We all have someone we look up to. Many of us have multiple people we look up to. These are our role models. We attempt to emulate their lives so that we can better live ours. 

That is what a president should be… a role model.

On Monday evening, President Donald Trump left Walter Reed Hospital to return to the White House. 

He loitered at his balcony for a minute while wearing a mask, and then took off said mask in one fell swoop as though it were his grand reveal that we’d all been waiting for. But I think what we’re actually waiting for is the truth. 

For months, President Trump has downplayed the severity of the virus; and continues to do so. A very clear example of this is when he decided to take a “surprise visit” to meet his supporters (while still being contagious). 

Soon, after spending just three days at the hospital, he was discharged and returned to the White House. Now normally, patients who test positive for COVID-19 are required to self isolate themselves for a minimum of ten days after experiencing symptoms. The President, on the other hand, was still symptomatic when he greeted supporters while driving around in his SUV. Let’s compare a normal patient’s self isolation of ten days to our president’s isolation of barely three. All this just to provide a political spectacle. Not only does this devalue the intensity of the virus, it also puts his employees at risk.   

This is not a lesson that the virus doesn’t affect elderly people or that it’s not as dangerous as it is advertised to be. Instead, it’s a reminder that our president was treated under the most expert care with medicine and amenities that most people can’t afford. Even after his departure from the hospital, he will have many resources available to him that the general public will not have the privilege of utilizing.

You would think that what everybody wants is encouragement. And to know that they’re going to be healthy and safe. But there’s no point in hearing that if it isn’t a guarantee.

Simply put, it’s not what we need.

“One thing that’s for certain: don’t let it dominate you!” Trump said in a video posted on his twitter account. “Don’t be afraid of it! You’re gonna beat it!”

210,000. 

Is that what the 210,000 Americans that died from COVID-19 were told minutes before their death? That they would survive this? 

What we need is to stop providing the public with false hope and to stop fostering misinformation.

What we need is to know how to protect ourselves from COVID-19 and how to shield ourselves from such messages. 

More than 210,000 Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19. Most of these people were elderly and/or from low income families. These people didn’t die because they let it dominate them or they were frightened by it or because their mentality toward it was not strong enough. They died because it was painful and ultimately too much for their bodies to handle. With that in mind, these people have gone through situations, experiences, and hardships that someone with all the necessary aid couldn’t even begin to fathom. 

Now, everybody is entitled to their own opinion. I understand that. If you’re not a fan of masks, or if you think it’s fine not to follow proper social distancing protocol, you’re putting yourself and others at risk. However, at the end of the day, I can’t stop you from doing what you want to do. Even still, the same situation cannot be applied here; in a situation where someone is supposed to be “leading” a country. A role model’s job is to inspire others to take care of themselves, not to urge them to run blindly into a life threatening situation.

So, I implore you to become your own role model; to do what others aren’t doing. 

From spreading misinformation to putting on a display of unsafe practices, President Trump has yet again failed in his position as a role model.