How Obama Would Have Handled the Covid-19 Pandemic

A little bit of research leads you to a tale of two presidents

A.R. Shaw
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President Barack Obama and then President Elect Donald Trump at the inauguration on January 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

When Covid-19 was first discovered last winter, no one could have predicted the extent of its vicious impact. But after more than 2.3 million cases and 120,000 deaths, it’s clear that leadership failed Americans in coordinating an appropriate response.

Like millions of people, I wondered if the nation had been dealt a bad hand due to the faulty individuals in power. But instead of just thinking about the probable outcome, I decided to examine it.

While most of the nation remained in quarantine, I wrote an ebook to explore how things might have changed under different leadership, How President Barack Obama Would Have Handled Covid-19.

For eight years, I covered the Obama administration as a reporter and was present during a multitude of speeches, press briefings, and events at the White House and on the campaign trail. Along with recalling my firsthand coverage of the Obama administration, I researched notes, videos, speech transcripts, and pool reports where Obama addressed and took action against the Ebola and H1N1 pandemics. I also took a look at President Donald Trump’s response to Covid-19 and the immediate effects of his actions. The research eventually led to the ebook…

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