President Trump’s failure with the coronavirus shows it is time we hold him accountable for all his lies, corruption, and incompetence. The virus is a stubborn foe, but there are many calamities that strike our country.
We can expect more unexpected problems in the next four years. Leaders help solve problems or mitigate their effects. It is the rare leader who exacerbates a problem.
When Trump prioritizes his own selfish interests over the citizens he is supposed to serve, President Trump fails our country and makes the effects of the virus worse. As a result of Trump’s failed leadership, the USA has 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s deaths due to COVID-19, statistics Mitt Romney cited in a video interview with the Sutherland Institute.
Trump interfered with federal and state government efforts in all aspects of preparation, mobilization, public communication, testing, mitigation, and reopening. Trump’s failure is undeniable, the only question is whether it was the result of incompetence or malignant intent.
Of his numerous faults, Trump’s greatest sins were in public communication and testing. Trump suppressed the development of virus testing because they would lead to a greater public number of known infected Americans. He said that testing was “working too well.” He preferred that people unknowingly infect their families and neighbors. The virus spread nationally as a result.
Worst of all were Trump’s misleading statements to the public. He has called the virus a “hoax,” a “hysteria” and an “artificial problem.” At the same time, he has been promising that it will magically go away. He lied that infections were going down when they were going up. He handcuffed the CDC and attacked any public health expert who gave the public facts. He pushed states in the full bloom of virus infections to reopen and he denounced simple mitigation efforts like cutting out handshakes and wearing masks. Trump got Americans fighting against each other instead of working together.
COVID-19 exposed that Trump’s constant corruption and callousness have real consequences and over 175,000 Americans are dead so far. America cannot afford four more years of this deceit and ineptitude.
Frank Bemis
Presque Isle
