Trump & Those Around Him: Cold, Callous, Cruel, Corrupt, Unfit and Incompetent to Lead

Prestige Ameritech N95 Mask Plant Fort Worth, TX

(Able to produce 1.7 million masks a week: Was rejected)

Want to see total incompetence at its very worse re: N95 mask shortage and the arrogance of Trump officials? Here is an absolutely stunning, troubling, and sad story rolled up into one awful day for Trump’s “America First Message.”

This story is long and yet extremely important is here told in graphic detail from the Washington Post here – the introduction and full story is at the link:

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From the article: It was January 22, a day after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the United States, and orders were pouring into Michael Bowen’s company outside Fort Worth, some from as far away as Hong Kong.

Bowen’s medical supply company, Prestige Ameritech, could ramp up production to make an additional 1.7 million N95 masks a week. He viewed the shrinking domestic production of medical masks as a national security issue, though, and he wanted to give the federal government first dibs.

Bowen emailed top HHS administrators that same day saying: “We still have four like-new N95 manufacturing lines. Reactivating these machines would be very difficult and very expensive but could be achieved in a dire situation.” 

But communications over several days with senior agency officials — including Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Emergency Response, Robert Kadlec, left Bowen with the clear impression that there was little immediate interest in his offer.

Laura Wolf, director of the agency’s Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection, responded that same day saying: “I don’t believe we as a government are anywhere near answering those questions for you yet.”

Bowen wrote back: “We are the last major domestic mask company. My phones are ringing now, so I don’t ‘need’ government business.” “I’m just letting you know that I can help you preserve our infrastructure if things ever get really bad.  I’m a patriot first, businessman second.”

I note: Government excuses start to fly:

In the end, the government did not take Bowen up on his offer. Even today, production lines that could be making more than 7 million masks a month sit dormant.

I note: Now enter a national Hero, Dr. Rick Bright – who was fired from his job working to find a virus vaccine filed a whistleblower complaint – his story on that is still evolving and is seen here, here, and here – FYI.

Bowen’s overture is also described briefly in an 89-page whistleblower complaint filed by Dr. Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Dr. Bright alleges he was retaliated against by Kadlec and other officials — including being reassigned to a lesser post — because he tried to “prioritize science and safety over political expediency.” 

HHS has disputed his allegations.

Emails show Bright pressed Kadlec and other agency leaders on the issue of mask shortages — and Bowen’s proposal specifically — to no avail. 

On January 26, Bright wrote to a deputy that Bowen’s warnings “seem to be falling on deaf ears.” 

That same day, Bowen sent Bright a more direct warning: “U.S. mask supply is at imminent risk.” One day later Bowen wrote back: “Rick, I think we’re in deep sh*t.”

The story of Bowen’s offer illustrates a missed opportunity in the early days of the pandemic, one laid out in Bright’s whistleblower complaint, interviews with Bowen, and emails provided by both men.

Within weeks, a shortage of masks was endangering health-care workers in hard-hit areas across the country, and the Trump administration was scrambling to buy more masks.

Sometimes they placed bulk orders with third-party distributors for many times the standard price. 

Trump came under pressure to use the DPA to force private industry to ramp up production (he did not initially).

In a statement, White House economic adviser and coronavirus task force member Peter Navarro said: “The Company (Bowen’s) was just extremely difficult to work and communicate with. This was in sharp contrast to groups like the National Council of Textile Organizations and companies like Honeywell and Parkdale Mills, which have helped America very rapidly build up cost effective domestic mask capacity measuring in the hundreds of millions.”

Carol Danko, an HHS spokeswoman, declined to comment on the offer by Bowen and other allegations raised in the whistleblower complaint.

Laura Wolf also declined to comment on the whistleblower complaint. 

However, a senior official with knowledge of the offer speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations said: 

“Bowen, 62, has a legitimate beef. He was prescient, really. But the reality is HHS didn’t have the money to do it at that time.”

Yet another HHS official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: “There is a process for putting out contracts. It wasn’t as fast as anyone wanted it to be.”

Full story continues here.

Related N95 mask shortage story from Los Angeles Times - very sad indeed.

My 2 cents: This story as I said underscores the total incompetence and arrogance and impact of those including Trump and political hacks around him not following good, sound, logical medial and business advice in this emergency and in a few of the examples were totally dismissive of advice to even explore the crisis except for arrogance and stubbornness mostly by and from Trump himself which is on record.

I hope hat Dr. Bright sues and wins a $10 million claim against Trump and HHS, and that Mr. Bowen gets the Medal of Freedom for his effort to save lives by helping medical personnel who faced and still face PPE shortages. 

This truly is a sad story and crappy one too for it underscores the incompetence of the Trump administration (those named in this article should be fired ASAP through due process).

Finally, I captured this at CNN written by David Axelrod – a very good read – highlight I picked out:

The president has made a cold, hard political calculation and decided to take the path of selfish expedience: He'll be on the side of opening at all costs. Play his favorite red-state-versus-blue-state card. Blame the doctors for being overly cautious and the Democrats for prizing science over American jobs. Force the governors to make the tough, agonizing decisions and make them walk the plank. Use China as a shield against his own inexcusable failure to act earlier.

Instead of unifying the country, Trump is hoping to pry open and deepen the divides that have been so central to his political project. Already you can see the polarizing effect – in polling, on social media, and Fox News. While most Americans still favor a cautious approach, the familiar fault lines are beginning to form.

A responsible leader would have behaved differently; would have followed the science and told the country that quitting the distasteful prescription mid-course would only prolong the misery.

For example, in 1942, when the allies won a decisive, hard-fought victory over the Nazis in North Africa, Winston Churchill tempered the welcome good news with this caution:

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

That is where we are in the battle against COVID-19. That is what an honest, courageous leader would tell us now, as many of our governors and mayors have.

But if you were expecting some steely, Churchillian moment of leadership from this President, you haven't been paying attention. Trump is about Trump, first, last and always.

He is what he is, which is sad for our badly wounded country in this moment of excruciating trial.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed the WaPo article - I sure did.