In a shocking statistic coming out of the US, more Americans have now died of the coronavirus than they did during the almost two-decade-long Vietnam war. The latter had seen 58,220 American troops killed whereas Covid-19 has now claimed more than 59,000 American lives. In fact, the US now has the maximum number of coronavirus deaths. For the richest country in the world, that is truly a huge indictment of its healthcare system and its political leadership.
Let’s face it, President Donald Trump messed up. He may now be trying to pin the blame on China, but he was actually praising Xi Jinping and the Chinese government’s response to the outbreak all throughout January and February. And in the initial days of the spread of the virus in America, Trump was taking it too casually. There was not enough screening of Americans returning home from abroad and Trump was making vague statements like comparing Covid-19 to the flu. Then recently he actually suggested in a press conference that perhaps disinfectants should be injected into Covid-19 patients.
In short, Trump has been floundering throughout this Covid-19 episode. He has been indecisive, he has failed to fully back the medical experts, he has gone back and forth with the states instead of immediately giving them what they needed to fight the disease. The truth is, Trump is only worried about his core political support base, many of whom have been demonstrating to reopen the economy and businesses in the US. They don’t believe that the virus is deadly, they don’t care that they will infect others, and they don’t bother that vulnerable sections of the population face heightened risks due to the disease. No, they want their haircuts, tattoos and prom. And Trump has done nothing to counter these people for the fear of losing their votes.
This lacklustre American leadership is the reason why the US system is losing its allure. Sure, the fundamental problems did not begin with Trump — they existed long before him. But they have surely exacerbated under his leadership. After the huge failure in tackling the spread of Covid-19 in the US, and having become the butt of jokes for his inane comments, I find it difficult to believe that Trump can get re-elected. But democracy is a funny thing and strange outcomes are par for the course.
