White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany recently said, “the world is looking at us as a leader in COVID-19.” She is half right. The rest of the world is indeed looking, not with admiration for U.S. leadership, but with dropped jaws.
We are appalled and saddened to see rising infection rates in 48 U.S. states, Americans throwing tantrums when asked to wear a mask in a store, and American leaders acting with reckless disregard for American lives. We fear we may be witnessing a nation that so many of us admired and even venerated taking the final tumble off the pedestal of international leadership.