After reading another of your biased, leftwing propaganda, anti-Trump op-eds, I just had to respond to bring some clarity to the discussion of all things Trump.
Let me begin by stating that I am a lifelong Republican, but I did not vote for him in the last election. I wrote in the name of another GOP person who was an also ran. Why? Because of his behavior at the debates, his nasty comments and what seemed to me to be childish antics. That was then, this is now.
The first paragraph of your op-ed deals with labeling Covid-19 as the “China virus” and the resulting “numerous anti-Asian incidents” that have been occurring since January. This type of behavior is certainly repulsive and should not be tolerated in any way shape or form, but the truth is that this virus originated in China. Not the fault of the Chinese people but of their Communistic government and the falsehoods that they conveyed to the world about this virus. They didn’t just hide this disease from the world, they lied about its ability to be spread from human to human and they allowed their citizens to leave China and travel all over the world, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people.
Your comment of “so what” is disconcerting. It matters where this disease and others come from as we need to know what countries can be trusted to handle infections responsibly.
Your op-ed criticizes President Trump for his handling of this disease and Joe Biden was recently interviewed by Jake Tapper on CNN where he stated that “Trump did nothing and is criminally responsible for all the deaths”. ” No one should have died” said Joe.
Now let’s do a little time line trip down memory lane and talk about what Trump did or did not do in relation to Covid 19.
- December 2019: New virus identified in Wuhan China (although I have read reports that it was there earlier).
- Jan 6: Trump offers to send CDC team to China to study virus and offer assistance. China says no.
- Jan 21: Dr. Fauci is a guest on News Max and states that the virus is not a threat for the people of the USA and they should not worry about it. (expert advisor on viral diseases).
- Trump has, at various times, told citizens that things would be fine and was overly positive which some had called “lying.” But remember, Dr. Fauci was giving that same message and probably believed it also. There was much to learn.
- Jan. 29: Trump sets up Corona Task Force with ensuing daily reports from “experts.”
- Jan. 30: Two cases of coronavirus identified in USA.
- Jan. 31: Trump institutes travel ban from China; March 11–Travel from Europe banned.
- Feb. 6: Emergency rules for infection control were established.
- Feb 29: Emergency funding for Covid-19 initiated.
10. March 4: Laboratories meet at White House to form consortium for coronavirus testing
11. March 8: Dr. Fauci instructs public that they do not need to wear a mask
12. March 13: National Emergency announced just 48 hours after Global Pandemic declared
13. March 16: 15 days to slow the spread initiated (has since morphed into 7 months)
14. March 17: Telemedical restrictions lifted to give more access to medical advice on line etc.
15. March 18: Defense Production Act activated to facilitate increased production of PPE, ventilators and hospital beds increased using ships on the East and West Coasts and in the Javits Center in NYC.
16. April 3: CDC advises the public to begin wearing masks to slow the spread.
17. April 9 and 23: Govs. Cuomo from NY and Gavin Newsom from California praised the president for all of his help with supplying the hospital ships and equipment to aid corona victims.
- June 29: Trump was able to acquire more than 500,000 courses of Remdesivir to treat Corona victims.
Trump has initiated Operation Warp Speed to facilitate the development of a vaccine that is safe for the public as soon as feasibly possible. Distribution plans are already being formulized.
In February, he was interviewed by Bob Woodward for his next book and stated that he knew the virus was serious but did not want to cause panic. What would have changed if he had shared that with the public? Nothing would have changed because we knew to hand wash and social distance and masks were not needed as per Dr. Fauci. He later explained that the masks and PPE were needed for hospital workers and other medical professionals.
Now I ask all of you arm chair Covid quarterbacks with your hindsight expertise, would Joe Biden have been the man to handle this pandemic? The man who ridiculed both travel bans and stated on TV that Trump did “nothing” to battle this disease. It is ludicrous. More to follow next week.
Gayle Palmer
Williston Park
A case study in cognitive dissonance.
The same people who think Trump handled the trade issue when our trade deficit stands at a 12 year high, are convinced Trump did a great job on COVID with over 200,000 dead.
South Korea got their first case the same day we did. They have recorded fewer than 400 fatalities. That’s what a competent government buys you..
You cannot reason with such people.
Vote.
Here’s another timeline:
May 2018-The Administration disbands the White House pandemic response team.
January 22 “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. It’s going to be just fine.”
January 28 “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency…This is going to be the roughest thing you face” Trump’s National Security Advisor to Trump
February 2 “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
February 10 “Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
February 26 “The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”
March 6 “I think we’re doing a really good job in this country at keeping it down… a tremendous job at keeping it down.”
March 6 “Anybody right now, and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They’re there. And the tests are beautiful…. the tests are all perfect like the letter was perfect. The transcription was perfect. Right? This was not as perfect as that but pretty good.”
March 7 “No, I’m not concerned at all.
March 13 “I don’t take responsibility at all.”
March 15 “This is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something that we have tremendous control over.”
March 24 “They have to treat us well, also. They can’t say, ‘Oh, gee, we should get this, we should get that.’”
April 22 “If [coronavirus] comes back though, it won’t be coming back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses that we can contain….it’s also possible it doesn’t come back at all.”
April 23 “I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
May 3 “Look, we’re going to lose anywhere from 75,000, 80,000 to 100,000 people,”
May 8 “This is going to go away without a vaccine. It is going to go away. We are not going to see it again.”
May 11 “We have met the moment and we have prevailed,”
May 27
U.S. death toll passes 100,000
July 19 “I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world”
July 28
U.S. death toll passes 150,000
August 3 “They are dying. That’s true. And you — it is what it is.”
August 3 “Right now I think it’s under control.”
September 10 “I really do believe that we are rounding the corner. The vaccines are right there”
September 16 Reporter: “[The head of the CDC] said that the vaccine for the general public wouldn’t be available until next Summer or maybe even early fall. Are you comfortable with that timeline?” Trump: “I think he made a mistake when he said that. That’s just incorrect information.”
September 19
U.S. death toll passes 200,000