We recently surpassed 220,000 COVID-19 fatalities. While I do not blame Donald Trump for COVID-19, I do blame him for a botched national response to it. As Bob Woodward’s recent book and Trump’s own public comments make clear, the president has consistently minimized and downplayed the seriousness of the situation.
I’m glad the president wasn’t responsible for coordinating the response to the recent fires in Southern Oregon. Can you imagine the massive loss of life in the towns of Talent and Phoenix, when he instructs police and fire and other emergency responders not to go out into the communities to warn residents of the impending danger? “We don’t want to induce panic,” he might say.
Say what? Sometimes a little panic is a good thing. With a wiser, more experienced president, one not primarily concerned about his reelection or reputation, the United States might not be leading the world in COVID-19 cases and a good number of those 220,000 dead citizens might still be alive.
