Diplomacy. Decisiveness. Leadership. Humility. Expertise.
This Atlantic article from December 20, 2016, How a Pandemic Might Play Out Under Trump is a must read. The author Ed Yong wrote an amazingly accurate article that over 3 years later is all coming true. Some important quotes:
“As Donald Trump prepares to become America’s 45th President in January 2017, the question isn’t whether he’ll face a deadly outbreak during his presidency, but when? And more importantly, how will he cope?”
Well, the when has been answered as of April 10, 2020 when I’m writing this. How will he cope is unfortunately being answered as you read this. In the US there have been over 500,000 infections and over 18,000 deaths. These numbers are both lower than reality due to lack of testing available.
“Outbreaks of disease are among the ultimate tests for any leader who wants to play on the global stage. They demand diplomacy, decisiveness, leadership, humility, and expertise—and they quickly unearth any lack of the same. “As far as I can tell, Trump has zero experience on this,” says Jack Chow from Carnegie Mellon University, who has worked at both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the State Department under Colin Powell. “If I asked him, ‘What is your stance on global health?,’ I don’t know what he’d say. I don’t think anyone really does.”
We have seen all 5 of these characteristics above in 2014. The sixth? A sense of humor…
5:55 you have reminded people that science matters and that science works.
6:15 the scientific method
12:40 shows an understanding that a global strategy is required, not just a domestic one. Funding will be needed after he establishes why. Imagine if a fraction of the $2,200,000,000,000 Stimulus Bill was spent on prevention…
15:52 There will be a deadly airborne disease that we have to put in place an infrastructure in place not just here at home, but globally that allows us to see it quickly, isolate it quickly, and respond to it quickly… 5 years from now or a decade from now we’ve made the investment… it is not just insurance but knowing down the road we will have problems like this especially in a globalized world.
18:15 This is not a republican issue or a democratic issue, it’s about the safety and security of the American people. We need to protect the American people.
This is what President Obama said about Ebola back in 2014:
President Obama announces plan to combat Ebola in Africa • Sept 16, 2014
Accurate public communication is also vital. During the Ebola outbreak, misinformation circulated more widely than the virus itself. People repeatedly and wrongly heard that the virus could go airborne, that victims bleed dramatically from their eyes and ears, that foreign health workers brought the virus to West Africa, that folk remedies were effective, and so on. These were all myths, and they encouraged practices that helped the virus to spread in affected countries, while fomenting panic in unaffected ones. They resembled the pernicious and long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, which has led to a resurgence in mumps, measles, and other infectious diseases, and which Trump has himself promoted.
This is what Donald Trump says about the coronavirus COVID-19 in 2020:
If anything, this problem is likely to get worse, given America’s continuing struggle to deal with “fake news.” Inaccurate information can be easily seeded by foreign parties, and given weight and prominence by online algorithms. It’s arguable whether such misinformation made a difference between victory or defeat in the election, but inarguable that it could mean life or death in an outbreak.
4.10.2020 Reporter: Mr President, what metrics will you use to decide when to open the country? Answer: The metrics right here…
Canon M Cameras 