President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the BOK Center on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of supporters lined up early for Trump's first political rally in months, saying the risk of contracting COVID-19 in a big, packed arena would not keep them from hearing the president's campaign message. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)NICHOLAS KAMM
Of all the bad decisions and miscalculations that President Donald Trump has made in his three-plus years in office, the worst and most deadly was his strategy to put politics (i.e. his re-election) above the nation’s safety and health care. As a result, we have more than 1.9 million COVID-19 cases and more than 120,000 deaths and counting from the ever-spreading disease. Trump is singularly focused on the economy as if it will bounce back with vigor in time for Election Day. However, the public’s lack of confidence that we have control of the virus and that the administration is doing all it can to keep us safe and lead by example makes you wonder if Trump has already given up. Without the public’s purchasing power at full steam, it will be a long time before the millions of jobs lost and businesses return will the economy recover. That confidence will not return with people ignoring social distancing and not wearing face masks, which Trump encourages as if it is a show of support for him to scoff at his administration’s guidelines. He is giving people a false sense of security that will just prolong the pandemic and continue the misery.
Raymond Harris
Glenville