Donald Trump’s inaction in January and February on coronavirus has led to the unnecessary deaths of thousands of Americans. An error of this magnitude warrants one response: Donald Trump must resign.
The New York Times documents e-mails from federal officials from January and February showing that ignored clear, evidenced warnings of the imminent danger coronavirus posed to the United States:
…dozens of interviews with current and former officials and a review of emails and other records revealed many previously unreported details and a fuller picture of the roots and extent of his halting response as the deadly virus spread:
The National Security Council office responsible for tracking pandemics received intelligence reports in early January predicting the spread of the virus to the United States, and within weeks was raising options like keeping Americans home from work and shutting down cities the size of Chicago. Mr. Trump would avoid such steps until March.
Despite Mr. Trump’s denial weeks later, he was told at the time about a Jan. 29 memo produced by his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, laying out in striking detail the potential risks of a coronavirus pandemic: as many as half a million deaths and trillions of dollars in economic losses.
The health and human services secretary, Alex M. Azar II, directly warned Mr. Trump of the possibility of a pandemic during a call on Jan. 30, the second warning he delivered to the president about the virus in two weeks. The president, who was on Air Force One while traveling for appearances in the Midwest, responded that Mr. Azar was being alarmist.
Mr. Azar publicly announced in February that the government was establishing a “surveillance” system in five American cities to measure the spread of the virus and enable experts to project the next hot spots. It was delayed for weeks. The slow start of that plan, on top of the well-documented failures to develop the nation’s testing capacity, left administration officials with almost no insight into how rapidly the virus was spreading. “We were flying the plane with no instruments,” one official said.
- By the third week in February, the administration’s top public health experts concluded they should recommend to Mr. Trump a new approach that would include warning the American people of the risks and urging steps like social distancing and staying home from work. But the White House focused instead on messaging and crucial additional weeks went by before their views were reluctantly accepted by the president — time when the virus spread largely unimpeded [Eric Lipton, David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman, Michael D. Shear, Mark Mazzetti, and Julian E. Barnes, “He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus,” New York Times, 2020.04.11].
In 2012, four State Department officials resigned over the “‘systematic failures’ of leadership and ‘grossly inadequate’ security” that occurred prior to the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans. The United States has now documented over 20,000 deaths attributed to coronavirus, with 2,074 covid-19 deaths just on Friday. That’s 5,000 Benghazis. That’s almost seven 9/11s.
Some of those deaths may have happened anyway, even if we had locked down the economy and sent everyone home on February 1. But many of those deaths would not have happened. Many of those deaths resulted from Trump’s favoring of image and ego over expert advice. Many of those deaths resulted from Trump being Trump.
Donald Trump has failed to lead. He failed to take seriously an imminent threat to the United States seriously. A decent leader would acknowledge this failure, hold himself accountable, and resign.
Donald Trump has shown he cannot make difficult decisions. Instead of making a show of the difficulty of his Twitter/Fox-befogged guessmaking, Trump should resign immediately, self-isolate himself in silence, and turn management of this national disaster over to Vice-President Pence, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the rational experts whom Trump ignored, at the expense of thousands of American lives.
History will show the Trump presidency as a major downfall of American society, and Trump as principally responsible for the high death rate in the United States and for shutting down global effectiveness in preventing and preparing for the pandemic. History will also show he wasn’t alone in being responsible for bringing America to a grinding halt. Fox News and the uber-right media personalities are as much to blame as they transformed the Trump base into a suicidal echo chamber. Here’s a quick review of their strategy and methods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAh4uS4f78o
Most disappointing, though, is the chorus of hundreds of thousands of stubbornly dumb or callously shrewd Trump supporters who locked arms and helped Trump and Mitch McConnell and wicked governors like Kristi Noem kick our nation to the curb and hold it down. No doubt we will hear from some of Trump’s third tier chumps on this thread, defending the cowardly, corrupt and wicked. Donald Trump would not be as successful making the pandemic so much worse than it needed to be without these fools.
The United states has about 4% of the world’s population yet we have about 30% of the confirmed cases and about 20% of the deaths. Mention those facts at a POTUS daily corona-virus Task Force briefing and he will demean, ridicule, deny, and lie and then call on a friendly reporter so as to boost his re-election ratings. That is his #1 and only priority for every stupid choice he makes.
Here in western South Dakota we have a chance to maintain the unusually low transmission against this plague but due to lack of testing, we don’t know who really does have the virus. The federal government with it’s annual multi trillion dollar budget wasted it all and now we are in another pickle.
Indeed 96 tears “History will also show he wasn’t alone in being responsible”. We have two senators, Rounds and Thune, that have done all and everything to shore up and support the lies from trump. Thune is the number 2 republican in the Senate and did nothing, nothing at all to prevent what carnage we are seeing in this state and the country as a whole. They both knew and did nothing.
trump and the entire republican senate echo chamber need to resign en masse for the sake of the country. There is one exception, Mitt Romney, maybe. All the rest have stood by while many many of these elected officials have used their position to enrich themselves with the knowledge that this was a pandemic and did nothing but line their pockets from Wall Street while keeping up the lies.
While Mitt Romney certainly should be recognized for his break with the party on the impeachment removal vote, did he actually make any public statements to warn the public about the impending virus pandemic threat, or take any other action to protect the public early on?
As for Trump, Cory’s original story shows the exact problem when Cory states: “A decent leader would . . . .” There is virtually nothing in Trump’s history that I can recall that would support a legitimate use of the adjective “decent” to describe him.
True that bcb, but just maybe ol’ Mitt was cast out of the fold with his vote. These sycophants all hum together so if one is off key, they ostracize them and banish from the herd.
Rounds and Thune knew from the get go, that is for sure. There is no way on this planet that these two crooks and liars were not in the thick of it. They are both, clearly not honorable men and both are now unfit for the office they occupy.
I think it is important to emphasize that the four resignations in the Benghazi episode were not in protest but because those who resigned were leaders in charge of the failed security and inadequate leadership.
Not only trump, but what about Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee, our superb senators that could have said something, anything? T-Dumb only shows for photo ops and T-dee is worse. He actually ignored the House evidence during impeachment and then voted against hearing anything first hand during the procedure.They are absolutely as much to blame. As they back this “gentleman,” I hope they realize the damage they are doing to this country. (sorry, Jerry, didn’t mean to step on your comments, but you are right on!)
drumpf was decently impeached, so he has that going for him. Rmoney self isolated and then tested negative for Covid-19 for which drumpf mocked him….
To save you the pain of reading moar drumpf drivel i will post the relevant statement….
Sharing online an article from the alt-right media outlet Breitbart News regarding the Utah Republican’s test results, Trump wrote: “This is really great news! I am so happy I can barely speak. He may have been a terrible presidential candidate and an even worse U.S. Senator, but he is a RINO, and I like him a lot!”
Loren got me thinking…. there used to be a thing called TD Waterhouse and didn’t TD have a new home that flooded on the Missouri, his own TD waterhouse? Don’t worry, that is just the way my mind tracks sometimes.
Besides it is snowing and blowing and visiblity is very low for Easter.
Time for the body count’s newest numbers…
Last updated: April 12, 2020, 16:07 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
535,591
Deaths:
21,409
Recovered:
31,018
Guy caught between a hard spot and a temper tantrum throwing 2 year old spoiled brat…
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/fauci-hedges-on-criticism-of-us-coronavirus-response-obviously-more-lives-wouldve-been-saved-if-mitigation-started-in-february/
This guy gets what drumpf refuses to get.
Picking up on your word, jerry, it does bring a whole new meaning to Trump’s inaugural address quote that left a lot of people scratching their heads: “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
The stats update mike from iowa posted shows how desperately it needs to stop. Our one and only shot is November. It will prove to be a very long seven months.
Trumps needs to go because the county has NO confidence in him.
Now is the time Republican leaders need to get together and push Trump out. Then the country can come together under Pence.
If Trump stays in office, the country is not going to come back, for the simple reason that people do not believe anything the president says and have NO confidence in his leadership. Trumps mouth and twitter fingers have sunken his own ship.
Hey ho, Donald J, how many did you kill today!
Ranchers and farmers, you need to get up and sound the alarm to Rounds (who is up for reelection) and Thune (who is tall), about the Post Office. You know those rural mail routes that deliver your stuff. Through all of this, you can count on the postal system to get your much needed mail delivered and then to take what you mail to the main office…in your small town. trump has already failed you, don’t let Rounds and Thune do the same, stand up and bite them on the boo boo to make them yelp for your needs.
Rounds and Thune want to destroy it. Simple as that. They want it gone..
“If ever there were an entity that deserves financial relief from the coronavirus, it’s the U.S. Postal Service.
We fail to understand President Donald Trump and Congress’ astonishingly shortsighted move last month to exclude the financially troubled postal service from the nation’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus bailout.
The postal service is on the front line in the COVID-19 battle, processing and delivering 500,000 pieces of mail daily, including the prescription medicines, lab tests and medical supplies needed during the pandemic.”https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/4/5/21203431/coronavirus-covid-19-u-s-postal-service-bailout-editorial
It’s clear that we have no newsprint in South Dakota to alert, so here, at Dakota Free Press, that alarm has been sounded. Who will take up it’s cause?
AG outfit in Sutherland closed the doors and filed bankruptcy. Sickelka AG was a father and two son outfit that spread, sprayed, soil tested, trucked and farmed. Had a number of employees for Spring, Summer and Fall seasons.
Dad grew up on the NW corner of this section and one son still lives there for decades.
Wingnuts have been wanting to turn the PO over to private enterprise and pay them billions in subsidies when they go bankrupt.
I have never been one to say anything nice about the Rapid City Council, however their relatively rapid response to shutting the city down to the extent the law allows may be one of the things that saves a lot of sickness here. “Governor” Noem is still dragging her feet and Sioux Falls was way to late, see what that got them. It’s to bad Noem has decided to run the state the same way Trump is running the fed, passing decisions off to cities and counties the same way Trump passed it to states.
Well, yeah, but it’s not gonna happen. We all have our coronavirus daydream. It’s good for mental health, if nothing else.
We have seen all through his presidency that he’s in way, way over his head. He’s always been oblivious to the fact that he’s a dolt, lazy and incompetent. He thinks he’s a stable genius and works hard, which means he’s also delusional. He acts as if the pandemic is like a real estate negotiation. Lie, bluff and bully, is his standard operating procedure. The virus could care less. It’s gonna do what it’s gonna do.
The best approach, I think, is for us to resign ourselves from him. Simply do not listen to a thing he says. don’t do anything he wants us to do, don’t follow any of his orders. He’s an illegitimate leader, and is not to be obeyed. Search out the best scientific information, listen to responsible officials, go by what they say, and ignore and obstruct Dear Leader.
I don’t know why they carry his endless blatting in these fake coronavirus briefings. Mostly they are propaganda efforts filled with happy talk mixed with a hefty dose of blame shifting, whining about Governors and Mayors who fail to lick his rear end and attacks on news organizations who report the truth. Just record these briefings, cut out the Trump b.s. and give us facts and the best advise from the scientists.
I know I’m not following any recommendations coming from Trump. I’ve stopped tuning in to the daily Trump follies. It’s a waste of my time. I have resigned from him. I suggest you do the same.
My coronavirus daydream: I wish Wisconsin was a part of Canada is what I wish for.
Lucky you Mr. Pay, Wisconsin will be a part of Canada! https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/map-of-the-day-ex-kgb-analyst-predicts-balkanization-of-us/58945/
Bonus for you sir, even a bi lingual national anthem. Learn French and compare to English, booyah!!
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/celebrate/pdf/national_anthem_e.pdf
An’ a one, an’ a two, an’ a three:
O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux.
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix.
Ton histoire est une épopée,
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
“Balkanization” is exactly the word I used a few days ago on DFP to describe what I fear. It’s Pootie’s favorite wet dream and anything that makes Pootie happy thrills his Puppet.
With tears streaming from the sockets, I joined in song 96Tears. Now to have some Poutine (delicious) that will make the dream of my French ancestors first home at Trois Pistoles, Quebec, in 1675.
As trump is so willing to die us all off with Rounds and Thune at the switch, why not?
Headline from WAPO…..
Trump retweets call to fire Anthony Fauci after the coronavirus expert says earlier measures ‘could have saved lives’
Possible paywall.
mfi, as you know, science and trump/senate republicans do not mix well. Rounds and Thune are still as puzzled as trump is on how the mechanics of a toilet flush work. Of course, a doctor has got to go, why they even have OZ there to give out medical and scientific advise or Alex Rodriguez for further analysis.
NPR has documented the promises and claims Medical Moron made in his big March 13 speech about COVID-19. After all the bloviating, blustering, blabbering and bragging, here are the facts on the ground:
is.gd/xoUA6N
Marlboro Barbie and Cardboard Mike are complicit and just as guilty as McCTurtlefartface for not having removed this stain from office when they had the perfect opportunity.
Removing drumpf would most definitely caused wiser heads to take charge and attempt to head of this likely avoidable catastrophe.
Sailor on USS Roosevelt carrier dies of Covid-19.
Every member of the GOP in DC and most of them holding state offices are complicit. Some of these deaths are their stain as well.
Business Insider has documented how Medical Moron has rebuffed and silenced experts’ advice and warnings from the outset of this tragic pandemic.
is.gd/59yNht
“President Donald Trump’s Labor Department has quietly issued guidance informing most employers in the United States that they will not be required to record and report coronavirus cases among their workers because doing so would supposedly constitute an excessive burden on companies.
“The new rules, released Friday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), were met with alarm by public health experts and former Labor Department officials who said the new rules are an absurd attack on transparency that could further endanger frontline workers.”
is.gd/ALOQPR
No personal comment necessary.
Yer right as rain, Debbo. I neglected to name Ivanna Kuturnutzov and “Assume deer dead” Grassley, my own worthless sinators and all the rest of the kiss drumpf’s orangeass brigade.
Of course, state health laws will override this dumbarse. As will the governors who are plotting their own course of action regarding the economy. In other words, just because trump says something, doesn’t make it right.
Governor Cuomo of New York seems to be the speaker for most thinking Americans, for the rest, continue to toss feces.
This is absolutely worth reading as we see Medical Moron wanting to reenact the 1917-19 flu pandemic.
https://thenib.com/1918-spanish-flu/
Please don’t skip this link. That pandemic killed 50 million people.
Be good aDvice to avoid drumpf and wingnuts like the plague, as a general rule. Interesting link, Debbo.
Axios says cities and states that rely heavily on tourism bolstered sales tax are next in line to be economically burned.
is.gd/CbClXd
Last updated: April 14, 2020, 16:24 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
591,064
Deaths:
24,600
drumpf body count for today so fasr.
trump declared himself the dictator of America, guess this is making America great again.
Massachusetts has joined the Multi State Council so that makes it bi partisan. We have the two coasts now with West Coast Pact on the West Coast and the Multi State Council on the East Coast. Thought provoking article, that’s for sure. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/14/1937064/-Trump-declares-himself-a-dictator-Blue-state-governors-organize-A-breakup-is-now-on-the-table#read-more
In less than 2 hours there were another 543 deaths in America….
Last updated: April 14, 2020, 18:00 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
603,059
Deaths:
25,143
What will wingnuts do about Typhoid drumpf? My best guess is what they have done. Not a damn thing.
trump/republican senate are like George Custer to the Navajo Nation.
“The Navajo Nation has reported more confirmed cases of COVID-19 per capita than almost every U.S. state, behind only New York and New Jersey, records show.
As of Monday, the American Indian nation had recorded 813 infections and 28 deaths linked to the coronavirus on its reservation, which spans roughly 27,000 square miles across portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
There are roughly 332,000 members enrolled in the Navajo Nation in the U.S., according to 2010 census data. About 173,667 people live on the reservation, including Navajos and people of other races, making the number of confirmed cases on the reservation about 468 per 100,000 people.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/navajo-nation-coronavirus-per-capita_n_5e94b532c5b6a50d4ae6d7e7
Another 500 plus dead….
Last updated: April 14, 2020, 20:15 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
608,988
Deaths:
25,671
Last body count for today is not good….
Last updated: April 15, 2020, 00:18 GMT
United States
Coronavirus Cases:
613,624
Deaths:
26,016
Since testing is extremely limited, we can easily say that a million Americans have the virus and 50,000 have died from it.
50,000 would be about the entire population of Aberdeen and Watertown, wiped off the map.
😢
Are bars, restaurants, taverns, or other group gathering places in Sioux Falls currently open (other than curbside or takeout)? I hear many of them are closed already.
We are Mexico or Mexico be us, not sure now. But both old tom cats sound alike.
“The destruction of Mexico’s institutions, economy and democracy under the inept and increasingly autocratic regime of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has accelerated in the last few weeks with his incompetent management of the Covid-19 pandemic. The crisis is devastating Mexico with increasing strength, while he continues to deny facts and invent his own rosy scenario with a daily barrage of lies that raise questions over his mental health.”
Canada better start building a wall.
As it turns out, drumpf owes Bank of China tens of millions and the note comes due soon.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/trump-biden-china-debt-205475
drumpf is also begging Great Britain for debt relief on his failing golf courses.
drumpf is a walking conflict of interests and a liar, too.
Good research Mike.
drumpf is seriously considering bailing out failing red states, but not blue states.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/494807-trump-asks-why-taxpayers-should-help-bail-out-democrat-run-states
blue states have historically helped red states stay afloat thanks to taxes paid to the fed disparity between the states.
Pushing 81k dead bodies now. Even more, Cheap Justice of the SPOTUS says there is no probable cause to appoint an ethics panel to investigate McCTurt;efartface’s court packing by convincing elderly wingnuts to step down so they can be replaced by extremely young, unqualified right wing ideologues for lifetime positions and to over rule the Senate if Dems gain control in next election.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/justice-roberts-denounced-for-refusal-to-investigate-federal-judges-sudden-retirement/
Clerical error made on Flynn case dismissal filing is making attorneys wonder where the doc was drawn up and by whom, since most experts doubt the errors made would have passed muster in DOJ office.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/09/politics/filing-error-michael-flynn-case-reversal/index.html
Barr, as some of you will remember played an instrumental part blowing up Iran Contra convictions under Raygun.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pajdb9/william-barrs-been-accused-of-a-presidential-cover-up-before
Fire drumpf some more…… https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/us/politics/barr-trump-obama.html
Barr shoots drumpf in the butt saying the Russian investigation was not an Obama plot against drumpf and there will likely be no charges against Biden or Obama from special prosecutor’s investigation into Russia/Mueller report.