Trump’s failure to act early exacerbated the severity of this crisis and contributed to its impact on the economy, including the astronomically high number of jobs that have been lost.

TRUMP FAILED TO ACT: Coronavirus was first detected in December. Trump had ample lead time before coronavirus reached the United States, but he failed to prepare or assemble a coherent response.

The Guardian: “The US … was distracted by the individual whims of its leader, and is now confronted by a health emergency of daunting proportions.”

Washington Post Fact Checker: “The president spent nearly two months issuing confusing and contradictory signals — leaving the bureaucratic machine of the U.S. government to chart the course for the coronavirus response …  The missteps that went unmanaged were ignored by leaders at the highest level of government and allowed cases to go undetected, contributing to the spike in the virus’s spread.”

FAILED TO TEST: The U.S. and South Korea had their first confirmed coronavirus case on the same day, but the U.S. still remains far behind in per capita testing. Trump’s delays in ramping up testing early on cost our country precious time to stop the spread of the virus. 

Associated Press: “Testing blunders crippled US response as coronavirus spread”

Washington Post: “As of March 28, exactly four weeks after the FDA loosened the rules for testing, the United States still performed only 2,250 tests per million — two-thirds of what South Korea did almost three weeks earlier.”

FAILED TO SECURE SUPPLIES: Trump ignored early warnings that hospitals lacked sufficient supplies. His failed response contributed to shortages across the country, and his chaotic leadership has only made it more difficult for states and hospitals to get supplies they need.

Politico: “Seven days before Donald Trump took office … The Trump team was told it could face specific challenges, such as shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs and other medical essentials, and that having a coordinated, unified national response was ‘paramount’ — warnings that seem eerily prescient given the ongoing coronavirus crisis.”

NBC News: “The president’s ‘Hunger Games’ approach to scarce resources has pitted states against one another and the federal government, as more Americans die.”

FAILED TO EXPAND HEALTH INSURANCE: Millions of Americans could lack crucial health care coverage at the time they need it the most. But Trump has no answer for how to help uninsured Americans, refuses to reopen ACA enrollment and is trying to overturn the entire law.

Politico: “Trump rejects Obamacare special enrollment period amid pandemic”

DNC War Room: “Donald Trump’s attacks on the ACA mean more people are without insurance. So it’s particularly disgusting that Mike Pence still has no answer for how the administration will help the uninsured — more than two months after our first confirmed case.”