There is no history of 21st-century America that will not include analysis of the COVID-19 shutdowns.  Maybe a few will be truthful about their primary purpose: to separate President Trump from his supporters.

Anyone who is paying attention knows full well that Joe Biden cannot defeat President Donald Trump in any traditional way.  Not only is Trump a successful incumbent with a strong economy, which is always a formidable combo, but he is also the leader of a popular anti-globalist movement.  He has kept his promises, satisfied his 2016 voters, and expanded his base.  A senile has-been cannot hope to defeat a president in that position.

When Democrats began their presidential campaign in earnest, in mid-2019, President Trump outpaced them with his rallies, upstaging with ease their truly awful debates.  Enormous crowds came to see him in every city — in red states, battleground states, and even some states he hoped to turn, such as Minnesota and New Jersey.

While Democrats argued interminably about who could put American liberty and sovereignty farthest down the list of priorities, Trump promoted winning issues and propped up local Republican officeholders and candidates.

As President Ronald Reagan perfected the art of the televised address, so did President Donald Trump perfect the art of the political rally.  Rallies have sustained his celebrity and reminded his base of what is at stake.  They provide a forum for his continual theme of standing against the entrenched, left-wing forces of the swamp.

Well, this could not be allowed to continue.  The ruling-class globalists and statists could not stand these regular, effusive displays of disdain for them.  This phenomenon seemed to be standing in the way of any opportunity they might have to defeat him.

Enter COVID-19.  They called it a "novel virus."  What was truly novel was our response to it.  In the history of this nation, we had never responded like this to a virus, no matter how high the potential mortality.  It was a gargantuan change of policy.

For the left, there was endless upside.  Here was an opportunity to control our lives, to raise unemployment, and to ruin the economy.  Absolutely nothing is too costly in the pursuit of wresting power from President Trump.

Mostly, though, a shutdown would facilitate an end to Trump's access to the people.  The media could go back to servicing their narratives and telling people what to think.  They could regain their monopoly on the flow of information.  Theirs was the only accepted messaging on the shutdown — namely, that anyone who dissents is a reprobate who doesn't care that millions could die.

When dissenting views were proven correct, there was to be no shift in who was considered prescient and expert.  The same people who royally screwed up were to be entrusted with fixing the problems they had caused — no need for corrections or apologies for missing the mark.  No need even to report massive errors in judgment.

President Trump was right versus New York governor Andrew Cuomo on ventilators?  Nothing to see here.  The shutdown did nothing to ameliorate the spread?  Change the subject immediately.  The death projections were way off?  Nah – it's Trump who lies.  There is no evidence of asymptomatic communication of the virus?  We don't really know that.  Hydroxychloroquine is effective against COVID symptoms?  No, no – stay on message.

Telling the truth cannot possibly compete with the need to mock and discredit Trump.  Health officials, here and around the world, say they are committed to a cure, but the political usefulness of the crisis far exceeds the well-being of U.S. citizens.

it was all proven in June. For three weeks we have witnessed huge, crowded gatherings, protests, and riots in response to the killing of George Floyd.  There was no official opposition to those gatherings, in the media or in Washington.  We were to understand the genuine pain and frustration that gave birth to these demonstrations.  We were to watch with compassion and join our hearts with these aggrieved people, even the most violent ones who looted and burned down businesses.  Who destroyed art and history.  Who attacked and sometimes killed the police who protect and serve their cities and communities.  And regarding the coronavirus, we were told, "If there is an increase in COVID-19 cases as a result of these demonstrations, blame racism, not the protesters."

As with the #MeToo movement when it met Joe Biden, the quarantine rules are not for everyone.  They are not for Chris Cuomo, who can pontificate on them while flouting them.  They are not for Lori Lightfoot or J.B. Pritzker's wife, Mary.  And they are not for left-wing mobs.  They are for people on the right.  They are for Trump-supporters.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump had a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his first since March, over three months ago.  There certainly was opposition to this particular gathering.  All the stops were pulled to cancel it.  No pretense of equal treatment is needed anymore.  Riots and BLM rallies are beautiful expressions of free speech and not a threat to public health.  Trump rallies are unseemly, illegal, contemptible, hateful, and unacceptable.

Eliminating Trump's primary access to voters was Biden's best hope.  If your eyes are no longer able to tell you Trump is drawing huge crowds everywhere he goes, and you can no longer hear his message, you might start to believe what the media tell you about his position way outside the mainstream.

Maybe not, though.  Maybe there is more energy behind all our masks and closed doors than anyone knows.  Maybe there is no loss of momentum at all.  Maybe the resolve of the Trump voter has been strengthened by all of this.  It should be.  Thankfully, efforts to cancel his rally failed this time.  Too bad it wasn't a better speech!

Image: Kelly Kline via Flickr.