Much to everyone’s fears and expectations, the pandemic that is the coronavirus continues on until now, even as Donald Trump has constantly downplayed its severity. The scientific community in the US has now decided to voice out their opinions, criticizing Trump for the way his administration has handled the pandemic.
The Guardian reports the members of the US National Academy of Sciences penned an open letter to the Trump administration, urging the administration to bring back “science-based policy in government,” especially during this time when the cases of the coronavirus have hit over three million, with over 140,000 Americans dead. This is a big move from a community that generally stays out of politics.
They cited Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the 2016 Paris Climate Accords. They also noted the president’s refusal to listen to climate scientists about the severity and consequences of climate change, which is an issue that remains today. They reminded Trump that pulling the US out of the accords would have a negative impact on the country’s credibility as well as his leadership.
By 2018, over 1,000 scientists signed the open letter that noted Trump’s continued dismissal of science-based policy development that could harm several sciences. Some of the scientists who signed work for the government or were given federal grants yet were willing to risk making themselves known despite the possible consequences.
According to climate researcher Benjamin Santer from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, “We no longer have a luxury, in my opinion, of retreating to our offices and closing the door and hoping bad stuff will go away. That’s a singularly poor survival strategy when you’re facing a global pandemic or global climate change. Bad stuff isn’t going away.”
Meanwhile, musicians have constantly tried to distance themselves from any political campaigns, and many have taken legal action when candidates or politicians use their music for their campaign advertisements. The latest of which was Linkin Park, who sent a cease and desist letter when a version of their song “In the End” was used in a campaign video. The video has since been taken down.
The group also released a statement saying that they do not endorse Trump, nor did they authorize the Trump campaign to use their music.