Throughout our country’s history, presidents have had a lot to say about leadership and responsibility.

George Washington:
“99% of failures come from people who make excuses.”

John Quincy Adams:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.”

Abraham Lincoln:
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Harry S. Truman:
“The buck stops here.”

John F. Kennedy:
“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

Gerald Ford:
“Our long national nightmare is over.”

Barack Obama:
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

And here’s how Donald Trump sums up his handling of the coronavirus emergency:

“It’s not my fault.”

That’s from an upcoming book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, who interviewed Trump 18 times over a span of eight months.

Among other revelations, Woodward indicates that Donald Trump knew about the risk of COVID-19 earlier than he let on and knew that it was a much more severe risk than he admits even to this day.

For example, Woodward says that on January 28 — which feels like an eternity ago — Trump was warned, during a top secret intelligence briefing, that the coronavirus would be the biggest national security threat of his presidency and possibly as bad as the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 million people worldwide.

But in July, Trump told Woodward: “The virus has nothing to do with me. It’s not my fault.”

Of course, it is ENTIRELY Trump’s fault that he betrayed the American people by actively refusing to muster the resources of the federal government in the face of the coronavirus emergency.

And the damage is beyond catastrophic:

• At least 6 million Americans — and counting — have been infected.

• 190,000 — and counting — have died.

• Tens of millions are facing financial ruin to an extent that rivals the Great Depression itself.

Donald Trump can still do something right.

If he gets out of his own way.

Donald Trump must let our nation’s infectious disease and public health experts do their jobs with no further interference, contradictions, or harassment by him.

Add your name if you agree.

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Stay safe.

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

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