Letters to the Editor: The coronavirus task force was just another Trump publicity stunt

To the editor: There is no one in charge of the pathetic White House coronavirus task force. Like everything else in the Trump orbit, the task force is a worthless piece of public relations trash, and I have ignored it since its inception. (“The short, unhappy life of Trump’s coronavirus task force,” column, May 10)

There is no one and no thing in the White House that has been at all helpful in our fight against the virus, and the task force has been a force for misinformation and Trumpian ego stroking, all the while posing a danger to the public.

Our country, rather than leading the world in its pandemic struggle, is instead showing the world how not to behave. We are an object of both scorn and pity, as our seat at the table of great nations sits empty.

Fred Barker, Burbank

..

To the editor: Columnist Doyle McManus has correctly identified President Trump as guiding a rudderless ship through our current pandemic, with uncertainty and inconsistency at the forefront. But he fails to nail down the reason.

Trump’s aversion to decision making, his shirking of responsibility to the states and their governors, and his obsession with prematurely opening the economy are all because he puts his political future ahead of the good of the nation.

He will not make decisions for fear of being blamed for a mistake. He is positioned to take credit for successes while insulating himself from blame.

The polar opposite was President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who steered us out of the Great Depression by making all the tough decisions. Some were right and some were wrong, but he put the nation first and brought us through the crisis. That is the definition of leadership.

Alan Abajian, Alta Loma