At times like this, many people are looking for answers. With over 870,000 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 virus in the United States as of April 24th, it’s safe to say that we are in a global health crisis. President Trump is the person most people are coming to for information and hope. But in the past few months, he has become unhinged.

To begin with, he has underestimated the virus time and time again. One of the first times was at a press conference on February 26. Trump said: “We’re going very substantially down, not up. … We have it so well under control. I mean, we really have done a very good job.” 

Since then, it doesn’t seem like the federal government has gotten anything under control.

There’s no wide-spread testing available, which is key to re-opening the country. Testing gives us the ability to find infected people, isolate them, and go as far as to isolate the people who they have come into close contact with. This is crucial for allowing the country to work again.

Another time he did this was during a political rally in South Carolina in February in which Trump called the virus a democratic hoax.  

Then at a press conference on March 17, Trump did a 180 on his perspective of the virus stating: “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.”

It would seem that at the rally in South Carolina trying to bash democrats and secure his reputation was more important than actually acknowledging that our country was headed towards a crisis. This goes to show how unpredictable and dangerous he is. 

These aren’t the only times Trump has downplayed the danger of the virus. 

On March 9th, Trump tweeted: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!” 

It seems he was trying to compare the virus to the annual flu, to trivialize it. This false sense of security is dangerous and may confuse a lot of people.

These are just a few examples of how Trump has proven to be dangerous and unprincipled.

 With Trump being undependable, It’s obvious that we don’t have a leader. Some governors have stepped up, but there is no national plan. For these reasons, I believe that people should stop listening to Trump for information and facts.

Unfortunately, there are only a few things we can do. Here are some. 

First of all, get your facts straight. Knowing how it spreads and the symptoms are one of the first steps to staying safe. One of the best places to go to for facts is cdc.gov. The CDC gives facts and statistics that are updated almost daily. 

Another thing you should do is make sure your neighbors, family, and friends are alright. With a lot of people not able to work and using their last paychecks, it could be a rough time for some. Check up on them and try to help if you can. We are all in this together.

The most important thing you should do is protect yourself. Avoid close contact with people who are sick and try to stay home as much as you can. If you do have to go out and make contact with other people, wear something to cover your mouth and nose. Remember to wash your hands and stay clean.

Trump is a highly untrustworthy person to listen to at times like this. With a lack of leadership, we have to unite to be our own leader.