A declining nation

Unfortunately, US suffers from a bigger crisis than the pandemic — the crisis of leadership.

Covid-19 is widespread in several parts of the US, particularly in the South, West, and parts of the Midwest. Additionally, 11 states reported more than 10,000 new cases in the last week. The number of coronavirus deaths in the most powerful nation on earth has crossed 164,000, and confirmed infections have topped 5 million. Still the disease shows no sign of slowing down. During the past few months, Americans have witnessed a complete collapse of their healthcare system and their country is now living its worst economic nightmare.

Unfortunately, the country suffers from a bigger crisis than the pandemic — the crisis of leadership. In Donald J Trump, America elected a very weak and unprepared man for the top job in the country. In every press briefing, the president appears to be divorced from reality and he tries his level best to convolute the situation for the American public by presenting alternative facts about the country’s success in controlling the respiratory disease. Press conference after press conference, the president only touts two baseless claims: The China virus is disappearing; and the economy is doing great.

The fear of losing the upcoming presidential election has blinded the president. His misleading statements will encourage a majority of American to defy preventive measures which seem to be the only hope in controlling the virus from spreading. This self-benefiting strategy adopted by the president, appears to be more dangerous than the Covid-19 virus. America desperately needs to increase its testing capacity and the president needs to stick to facts and facts alone if he wants the country to recover. But from the trends that are being reported, it doesn’t seem that Trump wants America to recover. The only item on his priority list at the moment is to win the November election. In a post-Covid world, whenever that might be, America will need a leader who is capable of leading the country. Trump’s re-election will only extend America’s nightmare and that is the last thing a declining nation needs.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2020.

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