September 18, 2020

The Trump Files: Trump Finds a Silver Lining in an Ebola Outbreak

Mother Jones Illustration; Shuttershock

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This post was originally published as part of “The Trump Files“—a collection of telling episodes, strange but true stories, and curious scenes from the life of our current president—on October 21, 2016.

Donald is a famous germophobe who hates shaking hands so much that he called the practice “one of the curses of American society” in one of his books. “I happen to be a clean-hands freak,” he told The Hill earlier this year. So it’s no wonder that the Ebola outbreak of 2014 appealed to him on at least one level.

When Donald wasn’t heralding the imminent worldwide demise of hand-shaking, though, he was having an epic, monthslong Twitter freakout over the Ebola scare.

Needless to say, the United States would be well equipped to calmly handle any medical emergencies under a Trump administration.

 

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In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

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