The Administration’s Coronavirus Lies

Ever since the novel coronavirus took root on American soil, President Trump has blamed everyone under the sun—except himself—for the rampant spread of a disease that has sickened nearly half a million Americans and killed 16,766. First, he called the virus a Democratic “hoax” aimed at crippling his reelection campaign; he then blamed China, disgraced former president Barack Obama, and federal watchdogs for allowing the virus to propagate across the nation. Now, he has placed the WHO in his crosshairs, saying its policies are bias in favor of China and that it “really dropped the ball” in judging the virus’s lethality and transmissibility.

The WHO is at fault. The organization rested on its heels for weeks as the prolific, pneumonia-causing virus tore through Hubei Province in China and declared the virus a “global health emergency” only after 18 other countries had reported sporadic cases.

If the WHO is guilty of squandering precious time, so too is President Trump. On 27 December, days before China alerted the WHO to the existence of the disease, CIA assets in Hubei Province warned the State Department that a severe respiratory virus of unknown origin was spreading like wildfire among Wuhan’s population. When Pompeo alerted the Oval Office, President Trump brushed it off as “a Chinese problem that was not and will not bother America,” according to sources familiar with the exchange.

Epidemiologists—professionals who understand the nature of infectious disease—disagreed and said inaction to contain the virus would spell disaster for the United States, but Trump, an adamant science denier, was more interested in protecting the stock markets than saving American lives.

As confirmed cases began emerging in the U.S., Trump and his newly-formed Coronavirus Task Force began telling outright lies, twisted truths, and whimsical statements that shocked even the medical professionals who stood beside him at daily press briefings.

He claimed to have the virus “totally under control” because only a handful of people had tested positive. He said the nation’s 15 cases would soon be zero cases and that the virus would miraculously disappear, while task force honcho VP Pence and his cronies repeatedly lied: “The risk to the average American citizen remains low.” He debated whether to allow stricken American cruise ship passengers back on U.S. soil because he liked “the numbers where they are,” alluding to the 15 confirmed cases  and fearing sick passengers would amplify that figure to the detriment of his popularity. He marginalized the virus’s impact on society in comparing it to the seasonal flu, saying, “I just heard the flu kills people. Between 20,000-60,000 people a year. I didn’t know that. The coronavirus hasn’t killed anyone.” Imagine that: The Commander in Chief, the man wielding the most power in the Western world, had no idea the seasonal flu causes fatalities.

In early March, as the insidious virus spread to all 50 states, the Trump administration still insisted the virus was contained; “pretty close to airtight,” said Larry Kudlow, Director of the United States National Economic Council. At a mid-March briefing, Trump was asked if he felt any responsibility for the virus’s unmitigated march across the country, to which he replied, “I don’t take any responsibility at all,” and instead deflected blame to China and Barack Obama. Any outlet challenging or criticizing his narrative was labeled “Fake News.” His daily briefings quickly turned into campaign rallies, sans audience, where the president and his taskforce spent more time congratulating one another than they did elaborating on steps taken to mitigate the spread of disease.

Trump has relied on his principal media allies—FOX NEWS and OAN—to support his version of events. But even some of Trump’s media fans have taken to asking questions he does not like. When FOX NEWS’ Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts asked the president why his administration had dissolved the National Security Council’s global health security unit, Trump fired back, “What are you working for CNN? I thought you were with Fox.”

In the end, responsibility falls on Trump. He is the Commander-in-Chief. His subordinates make suggestions; he makes decisions. History will judge the demerits of those decisions.