Alright then
RubeGoldberger , lets take a look at this blokes point then.
"Trump isn't responsible for all of it"
It is disingenuous to say that Trump isn't responsible for all of the US' Covid cases. He is the president, who has lead the US and its attitude towards the coronavirus. Here is a list of what Trump has done when faced with threat of a pandemic:
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Jan 22: downplayed the possibility of COVID-19 becoming a pandemic, against the advise of the WHO: "we totally have it under control. It’s just one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
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Jan 29: WHO head of Health Emergencies program stated that "the whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action and be ready for any cases that come from the epicenter." Trump, the next day on the 30th at a rally in Iowa, stated that: “We only have five people. Hopefully, everything’s going to be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully, it’s all going to be great”
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February: rising global cases, and WHO raising the possibility of a pandemic from "high" to "very high". Trump's response? Downplay its impact on Twitter and in interviews, with quotes such as “When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”
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April: received warning from the CIA's President Daily Brief that "the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could be cataclysmic in the United States." Most shocking, is that
these warnings began back in November of 2019, when Wuhan first began reporting cases. He missed the CIA's brief, because: " he routinely skips reading the President's Daily Brief and shows little patience for having the briefs read to him orally even twice per week." He missed more warning's of the COVID pandemic as well, from people including his economic advisor Peter Navarro, and the US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar
And that's only the tip of the iceberg for those four months, let alone the last 11 months.
If you can, read the whole article that I cited these facts from. It is incredibly alarming as to the incompetence of Donald Trump, and his vast responsibility in how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic. He is absolutely responsible for all of it, for had he listened to ANY of the experts at his disposal, the US would be in a far better position than it is today. All quotes sourced from peer-reviewed academic journal "Trump, COVID-19, and the War on Expertise" written by Dr Paul Rutledge of the University of West Georgia. His conclusion on Trump's handling of the virus?
"Donald Trump’s continued aversion to council and expertise has had tremendous impact on the federal government’s response to COVID-19. The cost, unfortunately, is measured in a loss of American lives that over a 2-month period has surpassed the number of deaths resulting from nearly two decades of war in Vietnam."
Source: Rutledge, P. E., 2020. Trump, COVID-19, and the War on Expertise.
The American Review of Public Administration, 50(6-7), pp. 505-511.
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