Last Updated on October 29, 2024 by BVN
Overview: Former President Barack Obama criticized former President Donald Trump’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Clarkston, GA, on October 24. Obama reminded the audience of Trump’s dismissive attitude throughout the health crisis and his refusal to follow the detailed plan his administration passed on to Trump when he assumed the presidency. The pandemic resulted in the loss of approximately one million American lives, with the United States rating number one worldwide for COVID-19 related deaths as of March 2, 2023.
S.E. Williams
In the furious and anxious race for the presidency, former President Barack Obama pulled no punches in Clarkston, Georgia during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday evening, October 24.
Harris and former President Donald J. Trump remain tied in the polls just days before the November 5 election even though its become apparent that Trump is a Nazi sympathizer; even after he’s promised another mindbending tax cut for the nation’s wealthiest; after stacking the Supreme Court with right-wing justices and assuring the demise of Roe vs. Wade; after cozying up to dictators and fracturing ties with the nation’s allies; after threatening mass deportation of millions and threatening to jailing his adversaries–just to highlight a few of his outrageous actions.
The list of Trump’s egregious threats is almost unlimited and seems to be changing daily as are the lies he blatantly tells supporters in hopes of pulling ahead in the race for presidency.
“We’re prepared. We’re prepared and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm.”
Donald J. Trump, March 2020
While Trump continues to lie in his effort to rewrite history, there is no way he can outrun the truth of how this nation suffered during the COVID-19 Pandemic under his stewardship. Obama reminded the audience in Clarkston, Georgia, about Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic. He reminded everyone of the detailed plan his administration passed on to Trump when Obama left office and Trump assumed the presidency. Obama also reminded us of how Trump totally ignored the strategies and tactics developed by the Obama administration to manage a major health crisis. The plan was based on the Obama administration’s experience dealing with Ebola and also the Swine flu during his presidency. The nation paid a high price for Trump’s arrogance relative to ignoring the Obama plan. The price the nation paid in pain and suffering and economic losses were further exacerbated by Trump’s glaring incompetence and haphazard leadership throughout the crisis.
When Obama addressed this issue during the Clarkston rally last week he was careful to note that the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis would have been aa daunting challenge for any presidency but Trump’s dismissive attitude throughout the health crisis impacted the nation’s response. It ultimately resulted in the loss of approximately one million American lives. Most appalling is that the United States rated number one worldwide for the most COVID-19 related deaths as of March 2, 2023, according to analysis by the online data platform Statista.
Number of COVID-19 Deaths Worldwide as of March 2, 2023
The United States rated number one in the world for COVID-19 related death as of March 2, 2023. (source: statista.com)
Yes, it was a once in one hundred years crisis , however, Obama reminded the nation of how horribly mishandled the pandemic was here under Trump’s watch.
Bottom line, America lost more lives than any other nation. 646,970 lives, to be exact. Obama reminded us that people were going to get sick and die from the virus. “But,” as he noted, “if you look at a country like Canada, the per capita death rate during COVID was 60% lower than in the United States. “You do the math, over one million people died during the pandemic in the U.S., 60% is 600,000 people–that’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, coworkers, friends.” I count my beloved niece, Gina Maria Perrault, among them.
Those, however, are the deaths in real time. It doesn’t account for the thousands of children left without a parent or parents; the loss of education; the increase rates of depression and the rising rates of suicide and suicide ideation, especially among youth. And this is just a part of the virus’s still lingering impact.
I’m no psychiatrist ,but to me the former president lacks both empathy and compassion. He seems to fit the definition of a sociopath among the many other things I can think of to call him.
If you were unfortunate enough to suffer from COVID-19 or lost a loved one, neighbor, coworker or friend to the virus, remember Trump assured us at least 38 times between February and October 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, that Covid-19 was either going to disappear or was currently disappearing.
This is the hope I have for Trump after November 5. That he disappear from the American political landscape for good.
When you cast your ballot for president this election, remember the president who let the nation down and how he played politics with 646,970 lives and then, cast your ballot for the presidential candidate “For the People”.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.
