The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population, but has 20% of its coronavirus deaths. Yet President Trump has claimed that the US has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world.
The New England Journal of Medicine and Scientific American, founded in 1812 and 1845, are two of the country’s most respected scientific publications. Because national leaders have undermined trust in science and evidence during the pandemic, both periodicals have taken positions on electoral politics for the first time in their histories.
Scientific American, which has endorsed Joe Biden, asserts: “Choosing Donald Trump for president is choosing fiction over fact — a deadly mistake.”
And in its editorial, “Dying in a Leadership Vacuum,” The New England Journal of Medicine concludes: “Truth is neither liberal nor conservative. When it comes to the response to the largest public health crisis of our time, our current political leaders have demonstrated that they are dangerously incompetent. We should not abet them and enable the deaths of thousands more Americans by allowing them to keep their jobs.”
On November 3, let’s vote to restore the connection between truth and policy.
Terry Hansen
Hales Corners, WI