Notes on 2020, COVID, The Protests

Remember COVID, Be Smart - Elected and public health officials – including in the Administration - need to step up and remind the public that the US still has some of the highest COVID infection rates in the world, and we have not yet put the virus behind us. Protestors need to be smart, maintain social distancing and masking, or risk spreading the virus to their communities, friends, and family.   This is no ordinary time, and we cannot forget that.  

In a piece published a few weeks ago, Simon worried that the nation was facing a summer where tens of millions of young people would have nothing to do, and that trouble or social unrest could come.  He encouraged schools and communities to step into this void, and offer online courses and other measures to keep young people learning, active, and engaged.  Last we were proud when Simon’s alma mater Tufts University and the Tisch College for Civic Life there announced an innovative free summer webinar series for all Tufts students, “Navigating the Pandemic.”  Our hope is other educational and community organizations will follow Tufts’ lead, and keep talking and reaching out to our young people this summer, particularly in those communities hardest hit by COVID and incensed by the racial violence we’ve all seen in recent months.  Young Americans need our support and understanding in what has been a very difficult time, while we must also send a very loud and clear message that the looting and lawlessness must come to an immediate end. 

Focus on De-Escalation – As Joe Biden modeled yesterday our nation’s leaders must work now to de-escalate the violence and clashes we are seeing.  We were encouraged by the images of police across the country taking a new, or showing other forms of solidarity with the protestors – it was police violence that sparked these events, and it is on every police force in the country to lead de-escalation efforts now.  The many many images we’ve seen of continued use of excessive force by police in recent days – including dozens of direct attacks on journalists – will need to be addressed out in the open in the days ahead.  

The question of whether organized forces are sabotaging these events, or if the destruction we are seeing is homegrown and viral, is something the WH, FBI, and DHS must explain to us as soon as possible.  In his usual fashion when pressed, the President retreated to Foxlandia this weekend, the imaginary world he sees on his TV each day, and branded Antifa, an organization which has no ideological reason to be disrupting these protests and doesn’t really exist, a terrorist organization responsible for the lawlessness we’ve seen.  It’s critical we put pressure on Trump to do his job this week and work to effectively and maturely keep all of us safe – this is not an us vs them moment – and the President simply must raise his game here.   

What Comes Next? – To us, these last few days are just a huge, powerful reminder of what an utter failure Trump has been as President.  COVID protocols being blown across the country after months of hard work.  Outrageous police violence in city after city.  40m unemployed.  Looting and property crime spreading, with no answer from Trump other than Hannityish right wing babble.  The G7 and WHO spitefully and recklessly undermined.  It is a dark time.  

The public has had it with Trump.  As we’ve been reporting to you over the past few weeks, poll numbers for him and Republicans in critical Senate races are terrible.  The ABC/Washington poll released Sunday had Biden thrashing Trump 53-43.  In a moment of crisis these past few days the President seemed to shrink from the moment, not meet it.  And we all know he is unlikely to do so for a great deal of what we are dealing with is the result of his incompetence and extremism. 

What is clearly needed now is strong, steady, enlightened, and empathetic leadership.  The nation is beset with an extraordinary array of challenges, all at the same time.  There is no simple solution here, no magic wand.  The work ahead of us will take years, not months, and it will be hard. 

Something we’ve been promoting for some time feels appropriate now - the Vice President should begin acting like the leader of the opposition not just a Presidential candidate.  He should try to formally organize him campaign now not just to focus on winning the election but fashioning solutions with like-minded elected leaders of both parties below the federal level – governors, mayors.  The challenges we are facing need national not just federal solutions, and the VP should appoint someone now – perhaps Cory Booker – to take the lead in organizing a national council of state and local electeds to help guide us through this crisis in ways which address some of the clear long-standing inequities these last few months have laid bare for all of us to see. In the last few minutes, we’ve learned that VP Biden is holding a working session today with the mayors of Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and St Paul.  Encouraging indeed.   

Stay safe all. And optimistic.  We can get through this and come out stronger. But we have a lot of work to do.