more difficult.

Let’s face it: Trump just wants the economy working because that’s his only hope for re-election. If the economy stays tanked, he’s tanked, too. So people become a sacrificial commodity – there’s no evidence he cares about people dying, not if he can get the economy re-ignited quickly by any means. That’s criminal thinking not to mention considering it in ethical or moral terms.

And then there’s the facts that he doesn’t understand. Really, he doesn’t understand. He lacks the intelligence to comprehend that when he says that during the 1918 flu epidemic people had a 50-50 chance of dying it’s wrong. The fatality rate for people in that epidemic was around 2 to 2.5 per cent. Not 50-50 possibilities.

He is disgracing the office and the common sense of the American people.

I shocked myself yesterday. I’ve always paid close attention when the President of the United States came on television in the midst of a national crisis. But when Donald Trump’s latest coronavirus briefing came on, I turned my television off and went back to riding the newspapers.

It took a few minutes for me to realize what I had done. Shut off the President. And the more I continued to think about it, in spite of my surprise, I knew I did the right thing. Donald Trump is an incompetent person who is an habitual liar and who under any circumstances cannot be believed or trusted. The President of the United States.

He continues to make statements about the virus that are untrue. He continues to exaggerate. He continues to use his briefings on the nation’s health crisis for his own political propaganda. He evinces no serious and believable concerns for the health of most Americans.

At a time when America looks to Washington for national leadership, there is none. At least none that comes from the White House. We are left to hear a president speak uninformed gibberish and lie about most everything else. We are left to wait for health officials to interpret and correct what he has said.

How shameful and disgraceful. And how alarming for our beloved nation.

I’m not going to begin cataloging his lies nor to try and explain whatever motives he might have. First, because there are too many lies (check The NY Times for full coverage), and second, because his motives seem clear enough: the selfish, uncaring preservation of his self-perceived image as a smart man.

Even Fox News draws the line there.

Just a side note to the issues accompanying the spread of COVID-19. Have you noticed how quickly the nation’s airlines are seeking federal aid, billions of dollars, so they can stay in business? These are the same airlines who have ballooned their fees in order to collect ever-more money from passengers?

These are the airlines who have in recent years gouged their passengers to an extraordinary extent in all sorts of ways, even charging outrageous fees should anyone want to try to change their flights? Some airlines even make you pay for those peanuts (looking at you, Spirit).

They’ve tightened seating, pushing in additional seats and lowering leg and back room, to make flying more uncomfortable and unhealthy. Sure, you can skip all of that but you’ll have to pay a lot more.

Thee are companies whose concerns for their passengers – and let’s exempt high-paying, first class passengers, of course – have been minimal as long as their bottom lines have stayed up[. And now that they’re falling, the airlines want help from the taxpayers. Does that make you happy?

Yes, the airlines are a vital part of our nation’s transportation system and owe cannot do without them. But can we take a little more serious look at their business models before bailing them out – again? Can we offer some quid pro quo’s – we’ll help you and in turn when things get better you’ll eliminate some of out worst mistreatments of passengers?

And, by the way, while making that plea please be assured it won’t happen. We have an administration and a Republican-led Senate who could care less about anything other than the wealthy and wealthy corporations. The airlines will get their help, as they must. And the rest of us taxpayers will continue to get screwed – as it seems we must.

Please do try to remember that when we get to November.

Donald Trump is the worst president in American history. He just may be turning into the most dangerous president in our past. He is putting lives at risk through a continuing series of misinformed, foolish, narcissistic statements which confirm in the starkest possible ways his inability and rank incompetence to serve as a leader.

He has no idea what to do with the coronavirus spread. His only pubic comments reflect ignorance and stupidity. People are dying, the virus is spreading and he has no conception or plan or common sense notion of what to do about it. He has bullied scientists and doctors who disagree with him, and flat-out lied about what is happening in his country.

Remember when he talked about his great the stock market was thanks to him? It’s a topic Trump now turns his back on.

If he had any good sense or genuine concern for this nation he would resign.

May God help him reach that decision .

Hey Donald, we haven’t heard from you lately.

Maybe because …. You know that stock market you keep bragging about, the one that goes up and up thanks only to your wise, reasoned policies? If you want to claim that credit, then guess what buddy? The blame for this market collapse is yours alone. You lying, incompetent, knowledge-challenged bully, this one’s on you. Own it.