Health officials have warned that a coronavirus outbreak in the United States isn’t a matter of “if,” but of “when.” That means lives now depend on how our government prepares for this virus. Yet both sides of the aisle seem woefully unprepared.
Frustrated with messaging he believes is overly alarmist, President Trump contradicted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said the virus’s spread is not “inevitable.” He also declared yesterday that even if the coronavirus does spread, it will “disappear” eventually.
“It’s going to disappear,” he said, “One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”
Trump is right to assuage the panic. The U.S. healthcare system is as well-equipped to handle this outbreak as any on Earth. Indeed, health officials announced this week that the development of a preventive vaccine is already ahead of schedule. And although the Trump administration has struggled to provide a consistent message, it has launched a proactive effort to nip this thing in the bud and make sure we’re not caught off guard.
Trump now has a special task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, working on removing bureaucratic red tape and congressional roadblocks to expedite the federal monetary and human response. And Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to work on a bipartisan funding package — one that will likely be well above the amount the Trump administration originally requested.
“We should not shortchange and we will not shortchange the American people. We might not need the money. But you’re gonna have the money if we need it,” Republican Sen. Richard Shelby said.
But in many ways, the Trump administration’s response has been inadequate. Workers sent to receive the first Americans evacuated from China were not given the proper protective gear or training, according to an HHS whistleblower. Other health officials have complained that Trump’s “incoherent” messaging is creating confusion.
Unsurprisingly, Democrats are making things worse. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee bragged about dunking on Pence, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems more concerned with promoting her own agenda than working with the government’s response team.
I just received a call from @VP Mike Pence, thanking Washington state for our efforts to combat the coronavirus.
I told him our work would be more successful if the Trump administration stuck to the science and told the truth.
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) February 28, 2020
Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.
It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic.
This decision could cost people their lives. Pence’s past decisions already have. https://t.co/NhMPOusOWm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020
This is pretty irresponsible, coming at a time when we really would benefit from lawmakers putting politics aside. If the Democrats truly believe the coronavirus is a serious threat — and it is — they’re doing a poor job of showing it. If you’re 99% against Trump, then it seems clear this issue is the 1%. Partisan Democrats haven’t gotten the memo.
