This seems, on the surface, to be a totally misbegotten attempt to secure early, exclusive access to a coronavirus vaccine for the United States. It is nothing of the sort. It’s just a cheap publicity stunt.
The entire purpose was to exploit the media and send a potent message to Trump’s base, that he is putting America First during the pandemic and doing everything he can to keep “us” safe.
And every time the media notes how despicable and selfish the Trump administration is behaving by trying to corner the world market on vaccines, they simply make it clearer to his base that Trump has their back — and no one else does.
Just as bad: Because the media, even now, hasn’t caught on to how deeply cynical and manipulative the Trump administration is, Trump is getting all this MAGA-boosting publicity entirely for free.
A few seconds of thought makes it clear that of course, the Trumpists were fairly certain a German company would never give Americans exclusive access to their vaccine, regardless of the cost. But if the Trump administration could leak to the press that “at least we tried,” it would appear to their base like they were actually doing something rather than flailing about (which is the truth).
Yes, the Trump administration really is that calculating. And yes, the MAGA-ts really are that gullible.
And yes, the media really are that naive to fall for such an obvious set-up.