PBS Reporter Yamiche Alcindor Challenges Trump to His Face to Accept Responsibility for Shutting Down WH Pandemic Preparedness Division. He Responded by Calling Her "Nasty" and Cutting Off Her Mic.
March 15, 2020
Yamiche Alcindor of PBA News Hour (Wikipedia)
By Annieli
Twiiter Screenshot
When President Trump took office in 2017, the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense survived the transition intact. Its mission was the same as when I was asked to lead the office, established after the Ebola epidemic of 2014: to do everything possible within the vast powers and resources of the U.S. government to prepare for the next disease outbreak and prevent it from becoming an epidemic or pandemic.
One year later, I was mystified when the White House dissolved the office, leaving the country less prepared for pandemics like COVID-19. [Trump is believed to have eliminated the pandemic Directorate, out of spite, because it was created by Obama]
The U.S. government’s slow and inadequate response to the new coronavirus underscores the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to pandemic threats.
In a health security crisis, speed is essential. When this new coronavirus emerged, there was no clear White House-led structure to oversee our response, and we lost valuable time. Yes, we have capable and committed global and national disease-prevention and management organizations, as well as state and local health departments, all working overtime now. But even in prepared cities like Seattle, health systems are struggling to test patients and keep pace with growing caseloads. The specter of rapid community transmission and exponential growth is real and daunting. The job of a White House pandemics office would have been to get ahead: to accelerate the response, empower experts, anticipate failures, and act quickly and transparently to solve problems.
BuzzFlash Update: And as a bonus, more of “Bone Spurs” Trump’s dereliction of duty:
BuzzFlash Afterword: Alcindor is a profile of courage in the DC press corps, which usually surrounds Trump like pigeons waiting for crumbs, and then reporting them knowing that they are lies.
On August 28, 2019, BuzzFlash posted a much-read article on how Alcindor called Trump “a Liar to His Face.”
Since the DC press corps is so craven to shout out a question at Trump just to receive a mendacious nugget of disinformation, Alcindor receives a revived BuzzFlash Wing’s of Justice Award.
Also on February 25, CNN’s Jim Acosta was written up in a commentary BuzzFlash posted, “CNN's Jim Acosta Calls Out Trump as Liar to His Face: ‘I Think That Our Record on Delivering the Truth Is a Lot Better Than Yours.’” Acosta has also been the target of Trump’s media tirades more than once and was denied access to the White House for awhile because of Trump’s ire.
However, alas, most of the DC press corps are like good school children who lap up Trumps 16,000 plus lies and report them as “legitimate” news.
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