Donald Trump pressured the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow plasma treatment for COVID-19. This may be a benefit. It will probably not be a disaster. It is not the miracle or “historic breakthrough” Trump is claiming. At best, it helps people who have COVID-19 recover faster.

Trump is desperate for a miracle that will save his presidency. He didn’t get the one that would have saved it because he was wrong when he said what is now a pandemic would miraculously go away. Other miracle drugs along the way have also not been successful.

This is classic magical thinking — it will happen because I want it to happen. According to Piaget’s stages of development, magical thinking occurs during the preoperational stage which ranges from ages 2-7. And that’s about where Donald Trump is in his development as a human being.

Adults would have used their intellect or emotional connections with others to realize something needed to be done. They would work on the problem. Many world leaders succeeded in doing this, but not all. Those who succeeded put lock-downs in place, required social distancing and masks, and started contact tracing. Those countries have much lower rates of infection, so a miracle is not required. Careful scientific research is enough.

Here in the US Trump needs a miracle to stay in power. Plasma treatment is not that miracle. It won’t reduce the number of new cases a day, and it won’t convince anyone new to act in a socially responsible way. In other news today, China’s life is starting to look normal again. New Zealand and several other countries have been there for a while. The adults in those countries, whether we agree with their politics or not, found ways to lead their countries through the pandemic. Perhaps we can elect some adults to lead us through ours.

Adults solve problems during a crisis. Little children hope for a miracle.