◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek May 4, 2020
31● It’snotjustDemocraticstatesthatarereeling
froma sudden,dramaticlossoftaxrevenueRed States Will
Need Bailouts, Too
OnApril27,PresidentTrumptooktoTwitterto
escalatethespatoverthenextcoronavirusstim-
ulus,questioningwhetherthefederalgovern-
mentshouldrescue“poorlyrun”statesledby
Democrats.Histweetechoedthecommentsof
SenateMajorityLeaderMitchMcConnell,who
suggestedduringa radiointerviewthatstateswith
largepensionobligationsunderunioncontracts
couldpursuebankruptcyinsteadoffederalaid.
TheKentuckyRepublican’sofficegavehiscom-
mentsa twistina pressreleasewitha sectiontitled
“OnStoppingBlueStateBailouts.”
It’struethatmanyofthestatesthatareground
zerofortheCovid-19pandemic—NewYorkandNew
Jersey,aswellasCaliforniaandIllinois—aresolidly
Democratic.Butthefiscalchallengesthatstates
nowfacearen’tlimitedtotheblueonesandgowell
beyondpensionobligations.Statesacrossthecoun-
tryarereelingfroma brutaldoublewhammyof
lostrevenue:With 27 millionpeoplethrownoutamongthereasonsforthenation’ssuccess,public-
healthexpertssay,hasbeentesting.Astheout-
breaktookhold,Germanylaunchedanaggressive
testingregimetotrackit.Thatdatahelpedidentify
infectedpeoplemorequickly,limitingthespread
andenablingearlymedicalinterventions.
While testing has been thefoundation of
Merkel’ssuccess,it’sbecomeTrump’sAchilles’
heel.TheU.S.hasstruggledtosetupa robust
testingregime,startingwitha botchedrolloutof
faultykitsfromtheCentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention.Thelackofdatahasmadeit morediffi-
cultforpublic-healthexpertstotrackthevirusand
hasobscuredthescaleoftheoutbreak.
Trump’smessagehasremainedriddledwith
inconsistencies,reversals,andmoreoptimistic
claimsabouttheoutbreak,whichpublic-health
officialshavecontradicted.He declaredatan
April 23 newsconferencethatthevirus“mightnot
comebackatall”inthefallandwinter—andif it
did,it wouldbein“smallerdoseswecancontain.”
Momentslater,AnthonyFauci,thetopinfectious
diseaseexpertontheWhiteHousecoronavirus
taskforce,tookthepodiumandsaid:“Wewillhave
coronavirusinthefall.”
Speakingatthesamebriefing,Trumpwentonto
sayhe“disagreed”witha decisionbyGeorgia’sgov-
ernortobeginallowingsomebusinessestoreopen.
Thecommentswerea jarringreversalfroma presi-
dentwhoforweekshadurgedstatestorelaxsocial
distancingmeasures.
Morethan51%ofAmericansnowdisapproveof
Trump’sresponsetotheoutbreak,comparedwith
45%whoapprove,accordingtoFiveThirtyEight.
Bycontrast,accordingtoa pollbypublicbroad-
casterARD,Merkelis onceagainGermany’smost
popularpolitician,withanapprovalratingof64%.
MerkelhascalledontheBundestagtoincrease
GermancontributionstotheEuropeanUnion“in
a spiritofsolidarity”astheregiongrappleswith
theoutbreak.Thatsentimenthasresonatedinthe
internationalcommunity,whileTrumphassought
toblameChina—wheretheoutbreakstarted—and
theWorldHealthOrganization.InanApril 16
videoconference, Merkel and other Group of Seven
leaders countered by saying the WHO was doing
important work.
Merkel gave a taste of her scientific knowledge
during a news conference on April 16, when she
lectured Germans about a quantitative measure of
how quickly the virus spreads, known as the repro-
duction factor. She explained how a factor of 1.2
means that 1 in 5 coronavirus patients infects two
others, not just one, and that a small uptick could
quickly overwhelm the nation’s hospitals.
Trump’s owndiscourses on science and
medicine have proved disastrous. He was criti-
cized by doctors and scientists on April 23 after
a riff in which he suggested that sunlight and
disinfectant could be used to treat coronavirus
patients. (He later said he was speaking “sarcas-
tically.”)Thepresidenthasalsopromotedtwo
antimalarialdrugs,chloroquineandhydroxychlo-
roquine,asa remedyforCovid-19, despite a lack
of clinical evidence.
Trump’s response to the pandemic is certain to
be the defining issue of the 2020 election. Talk of
his impeachment and questions about his relation-
ship with Russia are nowhere to be seen. Instead,
Biden tweeted on April 24: “I can’t believe I
have to say this, but please don’t drink bleach.”
�JoshuaGalluandArneDelfsTHE BOTTOM LINE Trump’s inconsistencies on the virus have
their opposite in the German chancellor’s steady, methodical
approach—which has boosted her popularity as Trump’s sinks.