This has been the most damaging lie our president has told and thousands are dying. President Trump was indeed warned about COVID-19 and chose to ignore it. In typical Trump fashion, he said it was a hoax by the Democrats to keep him from being re-elected this November.

In 2015, Bill Gates spoke to President Barack Obama about this. He listened and put the Infectious Disease Program in place. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gives very generously to infectious disease programs such as AIDS, E. coli and others. Again, in typical Trump fashion, because he hates Obama, he dismantled the program.

His press briefings are so bizarre I don’t know why the networks even air them. Our stable genius wonders if Clorox or Lysol could be used internally. He disagrees with the CDC and his medical professional Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying his numbers are too high. This doctor is an infectious disease expert. The numbers could be even higher. Our death rate is the highest on the globe. New York state was hit particularly hard. When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked for help, the president said quit complaining.

There will be a federal response to the governors depending on how they treated him. If there ever was a time to implement a national response for research and testing it would be now. Trump is promoting civil unrest. When he learned (and was probably so disappointed) he was not the supreme authority over our 50 governors, they would pay the price. We did not have the ventilators we needed; we did not have sufficient masks and other supplies our medical community needed.

Well, Donald, if you had responded differently it may have put you in the running for the Nobel Peace Prize you feel you so richly deserve. COVID-19 is going to be around a while and we as individuals will have to make adjustments to our everyday lives. Somehow we will get through this because the best will come out of our citizens as we go through this together.

Dee Baxter, Bradford