President Donald Trump’s initial reaction to the coronavirus arriving on our shores was pretty much a state of denial. He referred to it as a hoax and he had a “hunch” that it would disappear within a week. There were 15 cases at the time. He was supported by conservative media personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh, among others. Obviously, they were all wrong and slowly backtracked on their initial views.
The situation in the United States may not have become as serious as it is if Trump had not done the following:
• Let go of a key public official positioned in Beijing to help with disease outbreaks in China
• In 2018 close the pandemic response office because, as he said, they weren’t doing anything.
Also in 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was forced to slash efforts to prevent global disease outbreaks by 80%.
Trump is making life-and-death decisions, but trusting his decision-making is questionable at best.