United States President Donald Trump smiles at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota. Photo / AP
United States President Donald Trump smiles at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota. Photo / AP
Editorial
EDITORIAL:
The United States has marked Independence Day at its lowest ebb in years.
Covid-19 is surging in 36 American states as part of a catastrophic second wave of infections, putting any hopes of an economic rebound at risk.
Cases have increased by 90 per cent in two weeks, making the US a tragic exception among wealthy, developed nations.
And the country is headed by a man out of his depth and unsuited to the moment, who puts pressure on America's political fault-lines in a search for electoral advantage.
At Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, dwarfed by the faces of past presidents, Donald Trump delivered a pointedly partisan speech. Americans were divided into "they" and "our" and the President presented himself as a protector against "far-left fascism".
As the US reached a record 57,000 daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, Trump made only a brief reference to the pandemic.
Instead, at an event with no requirement for masks or social distancing, he focused on the Black Lives Matter protests and the push to remove Confederate-linked statues and symbols. It was a continuation of the "law and order" rhetoric of a month ago – despite the hammering Trump has taken in the polls since then.
He said: "Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values ... Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders."
Trump added: "They think the American people are weak, soft and submissive ... The radical ideology attacking our country advances under the banner of social justice. They want to silence us, but we will not be silenced."
As ever, Trump did the opposite of what a regular US leader would do when besieged by crises. Any other recent president would have appealed to unity. They would have months ago placed themselves and the Government's resources at the centre of a federal effort to combat the coronavirus.
Trump instead kept saying the virus would go away, left dealing with it up to the states, incited his followers to push for early re-opening, and used his influence with Republican state leaders to make that happen.
And he continues his wooing of just a section of the country to try to win re-election in November. Polls suggest Trump has lost at least some support from 2016 and needs to attract independents. Appealing to anti-immigration fears just before the 2018 Midterm elections did not work.
Trump's inflexibility endangers people's health, the country's standing and his re-election prospects. As the incumbent, Trump would be more competitive if he had been able to adapt and change his approach months ago.
If in February, the US had started increasing production of medical protective equipment and ramping up testing capacity, followed by a nationwide mandatory lockdown in March, far fewer people would have died.
Polls showed general support for health safety measures at the time. Trump needed to persuade more sceptical sections of the public.
A tough lockdown would have brought case rates down and allowed the economy to reopen safely. It probably would have allowed Trump to enter the final stage of the campaign with improving economic data.
Trump just cannot adjust to changing circumstances and is unable to shift from his old strategies. NBC reports that the White House intends to push a "we need to live with it" message on the virus.
Unfortunately, it is one independence weekend where there is little to celebrate.
