Week in Review 10-9-2020

 

Trump received anti-body drugs to help him battle his COVID. He described the cutting-edge treatments as "miracles coming down from God." Actually, it was not a miracle. Rather it was a concrete scientific process using cells derived from fetal tissue that developed the drug.

 

But Trump is against research using fetal tissues. His Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is also against this type of research. Trump, however, ignored this fact when it benefited him. 

 

As president, Trump does not value science nor facts. He was in the White House nearly two years before he even named a top science adviser. 

 

At the EPA, he took steps to bar key scientists from serving on advisory committees. His administration routinely distorts evidence to support his agenda. We have seen that consistently with Trump's handling of the pandemic. 

 

Even Trump's anti-immigrant views have eroded our country's position as a global leader in scientific collaborations. He has prevented researchers from coming here to work on critical projects. Trump has also repeatedly sought to slash funding for the National Science Foundation, the NIH and EPA. He pulled us out of the Paris Climate accord, a major blow to our global efforts to save the planet. 

 

Just 11 days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency, Trump released his budget which called for a 16 percent reduction in CDC funding. Then he announced the U.S. would be pulling out of the WHO. 

 

In 2018, seven new scientists, all Democrats, were elected to Congress. They joined a Congress filled with at least 100 Representatives and Senators who are climate change deniers.