Editorial - Weijia Jiang Asked The Question Many Of Us Wanted To Ask

I normally don’t watch press conferences done from the White House Rose Garden, but I did yesterday. Information was going to be presented on COVID-19 testing and how the US will move forward. An unfortunate fact is that the United  States was late, very late, in making testing available. Many people could have benefitted from knowing that they had COVID-19 and could pass it along to others. Another fact is over 81,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19. Another fact is that people who die in hospitals die alone, separated from their families and at the same time suffer with symptoms so severe it makes breathing almost impossible. We are now learning the disease manifests in many ways often impacting other organs in the body and affects all populations of our society including children. 

It is a fact, not an opinion, that the U.S. was late in developing and providing testing to the population. That fact cannot be changed. In other words it is what it is.  Yesterday, when Trump spoke, it was with bravado and to give an impression that all is well in the US because we are doing more COVID-19 testing than countries like South Korea, which is often praised for its immediate response to the pandemic. 

It is also a fact that Trump has often given misleading information on the availability of testing and the need for testing.

But it was the constant verbalization of the idea that somehow in dealing with COVID -19, our response was better than other countries who have been successful in dealing with the pandemic that troubled me.

Then came  CBS reporter Weijia Jiang ’s question:

“Sir, you have said many times that the US is doing far better than any other country when it comes to testing. Why does that matter? Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we’re still seeing more cases every day?”

That was the question I wanted to hear, the question that needed to be asked. It was respectful, honest and relevant. 

Trump’s response “Well they’re losing their lives everywhere in the world and maybe that’s a question you should ask CHINA don’t ask me ask CHINA that question, okay, when you ask them that question you  may get a very unusual answer.”

Trump’s response was  offensive on many levels, Jiang of Asian descent, asked Trump why he was saying that to her specifically. Trump responded by saying he would give that answer to anyone who asked that NASTY question.

Nasty question?  No Mr. Trump not nasty relevant. This American and many like me want facts not pep rallies. There will be plenty of time to explore mistakes made in dealing with this pandemic, but for now we need to have confidence that we are taking seriously the herculean challenge of dealing with COVID-19. We need to know that we are taking seriously the new models predicting US deaths to near 140,000 by August, not berating mathematical models that have been pretty accurate. 

Americans as a whole want society to open with the caveat that it opens safely. We have sacrificed much during this crisis and we demand that elected officials not diminish the value of our sacrifices. We demand decisions and actions to be driven by science, data and facts. 

Thank you Weijia Jiang for your relevant question.

Pat Biancaniello