Susan Rice, former national security adviser, issued a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump’s inadequate and widely criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday.
What We Know:
- It began in a New York Times article she wrote titled, “Trump Is the Wartime President We Have (Not the One We Need)”. It listed several ways in which Trump has mishandled the crisis and unnecessarily cost the lives of thousands of Americans.
- Rice wrote that among the errors, there was a clear strike against the Trump administration’s method of handling the pandemic, from ignoring vital early warnings to public health and failure to quickly to combat the spread of COVID-19.
- She also stated that if felt “inconceivable” for her to believe a president of the United States could want to see a number of Americans die. “But I do think he’s playing politics” with the entire matter, she added.
- Details about the transition period from Obama to Trump described how she had met with Trump officials during that time to hand over briefing papers. They discussed various important issues, and within them, the possibility for a pandemic.
- Perhaps one of the most impactful statements Rice made was, “It’s in our common interest that Mr. Trump stop trash-talking and start leading with the decency and resolve that we deserve.”
She heavily implied to be honest with ourselves and we will be stuck with this current leadership, unless Americans demand change.
