Four years ago today, at the same time there were a confirmed 8,350 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and 162 confirmed deaths from the disease nationwide, it was revealed that Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, established a COVID-19 working group outside of the official White House task force.
Kusher’s team of government allies and private industry representatives reportedly added another layer of confusion and conflicting signals within a White House already failing to provide an adequate response to the crisis. Instead of relying on public health experts, Kushner chose to consult bankers and billionaires, some of whom had zero public health experience.
According to Vanity Fair, when confronted with the fact that Americans bidding against each other for finite personal protective equipment (PPE) was driving up the price of PPE, Kushner told his group that “free markets will solve this” and that solving the PPE problem was “not the role of government.”
At the same time that Trump’s son-in-law was working against a coordinated response to COVID-19, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security had vacancies or acting appointees in 65% of the department’s top jobs, further hindering the Trump administration’s response to the crisis.
”Donald Trump left Americans to fend for themselves as COVID-19 killed Americans, disrupted communities, and devastated economies nationwide. As the disease spread across the country, Trump was so checked out of the public health crisis that his own family was able to undermine the federal government’s approach to coordinating public testing and guidance. Americans are easily better off now than they were four years ago under Trump when they risked their health just to check if toilet paper was back in stock at their local grocery store,” said American Bridge 21st Century Presidential Campaigns Communications Director, Brandon Weathersby.
American Bridge’s “This F*cking Guy” campaign is reminding voters of key moments from Trump’s presidency as he pursues the GOP nomination in 2024. Our Trump Research Book is up-to-date with COVID-19-era research to help tell the full story about Trump’s failed COVID-19 response and make the case against allowing his incompetence to inhabit the White House once again.
Published: Mar 18, 2024 | Last Modified: Mar 20, 2024