Donald Trump can supply that energy more quickly and effectively than anyone else in the world. It is no accident, of course, that he achieved celebrity status decades ago by promoting his views to national audiences on many public issues. As his presidency vividly demonstrated, he achieved a unique, often dangerous, cachet with anti-government doubters and disreputable protesters, giving him an ability to mobilize otherwise passive groups and individuals on certain issues. Indeed, he fashioned some of these issues out of whole cloth – the “birther” claim against Barack Obama, most notably – simply through his audacious, often dark, galvanic talent.

Imagine, then, that we could exploit this Trumpian talent in the public interest. Suppose that Trump bought – perhaps even with a grant from the CDC! – one or more 30-second spots promoting COVID vaccination on a Sunday evening during the featured football, stock car, and other eyeball-grabbing telecasts. This simple act by a world-class salesman would achieve a level of vaccine promotion that billions of government dollars and intense Bidenesque commitment have failed to reach. If a dramatic endorsement by Trump of swift vaccinations persuades millions of otherwise resistant people to submit to them, then all of us should applaud it. And this is true even if, as seems likely, Trump’s exhortation promotes his standing with American voters on balance. Even the most committed “never Trumper” should applaud the saving of countless lives at a relatively trivial cost – surely one of the most humane achievements in history, and certainly the most easily implemented. (I challenge readers to identify a greater one!)