President Trump vs. Dr. Fauci

A President Contradicting his Experts

Much of our world humbled as a President doesn't change his tune

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped and disrupted daily life for an overwhelming majority of people on the earth. In times like these it is most important to heed directions, warnings, and updates from those who have devoted their entire lives to the study of and battle against infectious disease. This is why it is so disheartening to see the leader of the free world propping up his highest ranking official on infectious disease, Dr. Anthony Fauci, as an indicator of his own preparedness and responsibility while he simultaneously contradicts Fauci at nearly every turn as though he remains the most qualified person for leading any task or response. When asked bluntly if he would be strictly following orders from Fauci as would any layman when consulting with a doctor, he was dodgy at best: “Sure. I would certainly — he's very important to me, and I would — I will be listening to him.”

An expert urges realism and responsibility with a hopeful tone

From the earliest stages of the country’s battle with this virus, Dr. Fauci has been open and honest about just how much we understand about it, how seriously we need to treat it, the sort of escalation we should expect, and when any sort of vaccine could potentially be approved and ready. “We do not know what this virus is going to do. You would hope that when we get to warmer weather, it would go down, but we can't proceed under that assumption:” hopeful while being realistic. Saying that “it is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu” may seem inflammatory but it remains a truth that people need to process. This strategy extends to his acknowledgment that the US was not prepared to meet its own demand for virus testing and that a vaccine should not be seen as a short term fix to contain the spread.

A President cherry-picking for good soundbytes, down-playing a crisis

On the other side of the same coin, we find the President continuing to focus on talking points or speculation that reflects best upon his own performance rather than acknowledge an increasingly dire situation. He is quoted as saying the following about the pandemic: “It's going to disappear. One day — it's like a miracle — it will disappear,” and “It's a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for, and we'll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.” These statements are irresponsible at best. Furthermore, with documented evidence of testing shortages, Trump chose lies to protect his own image: “I think I think importantly, anybody right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They're there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful.” Setting aside the damaging effects of a president continually spreading misinformation, simply having two government voices given equal volume and consideration from the press at large breeds confusion at the worst time. We all need to do better, starting at the very top.

Brut.