You’re misinformed.
He was one of the first world leaders to limit travel from China and eventually Europe. At the time, he was chastised by the World Health Organization for overreacting, criticized by European leaders (who later shut down their own borders), and demonized by Joe Biden, who said Mr. Trump had “a record of hysteria, xenophobia and fear-mongering.”
Mr. Trump fully committed the Centers for Disease Control and every other federal health agency to our defense. This includes around 80,000 doctors, microbiologists and other personnel experienced in dealing with medical crisis. He deployed the National Guard to build hospitals and distribute food and supplies. He sent hospital ships to New York and Los Angeles. He obtained the cooperation of private corporations to transform their operations into the manufacturing of masks, respirators and other supplies to meet the extraordinary demand.
President Donald Trump also signed a $2.2 trillion funding package to mitigate the impact of an economic shutdown on employees and employers. He has worked closely with governors, respecting their authority to address the needs of their own states while providing backup resources. He has given the nation daily updates, praised the medical community and expressed that “not even one death is acceptable.”
He has occasionally been overly optimistic or given us false hope, but only to dampen the level of panic. Nevertheless, if you must blame someone, then start with the following list. Blame the Chinese government, which concealed the outbreak and delayed the release of key information. The World Health Organization that announced on Jan. 14th that the virus was not transferable between humans, only to back-peddle on Jan. 30th and declare a global health emergency. The Democratic Party, which distracted the government through the early days of the crisis with counter-productive impeachment proceedings.
Then there’s the Department of Health and Human Services which failed to replenish the national stockpile of certain medical equipment, such as masks, which had been depleted during the Obama administration. The Centers for Disease Control whose original test kit failed to provide reliable readings and had to be re-engineered, delaying its implementation. Blame past administrations who allowed a large majority of our pharmaceutical drug and hospital mask production to be outsourced to China.
