COVID-19 is increasingly out of control in almost half of U.S. states. Hospitals are running out of ICU beds. The daily death toll is once again rising inexorably. President Trump and his acolytes either ignore the catastrophe that is staring us in the face or attempt to displace blame with racist names such as “Kung Flu” and the “Chinese Virus.”

There is another virus at work here that is deadlier than the coronavirus. If it were not for this other virus, we would by now have contained the coronavirus. We would be in a similar position to a number of Asian countries and the European Union, able to cautiously restart the U.S., salvage our economy, and send our children back to school without threatening the lives of tens of thousands more of our citizens.

This virus is the denial of science. It emerged in February with the president describing concerns about the coronavirus as a “hoax.” It continued with the president’s talk of “miraculous” cures. It is on full display once again with the president re-tweeting a tweet that said “Everyone is lying” about the pandemic: “The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors.”

The entire White House appears to be infected. There is a systematic effort to discredit scientific advisers, notably Dr. Fauci, and anyone else who is willing to speak truth to power.

We will not be able to contain the coronavirus if we do not first defeat this other virus. I call it the Trump Virus.

Nigel Calder

Newcastle

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