Tell the Truth

I watched HHS Secretary Azar on Meet The Press Sunday morning and I am of the opinion he did an OK job of leaving most of the politics out of his appearance.          

The situation with Covid-19 (coronavirus) is such that it cries-out for transparency from the government. It is not something someone cooked-up to ‘bring down the president’.   

Political sparring over an expanding outbreak undermines the public’s trust in government, it encourages some to dismiss medical facts as Fake News and lose confidence in the life-saving information.  The public needs unfiltered, truthful information from scientists and health experts during a health crisis.       

It is of little use to have President Trump and his surrogates blaming someone else.  The president’s tendency to spin assertions with no basis in reality becomes a recipe for bad outcomes – particularly when coupled with his contempt for scientists, medical experts, intelligence officials, journalists and others who deal in fact-based reality.  Trump’s credibility is already strained to its limit given his propensity to spread lies and false claims.

This is not a hoax.

With this damn virus poised to grow to pandemic proportions it is imperative to emphasize truthful information over false spin. Focus on public health and solutions – not political rallies and saving face for Trump.   

This - from our friendly neighbors to the north - and not a whiff of the stench of politics.