Editorial: Trump's spin only promotes COVID-19's deadly spread

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 -- Against all reason, evidence and even concern for the safety and health of Americans, President Donald Trump and his White House echo chamber continue to treat the COVID-19 pandemic as a political problem and not a life-and-death global crisis.

Posted 9:00 a.m. Oct 28, 2020 — Updated 9:00 a.m. Oct 28, 2020

CBC Editorial: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020; Editorial #8602

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company.

Against all reason, evidence and even concern for the safety and health of Americans, President Donald Trump and his White House echo chamber continue to treat the COVID-19 pandemic as a political problem and not a life-and-death global crisis.

While Trump’s public relations operations release mission accomplished statements concerning ending the pandemic, numbers of COVID-19 infected and dead Americans continues to expand – and at an increasing rate (8.8 million cases and 226,000 deaths nationwide; 264,000 cases in North Carolina and 4,236 deaths).

To anyone listening to the comments spreading virally from Trump and the White House in the last few days, it is hard to tell if they’re declaring victory, announcing “mission accomplished” or simply accepting surrender.

“We’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great. Our numbers are incredible,” Trump said during his appearance last Saturday in Lumberton.

Tuesday, The White House’s science policy office ranked “ending the Covid-19 pandemic,” Trump’s top first-term accomplishment. The statement claimed Trump, regardless of evidence to the contrary, had taken “decisive actions to engage scientists and health professionals in academia, industry, and government to understand, treat, and defeat the disease.”

“We’re not going to control the pandemic,” North Carolinian Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, told CNN on Sunday. It seemed to be in a moment of likely unintended candor.

The truth is that the United States ranks fourth globally – behind only Brazil, Spain and Mexico, in COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population. By comparison, North Carolina ranks 38th among the 50 states (along with Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico).

North Carolinians aren’t buying Trump’s spin. The latest WRAL statewide survey reveals 53% disapprove of Trump’s response to the pandemic while 43% approve.

The unfortunate reality is that it is merely lip-service for Trump and his aides to contend they’ve engaged “scientists and health professionals in academia, industry, and government to understand, treat, and defeat the disease.” Any evidence, information and advice they’ve offered has been roundly ignored – and even dismissed – by the president.

That surrender to ignorance has had a terrible cost: lives in disarray; students education, from pre-school to graduate school disrupted; millions unemployed and thousands of businesses closed or barely holding on.

What if instead of prioritizing his own stature and political expedience, Donald Trump made it his job to protect safety, financial security and health of the American people. How many people would be able to visit the infirmed and elderly family members who’ve been alone for months; how many would not be in the hospital today? How many would be alive today, instead of leaving spouses, children; family members and friends mourning?

Those unanswered questions are the real tragedy of Donald Trump’s neglect. Americans and North Carolinians have already paid too high a price – and need not pay any more.

Suggest A Correction