Some of Donald Trump’s responses to COVID
As Donald Trump currently trails Joe Biden in many presidential polls and is in danger of losing reelection, one of the great ironies is that Trump’s failed response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19 or COVID) could have been largely averted. In particular, if Trump had acted more like a Democrat, he might be looking at a more likely election win in November, rather than a very good chance of defeat. But Trump and the Republicans are incapable, philosophically and otherwise, of taking the necessary steps to keep us safe and help themselves, our public health and the economy to win the election. Here’s how they failed:
First, Trump failed to acknowledge and respond adequately to the Coronavirus threat from the beginning, including facilitating testing, distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other steps. Instead, he ignored the emergency, then downplayed and even ridiculed it and the steps necessary to minimize the spread of COVID , saying that:
–COVID is a “hoax”
–“We have it totally under control”
–“You have 15 people [with COVID], and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”
–Americans can “inject” disinfectant into their bodies to prevent COVID.
All the while, Trump kept playing golf and holding political rallies. This goes to Trump’s basic competence to be president, and he failed the test.
Second, Trump irresponsibly touted a quack remedy, the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, as a panacea for Coronavirus. Trump’s pals at Fox News also hyped hydroxychloroquine, giving Americans false hopes about its effectiveness. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked its emergency use authorization (favored by Trump) of hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent Coronavirus, stating that “the drug’s potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks.” This, and other cases of Trump promoting conspiracy theories, reflects badly on Trump’s basic judgment necessary to be president.
Third, Trump pressured governors and other officials to reopen their states prematurely, as soon as Easter (early April). A number of Republican governors and officials were all too willing to do so. This was done with the intent of limiting damage to the economy from COVID, and in the hopes that we would have an economic recovery in time for the election. It is axiomatic that, when a president runs for reelection, it becomes a referendum on his performance, especially on the economy. Trump originally was planning to run on a good economy and low unemployment (thanks Obama). The Coronavirus severely hampered the ability to make that argument, but, as indicated above, Trump and the Republicans still could have minimized the damage, or even turned things around, if they had been responsible about maintaining the closures of businesses and government offices in the states.
Instead, due to the premature reopenings, COVID cases are on the rise in at least 21 states, with daily records repeatedly being broken in states such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Sadly, these results were completely foreseeable. Some states and numerous businesses that reopened prematurely might even have to close again, which would further hurt the economy. This was the false choice that Trump and the Republicans made on the economy: they put politics over our health in order to try to help the economy and their political prospects, and instead they have hurt both.
In short, Trump would have had to have acted more like a Democrat. That means a belief in science, and a belief in Good Government, i.e., the effective use of government to respond to problems and help the people. Obviously, Trump and the Republicans (including his enablers in the U.S. Senate) were incapable of behaving this way. Once again, we have Republicans creating giant messes, and Democrats at the ready to clean them up.
Photo by muffinn, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/OmTsqy
