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.
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.
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.
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
https://act.moveon.org/go/119003?t=5&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
2. "The Virus Can Be Stopped, but Only With Harsh Steps, Experts Say," The New York Times, March 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119004?t=7&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
3. Ibid.
4. "Remarks by Vice President Pence in a Fox News Virtual Town Hall," The White House, March 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119005?t=9&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
5. "Trump Wants U.S. 'Opened Up' by Easter, Despite Health Officials' Warnings," The New York Times, March 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119006?t=11&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
6. "Coronavirus will radically alter the U.S.," The Washington Post, March 19, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119007?t=13&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
7. "President Trump's Job Approval Rating Up to 49%," Gallup, March 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119008?t=15&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
8. "WHO says a third of the newest coronavirus cases worldwide are in the US," Vox, March 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119009?t=17&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
9. "Don't Halt Social Distancing. Instead, Do It Right." The Atlantic, March 23, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119003?t=19&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
10. "All the President's Lies About the Coronavirus," The Atlantic, March 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119010?t=21&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
11. "Trump: 'I Don't Take Responsibility at All,'" New York, March 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119160?t=23&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
12. "New York Gov. Cuomo says social distancing efforts are working to slow coronavirus," CNN, March 25, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119012?t=25&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
13. Ibid.
14. "A record 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits as the coronavirus slams economy," The Washington Post, March 26, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/119013?t=27&akid=260226%2E40999114%2Eknfmoa
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?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
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