Did Trump underestimate the significance of COVID-19?

I do think that people are keen to blame Trump for lots of things.  And I think it is wrong of the media to report on unsubstantiated rumours all the time when it comes to Trump.

The main reason for this, is that there is so much of what Trump says, and how his administration acts that needs to be focused on.

A big example is how his administration has endangered the USA.

After Ebola threatened the world, the pandemic office in the USA was reorganised.  Trump has pointed out that he did not close it, but it did change on his watch.  Despite how important it was when it came to Ebola, there was no one in charge at the White House to respond to the COVID pandemic, unlike what happened when the USA faced Ebola and Swine Flu.

The next point is how the Trump appeared to publicly downplay the threat that COVID-19 posed to the world.  While those who support Trump state that the WHO had reported on the 14th of January, that there was no clear evidence of human to human transmission, many are unaware that the WHO stated on the 23rd of January

WHO assesses the risk of this event to be very high in China, high at the regional level and high at the global level.

This message, contained in the World Health Organization Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) SITUATION REPORT - 3 and the date is very important. Mainly because Trump has claimed that the WHO got it wrong.

Many may argue that Trump took action by closing the borders to China on the 31st of January, but by then, the virus had spread beyond the Chinese borders.  There is no doubt that the US government was taking action, but it did not seem to be close to enough, an example being the restrictions on social distancing.

People need good leadership in times like this.  Someone who says that the virus is a hoax and will be gone is not someone who is preparing the pubic to the actions that are needed to reduce the speed at which this virus spreads.

It is unfair to blame Trump for all the deaths in the USA due to COVID-19.  No matter who had been in charge there would be issues with the numbers of ventilators that the US needs. But a quicker, more decisive and consistent approach and message would have helped to flatten the curve in New York, along with the other areas where the healthcare systems are being overwhelmed.