Imagine if after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, FDR had told Hawaii that it was up to them to deal with the deadly military aggression?
Imagine if in 1962, after Russian missiles were found in Cuba, 90 miles from our shores, JFK had told Florida, “It’s your problem.”
Of course each president assumed responsibility, and each took a leadership role in resolving each crisis, as America expected them to.
But in January and February of this year, after denying that the coronavirus pandemic was significant (“We have it totally under control”) and delaying a response to it (“One day . . . like a miracle, it will disappear”), or denouncing it as a “hoax,” by mid-March Trump reversed course and called it a national emergency.
However, since then, Trump has disclaimed any responsibility for the pandemic, and put the onus for dealing with this national crisis on the states.
So while the pandemic has run wild in the United States and killed more than 51,000 Americans to date, Trump has told the governors to get their own ventilators, and ditto for testing kits.
Trump’s abysmal lack of leadership would not have been tolerated in the national crises of 1941 and 1962, so where is the outrage against this irresponsible indifference today?
Rudy Termini
Cambridge
Note from KBJ: Stop lying about President Trump, Rudy. He never called the coronavirus pandemic a "hoax." Are you watching CNN again? Either that or you've gone off your meds. By the way, read up on federalism. You might learn something.
