We need real leadership, President Trump
America is waiting for the reassurance famously provided by FDR and Bush.
From Franklin Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ” address to George W. Bush’s “I can hear you” response through a bullhorn, American presidents have risen to the occasion in moments of crisis in varying ways over the nation’s history.
For Roosevelt, it was his first inaugural address to a country besieged by the Great Depression and worried about war that would soon envelop the world. It was a prepared message of confidence and assurance delivered in the inspiring tones that would mark the Roosevelt era.
Bush’s moment came as he clambered through the debris of the World Trade Center three days after a terrorist attack had shaken the nation to its core on Sept. 11, 2001.
The nation’s 41st president told teams of rescuers that “America today is on bended knees for the people who lost their lives here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn.”
Someone in the distance called out, “George, we can’t hear you.”
Taking a step higher on the rubble and pulling the bullhorn closer to his mouth, Bush responded.
“I can hear you!” he said. “The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”
The crowd erupted with chants of “USA! USA!”
Bush, who wasn’t known for his eloquence and seemed unsure of himself just after the 9/11 attacks, managed to restore the nation’s confidence in him and in ourselves.
It’s difficult to imagine more distinct settings than the lofty chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and the crater of a bombed-out building or two more dissimilar speakers than Roosevelt and Bush. But each displayed a form of leadership that both calmed and moved an anxious country.
Americans are still looking for that kind of leadership in the new coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 145,000 people worldwide and caused more than 5,000 deaths. That includes more than 1,200 people confirmed infected in the United States, with more than 30 fatalities. Those numbers, U.S. health experts say, will rise exponentially in the coming weeks.
Fears and uncertainty about COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, have set off a public panic most evident in the aisles of empty shelves that once held hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and, for some unknown reason, toilet paper.
It also has prompted a string of cancellations of sports and entertainment events, public gatherings of large crowds and even the closure of schools. Almost unthinkable just a week ago, the closings now seem like a common sense response.
Most of these decisions have come at the local level with cities, counties and states in a void of leadership at the federal level.
After weeks of minimizing the impact of the disease, President Donald Trump finally delivered a sober message to the nation on Wednesday night that was marred by errors, lack of detail and self-serving statements. It even overshadowed the positives of his early ban on travel from China.
The already-reeling stock market, a target audience for the president’s remarks, suffered its biggest losses since 1987 the next day.
Trump tried again Friday with the declaration of a national emergency and the announcement of publicprivate partnerships to speed a testing process that a member of his own task force has called “a failing.”
When asked whether he took responsibility for the initial testing lag, the president had a chance for a “bullhorn” moment. He didn't need lofty rhetoric or special knowledge. He had just announced some substantive steps in what his administration was doing. He just needed to admit that he didn't have all the answers but confidently assure the nation that things are being put right and that we will make it through this together. He didn't do that.
“No, I don’t take responsibility at all,” he said.
Americans look to the president for leadership during times of crisis. In this one, we are still waiting.