Trump doesn’t care about your health. I’m a doctor, I know
Dr. Thomas K. Lew
In early 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, I vividly remember being around a patient in my hospital who was dying of respiratory failure – unfortunately, it was not an incident rare at that time. What stands out in my mind is that no matter how much oxygen he had, my patient never took off his red “Make America Great Again” hat. And every time I came in, between his labored breaths, he would complain about how evil Dr. Anthony Fauci was, how the newly released mRNA vaccines were dangerous. how, and how the Democrats want to control us with masking policies.
Experiences like this made clear to me how closely related politics can be to health care. Starting from the top, trusting our public health system and science itself can motivate people to make the right choice; on the other hand, leaders who cause distrust in these institutions can cause death and suffering.
In this year’s election, we once again have a choice between a leader who advocates for evidence-based public health, versus the one man and his political class who helped create such hatred for it. From my experience as a hospitalist who treats the very sick and vulnerable, I must advocate against voting for Donald Trump for president and any MAGA-inspired politician who follows him.
Looking at Trump’s record, presiding over a public health emergency, we can see how a second Trump administration would respond to another crisis. While no one could have predicted the devastation of COVID-19, Trump downplayed the growing threat, saying it would “disappear” while feeding racist sentiments with the word ” the Chinese virus.”
Trump then refused to fully support mask orders or social distancing, and disparaged his top public health adviser, Dr. Fauci. He remained skeptical of the seriousness of the threat despite the death toll, suggesting widespread testing inflated case numbers. He said COVID-19 “doesn’t affect anybody,” as Americans were dying by the thousands.
By reducing the threat of the coronavirus, he has reduced the arguments for citizens to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Comments:COVID, influenza and RSV are still around. ‘tripledemic’ does not care that we are very sick.
Trump’s dangerous true crimes make him unfit for office
Trump’s version of “no one” dying equates to more than 1 million Americans dying from COVID-19 in less than 2.5 years. There are estimates that the Trump administration’s mismanagement of the crisis and mixed public health messages have contributed to more than 400,000 deaths.
Let that sink in.
400,000 Americans – grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers – who did not return to the dinner table, because they listened to the perverted and wrong words of the president.
I look forward to what another Trump administration may bring, I fear for the health and safety of our sick, elderly, vulnerable.
He says he has “thoughts” about a health care plan, however he will be released. But during his last term, he had taken steps to weaken the Affordable Care Act – which thousands of Americans depend on. Given four more years, he may weaken it further.
Trump has done little to stop gun violence and has bragged about doing nothing to control guns even when more shootings have occurred.
He and far-right Republicans continue to politicize science, such as climate change, which they call a Chinese hoax.
His allies have even managed to block funding for the “Cancer Moonshot” project, which aims to halve cancer deaths and even cure cancer, simply because it is associated with President Joe Biden.
Comments:Congress voted against funding the cancer treatment to prevent Biden’s victory
The policies of Trump and the MAGA group show that he does not care about the lives of Americans. He cares about getting elected, he cares about the size of his crowd, he cares about how he’s perceived — but he certainly doesn’t care about the real health issues of America. His words and record show that he doesn’t care or believe in expanding health care to more vulnerable populations, how a warming planet increases chronic disease, how guns continue to kill innocent children .
And he didn’t care about my patient with his MAGA hat, the person he may have considered “someone who doesn’t matter,” who ended up dying of COVID-19. We cannot risk our health and safety for another four years under Donald Trump or his MAGA allies.
Vote like your life, and the lives of all Americans, depend on it.
Dr. Thomas K. Lew is an assistant clinical professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and attending physician at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Hospital. All opinions expressed are his own. Follow him on X: @ThomasLewMD
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