Calls Mounting For Trump to Step Aside From Covid-19 Bungling

Ralph Nader / In the Public Interest

 (July 2, 2020) — Public Citizen’s open letter, co-signed by over twenty nonprofit civic organizations working for the public health, demanded that Trump and Pence immediately give up their disastrous daily mismanagement of the Covid-19 response. Trump’s bungling and ignorance have allowed the Covid-19 virus to spread faster at an alarming rate around the country.

Public Citizen’s letter to Trump and Pence asserted that their “callous disregard for human life during the still-raging coronavirus pandemic is appalling and must cease,” and called for both of them to “immediately step aside from any further role in leading or communicating about the federal response to the pandemic, and to delegate full operating authority over the response to senior professional public health and medical experts within the agencies of the US Public Health Service. (See letter at citizen.org).

Dr. Peter Lurie, President of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is circulating a sign-on letter to current and former public health officials and professionals to be sent to President Trump defending Dr. Anthony Fauci and calling for science-based policies and the involvement of government scientists as the nation develops its response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

More Republicans in the Congress are agreeing with this shift to scientific and managerial expertise. Trump’s chaotic, mindless, wrongheaded, ego-obsessed careening week after week is aiding and abetting the spread of the virus. The Trump regime is not leading; it is obstructing the state efforts to combat the virus, over-riding or undermining the scientists and pushing lethal nostrums to desperate citizens.  Trump and his toadies are also failing to provide needed supplies, facilities,  uniform safeguards and clear guidance to the state officials.

Republican Senators, Susan Collins (Rep. Maine) and Shelley Moore Capito (Rep. West Virginia) have publicly declared that Trump should “step back” and let the “health professionals” be in daily operating charge. Many more GOP legislators privately and not so privately agree.  They are seeing their poll numbers drop because of the Trump virus debacle.

The Democrats should take the initiative and draft  a veto-proof bi-partisan bill to establish a special Commission to oversee  the federal government’s management of the pandemic by scientists , public health officials and  management experts. Moreover, members of Congress, whether singly or together, should demand that the giant medical and public health associations in this country speak out and demonstrate the utter urgency of the situation, presently controlled by a ferocious, ignorant fool. (They can use more diplomatic language).

Senators and Representatives must get to work and hold public hearings featuring people who know what they’re talking about. Former heads of the CDC led by Thomas Frieden are ready to testify. Prominent Deans of medical schools and heads of national and state public health associations have much to say and recommend. Nurses have already voiced their concerns by picketing  the White House.

The Trump Administration’s lethal incompetence is unprecedented in American history. The fatalities and sickened are increasing in the pandemic’s surge. The economy is falling apart. Tens of millions are unemployed, facing hunger and eviction. The Pentagon stockpiles nuclear weapons while public health budgets are depleted, and schools beg for funds to safely open in the fall.

At the same time, the Captain Queeg in the White House is actually boasting that he has stopped enforcement of disease-preventing federal protections, and is continuing to push for terminating critical nursing home regulations and pressing to end Obamacare that will leave 23 million more Americans without health insurance. Sheer madness!

Wake up America!  We need to do far more than we have done to force Trump to resign or at least step aside.   Wake up Trump supporters!  This virus is non-partisan and its destruction is insatiable. Our country cannot any longer afford to have a crazy man in the White House.

For the sake of many lives that can be saved, every person should call the White House comment number (202-456-1111) or the White House switchboard (202-456-1414) and tell Trump to step aside for the good of the country.  Your messages tell President’s which way the political winds are blowing. Make this “rumble of the people” speak loud and clear NOW!

Nader.Org, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC  20036

Copyright 2020 Nader.Org, All rights reserved. 

An Open Letter to President Trump and Vice President Pence (July 14, 2020)

President Donald J. Trump Vice President Mike Pence
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Trump and Vice President Pence:

More than 3.3 million Americans have been infected with the novel coronavirus, and more than 135,000 have died from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — and these confirmed counts significantly underestimate the true numbers, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that the number of people in the US who have been infected with the coronavirus may by 10 times higher than the official count. Across the US, the number of new daily confirmed coronavirus cases has surged dramatically, with 23 states and the District of Columbia reporting increases of more than 50% as of July 12 compared with two weeks earlier, and 20 other states reporting increases of between 5% and 50%.

The catastrophic course of the pandemic in the US stands in stark contrast to that seen in nearly every other comparably wealthy nation in the world. For example, in the European Union, which has a population of 446 million, the rolling three-day average of daily confirmed cases peaked at nearly 30,000 on March 28, then fell dramatically and has remained below 5,200 since June 1.

In contrast, in the US, which has a population of 330 million, the rolling three-day average of daily confirmed cases reached an initial peak of just over 34,000 on April 11, slowly decreased to about 19,000 on May 28, and now has surged to more than 60,000.

Other nations succeeded in substantially reducing the rate of new coronavirus cases because their leaders consistently implemented the recommendations of public health experts.

In contrast, under your failed leadership, the Executive Branch’s response to the pandemic has been inept and incoherent in nearly every respect. From the beginning, you have contradicted and otherwise undermined critical messaging by your own public health experts.

You failed to promptly order the implementation of a federally funded and coordinated plan for massively scaled-up testing, community tracing, and quarantining of all infected individuals and their potentially infected contacts.

You encouraged states to ignore your own task force’s guidelines for a gradual, stepwise approach for reopening businesses and relaxing stay-at-home restrictions.

You failed to ensure the implementation of a mandatory federal standard to protect workers from exposure to the coronavirus.

You failed to take steps to mitigate the significant racial inequities that have caused Black and Latino people to be harmed by the coronavirus at much higher rates.

You promoted the use of unproven, dangerous drugs to treat and prevent COVID-19. You repeatedly disparaged the public health benefits of wearing face masks. Most recently, you recklessly decided to resume large indoor rallies in states with surging coronavirus cases at which social-distancing guidelines were ignored and few people wore facemasks.

Your dangerous words and deeds have encouraged millions of Americans to flout the guidelines on social distancing, avoidance of large indoor gatherings, and wearing face masks in settings where social distancing is difficult to maintain — key proven public health measures for containing the pandemic and saving lives until a vaccine or breakthrough treatment is developed and widely available.

In summary, your callous disregard for human life during the still-raging coronavirus pandemic is appalling and must cease.

Open Letter to President Trump and Vice President Pence July 14, 2020

The undersigned consumer advocacy, public health, civil society, workers’ rights, and human rights organizations therefore call upon you, President Trump and Vice President Pence, to immediately step aside from any further role in leading or communicating about the federal response to the pandemic and to delegate full operating authority over the response to senior professional public health and medical experts within the agencies of the US Public Health Service. Such action will lay the essential public heath groundwork needed to both save lives and restore the economy.

We represent a wide array of the civic community and would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you by telephone on this issue and to answer any additional questions you may have. Please contact Dr. Michael Carome, Director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, at mcarome@citizen.org with your response

Sincerely,

American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP)
Americans for Democratic Action, Southern California Chapter
Center for Social Epidemiology/Healthy Work Campaign
Center for Study of Responsive Law
Coalition on Human Needs
Labor of Love Safety Training
National Black Justice Coalition
National Employment Law Project
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Women’s Health Network
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
People’s Action
Progressive Democrats of America
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Citizen
SafeWork Washington
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Social Security Works
Universal Health Care Action Network

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