The Trump ban was racist b/c it focused on nationality rather than the viral risks. US citizens coming from affected regions were not tested, tracked, or quarantined. Someone should explain to me how a Chinese visiting the US is a risk but an American doing coming from the same region is not.
Furthermore, at the time of the issued ban Trump was insisting that the coronavirus is not a risk. So the ban seemed more like using covid-19 as an excuse to accomplish a goal.
Now if you look at Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea - all of whom I've been praising as great examples of how to deal with the virus, they did not make travel restrictions based on nationality or even point of origin. They simply started testing and tracking anyone who was a risk. They also prepared for and emphasized other aspects of containment - ranging from stockpiling gloves and masks to widespread testing to beefing up their medical facilities and spaces.
Had that been done in the US, not only nobody could have accused Trump of racism, we would all be praising him now for having been proactive in protecting the nation. And our economy and country would have been much better off. But instead he kept insisting that there is nothing to worry about.
Come this November, the most damaging ads to Trump will be his own video clips.
PS Compare the mortality rate of countries that actually prepared - e.g. Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, etc - to those that did not - UK, US, Italy, Spain, etc.
PPS The US is in a much earlier stage than Europe, so naturally the mortality rate is lower, but nowhere near that of the countries that took it seriously from the start. |
