If you spend any time talking with doctors, nurses and other front-line workers, you will hear how badly they need these supplies. Instead, Trump has taken to the White House lectern to boast that he has invoked the 1950 Defense Production Act, which is technically true. No matter who was president, the virus would likely have created a crisis, as it has in Europe. But it’s also important to be clear about the responsibility that does fall on Trump. His refusal to fix the medical-supply crisis means that the virus is unnecessarily spreading in hospitals and that Americans will unnecessarily die.

Source: New York Times March 23, 2020 00:00 UTC