HOW IT ALL BEGAN

The warnings from medical professionals and the intelligence department briefings were ignored by Trump all through January.   Trump’s CDC rejected 250,000 test kits, when offered by the WHO, only because the CDC wanted to use their own kit they developed in their own labs.  The CDC kits were contaminated and useless.  After an inspection of the CDC labs, it was determined that if they were any other lab, they would be shut down. 

Trump brags about closing the borders early from flights from China and from Europe. The fact is 430,000 people entered after his ban. 40,000 people came in from China and not all were quarantined, even after the travel ban.  The U.S. was the 24^Th country to ban travel from China and 38^Th country to ban travel from Europe. Weeks transpired and Trump turned to wishful thinking and determined it would magically go away in April. So stupid. 

The president rejected the idea that testing was, or even today is, a path forward, as if in an information bubble.  The CDC in a normal administration would take the lead nationally when it comes to testing.  For example, they develop the yearly flu shot concoction.  Trump, upon his failure, put the responsibility on the states, with the potential for 50 different solutions, saying the national stockpile is not for the states.  No matter how you do the math, Trump’s response to the virus, like Obama said, has been total chaos.  Again on May 8^th he stated the virus would go away without a vaccine.

The Dow sinks 500 points, once Trump’s financial advisor Jerome Powell stated that the economy could suffer permanent damage as a result of the virus.

Trump was upset with Fauci’s testimony about opening the economy.  Trump said his testimony was as unacceptable.  Trump quashed a CDC 68-page document to provide a coordinated response on how to open, because it had too hard and onerous requirements on how and when to open, even though it was a coordinated effort by medical professionals. States run public health and the federal government provides guidance and materials, yet one of these partners is missing.

Stay tuned for Trump’s response to May’s, 2020 congressional testimony by the health care professionals.  The opening statement provided early is a scathing rebuke of the Trump interference and response to the pandemic.  This should be fun. Watch out for diversion, fireworks, and another laser light show and retribution.   This comes with the sidelining of the medical professionals and substitution of economists with financial advisors.  What could go wrong?  He also hired his own doctors to claim opening was ok, when you counter the deaths with the economic health of the country and its impact of keeping the economy closed.  I wonder if these are podiatrists, chiropractors and gynecologists vs. epidemiologists and virologists?

China waited 5 days after they discovered the dangers of the virus and immediately gave out the genome and stated that it was highly contagious.  China and the WHO are both in the crosshairs, even though Trump waited an additional 5 weeks before he became serious about the pandemic, and only after the market crash.

His blaming of WHO continues with a letter delivered to the WHO by Trump that said ”it is my duty….to inform you that, if the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and consider our membership in the organization”

One study had the death rate double with every weeks’ delay with this pandemic through May.  Let us assume we are at 100,000 deaths by 1 June.  That would be 5 weeks delay for Trump, so cut it in ½ you get 50,000, one added week its 25,000, the third week delay would have the anticipated death toll to be 12,500. The fourth week the number is 6,250 and the 5^th week, if Trump had acted with a total lockdown immediately when the data was available and put the United States in a total lockdown, the study would have the death toll at 3,125 deaths, which is closer to the Chinese death toll of 4,600.  This death toll is more in line with the world’s death rate per million people.  Is the result of Nero having rallies and ignoring his security briefings, CDC and FDA warnings, memos, briefings and other signs in January?  Thank you Mr. Trump.

Faux pas by the Secretary of State, congratulating Taiwan’s President for his second term.  And continuing with “Taiwan’s vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the rejoin and the world, with President Tai at the helm. Our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish”.  Sounds great, however we have not recognized Taiwan as a state since Trump, out of difference to Beijing, has made nice with Xi.  This shared missive generated a response from China.  China’s foreign minister responded with his own message to the Trump Administration, which was “On Pompeo’s congratulations to Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration, we express strong indignation and condemnation.  China will take necessary counter-measures, and the consequences will be borne by the US side”. 

This is irritation between the world’s current top powers and all brought on to distract from the death toll.  Another Trump laser light show, brought to you for distraction.

Trump the chump, rather than fighting China, with the rest of the world backing us to defeat the Chinese trade practices, as in the TPP agreement had done, which Trump squashed because it was an Obama thing, he decides to make it us against China alone.  Same with the WHO. He thinks we can do it alone.  This is insanity. Like an ostrich, does he not think the rest of the world exists?

 In a pandemic, total world cooperation is essential to a solution. Does Trump believe that American exceptionalism will prevail?  For what purpose is his isolationism?   Is it xenophobia or nationalism?  If he would get the rest of the world to be on our side, the reformers within China would be more inclined to act to make things better for everyone. So what good was Trump’s escalating trade war that only hurt the U.S.? The trade war escalation had galvanized the reformers within China against the US.

Speaking of China, the once vilified Dr. Li of Wuhan, of being the Chinese whistleblower on the virus fame, is now a national hero and was elevated to martyr status. Prior to his death he had said, “A healthy society must have more than one voice”.  I agree, however the voices to be healthy must also spew the truth, not some fictional alternate fact, only believed to be the truth in ones tribe bubble.

Airlines and air travel have suffered in this pandemic.  Hertz rent a car filed for bankruptcy, 30% of Hertz’s revenue comes from airports. The Airlines predicted that air travel would not recover until 2023-2026.   Rent a car business, accounts for 10% of the auto purchases per year.  What could go wrong?  Slower recovery?