EDITOR:

There’s lot of President Trump’s evangelical barkers who want China to “pay a price” for its handling of the COVID-19 virus, preferably before voters cast their verdicts on him at the ballot boxes this fall. His top religious allies present a growing consensus that something must be done to hold China and that he should decide the punishment. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are hundreds of coronaviruses, most of which circulate among such animals as pigs, camels, bats and cats. Sometimes those viruses jump to humans and can cause disease. And COVID-19 is another of these. The country of origin is immaterial to sensible thought holders, with the key word here being sensible. So, we can expect this President to exact an extreme punishment which has always been his method of operating for his adult life. As a good example, according to the Brookings Institute, as of April 17, 2020 there has been a 95% turnover rate in the Executive Office. His “you’re fired” mantra from his television show is what he does best and we can expect he will dole punishment to China as his Evangelical base is demanding. When he signed the $2 trillion relief bill on March 27, he praised President Xi Jinping for his “strong understanding” of the virus and had much “much respect” for him. Ralph Reed, co-founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition said “China lied about the virus and under-reported their own cases. These are actions that cannot be ignored and for which China must be held responsible, and I think taking action to do that only serves to deepen the president’s commitment. Senator Marsha Graham (R-TN) wants China to be “held to account” and added she has proposed legislation to reduce our reliance on China for pharmaceutical supplies. How strong is our dependence? According to the Council on Foreign Relations, since the 1990s, we have increasingly imported pharmaceutical products from India and China, where ingredients are cheaper and manufacturing is subject to fewer regulations. So, now we rely heavily on China and India for our drug supply. Gary Bauer of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom offensively played the “Communist” card with “I think there’s a growing acknowledgment in the U.S. and around the world that China’s communist rulers are bad actors..“. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that about 80% of the basic components used in U.S. drugs, known as active pharmaceutical ingredients, come from China and India. Chinese pharmaceutical firms captured 97% of the U.S. market for antibiotics. In 2018, 95 percent of ibuprofen, 91 percent of hydrocortisone, 70 percent of acetaminophen, and 40-45 percent of heparin came from China. Other drugs: antidepressants, HIV/AIDS medications, birth control pills, chemotherapy treatments, and medicines for Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease. A Chinese drug cured my Leukemia. Let’s see what the “Apprentice” does. Who cares if that Commie Xi Jinping retaliates with, “No drugs for you USA!” I do. Do you?

Gerry Niedermaier

Gladstone