A first draft of history from TNYT

The New York Times has a lengthy report on the history of the Trump* administration’s response to the coronavirus. An excerpt:

Throughout January, as Mr. Trump repeatedly played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues, an array of figures inside his government — from top White House advisers to experts deep in the cabinet departments and intelligence agencies — identified the threat, sounded alarms and made clear the need for aggressive action.

The president, though, was slow to absorb the scale of the risk and to act accordingly, focusing instead on controlling the message, protecting gains in the economy and batting away warnings from senior officials. It was a problem, he said, that had come out of nowhere and could not have been foreseen.

As efforts to mitigate the effects of this pandemic continue, this administration’s failures must never be forgotten. Long story short: this president was and is more concerned with his own political well-being than with the lives of the American people. He is reckless, incompetent, a danger to the country he is supposed to be leading, and a danger to the world.