Words Matter - Especially The President's

Jim Watson, Getty Images

In times of crisis, people look up to the leaders of their country. Our jobs, education, and lives depend largely on the actions of the government and our community. Yet, the country with the most COVID-19 cases and deaths cannot trust their own leader.

April 23rd, 2020, President Trump suggested that the injection of disinfectants could ease the impacts of the coronavirus.

18 hours after his statement, the New York City Poison Control Center received more than double its usual amount of calls (source), and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency received over 100 calls asking about the president’s suggestion (source).

The day after, he told reporters, “I was asking the question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen.”

This incident is just one result of the many false claims Trump has made to the media.

March 21st, 2020, President Trump tweeted that the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could be a potential “game-changer” in treating coronavirus patients, even though the drugs had not been approved to prevent or treat the virus.

As a result, a couple in Arizona took chloroquine in hopes of preventing the disease. The woman was placed under critical care, and the man died.

Written in the roots of the constitution is the purpose of the government: to protect its citizens. An extension of this protection is receiving truthful claims from the government, especially when those claims relate to serious medical knowledge.

President Trump, your words matter. Sarcasm is not tolerable amid a deadly pandemic, and among the hysteria and chaos that surrounds the coronavirus is a copious amount of misinformation – stop being a facilitator.