Right now, our country is facing what is perhaps the most depressing Holiday season in recent history. As the coronavirus cases surge nationwide with a total death toll of over 288,000, this winter is only darkened by the post-election situation.
More precisely, I’m referring to Mr. Trump’s reaction after he lost the Presidential election (both the Electoral College and popular vote) to Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
A helpless, leaderless country
Our country has never needed a strong, reliable leader as much as it does right now. The healthcare system is once again being overwhelmed, we barely have any certain information regarding the vaccine and might not even know when we’ll receive it anytime soon.
Add to that the unemployment crisis which leaves thousands of Americans begging for meals in food banks and we get a national crisis which leaves us feeling hopeless and helpless.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been focusing on combating the election results in every possible way along with his supporters from the Republican party. His refusal to concede or accept a voting result which shows no evidence of fraud (as he famously and repeatedly suggests) is already having a devastating impact on the transition of power.
Furthermore, Georgian Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is worried that the U.S. President’s ‘mountains of misinformation’ might even have a major negative influence on GOP voters during the January 5 runoff. However, if the Democrats take both seats this time, they can pass laws in the 50-50 Senate with Kamala Harris, vice-president elect.
Trump still battling Biden in Georgia
It’s been one month since Election Day took place and President Donald Trump is still gathering funds to fight the alleged voting fraud which happened in key-states. So far, each of his court battles have been dismissed in no time.
In one of his latest public appearances, Mr. Trump lashed out at Georgian Governor Brian Kemp last Saturday. Among other statements, the President asked for a special voting session and wanted Mr. Kemp to tell state legislators to cancel Biden’s state victory.
Gabriel Sterling, Senior Georgia election official, is one of the Republicans who label Mr. Trump’s behavior as ‘dangerous.’
“The President’s statements are false. They are disinformation. They are stoking anger and fear among his supporters — and Hell, I voted for him.” – Gabriel Sterling, Senior Georgia election official
Not only does Donald Trump seems desperate to hold onto his seat at the White House, but he also shows no interest at all in managing a chilling domestic crisis.
Winter is coming
…from every point of view. According to experts, the final month of 2020 finds our country stuck in the worst domestic crisis since World War II.
First of all, we have the imperative issue of public healthcare, with COVID-19 cases rising to insane numbers.
Dr. Deborah Birx, member of the coronavirus task force at the White House, is sincerely disappointed by officials’ response to pandemic management. Governors and mayors in Sun Belt, for instance, refused to apply preventive measures already proven to be effective.
In a recent speech, Dr. Birx also suggested that the President’s attitude during Election rallies and recent meetings have only worsened the situation. In this case, she is referring to Donald Trump not wearing a mask, denying the danger brought by the virus and minimizing its devastating impact upon the country.
To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate
Last month we finally received a much-needed dose of hope when giant companies Pfizer and Moderna announced the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
As for how many doses our country will get, who will get them first or how they’ll be managed, we’re still left in blank.
What we do know right now is that the Food and Drug Administration will analyze the emergency use of the first vaccine doses prepared for the U.S. within the next few days.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer declared that the team has 40 million vaccine doses ready to be delivered by the end of this month. Since this is a two-dosage vaccine, it would be enough for 20 million Americans – which is still a breakthrough we’ve been dreaming of for months.
Right now, Moncef Slaoui, leader of Operation Warp Speed (the government’s vaccine drive) expects the FDA to authorize emergency use of the vaccine this week. However, he also admitted that the team is 8 weeks late on their initial schedule; if anything else goes wrong, America could end 2020 without a single vaccination.
Dr. Slaoui went on to praise Joe Biden for his support regarding the current healthcare and domestic crisis; he also showed appreciation for Mr. Biden’s recent proposal that everyone should wear a mask during his first 100 days in office once the Inauguration takes place.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, from Virginia, recently previewed a four-month emergency relief package. However, we still don’t know whether the Congress will vote on the $908 billion plan – but we do know it would be extremely useful.
According to Warner, this Covid relief package is targeted to help unemployed citizens, as well as those struggling with food, small businesses and minority businesses which have suffered from the past few months tremendously.
And as if to hammer a nail in the coffin of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic, the New York Times recently reported that Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered months ago to sell the U.S. more vaccine doses. The effects of that decision could likely see more Americans die unnecessarily in a year filled with unnecessary and preventable deaths.
RELATED POST: Trump Considered NOT Leaving the White House Ahead of Inauguration Day
