As the current coronavirus pandemic began to take the world by storm and head towards the U.S. there was still time for the Trump administration to act to prevent significant suffering and death. Unfortunately, not only did Trump fail to act he actively downplayed the seriousness of the pandemic for his own political gain. On the other hand, it was not just his selfishness that caused him to fail to act, it was also his sheer incompetence which has been characteristic of Trump’s entire time in the White House.
Regardless of the reasons, the failure to respond has caused significant unnecessary suffering and death. Approximately 90 percent of deaths from the first wave of the epidemic could have been prevented if Trump had put social distancing policies into effect two weeks earlier than he actually did, according to a recent study from Britta and Nicolas Jewell of Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Acting just a week earlier would have saved 60 percent of deaths.
The following are six ways which the Trump administration botched the coronavirus response, resulting needlessly in increased suffering, sickness and death:
Trump fired CDC expert assigned to detecting pandemic outbreaks from China
Although Trump continues to assert that there was no way he could have seen the pandemic coming early enough, he foolishly took actions that prevented the administration from being able to foresee the beginning of the health crisis starting in China. Trump eliminated an essential American public position in China which was designed to detect potential disease outbreaks. The disease expert, Dr. Linda Quick, left her position in July after being embedded in the Chinese government’s disease control agency. If Dr. Quick had continued her assignment in China, which was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), world leaders would have definitely been able to act sooner, according to Bao-Ping Zhu who had served in the same CDC role between 2007 and 2011.
Trump dismantled NSC pandemic response team at the exact wrong time
In another example of poor foresight and incompetence Trump dismantled the National Security Council (NSC) department designed to deal with biodefense and global health security. An official from the Obama administration who served as the senior director of the NSC department Trump had eliminated, strongly criticized Trump’s decision to give the department the axe. The Obama official claimed Trump’s decision resulted in the administration losing valuable time which could have been utilized to more adequately respond to the crisis.
Denying seriousness of coronavirus resulted in people dying needlessly
Even when Trump did mention the oncoming health crisis he continuously downplayed the severity of the situation. He even attempted to characterize the concern over the oncoming health crisis as a “hoax” created by his political opponents. Trump used this point to rally his supporters at his live campaign events, spreading misinformation which undoubtedly caused some people to not take necessary precautions to protect themselves from infection, resulting in more sickness and death.
Many media outlets and organizations have criticized Trump’s reckless misinformation campaign for political gain. The Washington Post published a video which detailed 34 times Trump had downplayed the seriousness of coronavirus. Also, Priorities USA and The Recount produced their own videos on Trump’s disinformation.
Europe travel ban caused mass chaos, endangered travelers
When Trump finally did start to take the health crisis seriously one of his first actions actually made the situation worse. Trump continued to display his profound incompetence during the rollout of his travel ban on Europe as a reaction to the spreading of the pandemic. In his communication via live video from the White House, Trump completely botched the facts of the ban, resulting in disastrous consequences.
Trump announced a ban on incoming travel from European countries saying from the Oval Office, “We will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.” The President continued saying, “These prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing.”
Unfortunately, Trump was completely unprepared as usual, and had misunderstood his own administration’s policy. He was later required to correct the factual errors of his live address. Apparently, not all travelers were banned from entry into the U.S., American citizens were still allowed entry. However, the chaos from Trump’s misinformation was already unleashed with hoards of American travelers crowding into the airports fearing they will not be able to return back home to the U.S.
This resulted in putting Americans in situations that were unsafe for their health with travelers unable to implement social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Also, airports were ill-prepared for the sudden and unexpected onslaught of traffic. Therefore, travelers with symptoms were not properly separated and workers were not equipped with protective gear.
Promotion of hydroxychloroquine unhelpful, deadly and fueled by self-interest
In yet another instance of consequential spreading of misinformation, Trump has taken to publicly promoting the drug hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment for COVID-19 despite no scientific evidence proving its effectiveness. He even said he may take the drug himself and has suggested that others should do so as well. Unfortunately, this has resulted in people self-medicating with hydroxychloroquine resulting in many of these individuals dying. However, it turns out that this particular instance of spreading misinformation was not just the usual incompetence which has defined Trump’s tenure in the White House. Trump actually has a financial interest in a hydroxychloroquine manufacturer. Essentially, Trump was putting his own self-interest over the health and safety of everyday Americans.
Trump resisting use of Defense Production Act put frontliners and patients in danger unnecessarily
In the midst of the pandemic the Trump administration failed to prepare the American medical system for the serious supply shortages of medical supplies essential to protect frontline medical workers fighting the spread of coronavirus as well as items critical to treating patients infected with COVID-19. One of the ways Trump could have immediately alleviated this supply shortage is through use of the Defense Production Act which empowers the President to command private corporations to modify their supply chains to focus on providing, at a reasonable price, items needed during an emergency, such as face masks and ventilators.
Despite pleading from state governors across the nation, Trump was resistant to using these broad powers, unnecessarily endangering frontline medical workers and patients. It turns out the reasoning behind Trump’s resistance is that he wanted to ensure corporations are able to make massive profits from the pandemic. Trump expresses this when he says in a press briefing, "If I don't have to use - specifically we have the act to use in case we need it, but we have so many things being made by so many, they have just stepped up... like Hanes - I brought that up as an example, General Motors... They're going to go on the open market. We want them on the open market from the standpoint of pricing." Essentially, Trump is admitting he wants the corporations to be able to price gouge as much as the "free market" will allow. In other words, once again, Trump put the profits of Trump's political supporters, corporations, over the health and safety of the American people.
Do not fall for the gaslighting
As the fallout from the incompetence and selfishness of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic become clearer, Trump will undoubtedly attempt to distract and place blame on anybody other than himself. It is important for voters to remember the facts of how Trump intentionally downplayed the seriousness of the health crisis while also purposely misinforming the public for his own political and financial self-interests. When casting a ballot in November voters should remember that the administration’s poor response to the pandemic was fueled by what has defined the entire Trump tenure in the White House: extreme incompetence and obscene self-dealing.
