If I could have a private audience with President Donald Trump I’d tell him to hit me with the truth. Every time.
On Thursday, the president said the reason he has been minimizing the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic is because he doesn’t want Americans to “panic.”
“This is deadly stuff,” he said in a recorded conversation with journalist Bob Woodward clear back in February. “You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”
In public, however, the president has continued to sing a different tune, panning face masks, undermining health authorities, suggesting fake remedies and acting irresponsibly by holding large political rallies.
From the get-go, Mr. Trump has insisted, “It’s going to fade away.”
Mr. Trump’s refusal to be honest with Americans about the risks of the virus has helped build a false sense of security, leading many to make unwise decisions. Many are conflicted as to whom to believe. Even after 190,000 deaths to the virus, some go so far as to say it’s a hoax.
I often wonder what the public’s reaction would have been had the president based his response to the pandemic on the advice of medical professionals. My guess is we would have come together as a country. In uneasy times, especially, a sense of community is calming.
Instead, how we respond to the virus has become a political litmus test not only amongst ourselves but also state and national leaders.
And as for a roadmap, it’s every man for himself.
The public sentiment today is in stark contrast to that of 19 years ago when al-Qaida terrorists crashed their planes into the Pentagon, rural Pennsylvania and lower Manhattan. Then, we were all New Yorkers. And as president, George Bush led the world’s response to terrorism and successfully ran his re-election campaign on a theme of compassion.
Our response has informed the world’s response as well. What if we had taken the lead and organized the global fight against COVID-19? Countries across the world would have listened to us — as they did in 2001 — and mobilized to fight this virus tooth and nail. Instead, countries like Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Russia, and more, have followed our lead and continue to dissemble and deceive as their citizens suffer.
WHAT I RESENT the most about the president’s response to the pandemic is how little credit he gives us.
We can handle the truth. In fact, it often brings out the best in us.
Instead, he appealed to our baser instincts.
Lie low and it will go away.
