President Donald Trump announced on Thursday, Oct. 1 that he and the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19, according to the New York Times. He made a reckless return to the White House after being hospitalized three days prior.
While it is a relief to know that President Trump was able to overcome the virus, it seems like quite an unexpected turn of events coming from the man who mocked former Vice President Joe Biden about his choice to wear a mask whenever he is out in public, according to Bloomberg.
While Americans are suffering, it’s shocking to see a president belittle people’s fears by saying “It is what it is” when speaking about the growing COVID-19 death toll during an interview with Axios on HBO.
This leads to real life consequences for his nation and his supporters.
Careless and detrimental remarks like this have left many Trump supporters to doubt and even resist the government’s information about COVID-19.
After refusing to wear a mask, Juan Ciprian, 81, passed away a week before Trump announced that he had contracted the virus, according to the Boston Globe. Ciprian’s family did everything they could to keep themselves safe, but Juan relied solely on Trump’s information and believed that the virus was not a concern.
Many families are suffering after losing a family member to the virus. As of Tuesday, a growing number of over 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, according to the New York Times.
President Trump had knowledge of the extremity of the virus back in February, according to NPR. It begs the question whether we would have been able to be more prepared and equipped to handle the situation if we knew about it sooner.
However, throughout this national crisis, President Trump has seemed to mock and disregard the seriousness of the pandemic. This has accounted for devastating consequences that our nation is still trying to overcome.
For eight months, people have been wearing masks out in public and elderly people in nursing homes are not able to be visited by their family members.
Every four years, we elect officials in the White House to hold certain standards of honesty, nobility and trust. President Trump has continuously gone against these standards throughout this national crisis.
Facing a problem like the COVID-19 pandemic would be stressful and trying for any president, but when a leader constantly lies and gives inaccurate information to the public about their well-being, it goes against the standards that should be held by every government official.
