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Trump has completely mishandled the coronavirus response and should resign

By Robert Weissman

In a time when protecting the nation’s public health demands clear, truthful and compassionate leadership, President Donald Trump has offered exactly the opposite. He is a clear and present danger to the nation’s public health, and he should resign immediately.

Trump has dissembled about the seriousness of the coronavirus epidemic, either because he refuses to accept the truth or fears the effect on his political fortunes, or both. Months too late, he has finally started to acknowledge that the crisis is real, serious and likely to persist. Even so, as late as March 15, he untruthfully claimed that the U.S. government has the virus under “tremendous control.”

Trump repeatedly has refused to make science-based recommendations (e.g., older people should avoid cruise ships and plane travel) or to declare a public health emergency, reportedly out of fear about the effect on the stock market. It turns out that denying the truth visible to all doesn’t fool the market; and, in fact, when Trump did finally declare a public health emergency, markets reacted positively.

Trump has presided over an administration that inexplicably has failed to deliver vitally needed coronavirus tests to health care providers around the country and then repeatedly lied to or misled the American public about remedying the problem. Instead of taking responsibility for the problem and fixing it, Trump has bizarrely blamed it on his predecessor, Barack Obama. “No, I don’t take responsibility at all,” says Trump.

This testing failure may be the single most consequential human factor responsible for the spread of the disease. It has been impossible for public health authorities to calibrate appropriate responses without a clear understanding of COVID-19 incidence in the United States. Even now, public health experts are merely guessing about the actual extent of disease spread in the United States. Nearly two months into the start of the disease in the United States, South Korea is testing 161 times more people per capita than the United States.

Beyond the testing debacle, there has been a shocking lack of leadership from the federal government under Trump. Governors and local authorities have stepped into the gap, but they are all clear that they are desperate for federal leadership. It has not been forthcoming. With states seeking federal assistance in providing the equipment needed to treat COVID-19 patients, Trump replied, “Try getting it yourselves.”

Even for Trump, this Marie Antoinette response was shocking.

Crisis moments typically give rise to inspirational words from our leaders. Whether naturally gifted orators or not, they typically rise to the moment. They understand the need to share the truth with their compatriots. They understand the need both to calm and galvanize the nation in the face of fear and great challenges. And they understand the need to bring people together for shared national purpose, to spark kindness and solidarity.

Leaders do these things because they care about their people and their country — and because they understand that honesty, calm, shared purpose and solidarity are necessary to meet fearsome national challenges.

That Trump is doing the opposite of all this is not just a shortcoming or just another example of his boundless self-absorption.

Trump’s failings have nothing to do with political ideology or legitimate areas of policy disagreement. They are intolerable failures of leadership in a time of national crisis that have endangered the lives of all Americans. Trump should step down immediately.

In response to:

Under Trump's Watch, America's National Debt Has Increased by $6.6 Trillion

By Jocelyn Grzeszczak

7/29/20 at 12:27 PM EDT

Amid partisan arguments over how much federal aid should be approved to help ease the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. national debt has increased by $6.6 trillion under President Donald Trump.

When Trump took office in January 2017, the debt was at $19.9 trillion. As of July 27, according to the most recently available data, that number has grown to $26.5 trillion, Treasury Direct, a division of the Treasury Department, said.

The swelling debt is at odds with promises Trump made before he was elected president. Trump told Washington Post reporters during an April 2016 interview that he would eliminate the nation's debt, which was over $19 trillion, "over a period of eight years."

Trump added that he would cut taxes, "renegotiate trade deals and renegotiate military deals" in his first 100 days in office.

But estimates say the Trump administration will spend $936 billion on its defense budget for the 2020 fiscal year—nearly $100 billion more than the record-breaking defense budget in 2012. And Trump did cut taxes in December 2017 in hopes that the government would recoup its revenue losses in the long term by boosting economic growth, but evidence shows this is unlikely.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has predicted the national deficit will hit a record-breaking $3.7 trillion for just this federal fiscal year, but the approval of a second economic relief package could raise that amount even higher.

In its projection, the CBO cited the worldwide economic recession caused by the pandemic, which has led to a decrease in the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) and Treasury security interest rates, along with an increase in unemployment numbers.

The economic fallout from the pandemic has already cost the federal government an estimated $1.76 trillion, after Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in late March. That legislative package has provided financial assistance to American families, the unemployed and eligible businesses.

Many CARES Act measures have already expired or are set to expire this week, adding to the pressure on federal lawmakers to pass new relief legislation.

The Democratic-controlled House approved a second package in late May, titled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. The $3 trillion bill contains unemployment and state aid but has faced opposition from Senate Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Monday the Republicans' proposed relief package, the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act, but the $1 trillion bill has already received significant criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

While lawmakers across party lines generally agree that another federal package is necessary during the pandemic, there is much disagreement over how much money should be spent.

Before McConnell could officially announce the legislation, Senator Lindsey Graham suggested that half of Republican lawmakers would vote against it. Senator Ted Cruz said Monday that there was "significant resistance" within his party to adding another trillion dollars in federal spending.

"I think it's likely that you'll see a number of Republicans in opposition to this bill and expressing serious concerns," Cruz told CNN.

Democratic lawmakers, on the other hand, have dismissed the HEALS Act as a "pathetic" nonstarter, criticizing Republicans for arguing over whether to extend the extra $600 provided to unemployed Americans each week in federal aid...