The Trump administration 'brain drain' is impeding the coronavirus response

[Judi Lynn]

Efforts to address the outbreak risk are being undermined by an exodus of scientists and a leader who regularly distorts facts

Oliver Milman
@olliemilman
Fri 6 Mar 2020 04.00 ESTLast modified on Fri 6 Mar 2020 04.07 EST

The Trump administration’s jettisoning of scientific expertise and the president’s habit of spreading misinformation means the US is in a much weaker position to deal with the threat of coronavirus, experts have warned.

There are now at least 149 known coronavirus cases across 13 states, with 11 deaths. US lawmakers have put together an $8.3bn emergency bill to help contain the virus, with laboratories set to be allowed to develop their own coronavirus tests without seeking regulatory approval first.

But the efforts to address the outbreak risk being undermined by three years of a Trump administration that has seen an exodus of scientists from a variety of agencies, the scrapping and remodeling of scientific panels to favor industry interests and a president who regularly dismisses or distorts scientific facts – from the climate crisis to whether the moon is part of Mars – in public.

“The US is badly positioned; the federal government isn’t up to the task,” said Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “When I learned more about this virus my heart sank because I know the Trump administration doesn’t value basic science, it doesn’t understand it and it tends to reject it when it conflicts with its political narrative.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/06/coronavirus-trump-administration-brain-drain-impeding-response

[duforsure]

1. And putting out misinformation like putin has his hackers doing in this country

And why trump waited so long to do anything , while he claims he's doing such a great job, but its really for putin, not the American people. Even trump supporters are starting to realize trump cannot ever be trusted, not even with this international health crisis.