Trump’s erratic history of broken promises on health care, the economy has put more lives in danger

Trump’s failure to lead the nation and his chaotic, ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic has put lives at risk and exacerbated the damage to our economy — and across the battlegrounds Democrats joined doctors, nurses, and health care workers to hold him accountable. See for yourself: 

IN FLORIDA:

Florida Politics: Florida Democrats slam ‘chaotic’ coronavirus response from Donald Trump. “Florida Democrats, including the party chair and a Congresswoman, convened telephonically Thursday to pan Pres. Donald Trump for his ‘chaotic’ coronavirus response in Florida. Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was joined by two representatives from hard-hit South Florida: U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala and State Rep. Nicholas Duran. The group painted a grim picture of the President’s performance thus far.

• “Rizzo described a ‘delayed and chaotic’ response from the President, who failed to ‘scale up testing’ at critical moments last month.”
  

CBS: “Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo and Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27) joined two health care professionals in a phone call Thursday to discuss what they described as the president’s ‘chaotic leadership’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.” 

IN OHIO:

Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper penned an op-ed calling out Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic in Ohio:

CLERMONT SUN: David Pepper: Don’t listen to Trump: Saving lives will save the economy.  “Another thing that has been made crystal clear during the coronavirus pandemic is that Donald Trump doesn’t care about working people, only how their sacrifices can boost the stock market and prop up his re-election prospects. Nurses and doctors are going to work with bandanas and homemade masks to protect them from infection, and Trump’s response is to blame governors and local leaders. If we somehow manage to get out of this crisis, we can rebuild our economy — but not if Trump gets four more years in the White House.”

• “Over the past year, many months before most of us were familiar with the term ‘coronavirus,’ our economy in Ohio has been sputtering. From January 2019 to January 2020, the state lost 12,500 jobs, including 6,000 in manufacturing. In March 2019, General Motors closed their Lordstown plant, leading to the loss of thousands of jobs at the factory and thousands more in spinoff jobs.”
• “These economic realities are because of Donald Trump’s failed policies. His tax scam didn’t benefit families or workers; it mainly helped corporations and billionaires like Trump. His chaotic trade war by tweet has hurt Ohio farmers and manufacturers. In addition, Trump’s attacks on health care have led to rising numbers of uninsured Ohioans, right at the moment when they will need health coverage more than ever.”

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE:

New Hampshire state Rep. Gaby Grossman wrote an op-ed slamming Trump for continuing to spread dangerous disinformation:

CONCORD MONITOR: The coronavirus pandemic made worse by Trump’s ‘infodemic’. “As we fight the spread of COVID-19, we also need to fight the spread of disinformation that comes with it. […] It’s past time for Chris Sununu, Donald Bolduc and Matt Mowers to call out Trump’s negligent inaction and divisive disinformation about coronavirus – and to stop spreading dangerous disinformation themselves. Granite Staters not only deserve better, but we need better. Our lives depend on it.”

IN MAINE:

Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra wrote a piece for the Bangor Daily News laying out the consequences of Trump’s failures for the country’s oldest state:

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: Kathleen Marra: Trump’s failed, chaotic leadership is making us less safe. “Trump is directly responsible for this health and economic crisis spiraling out of control. Instead of taking advice from experts, he failed to take appropriate steps to slow the virus in the early stages of the outbreak. He wasted precious time making false statements that confused the public. And, as the virus continues to spread, Trump’s chaotic leadership and lack of preparation has made America less safe.

• “As the oldest state in the nation, nearly half of Mainers are considered ‘high-risk’ for developing serious illness from the coronavirus that would require hospitalization and the use of ventilators for breathing. But ventilator shortages are reaching crisis levels nationwide.”

IN VIRGINIA:

Rep. Abigail Spanberger wrote an op-ed calling on the administration to provide health care workers with critically needed protective equipment:

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH: Rep. Spanberger: Our health care workers need protective equipment now. “But in the face of a global pandemic, our health care professionals have displayed unmatched grit, selflessness and courage. We all should endeavor to follow their lead and mirror their example, because these are the virtues that will deliver us through these challenging times. Our doctors and nurses have quickly risen to the occasion. In response, our government needs to do the same and provide them with the personal protective equipment they deserve.”

IN PENNSYLVANIA:  

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Philly nurse practitioner: We tried to order 300 COVID-19 tests. We got five. | Expert Opinion. “How did we, the United States of America, find our health-care system so utterly unprepared for this crisis? In 2018, the Trump administration disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic response team that would have planned the national response when the virus first appeared. When the first documented case of COVID-19 was reported over a year-and-a-half later, the administration wasted a precious month that could have been spent containing the virus and stocking up on equipment. It also gave away 17.8 tons of PPE to China.”

• “When I tried to order COVID-19 tests, I discovered we had only four testing kits available for our entire 6,000-patient practice. I also learned that we tried to order 300 COVID-19 tests, but received only five […] Just one week earlier, President Donald Trump had proclaimed to the nation: ‘Anybody that needs a test gets a test — they’re there, and the tests are beautiful.’ I wondered: Where are all of those beautiful tests?”

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Pennsylvania receives about half of the personal protective medical equipment it requested from federal government. “Maureen May, a nurse at Temple University Hospital, said Thursday that nurses are already having to ration personal protective equipment while treating some 30 coronavirus patients in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

• “‘If we cannot protect ourselves, we’re spreaders, we are going to spread not only to our patients, (but) our colleagues and the community,’ May told reporters on an unrelated conference call arranged by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.”

IN MICHIGAN 

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes  wrote a guest column highlighting how the coronavirus epidemic has cast another spotlight on Trump’s health care agenda. 

THE DETROIT NEWS: Lavora Barnes: Virus puts health care front and center for November. “As we go through a once-in-a-generation global pandemic that is devastating our country, infecting tens of thousands and threatening the lives of Michigan residents, now more than ever Michigan working families are recognizing the importance of affordable health care. When we turn our eyes to November, it’s clear health care will be a defining issue in the upcoming election. And it’s clear President Donald Trump and the Republican Party don’t have the answers Michigan is looking for.”

• “Right now, as Americans across the country fear a deadly virus and lawmakers urgently address a public health crisis, Trump is fighting in the Supreme Court to end the Affordable Care Act, again endangering health care for over 700,000 Michigan residents and threatening to gut protections for more than 4 million in Michigan with a pre-existing condition.”

MLIVE: Trump urged by Michigan Republicans, Democrats to back off attacks on Gov. Whitmer’s coronavirus response. “Meanwhile, the Michigan Democratic Party held a press call to to criticize Trump’s ‘slow, ineffective response to COVID-19’ that they say ‘has put thousands of Michigan health care workers and patients in peril.’”