Several segments during the Republican National Convention Monday night made the case that President Trump basically fixed the coronavirus pandemic. "From the very beginning Democrats, the media, and the World Health Organization got coronavirus wrong," the narrator of one video said. "One leader took decisive action to save lives: President Donald Trump."
It is true that a lot of Democrats badly bungled the response to the pandemic. But as writer Luke O'Neil outlines in great detail, nobody did worse than Trump. For months as the pandemic gathered steam, he dithered and made ridiculous promises that it would vanish on its own. To this day he has not coordinated any kind of federal test-trace-isolate program, as almost every other country has done, and therefore most U.S. states do not have one. As a result, America continues to suffer huge numbers of new cases and deaths every day — a months-long disaster unparalleled among rich countries.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why does the GOP want to ban state-level AI regulation for a decade?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION House Republicans are pushing to block states from making their own AI laws for the next ten years, even as expert warn the results could be disastrous.
-
6 elegant Queen Anne Victorian homesFeature Featuring original diamond-glass doors in New York and a registered historic landmark in Arkansas
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
The anger fueling the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barnstorming tourTalking Points The duo is drawing big anti-Trump crowds in red states
-
Why the GOP is nervous about Ken Paxton's Senate runToday's Big Question A MAGA-establishment battle with John Cornyn will be costly
-
Bombs or talks: What's next in the US-Iran showdown?Talking Points US gives Tehran a two-month deadline to deal
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
Are we really getting a government shutdown this time?Talking Points Democrats rebel against budget cuts by Trump, Musk
-
Will Trump lead to more or fewer nuclear weapons in the world?Talking Points He wants denuclearization. But critics worry about proliferation.
-
Why Trump and Musk are shutting down the CFPBTalking Points And what it means for American consumers
-
Are we now in a constitutional crisis?Talking Points Trump and Musk defy Congress and the courts
