Stop Blaming Andrew Cuomo for Trump's Failed Coronavirus Response

You would be hard press to find any governor in the United States who did not make mistakes in their initial response to the coronavirus. Every governor at the onset was left to fend for his or her own without any real assistance from the federal government. You tell me where in modern history have we dealt with something as novel and catastrophic as Covid-19? This is an unpresidented - oh, I meant an unprecedented situation, and God forbid we would ever have to face it again in our lifetime.

During an interview with PBS News Hour on July 17, 2020,  Dr. Anthony Fauci praised New York for its' successful approach towards bringing the coronavirus under control. According to Fauci, the state of New York should be the model other states need to follow and strive for. Governor Andrew Cuomo still have some restrictions in place and cautions citizens of New York to remain vigilant and wear masks, but New York's infection rate is way down - less than 1%. 

Andrew Cuomo shut down the state of New York on March 22, just two days after Governor Gavin Newsom did on March 19 for California. Should he had shut down earlier? Yes, with what we know now, but every other governor should had shut down earlier as well. Incidentally, according to an article from CNN on July 16, 2020; the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) concluded the travel restrictions Trump imposed on Europe and China came too late for New York City. By the time the ban was issued, community transmission had already been circulating throughout the city, which predominately originated out of Europe. 

The Trump Administration did not offer guidance or provide the resources and direction the governors needed. Mike Pence who is not a scientific expert or medical professional, stepped up as the lead of the coronavirus federal response. I might as well had assumed the role - I am just as qualified as Pence, which is saying absolutely nothing. Trump informed Pence to be "nice" only to those governors who were "nice" to him. Of course, with Trump and Mitch McConnell, the red states did not have to worry so much. I guess they figured republicans residing in blue states were inconsequential and expendable like the democrats. 

In truth, to shut down a place like New York State which obviously host New York City, is far more complicated and involved than any other city or town within U.S. I'm not diminishing the challenge that comes with shutting down a given geographical location. It is a very difficult process for any city or state, but the sheer volume of the population in NYC alone, undeniably complicated everything. If we knew what we know now about this virus, I firmly believe most governors would had implemented stay at home orders sooner. 

Trump has minimized and resisted bringing attention to the coronavirus for political purposes - even to this very day. He deliberately kept a Grand Princess cruise ship from docking in Oakland, California, so those infected with the coronavirus would not be factored into the American count of Covid-19 cases. Trump initially claimed the coronavirus was a hoax and the product of a left-wing conspiracy instigated by the democrats. He nonchalantly said in a news conference, we probably will have about 15 cases or so in the U.S. that would just trickle away. No - this failure started at the top from our ever malevolent and self-serving president, and is why we are in the predicament we are today. 

Right from the beginning Trump insisted on rejecting the free testing kits offered by the World Health Organization (WHO) that were readily available. Instead, he ordered the CDC to cook up a batch of their own. The only problem was the CDC tests were inaccurate and defective. The test from the WHO were perfectly fine before Trump rejected them and they remain fine today. Did Trump have a plan or some sort of guidance in place to work with governors? No. Do you really think a historic pandemic of this magnitude and severity could be handled sufficiently by the resources of a single state? Absolutely not. This pandemic required a national response then, and it does today. 

In an article published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, the authors stated it was the CDC faulty test kits and the lack of diagnostic strategy that enabled the virus to take root across the country. The CDC tests repeatedly yielded inconclusive results. On February 29, the Food and Drug Administration finally changed course on their ban of state run laboratories who were using the same test produced by the WHO. Michelle Mello of Stanford University, a co-author of the JAMA report, stated "The public messaging from Washington about the seriousness of the problem has been neither consistent nor accurate, and I worry it may have led Americans to take fewer steps to prevent community transmission than we should have."

Were mistakes made? Yes, but they were mistakes based on a lack of knowledge (even among experts) as to how the coronavirus works, and the scarcity of resources available. I would have made the same decision Governor Cuomo did at that time with the nursing homes in anticipation of hospitals being over-filled to capacity. He was trying to ensure everyone would have a place to go in order to receive treatment for Covid-19. Nursing homes provide medical care, and without guidance from the federal government, coupled with the unknowns about the virus, decisions still had to be made. Sending patients to nursing homes was still under the purview of the CDC.

Twelve other governors issued similar guidelines urging nursing homes to accept virus patients from hospitals.The New York Times stated New York ranked second in nursing home deaths, closely following New Jersey who ranked first. The Times went on to state "About 21% of all coronavirus deaths in New York occurred in a nursing home or long-term care facility, the lowest rate out of any other state in the country," according to the Times analysis. You would never know by Fox News who has formed a rather bizarre obsession and assault on Andrew Cuomo's character. I will eventually write about what's behind this, and it has nothing to do with nursing homes or the coronavirus. 

Do you honestly believe any governor had a real handle of the way the coronavirus worked in March? Even epidemiologists and medical professions have changed their position on the coronavirus many times. Several weeks ago the WHO stated they did not think the masks were effective. They reversed that position. They once stated the public “only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with Covid-19." Not true. Just recently the WHO changed their stance on the indoor airborne spread of COVID-19. Previously, scientific experts thought heat might make a difference with the coronavirus - it does not now appear to. It was once thought if you contracted Covid-19, you could not catch it again. Unfortunately, this is not true. I point these things out to convey the numerous times experts have changed course on what once was thought to be true about the coronavirus. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci maintains we are still in the process of learning about the coronanvirus, and there will be times scientists will have to modify their theories. Just within the past week, epidemiologist and the medical field are now finding out Covid-19 can still wreak havoc on the body long after the virus have left an infected individual. A rabid Trump went after Fauci by falsely asserting he made mistakes, when in fact he was shifting positions in the light of newly acquired data. This is all Trump's effort to hide his own catastrophic failure as president for not addressing Covid-19 timely or efficiently. No doubt as we learn more, scientists and medical professionals will likely shift even more of their positions.

The Republican Party, particularly those in the Senate have been rabid in going after Andrew Cuomo solely for political purposes. Despite Cuomo going by the very guidelines established by the CDC, they have been relentless in their efforts to prostitute and exploit the nursing home deaths. Make no mistakes - these are the very people who want to end Medicare, and who until now have never been interested in the fate of nursing home residents or their conditions. They are against universal healthcare, including care for the elderly and are striving to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. These are the same people who are striving to abolish Social Security, so all of this political grandstanding about nursing home deaths is grounded in ulterior motives. 

To be blunt the Republican Senate has never cared about whether people live or die before, why now? Oh, they say they are against abortion, yet they are quite content to let a homeless man die under a bridge without even so much of a whimper. They are just fine letting an unemployed man or woman perish because he or she is uninsured and is in need urgent medical treatment. Why do they care now when never before? Jesus Christ knows the truth and what is in their hearts, and I can assure you this ganging up on Cuomo by the Republican Party is all political. 

Look at the Republican Senate and the things they have and have not supported. You tell me, do this look like a group who would be concerned over nursing home deaths? Why do they look the other way with Donald Trump and his lying and downplaying of the coronavirus? Why do they look away from the incredibly reckless state coronavirus policies that many Republican governors have established? 

They have mounted an overly aggressive effort against Cuomo, and let me tell you the real reason behind this. First, the Republican Party and their propaganda machine, Fox News fear that Andrew Cuomo has presidential ambitions. He has never stated this, but being the "brood of vipers" that they are, they start their attacks well in advance of one they perceives is a significant political threat. Second, by blaming Andrew Cuomo for New York, it deflects attention off of Trump’s failed federal  coronavirus response. Donald Trump to this very day is still downplaying the coronavirus and continues to send Americans to their death with his careless rallies, politicization of masks, and continuous lies. Third, the Republican Party will never admit it, but they are jealous of the popularity of Cuomo and they want it to go away in earnest. 

At this point and time governors have a far better grasp of how the coronavirus work and just how deadly it can be. That's why Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp are without excuses for their callous and careless disregard of the coronavirus. Trump has them in his back pocket, and the decisions they are making are garnered for Trump's approval. By the way, Florida has surpassed the most coronavirus cases ever in the U.S., even surpassing the highest single one day total in New York. 

Mistakes were made by everyone, and in general most people learn from mistakes. When looking at the current data, Andrew Cuomo has done an unbelievable job with the state of New York. He has poured his whole being into trying to protect the people of his state, while endeavoring to open up the economy safely. Cuomo has worked relentlessly around the clock like I have never seen before by any individual in my lifetime. He is taking a cautious, scientific approach based on a system of metrics that must be met before allowing a community to reopen or move on to another phase. 

It is not how you start the race, but it is how you finish it. Lives were lost all over the nation, and lives will continue to be lost due to the coronavirus. It is the sad, tragic reality of this virus. Andrew Cuomo overcame the federal government's void and lack of assistance, and is doing a phenomenal job with the data to back him up. His approach to Covid-19 is truly impressive and ultimately has resulted in thousands upon thousands of lives saved. 

The Trump Administration did not prepare and equip our governors for success in responding to Covid-19. Yet, while cases surge and are the highest numbers ever in many states, a good number of governors (most of them Trump puppets) refuse to issue new measures to control the spread. As long as Donald J. Trump is in office, the coronavirus will remain an imminent threat to Americans. All other countries which have been successful so far, has approached the coronavirus on a national level. This is what we need to overcome Covid-19 in U.S. Our focus should be on the here and now, and how we address this crisis in an attempt to get the coronavirus back under control.