Letter: We need leaders we can trust

We need leaders we can trust

In the midst of the international emergency created by the threat of a pandemic and the resulting financial crisis, we need leadership we can trust. We must take the threats seriously without going into a panic. We can and must reduce the risks, both personally and nationally.

We need calm and reliable leadership to foster this response. This leadership must be based on the best medical information available and honestly communicated. Unfortunately, our president has spoken and tweeted lies so many times that he is not to be believed. At the Center for Disease Control he said, “anyone who wants a test can get a test.” Yet health officials on national, state and local levels say there is a shortage of tests. We are asked to believe the president’s rather than the World Health Organization’s estimate of the mortality rate for the novel coronavirus, based on his “hunch.”

This president has squandered his credibility by telling lies daily. We must now rely on others, public health experts at the national, state and local levels, for sound advice. We must rely on governors and local officials for the leadership sorely lacking in our president.

Kathy Gordon
Saugerties