To the editor:
We now have incontrovertible evidence that Trump lied to the American people repeatedly about the seriousness of the virus, costing American lives.
In a taped interview with Bob Woodward on Feb. 7, he said he knew the virus COULD be transmitted through the air, it was deadly stuff, and that it would be difficult to contain. He went on to admit that “You just breathe it through the air, that is how it is passed.” Yet, over the next month, he held large indoor rallies with thousands of participants, none realizing the virus could easily be passed by air, no one realizing they were being exposed to a deadly virus. On Feb. 11 and many times after that, he downplayed the seriousness of the virus, telling Hannity, “It miraculously goes away.”
There is no doubt that a faster response to the virus would have saved thousands of lives.
As the New York Times and others have noted, “As a result, the coronavirus spread faster and sickened or killed more people in the United States than in any of its peer nations. If the United States had the same coronavirus fatality rate as Canada, more than 100,000 Americans could still be alive today.”
Kristin Urquiza recounts the sad story of the preventable death of her father from COVID. Her dad was an avid Trump supporter who wore a mask and avoided crowds, until Donald Trump and his supporters said if you had no underlying health conditions, you’d be fine. He made the mistake of believing the president, went to a crowded bar, caught the virus and died. How many more died doing the same, we do not know.
In a March 19 Woodward taped interview, Trump admitted the virus was affecting both young and old people. “Just today and yesterday, some startling facts came out. It’s not just old, older. Young people too, plenty of young people.” Then in August, Trump lied and told us that children are practically immune from this virus as he was encouraging parents to send children back to school. How many children suffered?
Woodward went on to quote General Mattis and our own former Senator Dan Coats. Mattis told Coats, “The president has no moral compass.” Coats reportedly responded, “True. To him, a lie is not a lie. It’s just what he thinks. He doesn’t know the difference between the truth and a lie.”
Soon, you will have the opportunity to listen to the candidates outline their plan for the future of the country. Trump may seem to answer all the questions quickly with complete and thorough answers. You may be tempted to conclude that surely, this man has a grasp of the facts.
Please, fact-check the debates. You may find that he has NO grasp of the facts. Please don’t be fooled by lies still again. Our country cannot stand four more more years of this man.
Denny Kubal, Brown County
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