Everyday CNN broadcasts the coronavirus press briefing of Andrew Cuomo, Governor of the state of New York. Every day I am struck by the manner in which this man consistently displays excellent leadership in his handling of the current crisis which has hit his home state the hardest. What is also apparent is how his example contrasts with that set by the President of the United States. Governor Cuomo is everything that Donald J. Trump is not. Or perhaps when it comes to unfavorable characteristics, it’s the other way around.
Where Trump consistently downplayed the dangers of the pandemic and even lied to the American people during this critical period, Cuomo tells it like it is, conveying the good, the bad, and the ugly with equal honesty. He doesn’t sugar coat anything so the people he serves are prepared for what is to come. People may be temporarily mollified when told that they don’t need to worry about a potential danger, but they will grow even more anxious when they find out they have been lied to. Then they don’t know who they can trust. When they have been told that anyone who needs a test can have one and then three weeks later they still can’t be tested, why should they believe that a shipment of ventilators is actually going to be delivered as promised.
Trump fills his daily coronavirus daily briefings with superlatives about how well he and his team are getting things done; these are tasks that should have been addressed two or three months ago. Trump also obviously expects the members of his administration to heap praises on him for his leadership whenever they are called to the podium, and they are quick to comply. Trump refuses to be held accountable for anything. While Governor Cuomo is quick to praise the medical personnel who are the warriors on the front lines, he doesn’t use his press conferences as an opportunity for self-congratulations for himself or his team. His briefings are all about the facts, regardless of how painful they may be.
Trump apparently doesn’t listen to his intelligence and medical experts when what they are telling him conflicts with his objectives, his selfish agenda, and/or how he desires the future to unfold. If he did he would have insisted that the federal government began preparing for the advent of the coronavirus in this country when his intelligence team was briefing him every day that it was imminent danger to our nation’s security. He would have never stated that he wanted to open up the country by Easter had he been listening to his medical experts. On the other hand, everything that Governor Cuomo says and does at his press conferences is predicated on the science and models provided to him by his medical experts.
Unprepared for what is to come, Trump is always playing catch up.When first told that the new coronavirus was a serious threat to this country back in January, Trump should have told his team to determine what the various federal agencies needed to do to prepare and then instructed them to begin those preparations immediately. The CDC should have been told to have tests ready, their effectiveness verified, and ready to supply in sufficient quantities. Stockpiles of medical supplies and protective equipment should have been inventoried, tested, and increased as necessary. Where the normal production of those supplies and equipment was insufficient to meet anticipated demand, companies should have been instructed to begin or speed up production.
As a country we should have had teams people in China identifying and investigating the virus and helping the Chinese to contain it before it spread to other countries. This is what we have done repeatedly and effectively in the past. On the contrary, following its America first policy the Trump administration had already eliminated the teams set up by the Obama and Bush administration which were set up specifically to do all of the above.
On the other hand Governor Cuomo is planning three or four moves ahead like a chess master. He learns from his experts what the medical personnel and facilities in his state will need well in advance and then he and his team do their best to secure what will be needed. He insisted quite vocally that the federal government use the capabilities of its agencies and the armed forces to supply New York with the additional hospital facilities which will be needed in the future. He and his team have set up plans to move equipment and even patients between medical facilities within the state as needed. He has teamed up with governors in surrounding states to coordinate their efforts to keep the virus from spreading further.
Governor Cuomo has also shown he is willing to make the big difficult decisions when necessary and to admit when he was wrong. He was among the first governors to issue stay at home orders and admitted he should have done so even sooner. He admits when he doesn’t know the answers to reporters’ questions and relays those questions to his advisors. His actions illustrate that he is willing to do whatever is necessary, regardless of how unpopular it may be at the time. In this regard he acts as if he doesn’t care if he gets reelected as long as he protects his citizens as best he can now.
Trump on the other hand was selfishly concerned about his election chances if the economy tanked when he downplayed the virus until stubborn facts at long last prevailed. He has yet to issue a much needed stay at home order and has refused to take responsibility for the many obvious failings of his administration. He contends that failed tasks which the federal government should have performed were the responsibility of others.
Watching the Trump coronavirus press briefings day after day it has become readily apparent that it is all about putting the very best face on every aspect of how the administration is dealing with the crisis. That obviously comes from the top. When reporters ask pointed questions about apparent failures, Trump does his best to slap them down. When he occasionally mentions the misery his countrymen are going through, it is by rote, with no evidence that he feels real compassion. Apparently Trump thinks that if he acknowledges the human destruction which the virus is causing, it is akin to somehow admitting the failure of his administration to protect those that he governs.
Governor Cuomo on the other hand shows every day that he understands and commiserates with what his people are going through. He cites numerous examples of what his state’s medical personnel are experiencing and regularly praises their heroic efforts. He shows he totally understands the anxiety and the financial and emotional difficulties his stay at home order is causing. The people of New York know that he totally understands what the relatives and close friends of those who have been stricken by the virus are going through because he talks about how he feels about his own brother being infected.
Sometimes the simplest things that a leader does are among the most effective. When it comes to social distancing with Trump it is, “Do what I say, not what I do.” When you watch Trump’s coronavirus briefings, take note of how closely Trump and the members of his administration are clumped together, sometimes only inches apart. At his briefings, Governor Cuomo and advisors sit at a table, far apart. He leads by example.
It is said that a leader is best judged by how he performs in times of crisis. If that is the case then Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York deserves the highest marks possible. There have been reports that members of the Trump administration constantly monitor Governor Cuomo’s briefings to try to understand how to deal with the pandemic more effectively. If they are passing those lessons on to Trump, he is incapable of learning them.
Cajun 4/4/2020