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The Trump administration is considering blocking new funding for testing, tracing and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an upcoming COVID-19 relief bill, the Washington Post reported on July 18. This means, after withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO) membership, Trump is trying to disown the U.S. domestic health agency.

Senait Fisseha, professor at the University of Michigan, wrote on Twitter: "For those who were silent when Trump was defunding WHO, the chickens have come home to roost."

This indicates Trump's conflict with the CDC has leveled up, and he is trying to punish the federal agency by announcing several punitive measures at a time. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that the White House has blocked the head of CDC from testifying in front of the U.S. Congress on when to reopen schools nationwide, because the Trump administration wants to show the world that the U.S. institutions are back to normal.

Just days ago, on July 16, according to a CNBC report, the public health data from the CDC has "suddenly disappeared" after the Trump administration decided to shift the data to the Department of Health and Human Services portal.

No matter how desperately Trump wants to hide the data from the public, the data is still there. He cannot pretend the COVID-19 situation in the country is getting any better by erasing alarming facts and figures. Although he can direct the data from one federal agency to another, he cannot control the data from independent institutions like Johns Hopkins University.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, as of July 19, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have surpassed 3.7 million, with the death toll surpassing 140,000. What's worse, the confirmed cases now rise by 75,000 a day with around 1,000 daily deaths. As Trump's battle with the CDC gets ugly, his war against the pandemic worsens.

Are these antics only for the upcoming presidential elections? But it seems Trump doesn't get the logic. If he really wants to look good before the voting day, he needs to ask himself what the election is all about. The election is not about him; it is about the future of America and the well-being of the American people. However, defunding the CDC is nothing but a strong signal of giving up on the efforts to save millions of American lives, including those who might be his supporters.

By blocking the money for testing and tracing people for possible infections, Trump has just taken another step back from the rational path. For the Trump administration, less testing, less tracing means fewer cases. No testing, no reporting, no virus. It is just an illusion. Behind the numbers there are real lives, which Trump has failed to protect.

On July 15, Trump fired his campaign manager. But if Trump plans to prevent more Americans from getting infected, he needs to make positive changes to his COVID-19 strategy. But if he continues to conceal alarming facts and figures instead of dealing with the reality, things won't go in favor of his re-election bid even if he changes his entire campaign team. 

Scriptwriter: Xiong Tong

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