Shortages in crucial medical supplies like ventilators and personal protective equipment have been well-documented across the United States amidst the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has at times responded to the life-and-death problems dismissively — at one recent press conference, Trump son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner even questioned why states were approaching the Strategic National Stockpile of supplies for help at all. Former Vice President and likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has now publicly called out the president over the fumbling, insisting that he should, among other steps, appoint a “supply commander” to oversee the distribution of frequently life-saving supplies and equipment.
Biden commented:
‘This public health crisis is foremost a human crisis, but it is also a crisis of supply, logistics and distribution. States, hospitals, and health care providers should not have to bid against one another, or against the federal government to get the supplies that they desperately need… We need a Supply Commander to step up and take charge and get the doctors, nurses, health care workers, first responders, firefighters, and cops the equipment they need to protect themselves and save lives.’
Others have already made similar calls — and Trump has already mockingly dismissed them. After New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer called for the appointment of a special supply chain leader for Coronavirus response, Trump belted out on Twitter:
‘Somebody please explain to Cryin’ Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented Admiral, in fact… New York has gotten far more than any other State, including hospitals & a hospital ship, but no matter what, always complaining.’
It would be really great if Trump stopped for a moment to consider something other than his public image amidst the spread of the Coronavirus across the United States, which has far more confirmed cases than any other country in the world.
Somebody please explain to Cryin’ Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented Admiral, in fact. New York has gotten far more than any other State, including hospitals & a hospital ship, but no matter what, always complaining…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2020
Trump is correct to the point that Rear Adm. John Polowczyk currently leads FEMA’s supply chain task force, but neither he nor anyone else has stepped in to alleviate the massive distribution problems that have hamstrung some virus response efforts. Biden insisted that it “is clear that the current structure President Trump has put in place is not working.”
So far, a comprehensive national strategy from the Trump administration that would help keep supply shortages from emerging has failed to materialize. In fact, a slew of experts told NBC just in recent days that the White House’s “decision to let states chart their own responses to coronavirus rather than impose a national strategy will cost thousands of lives and is likely to result in an open-ended outbreak rolling across the U.S.” States have even been left bidding against each other for crucial supplies, sending prices skyrocketing as demand has spiked and the Trump administration has only occasionally attempted to step in to ensure adequate supply.
All of these developments have unfolded as the U.S. caseload and casualty count have skyrocketed and yet to plateau. The country has already suffered over 300,000 cases of the Coronavirus and over 8,100 deaths and counting.
