Fixed it!
Now, some context …
Yes, there are currently 10 times the cases of H1N1 in comparison to COVID-19 but there are 10 times the deaths of COVID-19 vs H1N1. What a convenient stat to leave out of the original meme.
Panic
There wasn’t much—if any—panic under Obama because he did what a President was supposed to do and let the experts handle H1N1. His response was quick and thorough.
Trump responded about as fast as he could run the 100m and he handicapped the response team.
Let’s keep in mind, Trump’s defunding of important response teams and resources started in 2018 (probably earlier).
Agencies Blocked
To that end, Obama block zero agencies from doing their jobs. He even ramped up funding and execution of mandates post-H1N1 to, in his words, “make sure we’re ready for the next one.”
Not only did Trump require all information flow through the White House (unprecedented), he also cancelled the NSC’s global pandemic team, defunded the CDC and WHO, discontinued Predict, blocked NIH information from getting to the public, and made the HHS tasking nearly impossible.
Placing Blame
With respect to the blame game, I know the original meme was dealing with who “the people” blame, but that’s a ridiculous comparison considering the US is almost completely split down the middle in terms of blue vs red.
I chose to go with who the Presidents blamed or are blaming. Obama blamed nature, which was true. Trump has blamed China, the Democrats, doctors, hospitals, past Presidents, the media (take a journey through his Twitter), governors, and even companies like GM.
You can say that some of my sources are from biased news outlets but these articles directly quote POTUS and I’ve triple verified his statements as true.
The $3.7 Million
Now, regarding the $3.7m fund, both Presidents allocated funds to NIH for disease research. About $600,000 of that has been allocated to Wuhan facilities to perform tests alongside American researchers.
Let’s Be Honest
You can’t have it both ways, Trumpettes. Either a past President’s performance matters or it doesn’t. The economic recovery in the US started in 2009 and steadily rose under Obama, continuing to rise under Trump. But you say Obama did nothing? The data is crystal clear.
So Obama only matters when it’s a negative?
Your hero has been in office for nearly 4 years.
That’s plenty of time to cut the funding this meme mentions, “re-stock the shelves”, re-staff the pandemic response team, and take control of the House.
But, I guess we should give Trump a break on this one, guys. I mean, he’s busy playing 2.5x the golf Obama did in his first 4 years.
Didn’t he say he wouldn’t do that?
Trump, lie? Say it ain’t so. 🤷♂️
