Virus pandemic makes politics more relevant, not less

We would be in much better shape if the country had a different president and different policies.

After Joe Biden won the Florida primary and ran last Tuesday’s table on Bernie Sanders, the usual buzz didn’t follow. Some commentators wondered whether, in this time of coronavirus upheaval, politics still matter.

Actually, politics matter more than ever.

Voters make political choices that give people the chance to govern. Only then do we learn whether those political choices were right. The pandemic has shown that Donald Trump was the wrong choice.

Trump caught the wave of anti-immigrant, anti-government sentiment and hoped that a growing economy would allow him to keep riding it through November. He got away with breaking every norm of presidential conduct because almost no one he had to care about pushed back.

Facing an unprecedented crisis, however, Trump’s politics don’t work. Bored with anything that doesn’t involve performing for his base and incapable of seeing beyond himself, Trump is failing to provide the steady, reassuring presence that this crisis demands of a president.

On Sunday, with market futures tumbling and virus cases spreading, Trump dwelled on his own grievances.

A reporter asked whether Trump, like some members of Congress, had sold stock before the market crash. Trump took offense — when doesn’t he? — and complained again about the billions of dollars he supposedly forsook by being president. He griped about not receiving enough praise for giving up his salary.

A day earlier, NBC’s Peter Alexander had asked about the president hyping antivirals that have not been thoroughly tested and approved for widespread use. What would Trump say to Americans “who are scared?”

Trump responded by calling Alexander a “terrible reporter” and ranting further about the media. Alexander then asked Vice President Mike Pence, who said, “Don’t panic. Be vigilant.” It wasn’t a great answer, but it sounded like one from a responsible leader.

As Warren Buffett says, only when the tide goes out do you learn who’s been swimming naked. Trump sold himself as a corporate savant, but he’s bungled almost every aspect of the coronavirus response, starting with his weeks-long denial that the virus posed a threat.

Consider also how Trump’s policy decisions look in retrospect.

How much better prepared would Congress be to help individuals and businesses if Trump hadn’t signed the 2017 Republican tax cut that mostly benefits the wealthy and corporations? It will cost at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years and invest nothing in the economy.

Could we use, say, $28 billion for health care workers? That’s how much we spent to bail out soybean farmers damaged by Trump’s tariff war with China.

As the military mobilizes to fight the pandemic, could the Pentagon use another $10 billion? That’s how much Trump has diverted from the defense budget for his wall on the Mexican border. Smugglers already have drilled through the wall.

Finally, with older Americans most at risk from the coronavirus, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration wants to ease Obama-era regulations on nursing homes. The changes would affect rules to prevent infections.

Those are the policies we got from the politics that elected Trump and have retained a Republican Senate. Those politics have given us an assault on government — aka “the deep state” — and facts just when we most need government and the facts.

Only different politics can give us different policies. Which brings us to Biden.

A Biden supporter claimed in a video that the Trump administration had “silenced” CDC official Nancy Messonnier. She had angered Trump by telling reporters on Feb. 25 that a virus outbreak was inevitable.

The Washington Post’s fact-checking team gave that claim Four Pinocchios. Messonnier continued to give phone briefings and made several social media videos.

Before the South Carolina primary, Biden claimed that he had been arrested in South Africa decades ago trying to see the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. The Post called that one a “Pants on Fire” lie.

Trump is singularly unqualified to be president, based on character, temperament and experience. To defeat him, Biden must offer himself as someone completely different, not just somewhat different.

That starts with sticking to the facts. Trump squandered much of his credibility well before the virus hit. Biden can start building his now. That would be new politics — and good politics.