Dear MoveOn member,
How can we end the nightmare of this pandemic as fast as possible?
Epidemiologists are clear:
If we had "a true national pause—a cessation of all nonessential
activities" and everyone participated, "the whole epidemic would sputter
to a halt."^1,2
That's because the virus "would die out on every contaminated surface and,
because almost everyone shows symptoms within two weeks, it would be
evident who was infected. If we had enough tests for every American, even
the completely asymptomatic cases could be found and isolated. The crisis
would be over."^3
It would be over.
But Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the White House Coronavirus Task Force
has "at no point" considered a national stay-at-home order.^4
Instead, Donald Trump wants to ease social distancing measures as soon as
next week and "have the country opened up" and just "raring to go by
Easter."^5 That's April 12.
Epidemiological models show that easing social distancing measures could
cost many lives and overwhelm our health care system.^6
But a new Gallup poll released on Tuesday shows Trump's approval rating
tied for its highest point in his presidency, at 49%.^7 The poll also
found that 60% of Americans approve of Trump's response to the coronavirus
crisis.
Too many Americans simply don't know about the catastrophic failure of
Trump's response—and unless we hold him accountable, he will continue to
dither, and the human and economic toll will be immense.
[ [link removed] ]That's why MoveOn is launching an emergency campaign to hold Donald
Trump accountable for his reckless and inept response to the coronavirus
pandemic. We need to act fast. Will you rush a donation of
$3 now to help out?
The World Health Organization now warns that the "very large acceleration"
in new cases could soon make the United States the new epicenter for the
global pandemic.^8
Two prominent scientists explain what that could mean for the U.S.: "More
people could die from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in
just a few months than have died in every single war this country has
fought since its inception. Such devastation would shut down our hospitals
and the entire health-care system. Tens of thousands of doctors and nurses
and other health-care professionals would likely get sick. The ripple
effects on finances, and on human lives, would be massive and
uncontrolled."^9
But Trump says, "One day it's like a miracle—it will disappear."^10
And, "I don't take any responsibility at all."^11
Together, we need to hold Trump accountable and put enormous pressure on
him and his administration.
We know the only thing that Trump cares about is his re-election, so we're
launching hard-hitting ads in battleground states, texting hundreds of
thousands of voters in those states, and organizing a drumbeat of
celebrities, influential leaders, and health professionals to push Trump
to take responsibility for this crisis.
[ [link removed] ]Will you rush a $3 donation now?
Already, there's evidence that social distancing is slowing the spread of
coronavirus in New York. Estimates from Sunday showed that coronavirus
hospitalizations were doubling every two days in New York. But on Monday,
hospitalizations were doubling every 3.4 days, and on Tuesday,
hospitalizations were doubling every 4.7 days.^12
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo explained, "That is almost too good to be
true. But the theory is given the density that we're dealing with, it
spreads very quickly, but if you reduce the density you can reduce the
spread very quickly."^13
A staggering 3.3 million U.S. workers filed unemployment claims last
week.^14 With each passing day that Trump fails to treat this situation
with the seriousness it deserves, he is prolonging and exacerbating this
crisis—at an enormous cost to human life and our livelihoods.
[ [link removed] ]Please, join with us to hold Donald Trump accountable and force him to
take responsibility for this crisis.
Thanks for all you do.
–Emily, Oscar, Justin, Eric, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Don't Halt Social Distancing. Instead, Do It Right." The Atlantic,
March 23, 2020
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2. "The Virus Can Be Stopped, but Only With Harsh Steps, Experts Say," The
New York Times, March 22, 2020
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3. Ibid.
4. "Remarks by Vice President Pence in a Fox News Virtual Town Hall," The
White House, March 24, 2020
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5. "Trump Wants U.S. 'Opened Up' by Easter, Despite Health Officials'
Warnings," The New York Times, March 24, 2020
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6. "Coronavirus will radically alter the U.S.," The Washington Post, March
19, 2020
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7. "President Trump's Job Approval Rating Up to 49%," Gallup, March 24,
2020
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8. "WHO says a third of the newest coronavirus cases worldwide are in the
US," Vox, March 24, 2020
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9. "Don't Halt Social Distancing. Instead, Do It Right." The Atlantic,
March 23, 2020
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10. "All the President's Lies About the Coronavirus," The Atlantic, March
24, 2020
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11. "Trump: 'I Don't Take Responsibility at All,'" New York, March 13,
2020
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12. "New York Gov. Cuomo says social distancing efforts are working to
slow coronavirus," CNN, March 25, 2020
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13. Ibid.
14. "A record 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits as the
coronavirus slams economy," The Washington Post, March 26, 2020
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Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day
by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage,
defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's
pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must
never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever.
Will you stand with us?
[ [link removed] ]Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
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