Closing The Book On Trump’s Disastrous Legacy — Part II
I recently wrote a piece in which I analyzed Trump’s disastrous presidency. That piece indicated that Trump’s incompetence was responsible for approximately 200,000 unnecessary corona virus deaths, 10 million lost jobs and 12 million lost insurance policies. On the international front, I pointed out that Iran and North Korea became more dangerous during Trump’s presidency.
Since I wrote that piece, even more evidence has come out that puts into sharp relief Trump’s myriad failures as president. These new findings provide yet more proof that Trump’s disastrous handling of the pandemic had deadly consequences for nearly 200,000 Americans.
A new report in the Lancet blames Trump’s failed response to the pandemic for 40% of the 450,000 Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. “Many of the cases and deaths were avoidable,” the report states. “Instead of galvanizing the US populace to fight the pandemic, President Trump publicly dismissed its threat (despite privately acknowledging it), discouraged action as infection spread, and eschewed international cooperation.”
“His refusal to develop a national strategy worsened shortages of personal protective equipment and diagnostic tests,” it adds. “President Trump politicized mask-wearing and school re-openings and convened indoor events attended by thousands, where masks were discouraged and physical distancing was impossible.”
Trump’s pandemic failure also led to the biggest drop in U.S. life expectancy in the U.S. since World War II. According a new report from the federal government, life expectancy in the U.S. fell by one year in the first six months of 2020. Even more shocking, “life expectancy of the African-American population declined by 2.7 years in the first half of 2020, slicing away 20 years of gains.” On a similar depressing note, life expectancy of the Hispanic population fell by 1.9 years in the first six months of 2020.
Dr. Otis Brawley, a cancer specialist and public health professor at Johns Hopkins University stated that: “Overall, the drop in life expectancy is more evidence of our mishandling of the pandemic. We have been devastated by the coronavirus more so than any other country. We are 4% of the world’s population, more than 20% of the world’s coronavirus deaths. Not enough use of masks, early reliance on drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, which turned out to be worthless, and other missteps meant many Americans died needlessly.”
It is no coincidence that this is the second consecutive Republican administration to lead the United States into disaster. This is the direct result of the GOP’s bankrupt governing philosophy that rejects science, expertise and government itself. The Republicans like to tell us that government doesn’t work and then they wreck government in order to prove it.
We Democrats need to constantly message to the voters the profound differences between the two parties. We Democrats are the party of the people. The Democratic Party created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans are the party of the rich, sabotage, mass unemployment, mass illness, mass death and violence.
Going forward into the 2022 elections, we must repeat that message again and again and again. The 2022 elections could be the last free elections in American history. If the GOP wins the Senate and the House in 2022, they will steal the 2024 presidential election. And if the GOP regains the levers of power in D.C., they will wreck the country again.
The Republicans will always be the party of Donald Trump. We must never let the voters forget that. History matters. Now let’s get it done!
P.S. — You’re going to want to save this post for when Trump and his propaganda machine try to rewrite history.