The Virus and Leadership - WSJ Editorial
When President Trump sees a political threat, his instinct is to deny, double down and hit back. That has often been politically effective, but in the case of the novel coronavirus it has undermined his ability to lead. It’s not accurate, as the press reported last week, that the President called the virus a “hoax.” He said the criticisms of his Administration were a hoax. Yet his public remarks too often continue to give the impression that he views the virus more as another chance for political combat than as a serious public-health problem.
White House advisers last week said the virus is being “contained” despite contrary evidence. On Monday, after suggesting “fake news” was driving the stock-market rout, the President tweeted: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
Like the common flu, except the death rate from the virus may be ten times higher. Like the common flu, except the U.S. population has no built-up immunity, so the virus left unchecked could infect a significantly higher share of the population at a faster rate, overwhelming the medical system. We hope the dire coronavirus prognostications turn out not to pass, and no one knows how the coming months will play out. Yet with stock markets falling, schools canceling classes, companies emptying their offices, and nations locking down borders and some cities, Americans want steady leadership.
The biggest failure so far has been on testing when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention produced contaminated test kits and the Food and Drug Administration was slow to approve private alternatives. The best response to that is to acknowledge the delay, explain what happened, and relate when and how the problem will be addressed. The mistake is to claim there was no problem. Mr. Trump is right that his opponents, in politics and the media, want to turn the virus into his Hurricane Katrina. That is inevitable and he shouldn’t take their bait. The best defense isn’t to strike back as if the virus is Adam Schiff. It can’t be mocked with a nickname or dismissed with over-optimistic assertions that risk being run over by reality in a week or a month.
The best reply is cool and realistic leadership that marshals the strengths of the government a President leads. This means letting the experts speak, not putting himself in the front of every briefing and speculating about things he doesn’t know much about. It means showing personal support, ideally at some point in person, for virus patients and their front-line caregivers. Leadership means putting together a response to economic weakness and what can be done to help those who lose their jobs, not promising something he can’t deliver on Capitol Hill or blasting the Federal Reserve for the 100th time. Above all, leadership in a crisis means telling the public the truth, lest people begin to tune him out or, worse, make him a figure of mockery.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-virus-and-leadershipthe-virus-and-leadership-11583960719 (subscription)
= new reply since forum marked as read
a "sick" defense - and one for which they have no vaccine - only more kiss-assing for IQ45.
