The Trump Administration Failing at the Coronavirus Pandemic (Part I)

By: Angela Ryan

COVID-19. The Coronavirus. Corona. Miss Rona. No matter the name, we all know it. It’s what has kept us home for months, watching graphs and numbers steadily tick upwards. We’ve watched as cases in the U.S. hit the millions and deaths hit the hundreds of thousands. As we near August, the discussion of whether or not to let students pour back into tightly packed schools has come to the forefront of many people’s minds. Other countries are sending students back to school, so why shouldn’t we? Well, it’s simple. The Trump administration has handled the Coronavirus Pandemic the worst out of any other country, and refuses to take accountability for it.

As of July 18, 2020, the U.S. has the highest Coronavirus statistics with a case count of 3.83 million, and a death count of over 142 thousand. How is this the case? The U.S. certainly doesn’t have the highest population in the world or the highest population density, so what did we do wrong? Or, rather, what did the Trump Administration do wrong?

Back in late February, people began to grow worried about the spread of Coronavirus from China and other East Asian countries to the U.S. At this point, the U.S. only had around 50 cases and no deaths. Trump responded to this worry by completely downplaying the virus, calling it the Democrats’ “new hoax.” He proceeded to state that his administration was “totally prepared” to combat the virus. The President continued to try to lessen the importance of the virus by repeating a version of the phrase, “it’s going to go away.” He continued to say this phrase from early February into early July, despite health officials repeatedly saying that this virus will not go away on its own. Constantly reinforcing the idea that the Coronavirus was not something to be worried about and even calling it a “hoax” ignited some of the largest problems that we now have today. Trump spread these false claims to his supporters, who now pose some of the biggest concerns with how our nation is handling the virus.

In the past few months, President Trump has also refused to publicly endorse the wearing of masks, saying, “I recommend people do what they want. I’m okay with that.”, “I let people make up their own decision.”, and “So it’s voluntary; you don’t have to do it.” President Trump has even gone as far as to state that wearing a mask can harm the person wearing it. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he states, “They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth, and then they don’t know how they caught it?” This directly paints the picture that masks are harmful, which is completely false. 

As Coronavirus concerns grew, the call for everyone to wear masks did as well. We began to learn more and more about the virus, and after multiple studies were published we were able to confidently say that cloth and surgical masks would save lives. The CDC even states that the U.S. could have the Coronavirus under control in 4-8 weeks if everyone wore a mask. However, before doctors knew this fact definitively, they didn’t endorse this idea. Using this short-lived uncertainty, anti-mask protesters began to emerge. 

Despite countless studies now showing that wearing a simple cloth face mask can protect the people around you, people have taken to the streets protesting their “civil right” not to wear a mask. They believe that wearing a mask is their own choice, and shouldn’t have to abide by state mandates in their area requiring them to wear a mask. 

So, how have Trump’s statements directly caused the spread of Coronavirus? President Trump himself recommended that people “do what they want.” Many people at these protests can be seen wearing “Make America Great Again” (Trump’s 2016 election campaign slogan) hats and T-shirts, and/or various “Trump 2020” merchandise. In Provo, Utah, a group of people tore down tape meant to promote social distancing in a County Commission meeting and argued against a mask mandate set for children in K-12 schools. One woman said, “We are perpetuating a lie. COVID is a hoax. It’s a lie. It’s a political stunt.” Now, where have you seen that phrase? “COVID is a hoax”? “It’s a political stunt”? Those are the same words President Trump used when first addressing the virus, calling it the Democrats’ “new hoax.”

President Trump further de-legitimized the pandemic’s severity by holding rallies during the pandemic. One of these rallies, held in Phoenix Arizona, was completely packed. Located at the Dream City Church in Phoenix, this rally did not require masks, nor did it space its seats according to social distancing guidelines. In the images from the rally, almost nobody is wearing a mask, therefore promoting the spread of the coronavirus.

One last way Trump has downplayed the virus is by comparing it to the common flu. On March 9th, he tweeted a comparison of the statistics of both viruses. It read, “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!” When Trump says, “Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on”, it’s clear that he believes we shouldn’t shut down the country for coronavirus. However, this mindset is incorrect. 

The Coronavirus is much deadlier than the Flu in every way. Let’s begin with the mortality rate. Johns Hopkins Medicine states, “Doctors and scientists are working to estimate the mortality rate of COVID-19… it is thought to be substantially higher than that of most strains of the flu.” If we look at Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. today, there are over twice as many Coronavirus deaths as the maximum estimate of Influenza deaths that Trump tweeted. On top of this, there is currently no vaccine for the Coronavirus. During the 2018-19 Flu season, almost 54% of people in the U.S. received the Flu vaccine. Even with over half of the U.S. population receiving the vaccine, there were still an estimated 37.4 million-42.9 million cases. As the cherry on top, which virus do you think is more contagious? If you guessed the Coronavirus, you’d be correct! So, to summarize. Coronavirus is much deadlier than the Flu, we have no vaccine for the Coronavirus, and it is more contagious. It’s safe to say that shutting down the country was a good idea. 

To conclude, Donald Trump’s carelessness about the pandemic has directly led to the spread of Coronavirus throughout the nation by spreading harmful ideas to his supporters. Trump supporters have marched through the streets, maskless and not socially-distanced to protest the very things that could save us from this pandemic, just because Trump maintained those ideas. President Trump should have endorsed masks and supported stay at home orders from the start. Above all, he should have acted earlier and not immediately assumed that a worldwide, global pandemic was a direct political attack against him. If he did all of these things, there is no doubt that the people roaming the streets now fighting against masks (which have been proven effective) would be at home, washing their hands and following social distancing guidelines. 

This was Part I of “The Trump Administration Failing at the Coronavirus Pandemic.” In each part, I will discuss a different aspect of how the Trump Administration’s errors led to the U.S. becoming the epicenter of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Part II will highlight the different people, organizations, and countries that President Trump has blamed the U.S.’s pandemic on, rather than taking accountability.