Trump, Johnson Resisted on Pandemic Policy
Their push to cut WHO funding criticized by American Medical Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
We face a contagious, virulent coronavirus pandemic. 735,000+ cases nationally, including 4,200+ in Wisconsin (WI) with 40,000+ U.S. deaths and 200+ for WI. No zip code is immune, with spikes in South Dakota and Brown County, WI. There is no vaccine or curative treatment yet. Science mandates social distancing and stay at home.
Our way out will depend on medical and scientific breakthroughs, as well as competent political leaders at all levels. Democratic and many GOP governors are leading, relying on data and science. What has been sorely lacking is competent leadership from the White House and the Republican-led Senate, including WI GOP Senator Ron Johnson. Neither Trump nor Johnson are grounded in governing. Both are incapable of empathy, preferring chaos and division.
Johnson chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee. He held one inconsequential hearing on the “federal response” to coronavirus. Administration officials testified behind closed doors. Trump’s failures received no public scrutiny. Johnson has settled on a new probe focusing on China, blaming the WHO for supposedly colluding with China to cover-up the origin of the coronavirus and pushing an unproven treatment, in sync with Trump. Despite his frequent praise of China’s containment response to coronavirus, Trump attacks China and the WHO for his failures. Johnson cheerleads. U.S. funding for the WHO has been suspended.
However, Trump and Johnson received serious pushback against the attacks on the WHO. The American Medical Association said: “During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the … (WHO) is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier. Fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation and reliance on science and data. Cutting funding to the WHO – rather than focusing on solutions – is a dangerous move … .” And, the conservative U.S. Chamber of Commerce said: “The Chamber supports a reformed … WHO… . However, cutting the WHO’s funding during the COVID-19 pandemic is not in U.S. interests given the organization’s critical role in other countries … .”
Trump and Johnson are also hawking the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial medication that also treats lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Trump quipped: “It may work, it may not work.” Johnson said: “Patients deserve the right to try hydroxychloroquine.” Left unsaid is the lack of hard scientific data, potentially dangerous side effects and the impact on people who depend on this medication. Even the CIA has issued a warning on using this drug. Trump and Johnson advocate quackery. We need competent political leaders.
This column was originally published by Wispolitics.com
Bill Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C. for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
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More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- MHD Release: Milwaukee Health Department Launches COVID-19 Wastewater Testing Dashboard - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jan 23rd, 2024
- Milwaukee County Announces New Policies Related to COVID-19 Pandemic - County Executive David Crowley - May 9th, 2023
- DHS Details End of Emergency COVID-19 Response - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 26th, 2023
- Milwaukee Health Department Announces Upcoming Changes to COVID-19 Services - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Mar 17th, 2023
- Fitzgerald Applauds Passage of COVID-19 Origin Act - U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald - Mar 10th, 2023
- DHS Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Program - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Feb 10th, 2023
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
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