America Has a Shortage of PPE Because Trump Sent Our Stockpile to China

The Trump administration’s incompetence and indifference in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of criminal. First they claimed that the virus was a hoax and ignored all warnings. Then, when they couldn’t deny the reality of the pandemic, have been slow to roll out any sort of aid, and made what little was available contingent on governors sucking up to Trump.

As the number of infected grows exponentially, doctors, nurses, and health care workers find themselves suffering from a dangerous shortage of PPE (personal protective equipment) like masks, respirators, and gloves. America, which claims to be the richest country in the world, is seeing its first line of defense reusing single-use masks and donning trash bags in a desperate effort to stay protected.

Which has caused many of us to wonder: why was there no emergency stockpile of PPE? How could we have been so unprepared for this?

We were prepared. We had tons of stockpiles of medical equipment set aside for just such a crisis. But Trump and his administration sent all of our supplies to China. A press statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on February 7th reads, “This week the State Department has facilitated the transportation of nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to the Chinese people, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials. These donations are a testament to the generosity of the American people.”

The stockpile was part of the Obama administration’s emergency preparation response, which Trump disbanded and defunded. He of course blames Obama for the shortage, as he does with everything else. Trump is incapable of taking responsibility, and his negligence will cause an untold number of deaths.

The timeline is clear: Trump and his administration were warned of the pandemic in January by various intelligence agencies. The first case of coronavirus in the U.S. was reported on January 21st in Washington. Trump sent the medical supplies to China on February 7th. Yet knowing all of this, Trump waited until March 13th to declare a national emergency.

And after pleading from dozens of government officials and politicians, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on March 27th, ordering GM to produce ventilators. This comes weeks after the virus has exponentially spread, and the delay means more lives lost.

Now, governors are competing with the federal government, each other, and foreign countries to buy PPE supplies. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker described the situation in an interview with NBC News saying, “And so what’s happening too, not just on ventilators but on all the PPE that we need, prices are being ratcheted up and we’re competing against each other on what should be a national crisis where we should be coming together and the federal government should be leading, helping us.”

He continued, “But we need ventilators, we need N95 masks. The federal government isn’t providing most of that to the states. We’re out there competing against each other – it shouldn’t work that way.”

And it’s not simply giving away our supplies to China that is negligent. It was Trump’s continued denial of the outbreak that prevented the government from mobilizing efforts to replenish our stock of PPE, because Trump cared more about the appearance of a health country than our actual health.

He gave up millions of supplies and didn’t replace them because he was worried about his poll numbers and his precious stock market.

Every democrat running for office should be hammering these facts in every debate, every interview, and every Op-Ed. Of all the damage Trump and his cronies have done to this country, this will by far be the deadliest.

(via NBC News, image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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