They Can’t Have it Both Ways!

How can Joe Biden (or any person) blame the president for every COVID death and also blame the president for a struggling economy? It defies common sense to believe that any president could have closed the economy and saved every life, and at the same time kept the economy open and prevented every possible economic injury. It’s absurd, really.  

Fair minds roundly reject the notion that the president caused any deaths or that he caused the economic devastation from COVID. Fair minds understand that the president’s responsibility is to weigh the costs and benefits of every action he takes, navigating the ever-evolving science while at the same time managing the unintended, and also devastating, consequences of lockdowns.

The actual evidence tells us that President Trump’s COVID strategy exceeded expectations, both in terms of lives saved and economic markers.  Specifically, the strategy has resulted in far fewer deaths than predicted by every model provided by the experts, some of which predicted deaths in the millions. In fact, Dr. Birx predicted 200,000 deaths if the pandemic were handled “perfectly.” With regard to the economy, it is recovering at a breakneck speed, with record-breaking 33.1% GDP growth for the third quarter, again, exceeding the expectations.

On a state-by-state level, red states following the president’s call to open with care have fared far better than blue states that imposed longer, more severe lockdowns.  This holds true with regard to lives saved and the economy:  84% of the 215,000 deaths have occurred in blue states, the death rate is 40% higher in blue states, and economic recovery has been slower in those states.  

To suggest that President Trump has caused deaths and destroyed the economy and to campaign on the idea that we are worse off now than we were four years ago because of his handling of the pandemic is dishonest and unfair. To be sure, no person is infallible, and time will tell what mistakes were made. But common sense, decency and humility are required if we are to fairly evaluate our president’s handling of this monumental challenge for our country.