Trump, Fauci & the Virus

By Donald Jeffries

Not surprisingly, the left has been nonstop parroting the mantra that Donald Trump failed miserably in addressing the Covid-19 crisis. Even The Washington Post recognized this early on, with a March 27 article headlined, “What exactly has Trump done—or not done—to receive such harsh criticism for his coronavirus response?” While at that time his poll numbers were pretty good, already 58% of Americans thought he was too slow to react.

Even earlier, Trump was being blasted by the usual suspects. World Health Organization special adviser Ezekiel Emanuel, brother to veteran Democratic Party Mafioso-wanna-be Rahm Emanuel, called Trump’s comments during a late February briefing “incoherent.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chimed in with, “Unfortunately, the Trump administration has mounted an opaque and chaotic response to this outbreak.” Bernie Sanders expressed his concern over “the inadequate and incompetent response we have seen from Donald Trump and his administration.” Joe Biden told CNN, “I just hope the president gets on the same page as the scientists.” Michael Bloomberg declared, “Trump’s slow-witted response to the coronavirus has already put American lives at risk.” RINO extraordinaire Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said he was “very disappointed” in the president.

President Trump actually had acted quickly, on January 31, to impose restrictions on flights coming into the United States from China. Pelosi and other leading Democrats responded by calling the move racist and xenophobic. By April, though, Pelosi criticized him for not going far enough, telling CNN, “Actually, tens of thousands of people were still allowed in from China. So it wasn’t as it’s described, as this great moment. There were Americans coming back, green card holders coming back, but there were tens of thousands. So, if you’re going to shut the door because you have an evaluation of an epidemic, then shut the door.” While the media and politicians had routinely been referring to Covid-19 as the “China Virus” or the “Wuhan Virus,” in early March many of the same people began calling Trump “racist” for even associating the virus with China.

Trump and his infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci haven’t been and still aren’t on the same page. Trump looked noticeably uncomfortable in discussing the virus, and early on tried to downplay its severity. He was lambasted in the press for expressing the hope that the country could open up by Easter Sunday. White House advisor Peter Navarro noted that, “When you ask me if I listen to Dr Fauci’s advice, my answer is only with caution.” Navarro would go on to say that Fauci “has been wrong about everything I have ever interacted with him on.” He noted that Fauci had initially, in late January, been telling the media there was nothing to worry about. Fauci had also been opposed to Trump’s early decision to halt flights from China. Fauci was even seen on camera, smacking his palm against his head in exasperation over one particular Trump comment.

While Trump often touted that the virus could be treated with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, Fauci publicly dismissed his views, which were backed by many in the medical community. “You look at the scientific data and the evidence. And the scientific data . . . on trials that are valid, that were

randomized and controlled in the proper way, all of those trials show consistently that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease or Covid-19,” Fauci claimed. Trump, meanwhile, tweeted, “It’s safe. It doesn’t cause problems. I had no problem. I had absolutely no problem.”

While Fauci and most of his administration were extolling the virtues of mask-wearing, Trump proclaimed, “You don’t need a mask,” and for a long time refused to wear one. Fauci had, in fact, advised people not to wear masks during the early stages of the crisis. Confronted with this later, Fauci arrogantly maintained, “I don’t regret anything I said then because in the context of the time in which I said it, it was correct.” Fauci later claimed he had lied for the good of the country about wearing masks, to make sure there wasn’t a run on masks that would have left the medical community short on masks and other personal protective equipment. In a July 11, 2020 article, the Post reported that Trump and Fauci hadn’t spoken at all since early June. Never have the many obvious differences between Trump and those working with him been clearer.

Trump can certainly be faulted for flip-flopping on this issue, as he has on many others. But the allegation that he was slow to respond, or didn’t react strongly enough, is absurd. Barack Obama took longer to react to the Swine Flu in 2009, and took less stringent actions, even though it had killed more Americans than Covid-19 had at the same point. Trump has, almost alone among political leaders, pushed for states to end the disastrous and unnecessary lockdowns and reopen again. Trump has been criticized for failing to do things he can’t constitutionally do, yet much of America remains inexplicably shut down through orders from governors in individual states.

Donald Jeffries is a highly respected author and researcher whose work on the JFK, RFK and MLK assassinations and other high crimes of the Deep State has been read by millions of people across the world. Jeffries is also the author of three books currently being sold by the AFP Online Store.