Sine we all have the Coronavirus on our minds then that is very much the theme this week … except it all has a very distinct wingnut twist to it.
To start, let’s not forget what the wingnut in chief has been claiming before we all forget (via here from Charlie Sykes) …
- January 22: Trump: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”
- February 2: Trump: “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
- February 10: Trump: “A lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat—as the heat comes in.”
- February 24: Trump: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. . . . Stock Market starting to look very good to me.”
- February 27: Trump: “It’s going to disappear one day, it’s like a miracle.”
- February 28: Eric Trump: “In my opinion, it’s a great time to buy stocks or into your 401k. I would be all in . . . let’s see if I’m right.”
- March 2: Trump on a coronavirus vaccine: “I’ve heard very quick numbers, that of months.”
- Note: Immunologist Anthony Fauci, has repeatedly said that a vaccine will not be available for a year or 1 1/2 years
- March 6: Trump: “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”
- March 6: Trump: “I didn’t know people died from the flu.”
- March 6: Trump on whether or not to bring coronavirus patients on a cruise ship to shore: “I like the numbers being where they are.”
- March 10: Trump: “It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
- March 10: Trump [in response to a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta asking what he would “say to Americans who say you are not taking this seriously enough and that some of your statements don’t match what health experts are saying”]: “That’s CNN. Fake news.”
… and of course his latest action is this …
- In Wake of Pandemic He Made Worse, Trump Calls for “National Day of Prayer”
- Well what did you think he was going to do? Something helpful?
Let’s take a look to see what else popped up this past week.
Wingnut proclamations from the last 7 days
Here for your enjoyment is this week’s selection of actual wingnut gems. It has all been mined from a stream of befuddled right-wing extremism blended with religious literalism
Wingnut Coronavirus claims
- Chris McDonald tells his audience not to freak out over the coronavirus outbreak because “testifying against Hillary Clinton has a better chance of killing you” than the virus.
- Cliff Kincaid recommends that President Donald Trump “put the military in charge of the coronavirus response and move quickly to a war footing with Communist China, the source of the outbreak.”
- Mark Taylor: The Coronavirus Is a ‘Cover’ to Carry Out the Mass Arrests Long Promised by QAnon
- Ed Martin: The Left Is Blowing Coronavirus and Stock Market Plunge ‘Out of Proportion’
- Josh Bernstein is now claiming that an alleged “medical deep state” is responsible for the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.
- Andrew Wommack had to cancel an upcoming conference at his church over concerns that he’d get blamed if some attendees did not have a strong enough faith to protect themselves from the coronavirus and ended up spreading the disease.
- ‘Prophetic Update’: Coronavirus Outbreak Could be Over ‘in an Hour’ if China Gave the Church Religious Freedom
- Mike Cernovich on the Coronavirus: ‘We Failed the Stress Test’
- Josh Bernstein: The Coronavirus Outbreak Is a Democratic and Chinese Conspiracy Against Trump
- Alex Jones says that the coronavirus is a “big-pharma, deep state, Chicom [Chinese-communist] hoax.”
- Tom Horn has some thoughts regarding the Antichrist and a possible coronavirus vaccine.
- Jonathan Shuttlesworth has no time for “loser” pastors who are canceling services because of the coronavirus, saying that they should instead be holding mass gatherings to demonstrate the power of their faith.
- Robert Henderson says the coronavirus is a demonic plan to disrupt the economy in order to prevent President Donald Trump’s reelection: “This is what the devil understands he must do to seek to deny President Trump the re-election. In that I was handed the financial section of the paper after President Trump was finished looking into it, I know that we are being assigned to pray and stand with President Trump to secure and stabilize the economy of our nation. Without this, the stage could be set for an upset in the elections this year.”
- ‘Apostolic’ Leader Says God Told Him the Church Needs to Do More To Help Trump Overcome Coronavirus and Win Reelection
- Christians Should Be More Concerned About Hell-Bound Neighbors Than Coronavirus, Says Revivalist John Burton
- Liz Crokin: The Coronavirus Is Cover for the Military to Make Mass Arrests
- Brenden Dilley says “the Chinese flu” was manufactured and released by China because “Donald J. Trump, the most powerful man on Earth, was whipping their ass in a trade deal, and they needed to somehow, some way, find a way to try and slow down the Trump train and the Trump economy from dominating the absolute fuck out of them.”
- Liz Crokin does not believe that Tom Hanks has the coronavirus, saying that it’s likely just a cover story for when he disappears after being arrested for pedophilia.
- Kenneth Copeland hosted a “Standing Against Coronavirus” special last night, during which he healed viewers of the disease through their television screens.
- Jerry Falwell Jr. Floats Conspiracy Theory That Coronavirus Is North Korean Bioweapon
- Perry Stone: The Coronavirus Is Attacking Older People Who Won’t Take the Mark of the Beast
- ‘Prophet’ Claimed ‘Tide is Turning’ on Coronavirus Two Weeks Ago … “The Lord showed me the end of the coronavirus. The tide is turning now!”
- Good rule of thumb – Anybody claiming that God speaks to them and they have a message for you is lying to you
- Scott Lively says that the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is actually globalist “chemotherapy” designed to weaken the world in an effort to kill President Donald Trump’s chance of being reelected.
- Ben Shapiro is “sick and tired” of the coronavirus outbreak being politicized and says that anyone pondering the political ramifications of the pandemic is “doing being human wrong.”
- Two weeks ago, right-wing evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth predicted that America would be “minimally affected” by the coronavirus. Now he says that shutting down schools for two weeks “falls under the realm of minimal affect.”
It might be tempting to think that the news of the Coronavirus has turned all these folks crazy. Alas no, they were always this crazy.
Utterly Bizarre …
The normal crazy stuff also popped up as usual …
- Butch Paugh declares that homosexuality is “worse than murder.”
- Mark Taylor predicts that when President Donald Trump is reelected, he will use his second term to release cures for diseases, amazing new technologies, and free energy.
- I think he forgot to add “Walks on Water and turns water into wine” to his list.
- Liberty Counsel is outraged that St. Paul, Minnesota, has recognized today as “Abortion Providers Appreciation Day”: “Not even the Nazis were so bold as to celebrate ‘gas chamber technicians day.’”
What else came out of the Wingnut fantasy land?
Lots of other stuff.
As always, it is an endless stream. Some of it is sad, some is rather grim, and some is quite frankly hilarious. Here are a few more samples …
- Pastor Puts Anti-Gay Sign on Lawn After Realizing His Neighbors Are Lesbians
- It’s Christian hate masquerading as love.
- Pastor Who Raped Kids After “Spiritual Baths” Will Go to Jail for 34 Years
- Conservative Christians Are Furious About Washington’s Comprehensive Sex Ed Bill
- They’re mad that it’s actually comprehensive.
- Orthodox Israeli Rabbi Claims Coronavirus is God’s Revenge for Gay Pride Parades
- Illinois Megachurch May Have Received Multiple Tax Breaks It Didn’t Deserve
- Anti-Science GOP Lawmaker Won’t Self-Quarantine Despite Coronavirus Exposure
- Why would Rep. Louie Gohmert listen to scientists now? He never has before.
- Catholic Leader: If We Cancel Mass Due to Coronavirus, We’ve “Lost Our Courage”
- Religious rituals are not more important than public health.
- Pastor: My Prayers Split a Tornado! It Destroyed 50 Houses, But Not My Church!
- This pastor is thrilled that God sent a tornado that killed more than a dozen people.
- “Faith-Healing” School Tells Students to Stop Harassing Hospital Patients
- I’ll take good doctors over lots of prayers any day.
- Baptist Church in Florida Hires Convicted Child Molester as Pastor
- He molested two girls. Now he’s being rewarded for it.
- Christian Apostle Claims He Stopped a Plane Crash by Praying in Tongues
- I would guess the pilot’s skill had something to do with it.
- Survey: Most White Evangelicals Say Trump is Moral, Honest, and Intelligent
- I didn’t think it was possible to drink that much Kool-Aid.
- Televangelist: Touch My Oily Hand Through the TV and I’ll Cure Your Coronavirus
- This twit is going to get people killed.
- Creationist: Churches Should Hoard Toilet Paper and Preach to Those Who Want It
- These people want to proselytize during a pandemic.
- Christian Leader: Not Accepting Jesus is “a Sickness Far Worse Than Coronavirus”
- This sort of thinking will get us all killed.
- Pastor: Churches That Close Due to Coronavirus Are Run by Neutered “Pansies”
- Florida Bill Would Let Christians Pray Over the Loudspeaker at Athletic Events
- Jerry Falwell, Jr. Falsely Claims Coronavirus May Be a North Korean Bioweapon
- All 16 of the Museum of the Bible’s “Dead Sea Scrolls” Fragments Are Forgeries
Fraudster of the week – Another Jim Bakker Update
From the category labeled “Who would Jesus fleece?”, we have an update on Televangelist Jim Bakker. This is the guy who was selling a silver solution that he claimed can kill the coronavirus within 12 hours.
Fraudulent medical cures are neither legal nor ethical. Last week his snake-oil scam attracted the attention of the NY Attorney General. They sent his a letter.
These are the latest updates …
- FDA and FTC Order Jim Bakker to ‘Immediately Cease’ Making False Claims That His Silver Solution Kills the Coronavirus …”the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission followed suit, sending Bakker a letter informing him that he is to “immediately cease making all such claims” and that he has 48 hours to “review your websites, product labels, and other labeling and promotional materials to ensure that you are not representing your products for a COVID-19 related use for which they have not been approved by FDA, and that you do not make claims that misbrand the products in violation of the FD&C Act.“
- Missouri AG Sues Jim Bakker Over Fake Coronavirus Cure … “Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against Jim Bakker and Morningside Church Productions, Inc. for misrepresentations about the effectiveness of ‘Silver Solution’ as a treatment for 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19),” according to a press release by the Missouri Attorney General office.“
It is indeed satisfying to see that the actions of a fraudster sometimes really do have consequences.
In response to all of this Bakker has stopped promoting his fake cure. He has removed all mention of the product from his website.
Please don’t feel any sympathy for this fraudster. He has previously spent quite a bit of time in jail for fraud. Calling him a fraudster is not an opinion or a slur, but rather is a well-established legal fact. In this case his past really is a rather strong pointer to what he now does being more of the same.