Anderson Cooper: Trump is a 'self-proclaimed wartime president' but ignores 'American lives lost on the battlefield'


President Trump is a "self-proclaimed wartime president," CNN's Anderson Cooper said on Wednesday night, yet on the day the United States coronavirus death toll surpassed 150,000, he made no mention of the "American lives lost on the battlefield that he himself is absent from."
"I wish I could tell you the president of those 150,000 dead and their families and all of us said something about those deaths today, about the grief so many families are feeling, but he did not," Cooper said. "Today, crossing that miserable milestone of 150,000 deaths, the president ignored it. Nothing about the 197 lives lost in California or the 216 in Florida. When confronted with the civilian casualties of his misbegotten, so-called 'whole of government' approach, this self-proclaimed wartime president has little to say."
Trump was in Texas on Wednesday, and could have talked about the Americans who have died or Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), who was scheduled to accompany him on the trip but had to stay behind when he tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, Trump vaguely told a crowd of oil workers that "together, we will end the plague from China" and said Democrats "want to uproot and demolish every American value."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The death toll of 150,000 that Trump won't acknowledge is "neither just a number nor a statistic," Cooper said. "It is one parent, one grandparent, a lost child, an absent friend, one less measure of love in the world and many more tears — that times 150,000." Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
October 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's consolation prize, government workers during shutdown, and more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
The Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners being released
The Explainer Triumphant Donald Trump addresses the Israeli parliament as families on both sides of the Gaza war reunite with their loved ones
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literature
Speed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91
Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year