It was a Kennedyesque moment. President Biden had been confronted with a Russian threat. It was a threat so severe, Republican Congressman Mike Turner, the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, felt he needed to inform the public of a threat that would endanger our military superiority, and cause us to fail in the face of Russian aggression. It was a threat to our way of life, a threat to our type of government.
The White House had already scheduled a meeting with the Gang of Eight to discuss the situation, and Republican House Speaker, Mike Johnson, assured us calm, competent hands were operating our government. Johnson stated: There was no need for panic. And no one did panic.
Two weeks later nothing has changed.
What no one asked Mike Johnson, or Mike Turner, is this: If Trump were President, and a threat of this nature was brought to his attention, would Turner and Johnson have found the same competent, calm, caring attitude they found with President Biden?
We know the answer. When Kennedy had his moment during the Russian Missile Crisis, he stood tall. He informed the American public of the Russian threat. We went to school and work the next day. Our economy continued. Just as we have under President Biden.
But Trump failed in his Kennedyesque moment. He didn’t take the threat of Covid seriously. He didn’t inform the public properly. In May of 2020 Trump declared if we keep the death rate under 100,000 people, we will have done a good a job. He stated we would return to normalcy by June. Over 400,000 Americans died from Covid during the short time frame Trump remained in office. We didn’t return to normalcy by June. In his last four weeks as President, despite having a vaccine available, 25,000 United States citizens were dying each week. Trump was too concerned about stealing an election to roll out an effective vaccination plan.
So yes, we know the answer. Trump cannot handle a crisis competently, with calmness and caring. Biden can. That alone should be enough to win the election for Biden.
