will this coronavirus be Trump's nemesis
Trump has refused to issue a firm directive to self-isolate.
( "This is not a country to be shut down")
He's worried that a large scale lockdown would cripple the economy.
He's miffed that a virus could tank the economy and thereby reduce his chances of re-election.
His ego will not allow him to accept that a virus could defeat him!
His interest in retaining power takes precedence in his narcicistic mind over the public health.
Ironically Trump's tweets have been counterproductive and have undermined public health authority's efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
The slow response to the pandemic in the US has resulted in the virus getting a headstart and now has the upper hand.
Infection rates are exploding, and death rates will follow!
Trump's botched response to the pandemic has likely nixed his chance of a second term as President.
He has announced a 2 trillion dollar stimulus/aid package (half the size of the entire $4 trillion annual federal budget. )to shore up the economy...but it is basically a corporate bailout for his rich buddies,and has little for everyday people. Very little of the money will reach the people who most need it. The emphasis is to help businesses to survive at the cost of human lives.
It is the most vulnerable segments of the population (the marginalized,the homeless,the elderly,and the low-wage workers) whose health is already compromised and who are least able to withstand yet another stressor who will disproportionately fall victim to this plague.
Trump may very well use the crisis to justify a power grab ; i.e. to give extraordinary emergency powers to himself ,cancelling civil liberties,and bypassing all democratic processes including cancelling the election!
On Sunday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard warned the U.S. could face a 30% unemployment rate and an unprecedented 50% drop in gross domestic product.
ReplyDeleteBut, there is a huge disagreement about where the money should go.
Trump wants a $500 billion slush fund to bail out his favorite corporations—including his own—that would be doled out in secret.
We can’t let Trump get away with stealing from the poor and giving to the rich—especially in this time of need! Our health, our welfare, our communities, our economy and our democracy are worth fighting for! Bernie Sanders has the best plan to address the coronavirus crisis and prepare us for whatever happens next.
Read Bernie’s plan and watch his coronavirus roundtable with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar.
SIGN THE PETITION: Bernie has the best COVID-19 plan. Tell Congress
With his catastrophic mishandling of the coronavirus, Trump has established himself as the worst president in U.S. history.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/05/worst-president-ever/
Trump ignored advice to act more quickly
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vox.com/2020/4/12/21218305/trump-ignored-coronavirus-warnings
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html
The United States is on trajectory to suffer more sickness, more dying, and more economic harm from this virus than any other comparably developed country.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/americans-are-paying-the-price-for-trumps-failures/609532/?fbclid=IwAR3g1zG0zlQO1ISrlQ4UZVShPW88fxfqwCOUwT027ajjupg2ClwruMQ_V30
Trump lashes out at World Health Organization by withdrawing US funding in the midst of a global pandemic.
ReplyDeleteTrump condemns WHO's response to Covid-19 pandemic.
Withdrawal of US funding(400 million dollars) to WHO at a time when a collective response to this global crisis is essential is shameful and dangerous!
The WHO works to help the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.
This defunding will cripple the WHO's crucial capacity to respond effectively to world health crises!
Trump faces global resistance to US plan to cut WHO funding
DeleteThursday, April 16th 2020, 11:49 AM AKDT
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump faced international resistance Thursday as he defended his plan to cut U.S. payments to the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump said he reiterated his frustration with the WHO during a call with Group of Seven leaders, and he again accused the WHO of mishandling its response and showing too much deference to China, where the new coronavirus first emerged.
Trump's conversation with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan “centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO” and the G-7 leaders called for a “thorough review and reform process," according to the White House.
“I was angry because it should have been told to us,” Trump said. “It should have been told to us early, it should have been told to us a lot sooner. People knew it was happening, and people didn’t want to talk about it.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said everyone on the call recognized the importance of continuing to coordinate and collaborate on the science around the pandemic, to work on public health measures and to share information about vaccine development and possible treatments.
“There is a need for international coordination and the WHO is an important part of that collaboration and coordination,” Trudeau said outside his residence in Ottawa. "We recognize that there have been questions asked but at the same time it is really important that we stay coordinated as we move through this. That’s certainly what Canada is going to do.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her “full support” for the WHO and similar international groups, and stressed that it will take “a strong and coordinated international response" to defeat the pandemic, said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his support for the WHO and said the organization must play a “central role” as part of an “ambitious and coordinated international response” to the virus crisis.
Macron stressed the need to bring “massive aid” to the most vulnerable countries, especially in Africa.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from the coronavirus, said the leaders agreed that rapid development and production of treatments and a vaccine are crucial.
Raab also stressed the need for an “internationally coordinated” response.
The Italian foreign ministry said it was committed to consolidating a global governance of health care “in which the WHO plays a crucial leadership role.”
A statement issued after a separate teleconference of French, German and Italian foreign ministry officials said Italy is considering new contributions to the WHO for research and distribution of a vaccine “for which a global, inclusive effort will be necessary.”
Separately, Germany's foreign minister warned Thursday that cutting funding for the WHO was like “throwing the pilot out the plane.”
Heiko Maas told reporters the United Nations and its health agency are the “backbone” of the current fight against the outbreak “and that’s why it makes no sense at all to question the functioning and significance of the WHO now.”
Maas said it was important to strengthen the agency, including with further funding, and said "weakening it would be nothing other than throwing the pilot out of the plane in mid-flight.”
Trump announced this week that he will end U.S. contributions to the WHO, claiming the outbreak could have been contained at its source and lives could have been saved had the U.N. health agency done a better job investigating the early reports coming out of China.
Critics argued that cutting the WHO's funding in the middle of a pandemic made no sense and said there will be plenty of time after the virus is vanquished to review its actions.
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ReplyDeleteREUTERS NOW
ReplyDeleteU.S. Supreme Court grants DA Trump tax records
Posted July 9, 2020
[NFA] The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a New York prosecutor can obtain President Donald Trump's financial records but prevented - at least for now - Democratic-led House of Representatives committees from getting similar documents.