Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Flickr
President Donald Trump has made it clear that Americans should not be afraid of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) despite him contracting the disease himself.
So far, over 208,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. In the past few days, many top officials in the Trump administration have contracted the disease including Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepian, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and counselor to the president, Hope Hicks.
At the onset of his illness, Trump was in Bedminster, NJ at his golf course for a fundraiser. Former NJ Governor Chris Christie, who attended the event, contracted the virus. He was hospitalized and was released this past Sunday after successful treatment.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, after learning about the COVID cases in Bedminster tweeted on Oct. 2, “We urge everyone who attended yesterday's event in Bedminster to take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested for #COVID19.”
New Jersey's Republican candidate for US Senate, Rik Mehta, who was also at the fundraiser, blasted the governor during a Facebook livestream by saying he was nowhere near the president and there was no need for him to quarantine.
The American people should not be angered by President Trump’s use of words. Many people are still stricken with fear and have hardly left their house. Trump wants to reassure the American people that even in these unprecedented times that you can still live your life in a careful way. If you want to stay home, then stay home. Trump does not want to instill fear in Americans. He wants people to not be afraid because they are looking for hope and want an end to this pandemic.
If you want to wear a mask, then wear a mask. If you want to go outside and continue with your normal life, then Trump is all for it. Trump has even made it clear that he promoted the use of wearing masks or face covering but respects citizens' rights to not wear one. The government should not force people to wear a mask.
The statement Trump made should not hurt him in re-election since many Americans want to return to a normal lifestyle. David Axelrod, former Obama administration official, tweeted “A Super Spreader of dangerous untruths. Do not follow his advice. Yes, BE afraid of COVID, and act accordingly: masks; social distancing; frequent hand-washing.” Axelrod’s rhetoric in his tweet is to instill fear in the minds of the American people.
The mainstream media will say that President Trump is downplaying the virus and he is responsible for many deaths, but let’s not forget five Democratic governors, including our very own in NJ, gave the approval to send COVID-19 positive patients to nursing and care facility homes which resulted in the deaths of thousands. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise exposed Governor Murphy for covering up the fact that he sent the patients to the nursing and care facility homes.
President Trump has done an amazing job with the handling of this virus. He has taken the virus seriously since its arrival to the United States from Wuhan, China. As soon as the virus came to the US, he stopped all air travel from China which he was highly criticized for. Trump built the leading COVID testing system in the world from absolutely nothing.
Most importantly, Trump has started the effort to deliver a COVID vaccine in record time which several pharmaceutical companies are working on. I could not ask for a better president to lead us through these unprecedented times than President Donald Trump.
amiragli@ramapo.edu
