Is Trump following Moon, Xi into coronavirus hot water?
President Moon Jae-in adjusts his mask during his meeting with small merchants in Taegu, Korea's epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic. Yonhap
By Oh Young-jin
The ongoing coronavirus epidemic has not just hobbled President Moon Jae-in but also may put U.S. President Donald Trump in as tight a spot. Chinese President Xi Jin-ping is also in hot water for not containing the virus at an early stage after the discovery that officials in Wuhan, in China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the disease, suppressed initial signs of the outbreak.
“One day it is like a miracle. It will disappear,” Trump said at a White House meeting with the media Thursday. “The 15 will soon go down to three or four.” He was talking about the 15 confirmed cases in the U.S. As of Friday (Korean time), the number had risen to 59.
A worker wearing a protective full-body suit stands near a framed picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a government-organized tour of Mengniu Dairy factory in Beijing. AP-Yonhap
Besides, Trump also boasted of the “incredible job” his administration was doing in dealing with the epidemic.
But repots have it that health workers who handled evacuees from Wuhan were not given proper gear or preparation, and were exposed to the risk of contagion. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the alarm, saying the U.S. might face “community spread.” What is happening in Taegu or Wuhan, China, are examples of community transmissions.
Trump is seeking re-election in November, and is regarded as likely to win, thanks to the humming U.S. economy and confusion among the Democratic candidates.
But he should be careful, however good he may be at dodging responsibility. If the disease spreads further, there could be plenty of variables for his re-election bid.
He could learn from President Moon Jae-in how one mishap in crisis management can threaten to unravel a presidency.
U.S. President Donald Trump, with members of his coronavirus task force, speaks at a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. AP-Yonhap
President Moon told heads of big conglomerates on Feb. 13 that inflections had peaked and would be brought under control soon. In the following days, the Daegu situation broke loose, with large numbers of believers of the 200,000-strong quasi-religious Shincheonji Church of Jesus found to have contracted the virus. Now the opposition parties are attacking Moon for complacency and incompetency ahead of the April 15 National Assembly elections.
The situation being as it is, Moon aides came to his defense, saying his remarks were aimed at preventing the epidemic from dampening the economy. But public anger is already boiling over, with more than 1.2 million people having signed a call for Moon's impeachment on the presidential office website for public petitions as of Friday morning.
Moon obviously did not learn from China's Xi, who has been in hot water. China's modern-day emperor, who has been made virtual president for life in the Middle Kingdom, had hidden himself in Beijing during the critical early stage of the Wuhan situation, taking a lot of public flak for being below the radar and receiving public dressing down for his remedial activities that failed to soften the anger. Xi's appearance a face mask during an inspection visit received a lot of scorn.
Moon is following Xi's footsteps in the unfolding corona saga, although Xi is riding back to life on news that the worst seems to be coming to an end. Will Trump follow Moon's lead and allow his re-election bid into the episode with bathos?