The death of an 80-year-old man, after his admonition to a fellow bar patron to wear a face mask resulted in an altercation, highlights, in a sense, a critical fault line in American society that has its genesis in the White House. For ever since the epidemic gripped North America, President Donald Trump has displayed only occasional interest in following safety protocols, an affliction that now appears to have gripped many Americans, especially those of his followers who see the impositions as an assault on their freedom.

The death in Buffalo, New York, of Rocco Sapienza, a former Marine, caps a series of violent confrontations between Americans who adhere to safety norms and those who do not wish to do so. Disputes have often turned violent in stores and sometimes even hospitals.

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For instance, in April, a woman died in a Brooklyn hospital after being violently pushed by another who was upset at her for not following social distancing guidelines. A security guard in Michigan was shot dead after he told a customer at a store to make his daughter wear a mask.

These incidents speak of a society on the edge, one where public health measures being followed by a section of people are being stoutly and sometimes violently resisted by the daredevilry of others who claim to emulate their President.

The consequences of President Trump’s cavalier approach to safety protocols have already visited the White House, making the world’s most powerful office-cum-residence its most prominent containment zone. His return from the Walter Reed Hospital after four days and three nights has thrown the White House into fresh frenzy, with more than a dozen staffers having tested positive for the virus and the West Wing wearing a deserted look even as polls suggest that a bid for re-election is fast slipping away from Mr Trump.

He has been criticised for almost every aspect of his conduct ~ and that of his officials ~ after testing positive for the virus. His drive out of hospital to greet supporters drew flak for the risks to which it exposed Secret Service agents tasked with protecting him and the attempts by his physician to downplay his symptoms were widely criticised as acts of dishonesty.

Those members of the White House staff who have not quarantined themselves are said to be going around in full protective gear ~ yellow gowns, surgical masks and eye covers ~ sights that Mr Trump must find galling after the way he defiantly took his mask off on return from hospital.

As some Americans have pointed out, a good boss ought to look out for his employees and they say Mr Trump has failed those who pledged their loyalty and service to him. In addition to his many other blunders, it is this widely perceived selfishness that might sink his chances at next month’s election. There are but days to go for the poll, but Mr Trump’s prospects are beginning to look as fragile as his health.