On January 22, two days after the first case of COVID-19 in the United States was confirmed, President Donald Trump was asked if his administration was worried about an impending pandemic. “No, we’re not at all,” he replied. “And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China.” The dismissiveness and overconfidence of his answer would set the tone for his administration’s response in the coming weeks, as the coronavirus metastasized into a public health emergency and the greatest crisis of his presidency.
In the weeks since, more than 1 million Americans have fallen ill and more than 57,000 have died. More than 26 million people have lost their jobs and Congress has approved $2.7 trillion in relief aid. Some states are preparing to reopen their economies, even as front-line workers still lack protective equipment and testing is nowhere near the levels experts say it should be. The severity of the moment has often escaped the president, who seems intent on solving the crisis with spin and bluster—along with a healthy dose of magical thinking and buck-passing.
What the next few months will bring is unclear, but a look back at the first 100 days of America’s coronavirus crisis clearly shows the consequences of the president’s lack of preparation, seriousness, and empathy.
Bill
Article URL : https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/trump-coronavirus-timeline/