America’s allies across the world must feel sorry for us. We have more confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths than any other country. Among those with more than four million inhabitants, the percentage of our population infected by the disease is the fifth highest. And President Donald Trump, the person most responsible for how the country handles this crisis, just gave them another reason not to trust American leadership.
The president’s latest absurdity was suggesting his medical experts should investigate the possibility that, if somehow introduced inside the body, ultra-violet light and disinfectants might kill the disease.
To be fair, Trump never implied that people should try to administer either one themselves. But he was entirely serious. And it was alarming enough for the manufacturers of Clorox Bleach and Lysol to put out statements warning that their products should not be ingested or injected into the body.
What Trump did next was familiar. He accused the news media of getting the story wrong. The ultra-violet light and disinfectant ideas were “said sarcastically” he claimed, “in the form of a question to a group of extraordinarily hostile people, namely the fake news.”
However, the video recording of him turning to medical experts as he asked the questions tells the true story. Chalk it up as another episode of a president who claims to be a stable genius and doesn’t like being exposed as a person who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
Regardless of the context though, the rest of the world isn’t interested in Trump’s antics. They know he’s not a medical or scientific expert. Or an expert on anything.
And they don’t think he’s made America great again.
“Under Barack Obama, the United States saw its reputation improve in the world and hold steady” according to a Forbes magazine review of the Reputation Institute’s 2016 survey of 39,000 residents of G8 nations. Our overall ranking was 28th before he left office. Last year the world put us in 36th place.
The Best Countries report is a similar annual survey. One of its sponsors is Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Trump’s alma mater that he’s proudly called “the greatest school.” They interviewed more than 20,000 people in 36 countries. On a 100-point scale, the US scored 33.5 in Obama’s last year.
“Trump’s rhetoric and stances on issues including immigration and foreign trade have raised questions around the world” the next year’s report states, “including from the country’s closest allies, about the nation’s future course on the global stage.”
By 2019, the US score fell to 16.3. And we’ve gone from 17th to 29th place in the ranking for trustworthiness.
Both surveys were done before the pandemic swept across the globe. And by the time Trump began his daily briefings, Harvard professor Steve Walt had already concluded the administration’s “epic policy failure” would further erode America’s “reputation as a country that knows how to do things effectively.”
[Opinion: Narcissism is in our DNA]
Republicans in Congress would never admit this. Whatever Trump does that embarrasses the country, Rep. Don Young simply looks the other way. Sen. Dan Sullivan is extremely careful about how he expresses any misgivings about it. Their timidity makes Sen. Lisa Murkowski look like a maverick for occasionally breaking ranks and mildly rebuking Trump.
I think they’re all smart enough to get it though. But they tolerate Trump because Republican Party leaders like Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell are afraid of losing congressional seats in the general election. And Trump will help make that happen if they question anything he does.
They’re afraid it will cost them the White House, too.
America’s military leaders, intelligence officials and state department diplomats aren’t bound by partisan politics and electioneering protectionism. And they don’t need elaborate polls or Harvard professors to understand that four more years of a Trump presidency will damage America even more.
Those still serving the country will remain apolitical throughout the campaign. But former officials won’t be afraid to speak up and publicly endorse Joe Biden.
Among them will be some highly respected individuals who served under Trump. And more than their name, they’ll add enough disturbing stories to make his erratic COVID-19 response seem like standard operating procedure. And that’s what will tip the scales decisively in Biden’s favor.
• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.
