Covid-19, US elections, Trump and a global tragedy

In the run-up to the November elections, as emotions run high, cool heads and warm hearts will be needed

President Donald Trump visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 11, wearing a mask for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak. Wearing a mask in the US has been described as a political issue, not a med
President Donald Trump visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 11, wearing a mask for the first time since the Covid-19 outbreak. Wearing a mask in the US has been described as a political issue, not a medical necessity. PHOTO: NYT
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In his 2016 Inaugural Address, United States President Donald Trump said: "For too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealised potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now."

To stop the carnage, Trump cut taxes and started the trade war with China.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 19, 2020, with the headline Covid-19, US elections, Trump and a global tragedy. Subscribe