The president has been trying to lower public anxiety and reassure markets about the spread of COVID-19 for several weeks. We certainly don’t need panic. We need the right response. He was saying that this need not be a big deal. To be specific, on Feb. 26, President Donald Trump told us that there would be no cases of COVID-19 within a month. On Jan. 4, he said criticism of his handling of the emerging pandemic was a hoax.
He could have been right. The over 360,000 infections didn’t have to happen, but then he would have had to respond very differently. He should have ensured abundant testing was available by February. He should have mobilized our resources to produce ventilators and personal protective equipment for our medical professionals before any shortages happened. He didn’t do these things.
Ultimately, the president could have been right, but he was wrong. The criticism could have been a hoax, but it wasn’t. So now we are looking at more than 12,000 deaths in the U.S. and what may be one of the worst economic catastrophes in American history. It seems abundantly clear to me that he wasn’t managing unwarranted fear. Sadly, there is no other way I can see to put this. He was, instead, just being utterly incompetent. And it is we who will pay the biggest price.
I was a Republican for more than 40 years. I’m not anymore.
MICHAEL DiMONTE
Cranberry
Note from KBJ: Stop projecting your incompetence onto President Trump, Michael. Oh, yes: Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. The Republican Party doesn't need losers such as you.
