Panic is one of those multifaceted English words that doubtlessly gives heartburn to many for whom The King’s is a second, or subsequent tongue. For example, the flexible word (sometimes a verb, sometimes a noun, sometimes an adjective) offers, say, a dishonest politician, considerable cover, acting as language that can simultaneously serve contradictory messages.
Panic, a tiny, one syllable word with ancient roots, has taken on unusual significance in America’s current events, as the just released, widely reported excerpts from Bob Woodward’s new book, and the audio recordings that accompany them, have once again created a wall to wall, shit storm of negative news cycles for the Trump reelection campaign.
Our literate friends across the pond at the Oxford English Dictionary totally understand the noun form of the word panic as expressed by Donald Trump to Bob Woodward. It is a highly specialized meaning, defined thus —
b. spec. A condition of widespread apprehension in relation to financial and commercial matters, arising in a time of monetary difficulty or crisis, and leading to hasty and violent measures to secure immunity from possible loss, the tendency of which is to cause financial disaster.
Trump most certainly never intended to use the word, panic, as defined below in the OED’s principal, general meaning —
2. a. (= panic fear, terror, etc.; see A. 1): A sudden and excessive feeling of alarm or fear, usually affecting a body of persons, originating in some real or supposed danger vaguely apprehended, and leading to extravagant or injudicious efforts to secure safety.
As demonstrated by Trump’s encounter with the usually tame eagle, Uncle Sam, in 2015, Trump undoubtedly understands the general use of the word, panic, as a reaction to terror and fear. But while he may understand it for himself, his lack of empathy prevents him from recognizing it in others. So, Trump hasn’t been talking about trying to safeguard Americans against excessive public feelings of alarm and fear. Given Trump’s talk about the destruction of the suburbs and deadly urban crime, “excessive pubic feelings of alarm and fear” could be the very heart and soul of his reelection campaign.
But Trump, when he talks of a panic, pretty clearly means that specialized sort of panic that sometimes infects Wall Street. In other words, he cares not for the fears and terrors of Americans under assault by an uncontrolled pandemic, so long as Wall Street prices and values don’t fall.
Interestingly, and a bit oddly, most of the news media hasn’t noticed that Trump’s concern with panic applies only to Wall Street and the securities markets. One journalist who has done so is Jeremy Stahl, writing today for Salon, noting the widespread media acceptance that Trump’s alleged concern about panic benignly applies to the public at large and the dangers and fears facing them, in an article titled Trump Lied About COVID to Protect the Markets, Not Human Beings saying —
Remarkably, mainstream media outlets largely focused their headlines on another related part of Woodward’s reporting, which is that several weeks later Trump acknowledged in private to Woodward that he was “playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” More remarkably still, would-be critics of the president are accepting at face value the most positive interpretation of this remark—that Trump was denying the seriousness of the pandemic as part of an effort to protect the American people from unnecessary alarm. Trump’s challenger in the November election, Joe Biden, for instance, tweeted on Thursday accepting the premise that Trump “didn’t want to tell the truth and create a panic.”
The article contains a rather exhaustive account of publicly reported events and remarks from White House figures, including the President, dating all the way back to February and fully documenting Trump’s longstanding and singular focus on the stock markets in his campaign’s conviction that Only Investors Matter, when it comes to the economy. For example —
In an article titled “Trump faces credibility test as he plays down virus threat” published on Feb. 26—after the stock market nosedive had begun and after Trump had told Woodward the coronavirus was “more deadly than even your strenuous flu,” but when the level of danger was not publicly known—the Associated Press reported that:
During his 36-hour visit to India, Trump received briefings from staff and periodically checked the impact on Wall Street, tweeting at all hours to try to reassure Americans and the markets about the spread of the virus.
Other examples abound and readers may refer to the article for the details. Suffice to say, and no surprise, that America’s first sociopathic President doesn’t care about Americans terrified of disease, frightened by financial ruin, cowering in the face of impending homelessness and isolated from most supporting human contact, unless, of course, they are also heavily invested in the stock market.
Vote, y’all. Vote, just once, but vote hard.