Make no mistake that any country consumed by corporate power, neoliberalism, and capitalism is ill prepared to deal with a public health crisis. But this has been magnified 1000x in the US by the epic failures of the current administration – the Trump Administration – that has spent the last three years enriching the 1% while hacking away at government programs meant to serve the needs of the public.
We are witness to a colossal series of errors by the Trump Administration:
1) The Trump Administration eliminated the global pandemic response team in 2018.
2) The Trump Administration cut the CDC by 3/4’s.
3) The Trump Administration rejected the standard WHO testing kits, opting for the US to develop their own, which turned out to be faulty.
4) Trump has lied at press conferences and played down the danger of the Coronavirus threat.
5) The Trump Administration had two months (January and February) to prepare yet ignored all warnings as the virus spread around the globe.
6) The Trump Administration has continuously weakened and tried to eliminate the Affordable Care Act – leaving one in ten Americans without health insurance.
7) The Trump Administration has not supported sick pay for workers forcing many potentially infected people to spread the virus while at work.
8) The Trump Administration continues to ignore the advice of experts and scientists on how to best tackle the spread of the virus.
9) Add most current blunder here.
These missteps have left the US unprepared for this public health crisis. Hospitals are short on ventilators, widespread testing is not happening, and doctors and nurses are turning to social media to beg for safety equipment online. These mishaps are costing lives. Never forget.
Image inspired by the Gran Fury design for ACT UP NYC in 1988.
A bloody red hand print is featured, with the words in white: COVID-19. Text above and below in black states: “THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS BLOOD ON ITS HANDS. TRUMP’S MISSTEPS ARE COSTING PEOPLE THEIR LIVES.”
