“It should be fine, we hope,” says Trump, inspiring little confidence
Washington D.C. – During his first term, Donald Trump threw a comprehensive pandemic preparedness playbook in the trash and dismissed Covid as a “hoax” rather than take any steps to get ahead of the virus that went on to kill over a million Americans. Trump’s contempt for public health crisis preparedness and prevention has clearly not changed in his second term, including pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization and forcing deep cuts to mRNA research. The ongoing outbreak of the extremely deadly, rodent-borne hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean – for which there is no cure or vaccine — is a prudent time to spotlight the many ways the Trump administration has left the nation more vulnerable to such public health threats.
“Donald Trump of all people should have learned a hard lesson about keeping the nation fully prepared for the next public health crisis, instead he’s taken deliberate and foolhardy actions that have left Americans more vulnerable,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project. “Cutting the U.S. off from global crisis coordination that WHO offers while anti-vaxxer RFK Jr. guts domestic mRNA research has set the stage for an ‘Operation Posthumous’ rather than Warp Speed-style vaccine development and emergency resource preparedness. Trump and his toxic health secretary would rather waste taxpayer money on billion-dollar vanity White House ballrooms and billionaire tax breaks than on the public’s health.”
Trump’s response to the hantavirus situation has not exactly been reassuring: “It should be fine, we hope.”
A LOOK BACK AT HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS LEFT US LESS PREPARED FOR THE NEXT HEALTH CRISIS:
- ABC News: In axing mRNA contract, Trump delivers another blow to US biosecurity, former officials say
- Futurism: The CDC Fired All Its Cruise Ship Inspectors Before the Hantavirus Outbreak
- Politico: Trump administration firings hit key office handling bird flu response
- STAT News: Official leading CDC’s cruise ship program retires: It also comes after a turbulent year for the division — and the federal government’s public health work broadly. In April 2025, the full-time employees in the program were laid off, according to reporting at the time.
- Think Global Health: White House Empties Office for U.S. Pandemic Policy: The Gaps Left Behind
- AP: Trump administration’s deep cuts to public health leave system reeling
- ProPublica: Foreign Food Safety Inspections Hit Historic Low After Trump Cuts
- NYT: C.D.C. Pauses Testing for Rabies and Pox Viruses
- NYT: A Federal Lab That Tracked Rising S.T.I.s Has Been Shuttered
- NBC News: The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses/
- People: CDC’s Full-Time Cruise Ship Inspectors Were Laid Off One Year Ago amid Record Outbreaks: Report
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