Lack of leadership from Trump
It has been over six months now since Covid-19 became the issue in United States. In that time several developed countries have been overwhelmed by the virus, stabilized and ultimately reduced transmission dramatically. Yet, our own country, arguably the most advanced country economically and medically, has some of the highest rates of infection in the world.
As of Aug. 17 the U.S. had 110 infections per 100,000 population over the last seven days. The comparable number for our neighbors Mexico and Canada are 33 and 7. For European countries: France-33, United Kingdom-12, Germany-7 and Italy, which had one of the worst initial outbreaks, is 6 cases per 100,000 population over the last seven days.
Over 180,000 Americans have died from the virus. That is by far the highest of any country in the world. Comparatively, recall that just under 3,000 Americans perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
It verges on criminal that the U.S. has failed to contain the virus. The leadership of President Trump is central to this failure. He has refused to take the issue seriously and has consistently been more focused on himself than the threat of the virus. He ignores the advice of experts in the field and offers confused and contradictory information to the nation.
For example, he has discouraged the wearing of masks and social distancing. He has advocated for an unproven and potentially dangerous medication (hydroxychloroquine) and he has encouraged large events which unnecessarily spread the virus. In April he froze U.S. funds for the World Health Organization. It’s tragic the American President froze the funds for the preeminent global health organization in the middle of a global pandemic. This list could go on for pages.
Equally offensive is the fact that several of our own elected representatives have failed in any way to criticize or attempt to correct the failings of the President. Sen. Daines and Rep. Gianforte stand out in this respect and again seem more focused on covering the President’s backside than dealing with the threat of the virus.
Every other advanced country in the world is doing a significantly better job of dealing with Covid-19. The infection rate in the U.S. is between two and 20 times that of our neighboring and European countries. Isn’t it time for the U.S. to do at least as well as the rest of the developed world?
Mike Kadas is a former legislator, mayor of Missoula and most recently director of the Montana Department of Revenue. He lives in Missoula.