Partisanship in the Face of a Pandemic

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From blocked bills to legislative stalemates to endless blame games, partisanship defines American politics. Historically, partisanship has brought many legislative sessions to a standstill as lawmakers and citizens alike are uncompromising in their political orientations. However, in the face of a global pandemic, will polarization play a role in governmental response? Evidently, in America, even pandemics can get political but signs of non-partisan breakthrough shed some light on hopes of a unified response. 

For the Trump administration, facing the Coronavirus has been just as much a crisis— not a health crisis, but a reelection one. In fact, the epidemic has been nothing but political from the very beginning. At the onset of the crisis, the Trump administration was ostensibly nonchalant, but as a source explained to NPR, they were deeply concerned about the potential implications on reelection efforts. As the source explained, “The lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential reelection this fall.” Evidently, complacency was a calculated political strategy in the early stages of the epidemic but tides soon shifted with an opposing response from Democrats in the House of Representatives. Upon the spread of the virus, House Democrats drafted an economic stimulus and relief package bill almost immediately, a reaction that seemingly countered President Trump’s passive response. Trump’s early disapproval of the Democratic response was so extreme that he went so far as to call it “their new hoax” at a rally in South Carolina, echoing a term used to dismiss his impeachment and the special-counsel investigation. Clearly, partisanship and politics were far from absent in response to COVID-19 but that may not just be due to the lawmakers.

In fact, attitudes regarding the American public’s trust in science is divided along party lines as well. According to Pew Research Center, more Democrats than Republicans agree that science produces valid conclusions as more Republicans than Democrats identify a potential bias in scientific studies. With partisan viewpoints among the public regarding one of the core tenets of response to the crisis, it's no surprise that partisanship played a significant role in governmental leaders’ response. However, in the face of a global pandemic that seems to heighten daily, much of the polarization in response to the epidemic has begun to fade away.

Although the response to the virus may have started out with two vastly different approaches, many previously partisan leaders have taken approaches that divert from rigid party lines. Take for instance Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio. Though a Republican who has many times signalled support for the President, his response was far different from Trump’s passivity toward the virus. In fact, to curb the spread of the virus in Ohio, he took drastic measures, such as ordering the cancellation of K-12 schools and larger public gatherings, early on during the process. His proactive measure even earned the praise of Dayton Mayor Nancy Whaley, a Democrat. “It’s time for us to put politics aside and come together” explained DeWine, marking a stark contrast to President Trump who has been accused of downplaying the epidemic for political gain. Ultimately, Gov. DeWine’s actions may not be so popular among his own party. A Quinnipiac poll in early March found that while at least 58% of Americans were concerned about the virus, 38% of Republicans felt the same. Evidently, though the federal response may still be divided along party lines, local and state-level precautions are characterized by a nonpartisan, unified nature.

As the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic has grown, even federal government leaders have begun to unite behind a single response. The House package relief bill was deliberated with White House officials for multiple days until a deal was struck late last week that allowed for the passage of the bill with only two dissenting votes. The change signals a real progression in response from both parties that stresses the urgency of the situation. Though President Trump’s early comments regarding the Coronavirus pandemic may have sparked a partisan discussion, there has been advancement towards a unified response from federal and state level authorities as the pandemic ramps up in spread and impact.