Voters often have hazy memories of the ex-Presidents they—or their opponents—had elected. One reason for this: Ex-Presidents can no longer affect the lives of Americans—or non-Americans.   

When Donald Trump left the White House on January 20, 2021, his approval rating was 34%.

For most Americans—including even many Republicans—his inciting a violent attack on the Capitol Building so he could become “President-for-Life” was simply too much. He seemed to have forfeited any chance at a political future.

Yet today he’s the guaranteed Republican nominee for President—and may well win a second term in office this November against President Joseph Biden.

“What’s been clear for a while, especially among swing voters, is that Biden is just more front and center,” said Sarah Longwell, a Republican consultant. “They know about what they don’t like about Biden, and they have forgotten what they don’t like about Trump.”

Millions of Americans have forgotten the infamies and crimes Trump committed during his four years as President—such as: 

• Repeatedly attacking the nation’s free press as “the enemy of the American people” for daring to report his growing list of crimes and disasters.
• Publicly siding with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin against American Intelligence agencies—such as the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency—which unanimously agreed that Russia had interfered with the 2016 Presidential election.
• Giving highly classified CIA Intelligence to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. 
• Using his position as President to further enrich himself, in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
• Firing FBI Director James Comey for refusing to pledge his personal loyalty to Trump—and continuing to investigate Russian subversion of the 2016 election.

Donald Trump

• Shutting down the Federal Government on December 22, 2018, because Democrats refused to fund his useless “border wall” between the United States and Mexico. An estimated 380,000 government employees were furloughed and another 420,000 were ordered to work without pay for 35 days.
• Allowing the deadly COVID-19 virus to ravage the country, killing 400,000 Americans by the time he left office.
• Attacking medical experts and governors who urged Americans to wear masks and socially distance to protect themselves against the deadly COVID-19 virus.
• Repeatedly lying—while still in office and afterward—that the 2020 election had been “stolen” from him by massive voter fraud.
• Illegally trying to pressure state legislatures and governors to stop the certification of the vote that had made Joe Biden the president-elect.
• Inciting his followers to attack the Capitol Building where Senators and Representatives were meeting to count the Electoral Votes won by himself and Joe Biden. His objective: Stop the count, which he knew would prove him the loser.

But concentrating on the major event of 2020—the last year of his White House tenure—should stir up enough frightening memories.

For 2020 was the year of COVID-19—a new and deadly virus that originated in Wuhan, China, in December, 2019. By January 19, the first Coronavirus case appeared in the United States.

On February 7, Trump shared his thoughts—and the latest medical Intelligence—about the Coronavirus with Washington Post editor/investigative reporter Bob Woodward: 

“It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. The touch, you don’t have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flues. People don’t realize, we lose 25,000, 30,000 people a year here. Who would ever think that, right?”

Yet from January to early March, Trump and his allies within the Republican party and Fox News Network repeatedly assured Americans they had nothing to fear. 

Coronavirus

In addition, Trump pitted cities and states against each other. He made it clear that each state was responsible for securing its needed supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for its doctors and nurses aiding Coronavirus patients.

This resulted in a dog-eat-dog atmosphere of cutthroat competition and scarcity, with Americans not only fighting the virus but each other.

Even worse: Trump and Republicans used the deadly plague as a weapon against those Americans they hated. 

On March 26, during an interview on Fox News, Trump blamed the failures of his administration’s response to Coronavirus on Democratic state governors like Andrew Cuomo (NY), Jay Inslee (WA), and Gretchen Whitmer (MI).

On March 27, during his press briefing, Trump said he told Vice President Mike Pence—officially in charge of the White House’s response effort—to not call Inslee and Whitmer because they weren’t “appreciative” enough of his efforts.

Gretchen Whitmer

Trump said this even as hospitals in each of their states were being overwhelmed with Coronavirus patients:

“I tell him—I mean I’m a different type of person—I say, ‘Mike, don’t call the governor in Washington, you’re wasting your time with him. Don’t call the woman in Michigan. If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call.”   

At his March 27 press briefing, Trump echoed French King Louis X1V’s infamous remark—“I am the State”: “When they’re [governors] not appreciative to me, they’re not appreciative to the Army Corps, they’re not appreciative to FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency]. It’s not right.”