As Commander in Chief of the United States of America, President Trump ought to be leading the American people through this year’s disturbing viral influenza, Coronavirus-19. Americans have high expectations for their President to provide unwavering strength and to issue solutions to his country in times of uncertainty–however, a quick glance at Trump’s timeline of events as the exponentially rising disease gains traction in the media will reveal a slurry of mishaps and questionable business tactics.
- Dec 31. World Health Organization is informed of infected patients in Wuhan and gain knowledge of symptoms of the unknown illness.
- Jan 15. First (U.S.) confirmed patient carrying COVID-19 arrives in the U.S. from Wuhan, one week later the CDC confirms presence of virus in U.S.
- Jan 22. Trump addresses the public, “We have it totally under control, it’s one person coming in from China.” When questioned about worries of a viral outbreak, Trump assured CNBC’s co-host Joe Kernen, “No, not at all.”
- Feb 24. A month later, Trump comforts the nation by downplaying any foreseeable consequences of the virus’s presence–“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
- Feb 28. Trump made the claim that House Democrats are using the COVID-19 epidemic as a means to tarnish both himself and the Trump administration, calling the outbreak “[their] new hoax.”
- Mar 12. After many empty assurances that the virus will disappear on its own, Trump took responsibility for only 32 deaths in the U.S.
- Mar 16. Days later, Trump changes his attitude about the virus–”[it’s] not under control for any place in the world.” An additional statement made the following day confirmed his unsurprising hypocrisy–”I’ve always known this is a, this is a real, this is a pandemic…I’ve felt that it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”
Missing from the timeline, Trump Administration’s attempt to financially secure rights for the production of the COVID-19 vaccine by offering cash to CureVac, a private, German-based biotech company.. ‘but only for the USA.’ Confirmed by Germany’s Health Ministry (Mar 14), the bio-research company was approached with an offer from the United States.
In addition to his attempt at an unsanctioned transaction, Trump has (as of Mar 22.) called in the efforts of the National Guard to assist New York, Washington, and California. As stated by the Washington Post, the federal government has activated military support in assisting these states whose population has been has been ravaged by the coronavirus. According to President Trump during a press briefing, the National Guard’s mission during deployment is to manufacture supplementary medical facilities as well as receiving and distributing supplies.
After careful review of the President’s announcements, it would appear Trump’s view of the coronavirus has shifted completely over the last few months; from a nonchalant assurance to the public that the virus was under control, to a hoax perpetuated by the Democratic Party, to full on militia occupying the United States–the American people’s only choice is to take confidence in their leader’s inconsistent actions.
