In examining the faults of President Trump's handling of the virus, we can begin by looking at the initial reaction towards the emergency. The federal government provided a weak response towards looking into the disease, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention producing a test that was contaminated and unusable. Yet when this failed, the Trump Administration was slow to act, losing at least a month that could have been used for more research. According to Michael Gerson from the Washington Post, "getting testing right more quickly might have helped curb the spread early, saving many lives in the process. The White House had the ultimate responsibility to make it work. But it didn't."
Throughout the pandemic, President Trump's attitude toward the virus showed a lack of caution. His administration has harbored an attitude with a severe lack of emergency, downplaying the truth of the effect it has had on citizens. Perhaps he was attempting to limit the amount of bad news for Americans, but it was overly blindsided to our country's detriment. He has filtered incorrect information into our news and has championed hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, as a cure for COVID-19. There has been no support for this medicine having any such effect, and time put towards this investigation is time wasted that could have been put towards researching a more viable solution.
In his opinion article for CNN, writer Jeffrey Sachs criticizes Trump and his administration's decision-making during the pandemic. He asserts that they are unable to "understand the most basic point: the way to control the pandemic is through systematic public health measures... not an economic shutdown." Trump's lack of reinforcement for face masks is just one of the fatal issues in his handling of the situation. Quarantining and nationwide contact tracing was not launched effectively, yet Trump continues to boast about his administration's efforts.
As we near winter, which is suspected to be one of the most difficult times for this pandemic, citizens are becoming increasingly worried about a potentially bleak future. Americans have steadily lost confidence in Trump's handling of the virus as approval rates have reached an all-time low, with a recent Reuter's survey reporting that 37% of Americans approved of his handling while 59% disapproved. As clinical trials for vaccines have seen hopeful but minimal success, the future of the United States will depend on the federal government's future efforts in allocating necessary health guidelines and resources towards the pandemic.
8 comments:
Trump's handling of Covid-19 has undoubtedly been inadequate at best. Although this pandemic would be a difficult obstacle for any president, as Obama said, this particular administration has handled it quite poorly. The initial and repetitive lies combined with the repeated downplaying of it resulted in not only in an even deadlier pandemic, but also an "infodemic". Many people were lead to believe that it was simply a flu, that many at home remedies could easily cure the virus, and many other unsupported beliefs. The early reopenings, politicization of the virus, and the lack of the emphasis on wearing face masks also contributed to multiple waves of covid-19 that could have been avoided. We've repeatedly broken the record for most recorded cases in a day for the U.S. and are now undergoing another wave of covid-19 admist the fall season. As simple as it sounds, I think the best thing to do right now is to adhere to covid guidelines, listen to professionals, and patiently wait for the vaccine.
Trump's handling of Covid-19 within the US has been a terrible job. He has failed to constantly to play the seriousness of virus for example he often does not wear a mask. He still fails to take virus seriously despite having had it and recovered from it. You would think that trump would have change his view after having the virus. I in away I feel the federal government could have done more to reduce the spread of the virus, like placing a national shelter in place order. I also feel that state governments are also to blame for the spread. It feel that each state has either own attempt to handle the virus. As some states attempt to rush reopening of the state in order to return profit or did not even close at the start of outbreak.
The situation as a whole is very horrible, but funny. There has been countless times President Trump has viewed the virus with a dismissive stance, stating that there will be a vaccine very soon. This, obviously, isn't the case as the most hopeful vaccine is to come out next year in April. Trump also made it worse than it was supposed to as he called it a Chinese Virus. It is true, that the Virus originated in China, but Trump isn't realizing, frustratingly, the second-hand effects of his labeling. Trump and Pence being diagnosed with the virus doesn't help at all, since they are both being treated with almost unreachable treatments for the average person. A person who believes his own to be the universal truth can only worsen the situation.
Trump's dismissiveness and lack of attentiveness for the whole COVID-19 have resulted in many Americans' lives. He failed to take rightful precautions for the virus and suggested other Americans disregard the importance of wearing masks which is absolutely ridiculous. I totally agree with Liam. He pointed out how the government could have stepped in and played a role to place some regulations when they see that the president is not doing so. Our country failed as a whole in regard to our response to the pandemic. In other countries like China, the government functioned with a stern statement issuing the citizens to remain indoors and people listened. They were able to resolve the issues of high cases faster than the progress America has made, which I thought was super shocking because America is far more technologically advanced, therefore, I suspected that more progress would have been made, clearly, my assumptions were incorrect.
This entire situation is reflected by the behavior of many citizens in America. He fails to understand how serious the pandemic is, and you can see the amount of people not taking it seriously, walking around without masks. He is one of the main reasons why America is doing far worse than most other countries in terms of dealing with this pandemic. Its similar to his policies toward global warming, where he only recently admits that maybe it has something to do with human existence, but the fact that it took this long is worrying.
I feel that we have a general consensus that Trump's belief that he is taking a good approach towards the virus is hurting our society. I like that Tim added how his actions are reflected in our behavior and that it is causing many Americans not to take the virus seriously. I think that a large part of this could be Trump trying to hold a reputation during the election, as he also claims that the US has a vaccine coming soon with little evidence, possibly in an effort to draw media attention to the fact that he has made work with a possible vaccine rather than the case count. As of the past week, the US has seen multiple days with 100,000 new cases or more, and I think it is due partially to people thinking that the virus is almost over and that it isn't too bad, as he claimed when he got sick, and they don't take it as seriously. Overall I am in agreement with the fact that his actions are destructive and I think that setting up an American mindset that the end is in sight is foolish, irresponsible, and it will be a difficult recovery.
I think two things contribute to Trump's failure to contain the Coronavirus. A lack of precaution and respect towards the deadly disease, and a methodology that values economy and education over public safety. I'd like to address the latter first as I thoroughly believe that his ideology of maintaining the economy and prioritizing education is valid. I see nothing inherently wrong with the way he believes to tucker out coronavirus. But then the consequences of hundreds of thousands of lives lost are on the basis of his actions, and him not claiming responsibility behind his decision shows the weak conviction of an already controversial choice. Trump's failure to contain the virus is what I believe to be fully on him. He knew in advance before the public, the effects of coronavirus, and purposely did not take any actions to counter it until the virus seeded itself in the United States. The public feud and outings between him and Dr. Fauci show his impulsiveness and ignorance by not following simple precautions many physicians and scientists would've done in a heartbeat.
Republican or Democrat, nearly all people in the scientific community can agree that Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was a failure. This pandemic was completely politicized in the U.S. and thousands of lives were lost because of it. If the Trump Administration had made a push for testing in the end of February and early March, when the first cases had already reached the U.S., the pandemic likely would not have snowballed so far out of control. Today, according to the New York Times, U.S.surpasses 10 millions cases. 10 million infected Americans does not exactly scream "we've got everything under control." Trump early in the pandemic and still today has tried to downplay the effects and the dangers of COVID-19. Like Christina mentioned in her post, Trump has touted "cures" for COVID-19 with no scientific proof. The scary part of the issue, is that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has received death threats "as a result of his high-profile statements about the coronavirus pandemic" (NPR). At what point should the main doctor addressing one of the world's largest nations receive death threats for promoting medically-backed advice for combating the virus? Yet thanks to the politicization of the virus, the top medical experts are unable to focus solely on their jobs fearing their safety or the public's crazy feedback; of which can mostly be attributed to President Trump and his tweets.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/05/899415906/fauci-reveals-he-has-received-death-threats-and-his-daughters-have-been-harassed
Post a Comment