The United States is far wealthier than any other country; we had a pandemic playbook all ready to go; we have some of the best medical facilities and most well-trained medical personnel in the world. Only President Trump’s incompetence has made us comparable. Had Mr. Trump not thrown away the pandemic playbook handed to him by President Barack Obama and disbanded the team responsible for pandemic preparedness, the death toll would have been far smaller. The financial toll would have been far smaller as well. About 145,000 deaths too many (the number suggested by David Leonhardt) are on Mr. Trump’s watch, if not on his conscience.

Source: New York Times September 09, 2020 18:45 UTC