Twitter users and others have gone back and forth on whether Dr. Birx embodies the role of the abused in a relationship with Trump. Trump hands out the abuse, telling her what to say, punishing her, etcetera. It is extremely difficult to see Dr. Birx as someone who’s helpless and being abused by a tyrant. She is a far more accomplished professional than he ever will be, could walk out the door from her government job and get paid five times more (at least) in the private sector or teaching at a university, and if we don’t expect men and women in their 50-60s with status, advanced degrees, money, and media power of their own to stand up to Trump, who can we?

All of that comes together in an odd story out from CNN today stating that Dr. Birx is “hurt” that Trump criticized her. This is not the first time we have evidence that Dr. Deborah Birx part of the problem.

Dr. Deborah Birx was bothered by President Trump’s tweet criticizing her after she offered what she believed was an accurate assessment of the current state of coronavirus outbreaks in the US, a person familiar with her reaction tells CNN.

Trump criticized Birx after she warned Covid-19 is “extraordinarily widespread” in the US.

Birx has often sought to toe the line between directly contradicting the President while accurately portraying the data she pores over. She had been warned something like this could happen. But it wasn’t just that comment that drew the President’s ire, another person said. Trump was also irritated by her answer that she had “tremendous respect” for House Speaker Pelosi.

Right. So we don’t want to read too much into one line with no details but there is no time for Dr. Birx to be “bothered” by Trump’s criticism. She needs to do her job and pretend that Trump’s words don’t exist until such time as she’s fired, and if that happens – being fired for doing her job well – then she can go on TV and talk about how it was all very unfair while telling the whole story.

Hearing that she’s “bothered” by the criticism is distressing because it makes us wonder if she’ll temper her opinion from here on out, hoping to spare herself Trump’s anger or scorn from here on out.

There are too many people dying and there is one child sitting in the Oval Office. We need every adult around him to commit to doing their job – especially senior officials who can most afford to tell Trump where to go, while also finding a bank of microphones to tell the entire story.

If not Dr. Birx, who?

****

Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom