The Trump Administration’s Response to COVID-19
A Masterful Display of Negligence
We can’t let the cure cause more harm than the virus.
Decisions about testing are made at the discretion of local and state officials.
Decisions about testing are made at the discretion of the CDC.
Our system was not set up for a pandemic of this magnitude.
These are just a few of the excuses being made for the Trump Administration as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the U.S. — at a rate of 28% per day when analyzing case data going back to March 16th, the day the Trump Administration announced the 15 Days to Slow the Spread. At this pace, adjusting for a wavering infection rate of -1.0 percentage points per day, we could be looking at 100–110k COVID-19 related deaths by April 30th 2020.
Yet it is currently April 1st 2020, and POTUS still can’t bother to take the necessary actions to avoid further disaster — a spreading virus that health experts are predicting could kill upwards of 240,000 Americans.
For perspective — 58,220 died in the Vietnam War, over 6,800 American soldiers have died serving in the Middle East since 2001, between 12k–61k Americans die from influenza every year , and +38k people die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways.
We will get through this crisis together, and we will rise to build a stronger nation because of it, but we will achieve this outcome despite a masterful display of negligence by the Trump Administration to this point.
A review:
It was the Trump administration that disbanded the pandemic response team.
It was the Trump administration that ignored the warning signs, squandering six weeks at the start of the pandemic.
It was Trump himself who dismissed the alarm about the virus as “the Democrats’ new ‘hoax’.”
It was the Trump administration that spread misinformation, even comparing COVID-19 to the common flu.
It is the Trump administration that failed to order the necessary masks and personal protective equipment for doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, leaving state and local officials to fend for themselves: “It’s like being on eBay with 50 other states” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday.
It is the Trump administration that failed to order the mass production and distribution of test kits, a proven method for curbing the spread of COVID-19.
It was Trump himself who downplayed the seriousness of the epidemic, going so far to state that he would reopen the country as early as Easter because “Easter is a very special day for [him]”.
It is the Trump administration that failed to order a federally mandated lockdown despite soaring cases nationwide.
It is the Trump administration that failed to act when it mattered most.
