Dear Editor,

For the record, I am not blaming Trump for the Covid-19 outbreak. I do want him to succeed. I just am not sure he is the man for the job. Initially, Trump shut down direct flights from China, for which he was criticized, but which was a correct response. But after that, there was a vacuum of leadership for weeks. The Trump administration disbanded the NSC Pandemic Unit two years ago, then the CDC blew the testing, not accepting the test from the WHO for the virus, instead trying to produce our own, which was unreliable, had to be taken back and then re-submitted weeks later. There is evidence that we lost close to six weeks. In preparedness terms, that is an eternity. Because of that, our country was and is still in large parts flying blind on who has and who hasn’t got the virus. Trump pretended to take things seriously, while still shaking people’s hands, denying that it would be serious, comparing it to the flu, calling it a hoax at one of his adoring rallies, going with his gut instead of relying on experts. The comparison between Gov Polis’ press conferences and Trump’s pandemic response briefings are striking. Polis is crisp, decisive, data driven, passionate. Trump’s briefings are full of self-serving Trump praise, mixed messages, and aspirational goals.

December 31, 2019: The first official case reported to the WHO Country office in China. My how our world has changed in 3 ½ months.  

Here is some of what Trump said and yardsticks to measure it by:

January 20: US and S. Korea each have their first Covid–19 case.  

January 30: The outbreak is declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO.

February 5: CDC pulls back their own test because of unreliable results.  

February 10: Trump claims that in warm weather, the virus miraculously goes away

February 19 - 23: Trump claims the virus is very much under control. Since testing is extremely limited, and asymptomatic individuals can spread the virus, this is patently false.

February 23: WHO reports 78,000 cases globally.  

Late February: The stock market tanks. Trump blames the Democrats.  

February 26 and 27: Trump states that the virus is going to disappear.  “It’s like a miracle.”

February 29: Trump states that a vaccine would be available “very quickly”, contrary to medical expert opinions.

March 2: Trump states that the disease is very mild. 

March 4-7: “I’m not concerned at all,” states Trump.

Early March: Trump says, “Nobody knew there would be a pandemic or epidemic of this proportion.”  In fact, the Trump administration disbanded the National Security Council’s Pandemic Unit in May 2018 that could have warned him. This unit had prepared a 70 page report on our country’s preparedness for an epidemic after SARS, H1N1, and Ebola outbreaks. It outlined advice on tracking, testing, and the need to stockpile emergency resources. In addition, ABC News, the New York Times and 60 Minutes this week end each produced evidence that Trump and his administration were warned by at least February 21, 2020. There were also warnings from Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar on January 18 and 30, 2020, nearly a month earlier. Trump called Azar an “alarmist”. 

March 6: “Anybody who wants a test can get a test.” 

March 10: “It will go away.  Just stay calm.  It will go away.”

March 16: Trump admin initiates social distancing guidelines.  

March 17: S. Korea, which had used the WHO test, had tested 274,000 individuals while the US had finally corrected its errors in the first roll out of the testing and had tested 25,000. Thus, S Korea had tested 10 times as many as the US at that time. Note Trump’s false assertion on March 6, above. 

As of the time of this writing, Sunday evening, April 12, 2020, there are 550,000 positive Covid-19 cases in the US with 21,000 deaths. We have fallen severely behind in testing and have to resort to shutting down the economy and putting millions out of work to stop the spread. When questioned if he felt he had any responsibility for the lack of testing preparedness, Trump said, “No.” Then, this week he began criticizing the WHO for who knows what. It is typical of him to attack anyone who could be a source of criticism of his own actions and gives voice to the alt narratives that support him. My question is this.  If Trump is finally listening to medical experts around him, where was all this during his 40-day hiatus? Does this in any way imply to you that he is the right man for the job today? Almost two decades ago, during the George W. Bush presidency, the federal government developed guidelines for communicating during a public health crisis.  Among the core principles are “Be first, be right, be credible, show respect, and promote action.”   In all five aspects, Trump and his administration have failed.  

Bill Thibedeau
Gilpin County