Trump Backs off -- Then Whammies WHO

Trump appeared to back off his claim of absolute authority to decide when the time was right when states could re-open. He said the concerns of governors about his assertion of power would amount to an insurrection. Hours later Trump abruptly reversed course, saying he would leave it to governors to determine the right time and manner to revive activity in their states.

“The governors are responsible,” Trump said Tuesday. “They have to take charge.” [More than likely he said this so if anything goes wrong he can point his finger away from himself.] Still, he insisted, “The governors will be very, very respectful of the presidency.” [One should be respectful of others if he wants respect for himself.]

Also on Tuesday, Trump instructed his administration to temporarily halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. [How can we halt HIM over his mishandling of the situation?] Trump said the WHO “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” He said it promoted China's “disinformation” about the virus that likely led to a wider outbreak.

Dr. Patrice Harris, American Medical Association president, called it “a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier” and urged Trump to reconsider. Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University, said the WHO does make mistakes, but “It's not the middle of a pandemic that you do this type of thing.”

“This is nothing more than a transparent attempt by President Trump to distract from his history downplaying the severity of the coronavirus crisis and his administration’s failure to prepare our nation,” said Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care.

“With each passing day of this worsening crisis, the president is showing us his political playbook: blame the WHO, blame China, blame his political opponents, blame his predecessors—do whatever it takes to deflect from the fact that his administration mismanaged this crisis and it’s now costing thousands of American lives,” Eliot Engel (NY-D), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Furthermore, “It seems almost every day the president thinks this crisis resolves around him, and his desires, his needs, his enemies.” -- Senator Chuck Schumer (NY-D). “How is it going to make the country better by going after the WHO one day, or the press one day, or the governors one day or [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi one day or me one day. That seems to [be] where his energy is.”  Schumer goes on to say, “It seems too much of what he says, does and thinks about is about himself.”