We should be ever-vigilant against leaders who use the tactics of dictators to conceal their intentions and ambitions and to facilitate their overreach of authority.
Donald Trump tried to re-direct the blame for the mismanagement of the Coronavirus crisis this week, pointing an accusing finger at the World Health Organization (WHO) while threatening to cut their funding:
The fact is that WHO began to issue warnings about the virus early in January. These went mostly unheeded by Trump and his administration as he downplayed the threat of the virus for the next two months. As recently as February 28th, Trump claimed that "it’s going to disappear" like a "miracle". On March 4th, Trump suggested that Coronavirus was not much worse than the flu when talking with Sean Hannity of FOX News. And it was well into the month of March before he accepted the necessity of nationwide lockdowns. In addition, he has fought with the states and impeded their access to vital supplies needed to combat the outbreak. As of this writing, the country is over 650,000 reported cases of COVID-19 with over 33,000 deaths.
As for his claim that he will halt funding for WHO, that is a clear (and dangerous) overreach of his power. Congress controls the power of the purse and they authorized the funding. He does not have the Constitutional authority to keep that money from going to WHO.
We must continue to be alert to leaders who overstep the bounds of their office and who use deception, misdirection, and obfuscation in ways that threaten our free and Democratic system of government.
Donald Trump tried to re-direct the blame for the mismanagement of the Coronavirus crisis this week, pointing an accusing finger at the World Health Organization (WHO) while threatening to cut their funding:
Today I’m instructing my administration to halt funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess the World Health Organization’s role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus. Everybody knows what’s going on there.
The fact is that WHO began to issue warnings about the virus early in January. These went mostly unheeded by Trump and his administration as he downplayed the threat of the virus for the next two months. As recently as February 28th, Trump claimed that "it’s going to disappear" like a "miracle". On March 4th, Trump suggested that Coronavirus was not much worse than the flu when talking with Sean Hannity of FOX News. And it was well into the month of March before he accepted the necessity of nationwide lockdowns. In addition, he has fought with the states and impeded their access to vital supplies needed to combat the outbreak. As of this writing, the country is over 650,000 reported cases of COVID-19 with over 33,000 deaths.
As for his claim that he will halt funding for WHO, that is a clear (and dangerous) overreach of his power. Congress controls the power of the purse and they authorized the funding. He does not have the Constitutional authority to keep that money from going to WHO.
We must continue to be alert to leaders who overstep the bounds of their office and who use deception, misdirection, and obfuscation in ways that threaten our free and Democratic system of government.
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