Listen to Call Audio Here
On a press call today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry, and Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room discussed how the Trump administration has made no progress in combating coronavirus in the past three months.
As a direct result of Trump’s failed leadership, the same issues that existed in March and April — medical workers experiencing PPE shortages, insufficient testing, ICU beds reaching capacity, hospital workers losing their lives and more — are the reality in states across the country today.
“In times of crisis, government can be a powerful force for good if competence and moral clarity rule the day. Donald Trump’s response to this crisis has been incompetent and morally banrkupt,“ said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “The Trump Administration’s failure to lead has allowed the virus to spread, putting millions of Americans at risk and our hospitals under unbearable strain.”
“From the first days, Trump’s approach to the coronavirus has always been to undermine science and undercut experts,” said Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “He did it by contradicting his own CDC’s reopening guidance when he urged armed protesters to ‘liberate’ their states, and now he’s using the same playbook to undercut the measures being implemented in order to open schools. This is the first time in my life that I have seen an American leader who was charged with the safety and security of people make a public health crisis a partisan event — and the results have been devastating.”
“We are in the midst of a national emergency and yet this administration is still clinging to business as usual. Coronavirus has laid bare the economic and racial injustices that always existed in our society,” said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. “It’s absolutely outrageous that four months into this pandemic, our government has not produced or procured enough personal protective equipment and that millions of essential workers do not have paid sick days to quarantine if they are exposed to the virus. Everyone in America — in every city and state — deserves a nationally coordinated response from this administration to fight coronavirus and protect working people.”
“The White House may try to paint a rosy picture of Trump’s response to the coronavirus, but the reality is that on every conceivable metric, things today are either worse or back to where they were in March,” said Zac Petkanas, Director of Coronavirus War Room. “In states across the country, it’s like we’re back to square one: Cases and deaths are skyrocketing, not enough testing is being conducted, and PPE is running short. The reason this happened in the first place is clear: Trump didn’t take decisive action to contain the spread of the virus, he downplayed it and rushed states to reopen. And now, he’s trying to do the same thing to schools, which will only put us in a worse position — and almost but ensure this crisis continues for longer.”