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Donald Trump has been a truly disastrous president.

Instead of rational leadership he has consistently substituted magical thinking, self-promotion, and misrepresentation of reality. This pattern has been glaringly evident in his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the beginning, Trump has falsely claimed that he and his administration had the coronavirus “very much under control”, despite the fact that the incidence of infections and deaths has continued to rise to alarming levels.

On April 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone wear a face covering when they are out in public to help prevent spread of the virus. Trump has refused to wear a face covering in public.

On April 17, Trump criticized governors who had ordered their states to follow the safe re-opening guidelines set forth by his own COVID-19 task force and urged his followers to “liberate” those states.

As more and more states succumbed to Trump’s pressure to open prematurely, the number of cases started to rise.

On June 20, Trump held a large indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, despite strong Task Force guidance against large gatherings, especially those that are held indoors. Two weeks later the number of infections in Tulsa County had dramatically increased.

On June 24, Trump held another indoor rally, this time in Phoenix, Arizona. Since that time, Phoenix hospitals have been overwhelmed with new COVID-19 cases.

Currently, more than 130,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. That number of deaths is the highest in the world, by a very large margin. Public health experts are predicting that by the end of the year there are likely to be more than 200,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S.

Donald Trump’s incompetence, neglect, self-absorption and dishonesty have been responsible for the deaths of many thousands of Americans. Removing him from office is an urgent priority.

Your vote matters! Vote in the Aug. 4 primary and the Nov. 3 general election.

Bette Pierman

Benton Harbor