The COVID-19 VIRUS – A Presidential Moment

Editorial

Four months into a global pandemic and national crisis, President Trump is only beginning to face the facts — his earlier assertions of a virus “under control” and a personal belief  that the threat would “miraculously” disappear without much effort by the Federal government have failed to materialize.

Five weeks ago, when there were 60 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, President Trump expressed little alarm. “This is a flu,” he said.  He was still likening it to an ordinary flu as late as last Friday (Mar. 27th).

By Tuesday, however, more than 1,000 in US die in a single day from coronavirus, doubling the worst daily death toll of the flu.  Cases of COVID-19 reached 259,750 in the United States, and over one million cases have been recorded globally. The national virus-driven death tool climbed to 6,603 — presidential denial and wishful thinking were no longer acceptable in the political calculus.

More Americans have now been killed by the virus than by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

This reality and other facts are finally changing Trump’s mind, and during yesterday’s (Mar. 31) White House briefing on the deadly virus’ and its impact on the American people, Trump pivoted (as he often does) … “It’s not the flu,” he said. “It’s vicious.”  For more than two hours, surrounded by charts showing death projections of hellacious proportions, our president appeared to be coming to grips with a reality he had long refused to accept.

At a minimum, the charts predicted that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans would die — and only without proper containment measures the number could exceed 2 million American deaths — avoidable if the nation abides by stringent social distancing restrictions, presenting choking the economy.

Just two days ago, March 29th, President Trump repeatedly suggested that COVID-19 related restrictions might ease in a matter of days or weeks, his personal target, by Easter.

For all of Trump’s personal and leadership failings, including ignoring vast amounts of Federal scientific and intelligence resources at his disposal, he failed to act when the COVID-19 was more a threat to the United States, than an actual event.  In short, the nation’s chief executive failed America, and left the County woefully unprepared for the pandemic’s arrival on US shores — that was over 4 months ago – and the virus will continue to come at a cost of American lives and an economic crash bigger than initially imaged.

TV ratings on the national stage

Did Trump’s actions (or lack thereof) create the virus, NO.  But his absence of federal leadership has contributed to, and compounded, the virus’ national impact. Governors from around the country are screaming for more assistance from the federal government. Trump would only obsess over his ratings, as if running the United States government is more akin to a TV show, and he is the star.

At times it is hard to comprehend how indifferent Trump appears to the growing human suffering from this pandemic. Yesterday’s made-for TV performance from the White House was a turn-about from his previous pandemic assertions, but only time will tell how long the President’s seemingly new found appreciation for the facts lasts.

Ignoring the facts

To date, Trump remains willfully ignorant of the magnitude of this national crisis and global pandemic. Then there is the prospect of silent spreaders unknowingly helping to fuel an ever expanding pandemic that does not fit into artificial deadlines and his political calculus.

A burst of fresh data on the prevalence of “silent,” or asymptomatic carriers points to the looming danger and a prolonged ending to America’s national shutdown.

Classified Chinese government data suggest “silent carriers” could make up at least one-third of the country’s positive cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post recently reported. Approximately 43,000 people in China who had tested positive for COVID-19 last month had no immediate symptoms. And those cases were not included in the official national tally of confirmed cases, which had hit 80,000 at the end of February, the paper said.

But as extensive testing continues, authorities in Wuhan have found new cases of asymptomatic—or mildly symptomatic—infection, sparking concerns about how many contagious people have been circulating freely. Fresh data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Friday about a nursing home in Washington state only served to compound those fears.

“Almost everybody thinks there’s the potential of a second wave after we relax the restrictions,” said Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and an expert on U.S. readiness for pandemics.

“There’s no good timeframe—it’s certainly not by Easter—that we’ll be starting to loosen up,” he continued, referring to President Donald Trump’s suggested finish line. “But once we do, people who did not have coronavirus will be going out to spaces where silent spreaders might be.”

Controlling the narrative from the bully pulpit…

This President continuously ignores the best intelligence and science on the COVID-19 threat, a pattern of behavior that dates back late last year, when the projections on COVD-19 pandemic and impact on America’s people and economy were known to the White House.

Trump first called the COVID-19 virus threat a “hoax”, then tried to blame it on the Democrats, and then pivoted to wild assertions that the virus was not a real threat after all.  But, the facts of the matter have finally overwhelmed false assertions, and painfully reveals the administration’s absence of federal leadership. Critical medical system shortages persist, and a White House policy to privatize the response to a global pandemic has only compounded virus impacts on America.

Under the best-case scenario presented on Tuesday (3-31), Mr. Trump will see more Americans die from the coronavirus in the weeks and months to come than Presidents Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon saw die in the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined. 

It’s TV time

As America’s first TV celebrity president with an ideological bent to ignore facts and science on global crises — from climate change to pandemic threats —  there seems no end to the president’s belief that he (as self-described) is a “genius”.   As leader of the free world, operating under a personal premise is dangerous.  Unlike all modern day presidents before him, Trump does not need subject matter experts to advise him, or scientific findings to set policy, and certainly not intelligence reports which disagree and challenge his preconceptions of the world or get in the way of his belief system … my mind is made up, don’t confuse me with facts.   

In the heat of crisis, Thursday (3/27) evening, Trump called into his personal TV network to chat with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.  In the conversation, Trump demonstrated what he is best at at — politics 24×7, and not taking responsibility for his actions.  In the midst of a catastrophic pandemic where normal life has been disrupted, where millions of Americans have lost their jobs, and tens of thousands more will die from the virus — Trump’s solace to the Fox audience  “…it can always be worse.”

There was absolutely nothing in the conversation with Hannity that demonstrated Trump had the slightest idea what was really happening in the world around him, or that he was going to lift a finger to help.

Which did happen for the next TV hour was Trump going straight into his theme of the evening: complaining about people wanting him to display leadership.

Rather than expressing his concerns about the coronavirus epidemic, rather than offering his support to those suffering, or condolences for those already mourning, Trump used his appearance to complain that many of the nation’s governors were … asking for things.

In particular, Trump was upset that governors wanted personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and ventilators for patients.

Trump seemed to treat these requests like they were coming directly from his own pocket, and as if the governors were trying to trick him by … requesting lifesaving equipment as citizens died around them.  “I have a feeling that a lot of numbers that are being sent in some areas are just bigger than they need to be,” said Trump.

But even then Trump wasn’t done complaining about various state governors requests for Federal help. “When you talk about ventilators,” said Trump, “it is a highly intricate piece of equipment. It’s heavily computerized, and good ones are very, very expensive. And they say … Gov. Cuomo and others … they say we want 30,000 of them. 30,000. Think of this.” Yes, think of it. A new medical ventilator costs around $15,000.

If Trump gave every governor what they wanted and need, it could cost $450 million. It’s not like it’s a real national emergency…