Covid 19 Inside of Politics

Yesterday, someone walked up to me and told me that any other president could have dealt with the coronavirus better than Donald Trump. They backed up their argument with biased/politicized opinions that had no merit to them. I hate when people do that. I believe that you shouldn't hate what a president is doing just based solely on the fact you hate the president.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Trump handled the Coronavirus terribly and I will tell you why. First off though, I should mention the US has been the best at dealing with the coronavirus since it exploded in the US. The US might have the highest numbers, but it is also so much larger than Italy or South Korea. The US also has the most testing and data on what is going on compared to the rest of the world. Now, this is more due to the US technological and economic superiority compared to the rest of the world (not who the president is). That being said, lets talk about Trump.

One point that was brought up to me, was when Trump was briefed on the situation he didn't take it seriously. I don't think that is a valid point as back then when Trump was initially briefed the media, WHO, and the public believed nothing was going to happen and it would be contained. Shutting down the country when nobody else agreed with it, would be political suicide and economic suicide. When Trump banned flights from China, Biden and Pelosi even disagreed with him by calling him racist. Also this point is two folded, which is why I believe it is in valid. If Trump listened to the briefs and shut down the country and nothing happened, people would be hating on Trump for just the opposite reason. When making non-partisan arguments, it is important that the argument is not two folded.

Another point that was brought up to me was that Trump didn't follow the playbook. First, a playbook is just a book of Yes or No questions. Second, many presidents don't follow playbooks. Third, read the playbook before you make an argument about it. The playbook is mainly directed at the CDC with a reference to POTUS only four times in the 69 pages. It also doesn't give a plan to respond or contain a pandemic. It doesn't tell the government to build stockpiles or increase PPE gear. In essence, it only tells the government the bare bone basics which is what all playbooks do. If playbooks told POTUS exactly how to do something, then being POTUS would be easy and presidents would still have hair. This point shows the ignorance of the person trying to make an argument about something they knew nothing about.

Here is a point that I believe is valid in why Trump handled this pandemic terribly. (Note: I believe it is hard for any president to handle a pandemic "well", and most/all presidents would handled it "terribly" as the fact is you can't predict this stuff that well.) When the outbreak broke out in parts of the US, Trump downplayed the impact and didn't encourage the shutting down of the country. This point isn't two folded as there really isn't a way to say the opposite. I believe other presidents would have handled it differently, of course I don't know that though.

Trump also ignored Bill Gate's advice back in 2018 when Bill Gates said a bigger stockpile was needed. Although, I don't know if other presidents would have listened because the US has never had an adequate stockpile for pandemics. I also don't think this is a two folded argument because having a stockpile is like having insurance - better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Trump could also have build a more non-partisan task force on the issue and brought the Democrats into the circle. This would help take the politics out of the current pandemic and help bring the country closer together in times of need. I believe this is something other presidents may have done, and some having proven have done. I also think this isn't a two folded argument - as bring more non-partisan into our government I believe is a great thing.

I do think Trump handled this crisis terribly, but before you make an argument on why Trump handled it terribly look at the facts first, don't make two folded arguments, and don't argue about things you don't understand.

Note: I do believe Trump has done helpful things towards slowing the spread of the virus.