The Democrats need to stop backseat driving. The President is the one who’s supposed to handle emergencies, and President Trump has got the coronavirus situation completely under control.
The Executive Branch is tasked with coordinating and implementing the federal government’s response to situations such as the coronavirus outbreak. The only role Congress has to play is to provide funding as needed to carry out our containment strategy.
President Trump asked for $2.5 billion. Democrats in Congress countered with $8.5 billion. The President accepted. End of story. Or at least it should be. Second-guessing the White House’s approach is not just unproductive, but it is actively counterproductive. In circumstances like these, we all need to be playing on the same team.
Yet, the Democrats are trying to gin up public hysteria in the hope that they’ll be able to portray the Trump administration’s response as inadequate. While the situation in the U.S. is being managed especially well, the President’s opponents are raising alarms about a potential nationwide epidemic largely so that they could continue to politicize it all the way up to Election Day. San Francisco’s declaration of a public health emergency before there had even been a single case reported in the city is a perfect illustration of this.
Fortunately, it’s all just an elaborate exercise in political theatrics. President Trump has taken all the necessary steps to minimize the risk that coronavirus poses to the United States.
When the disease first appeared in China, the administration quickly moved to restrict travel from that nation. As the outbreak has spread to other countries, such as Iran and Italy, the President has expanded the travel restrictions.
In order to make sure health officials are prepared for any eventuality, the President gave emergency authorization for the FDA to expedite delivery of testing kits to hospitals all over the country.
Researchers are working around the clock to develop a vaccine, and the Trump administration is standing by to ensure that bureaucratic hurdles don’t delay the availability of this crucial inoculation.
These measures are working. The number of coronavirus cases in the United States remains exceedingly small, even as the same virus rampages through other countries that were not as well-prepared for it. The U.S. has such substantial health care resources, in fact, that President Trump has even offered to extend assistance to countries that are struggling to contain the spread of coronavirus, such as Iran.
Despite this, the Democrats insist on pulling stunts in an effort to undermine public confidence in the administration’s response to coronavirus. They’ll undoubtedly succeed in unduly distressing at least some people, but none of those people will be any safer because of the Democrats’ fear mongering. Rather, they’ll be safe because President Trump has demonstrated unprecedented leadership and his administration has taken a robust and proactive approach to minimizing America’s exposure to this new disease.
Nobody likes a backseat driver. The Democrat should stop cheering for pandemonium and join Team Humanity in the fight to eradicate coronavirus nationwide.
Charlie Kirk is the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an advocacy group for young conservatives.