[Well, if it's true The Donald took money from Pfizer, then I suppose we should not be surprised.][WSJ] March, 29, 2020, is a day that should live in infamy. The national mitigation plan against Covid-19, "15 days to stop the spread," was about to expire. In the Rose Garden, President Trump declared that lockdowns would continue for another 30 days. I tweeted: "President Trump just lost the election."
When Mr. Trump announced his 2024 campaign Tuesday, he didn’t apologize for the lockdowns or even mention them. I supported him in 2016, and during his tenure he did much to dredge the political swamps, but his decision to approve and extend drastic Covid interventions should disqualify him for a second term.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, put the Constitution into an induced coma. Mr. Trump’s decision to adopt Chinese Communist Party tactics and close down the country gave license to states to amplify and extend these terrible policies, to governors to wield unprecedented executive powers, and to school districts to shut students out for months or even years.
Mr. Trump did very little to constrain this overreach. His dramatic Covid order shut down your business, barred your kids from school, denied you access to your church, your gym and your coffee shop. It suppressed screenings and treatments for cancer and other illnesses and kept people from visiting loved ones in the hospital or attending their funerals.
Studies appear weekly confirming what almost everyone now acknowledges—the lockdowns were futile as well as onerous. One set of researchers wrote: "Overall, we conclude that lockdowns are not an effective way of reducing mortality rates during a pandemic."
Mr. Trump paid lip service to the need to reopen the country but never rallied lawmakers or other officials to do anything about it. It was left to governors like Brian Kemp of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida to do that on their own.
Mr. DeSantis signed legislation that put specific triggers in place to prevent county health directors from declaring an emergency with unending powers. He implemented a patient’s bill of rights. He has continued to lead the battle against Dr. Fauci and his unending fear tactics. Little wonder the governor was resoundingly re-elected last week while Mr. Trump’s favored candidates went down in swing states across the country.
Covid-19 weakened America’s political immune system, leaving the country vulnerable to confusion, panic, unease and cowardice. Mr. Trump had been elected to combat this kind of insanity. He failed when it mattered most and doesn’t deserve another term.
Mr. Hart is founder of Rational Ground, author of "Gone Viral: How Covid Drove the World Insane" and an adviser to the Posterity PAC.