Let's hear the truth, for once, from former Trump officials - Boston Globe Editorial Board

[DonViejo]

Editorial Board 1 day ago

Yes, Donald Trump made their jobs nearly impossible. Still, the doctors, scientists, and officials who contributed to the bungling of the initial response to COVID-19 last year owe the public much more now than just their recent self-serving efforts to salvage their reputations. Americans have suffered, and continue to suffer, an almost unimaginable tragedy that erupted on the previous administration’s watch. The nation needs an independent accounting of how the richest and most scientifically advanced country in the world ended up in this horror show, an inquiry in which every former member of the Trump administration should cooperate.

The purpose isn’t to point fingers, but instead to learn from the past. COVID-19 won’t be the last outbreak that could lead to a pandemic, and there is simply no excuse if the largely preventable deaths of almost 550,000 Americans don’t lead to better preparation for the inevitable next scourge. Just a few of the questions that need answers: How can authorities spot brewing pandemics earlier, even if they break out in uncooperative countries like China? What contributed to officials’ failures to take the threat seriously at first? How can we ensure there are adequate supplies of personal protective gear on hand, to avoid the hoarding and shortages of last year? Are there ways to streamline and prevent errors in the development and approval of tests, which other countries implemented much faster than the United States? Is there a way to avoid the every-state-for-itself scramble of last year’s deadly spring? Do public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention need more political independence?

Right now, the post-mortem of the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic is playing out mostly via score-settling in the media. Several veterans of the Trump team broke their silence in interviews aired by CNN last week, including Dr. Deborah Birx, Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, who said that the deaths after the first 100,000 could largely have been prevented. Another official, testing czar Admiral Brett P. Giroir, said the administration lied to the public when they said millions of tests were available early in the outbreak. Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that Trump administration officials pressured his agency to change coronavirus-related reports for political purposes.

According to Politico, several Trump administration veterans have been coordinating their stories in an effort to redeem their careers, fearing that a forthcoming book by former Health and Human Services secretary Alex Azar will lump the blame for the coronavirus disaster on them. Other tell-all accounts, each with its own personal agenda, are undoubtedly in the works. And journalist Bob Woodward is reportedly working on a book about Trump’s overall coronavirus response, which will be yet another opportunity for shrewd Washington operators to attempt to put their own spin on the failures of the last year.

more/NO PAYWALL

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lets-hear-the-truth-for-once-from-former-trump-officials/ar-BB1fhWkt

[Frustratedlady]

1. How much blame will be shared by Pence? Wasn't he head of the COVID-19 Task Force?

Not only did he stand by like an idiot with no comments while Trump spewed his lies, he still supported him after their loss and after threats of hanging him.

I know he is a wimp,. but he needs to wake up somewhere along the line. He couldn't be president of a marshmallow company.

[machoneman]

4. Hey, Pence was the Q-Tipped dummy from the very start. Heck the Q-Tip was far smarter!

[vlyons]

2. Wrong!!! Fingers need to be pointed

They knew Trump and his sycophants were lying and purposely doing nothing. Purposely hiding facts. All those who stood by and said and did nothing were equally guilty of criminal depraved indifference manslaughter, because silence means consent.

[Harker]

3. Expecting cooperation from the complicit

doesn't have a good track record.

They need to be investigated and, if appropriate, charged.

[Skittles]

5. I would love to see Trump grilled under oath the way Hillary was

yes indeed

[Frustratedlady]

6. I agree, although Trump's attention span could never endure the hours Hillary spent under fire.

Her survival skill was the sense of humor she used to put up with their stupid questions...over and over and over, again. She often had a slight smile which said to me, "You f'ing idiot. Why don't you engage brain before opening mouth?"