What went wrong when the U.S. and the U.K. were considered the two best countries to be prepared to handle a serious pandemic, which we are experiencing now? One of the measures was, how is your country doing on the health care systems to “treat the sick and protect health workers.” You know how badly that is going for the U.S., with almost 130,000 and the U.K. with 65,700 deaths and driving more of the population to the “graveyard.”
Both men, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump, being two right-wing “illiberal populists,” turned their backs on science and the experts. Knowing Trump, this is not a surprise. Trump was warned by the outgoing Barack Obama administration about (the potential for) this disastrous pandemic and dismissed the advice. Again, Trump being Trump, closed down the White House office for pandemic preparation to spite Obama, which has led him to many of his disastrous, dangerous agendas.
After many rejections by Congress not to cut the Centers for Disease Control funds, Trump, again being Trump, gutted the funds of the CDC, not allowing the CDC to succeed in their mission of public health services and surveillance programs, which plays a key role in the outbreaks and preparedness.
I could stop here, but I’m compelled to show how these two men turned their backs on the people of their countries by rejecting the experts and science.
Both men dismissed the World Health Organization’s warning, which was very real, and gave the virus a free path for six weeks to spread uncontrollably.
God forbid if another pandemic of this magnitude comes to American shores. This country can’t afford to have an inept leader like Trump.
Lois Eisenberg
Santa Clarita
