US President Donald Trump throws a hat as he arrives at a campaign rally in Sunrise, Florida, on November 26 last year. Photo: AP
Opinion
Opinion
by Michael Chugani
Opinion
by Michael Chugani
Despite criticism of his coronavirus response, Donald Trump is a better bet for the US than Joe Biden
His early missteps notwithstanding, Trump must be given credit for banning travellers from China and rallying states and private firms to deal with the crisis
Moreover, the US president’s ‘America first’ policy is in the country’s best interests
US President Donald Trump has long been the world’s punching bag, from late-night talk show hosts and the liberal media to mainland media and internet users. Just last week, The New York Times ran a scathing piece detailing his alleged slow response to the coronavirus pandemic, even after experts warned it could devastate the country.
That wasn’t surprising since The New York Times is the liberal left’s attack dog against Trump. What did surprise was an editorial in the conservative The Wall Street Journal, which slammed Trump’s daily coronavirus briefings.
Do you see any bruises on him? Nope. This is a remarkably resilient president. I sat out the last election. Neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton impressed me. If I do vote in November, it’s likely it won’t be for Trump’s opponent Joe Biden, even though I had twice voted for Barack Obama when Biden was running as his vice-president.
Why am I considering voting for a Republican when I had always voted Democrat? One word explains it: Trump. I just think he is better for America’s interests than Biden. As a US taxpayer, I agree with his “America first” policy.
Democratic presidential candidate, former US vice-president Joe Biden, addresses an audience in Rochester, New Hampshire, on October 9 last year. During his address, Biden said Trump had violated his oath of office and called for his impeachment to preserve the US Constitution. Photo: EPA-EFE
Why should the US contribute the most to outfits such as the World Health Organisation and the defence of Western allies when they are often critical of the US? If allies don’t want to pay their fair share for defence, let others who aspire to be global leaders protect them.
I have watched Trump’s daily coronavirus briefing for weeks now. The reporters are like snipers against an unmoving target. As a media person myself, I find nothing wrong with that. The hostile questioning is a celebration of democracy and media freedom. But try to name other world leaders who have subjected themselves to such daily pummelling.
Certainly not Chinese President Xi Jinping. He was rarely seen in public during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China but took a victory lap with a stage-managed visit to Wuhan when the crisis had been brought under control. Xi has the best of all worlds.
The mainland media is not allowed to question his handling of the pandemic. Social media criticism is quickly censored. And the Western media is too busy targeting Trump.
Yet Trump is still standing. He gives as good as he gets and seems to relish the daily combat. Yes, he rambles at times, some of what he says is not factual, and he overpraises himself. But how is that different from China’s Communist Party, with Xi at the core, taking full credit for handling the outbreak?
For sure, Trump acted too slowly despite numerous blinking danger alerts of an approaching tsunami. But don’t forget that in early January, Trump was fighting off a Democrat-led impeachment attempt and pushing for an initial trade deal with China.
Don’t also forget China had initially concealed the scale and seriousness of the outbreak, the World Health Organisation had said there was no evidence of human transmission, and opposed closing borders. When Trump barred travellers from China, the WHO and China criticised him. Now virtually all countries, including China, have travel restrictions.
A woman walks through the empty international terminal of Los Angeles airport on March 11. Most countries have imposed restrictions on travellers. Photo: Reuters
American democracy, under a federal system, is messy and cumbersome but rises to the challenge when the country calls. After a botched response, which critics say caused horrific deaths and infections, Trump has rallied the states, quickly increased hospital beds, got US companies to produce protective medical equipment, and pressed pharmaceutical firms to speed up vaccine and treatment trials.
The high death toll is heartbreaking but there is true democratic transparency in confronting the crisis. The media challenges officials, highlights equipment shortages, and interviews overworked health care workers critical of the government.
One question keeps popping up in my mind – which is worse, initially hiding the seriousness of a new coronavirus or not responding quickly enough to it? It’s a politically explosive question. Who would want to answer it?
I will stick my neck out on something else instead. Trump is pugnacious, craves attention, and is ruthless against his foes. But if I were a betting man I would put my money on him winning re-election.
Michael Chugani is a Hong Kong journalist and TV show host
