Trump and the Pandemic: Our President Saved Us!
When Donald Trump promised America he would develop a vaccine for COVID-19 before the 2020 election, the predictable reaction from his enemies was ridicule.
“It can’t be done!” they shouted. “He’s lying!”
Kamala Harris, who would soon run for the Democratic Party nomination for president, accused Trump of playing election year politics.
She said she wouldn’t trust any vaccine that Trump was able to produce, not unless an “independent” medical source could “vouch for its safety.”
Within months, she and everyone else was eating crow.
What seemed like a miracle – or a self-serving maneuver – to Trump’s critics turned out to be further evidence of the genius of our 45th president.
“Operation Warp Speed,” the name given by Trump to his Herculean effort to mass produce a life-saving vaccine in record time, was the result of a deliberate strategy, exacting execution, exceptional teamwork and inspired leadership– all of it provided by our former president, in the face of relentless criticism by Democrats who sincerely hoped that Trump’s effort would fail, regardless of the effects on our suffering citizens.
In less than 9 months, the former president convinced three giant pharmaceutical companies– Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson – to mass produce a vaccine that no one had ever seen before. And Trump got it done in less than 80% of the time in which any previous vaccine had been produced. It was a miracle, divinely inspired, but also man-made
Trump’s business experience and acumen were a key factor in the success of Operation Warp Speed. Unlike Biden and the Democrats, who constantly blame the business community for every problem and want to punish the private sector with new and tighter growth-killing regulations, Trump did the opposite: he unleashed the private sector with fresh incentives to work around the clock on behalf of America.
And they did.
Trump also chose business-oriented subordinates perfectly suited to the task. His Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar had spent 10 years in the pharmaceutical sector and understood the industry’s tolerance for risk-taking. Azar and the heads of the three companies cooperated seamlessly to get the job done.
When needed, Trump also went around the cumbersome HHS bureaucracy to find fresh talent, such as Dr. Moncef Slaoui, who enjoyed a 30-year career in vaccine development and who likewise understood and respected the needs of the private sector.
Slaoui was chosen to head up Operation Warp Speed based on his past extensive and impeccable experience in the field. When he met with Trump and his top aides, he demanded absolute assurances that his work would not be interfered with by the White House, or by bureaucrats at HHS. When those assurances were given, he agreed to take the job.
Paul Manago, who served under Azar and wrote a 2022 book about his experiences, recently recalled: “The defining and fundamental principle underpinning Operation Warp Speed’s spectacular achievements was simple and easily replicated: The federal government’s role is to enable success, while the private sector’s role is to deliver success. Its corollary, of course, is to never permit the federal government to engage in activities the private sector can perform more competently.”
Sadly, under President Biden, that’s exactly what’s happened. After his election, Biden revoked all decision-making authority from the Operation Warp Speed team of experts and centralized it in the White House. This has led to significant ambiguity, paralysis and lethargy in the COVID-19 decision-making process, which has left America exposed to recurring outbreaks – and spikes in infections, hospitalizations and death – that could have and should have been prevented.
America is extraordinarily lucky that it had a man and a leader like Donald Trump in the White House when the worst disease epidemic in more than a century struck our land in early 2020 and threatened to wipe out millions of our citizens. The deadly pandemic struck, but the damage would have been far worse without his inspired leadership and steadfast dedication.
If President Trump had done nothing else during his four years in office – and in fact, he did so much more – his handling of COVID-19 alone would be enough to earn our nation’s eternal acclaim and gratitude.
And a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Other recipients of this award have done far less. It’s the least we can do for a true national hero.
President Trump, you saved us! God Bless You, Sir – for all time.
