ENOUGH! President Donald Trump has been abusing the daily coronavirus briefings, which are paid for using taxpayers’ money in lieu of his campaign rallies he laments he cannot hold because of social distancing safety measures.
The briefing is supposed to be the American people’s way of knowing all the facts, information, and guidance they need as the whole nation and the world fight this war against the pandemic, which as of press time has infected more than 2.2 million people globally with a death toll that has surpassed 151,000.
Here in the United States, coronavirus cases have topped 692,000 as of press time, killing more than 36,000. Many states have been reporting a record number of deaths, and the spread of the pandemic continues to threaten many more people as Trump pushes to open America for business as usual by May 1.
Through the daily briefing, Trump has been undermining the facts and advice delivered by health officials and experts. Instead, he’s been spreading misinformation and confusion through his “double talk” — claiming to heed health experts who say “we are not there yet” to relax social distancing measures that have so far been the most effective ways to help mitigate the spread of the pandemic, thereby so far reducing the number of people projected by scientific models that could be infected and killed by COVID-19 if the “stay at home” and “shelter in place” had not been implemented in most states.
Trump has been denigrating governors instead of supporting them in keeping their constituents safe, downplaying the urgency of their needs, and demanding for them to show “appreciation” of him before he moves to respond to their states’ medical emergency.
During April 13’s briefing, Trump had claimed total authority over all states for his planned May 1 re-opening of America, contrary to the advice of health experts and officials, and the governors’ concerns over the safety of their constituents.
Because of backlash over his authoritarian stance, he again used “double talk” to say during the April 14 briefing that he is giving the governors the power to decide when they want to reopen their state, an authority the Constitution already accorded the governors.
On April 15, “President Trump threatened to try to force Congress to adjourn so he could fill his administration’s vacancies without Senate approval, the second time this week he has claimed unprecedented executive authority amid the coronavirus pandemic.”
As the Washington Post reported, “The president cited a never-exercised constitutional power to shut down Congress if the House and Senate are in disagreement over adjourning, pushing both the executive and legislative branches into uncharted territory.”
Unfortunately, the economy of the United States and the whole world have been derailed, especially when we break this down to the lives of ordinary people. Many people have lost their jobs or got furloughed, schools needed to stop, non-essential businesses had to close, people could not travel and felt stuck and bored in their homes — all of these because of the social distancing measures to save lives!
Because of the pandemic’s toll on the life of the American people, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted to battle the harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the $2 trillion stimulus package only provides a $1,200 direct payment to many Americans, $2,400 for couples and $500 for each dependent child.
Through this taxpayer-funded measure, Trump’s name will be printed on the checks that will be sent out to people without direct deposit arrangements with their banks. Truly a disgusting cheap electioneering stunt!
Trump, the demagogue, used the frustration of the people to encourage them to protest and defy their governor’s social distancing orders, attack his political opponents tweeting, among others:
“LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!”
“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!”
“Today people started losing their jobs because of Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, who should immediately come back to Washington and approve legislation to help families in America. End your ENDLESS VACATION!”
Through the daily briefing, Trump has also been maliciously attempting to “rewrite” history to cover up his failure of leadership in implementing measures early enough to save the lives of our medical front liners and the American people.
We would have not been in this desperate situation had Trump heeded and acted early on after multiple classified warnings from the U.S. intelligence community throughout January and February about the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus from China to other countries, the Chinese government’s initial efforts to play down the severity of the looming crisis, and the increasing likelihood it would reach America’s shores.
We would have not been in this desperate situation had Trump not eliminated the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense, established by previous President Barack Obama, to prepare the United States for future pandemics like COVID-19. This is consistent with Trump’s obsession to erase Obama’s legacy in America.
We would have not been in this desperate situation had Trump not cut huge funding for health institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has undermined COVID-19 containment efforts.
We wouldn’t have been in this desperate situation had Trump not covered up and undermined the threat of coronavirus despite warnings of a pandemic from the scientists and health officials because he deemed this will hurt the economic numbers he has been bragging about and therefore, could cost him his re-election.
NOW that the coronavirus has escalated as a pandemic and has killed many Americans, Trump is still denying scientific facts because he is obsessing over good economic numbers — Wall Street index, low unemployment rate and high GDP — not because he cares for you. He is putting our health and safety at risk for his political survival.
IF TRUMP wants to open the U.S. economy with sincere consideration of the health and safety of the American people over his ratings and his insatiable need for praise and flattery, he should stop using the daily coronavirus briefings for his re-election bid.
He should stop watching cable news obsessively to see if he is getting good ratings and approval. He should stop obsessing attacking his political opponents and critics. He should stop lying and be honest with the American people.
Trump should just do his job to protect the American people. He should use the Defense Protection Act not to feed his greed for power, but for the well being and safety of the people:
Manufacture and provide protective gear to all our front liners in the hospitals and first responders.
Manufacture and/or support manufacture of effective testing kits, and help conduct wide scale testing to all states.
Right now, we are only testing those who are already exhibiting severe symptoms. We need to test more as many are asymptomatic yet they can infect the more vulnerable.
We need this information to implement contact tracing to isolate people who have been exposed to the virus. We need to look at all the facts in the ground before we relax social distancing and re-open America for business.
WE NEED A TRUE LEADER. Trump is NOT that leader.
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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.
