Recently the president announced that even with social distancing measures, recent modeling suggests 100,000 to 200,000 Americans are likely to die from COVID-19. These are staggering numbers. At this level, the pandemic would result in more deaths than the Vietnam War. Yet, the president declared that if his administration keeps the death toll to 100,000, it will have done “a very good job.”
Nothing about the president’s response to the pandemic has been good. Trump’s response has been predictable, pathetic and deadly. Since the earliest warnings from health experts, Trump has downplayed the seriousness of the impending health crisis.
On Jan. 22, Trump said: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
In a Jan. 30 speech, he declared: “We have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment – five.”
On Feb. 10, he claimed, “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
And on March 7, “I’m not concerned at all.”
As other countries have taken decisive nationwide action in an attempt to slow the pace of the outbreak, Trump has dithered and dawdled. His inaction and lack of leadership could lead to hundreds of thousands of American deaths, Americans he took an oath to protect.
CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT
Concord