‘Real leaders and statesman rise above politics.’ That’s not Donald Trump on COVID-19 | Letter to the editor

President Trump’s approval rating recently jumped to 55%. The truth is, in a time of crisis, that is not enough. After 9/11, George Bush’s approval was at 90%, and after Pearl Harbor FDR had an 84% rating. There is a big gap between 84% and 55%. But my message here is not about numbers, it is about leadership - leadership when the country is under attack.

Make no mistake about it; we are just as much under attack now as we were in 2001 or 1941. Leadership is not about self-promotion, and a crisis is not the same as a campaign for re-election. In tough times it is about facts and solutions, not self-promotion. Contrast that with a president who gave himself a “10 out of 10” on his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and said, “I don’t take responsibility at all” for testing failures.

Donald Trump recently bragged that we have done more testing in eight days than South Korea did in eight weeks. That is a great talking point that would make a good campaign ad, but has no place in a crisis update. The real story is that South Korea and the United States had their first positive coronavirus test at the same time, around Jan. 20, 2020. The difference is South Korea took the threat seriously and quickly ramped up testing while Trump totally downplayed the threat saying at one point it will disappear “like a miracle.”

The result is that the United States’ coronavirus deaths per million people are 17 times greater than South Korea’s. It is also not lost on me that Trump’s support comes mostly from his “base” and not from Democrats. That is what happens when most of your crisis updates play more like campaign rallies.

Real leaders and statesman rise above politics.

Douglas A. Broberg

Bradenton

This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 11:56 AM with the headline "‘Real leaders and statesman rise above politics.’ That’s not Donald Trump on COVID-19 | Letter to the editor."