Boston.com readers say Dr. Birx blew it by not speaking out on virus
“Why in God's name didn't she stand up for the American people at the time?!"
Related Links
Deborah Birx is getting it from all sides.
Dr. Birx, the former White House coronavirus coordinator, made headlines this week when she told CNN that most of the COVID-19 deaths in the United States after the first 100,000 could have been prevented with a more vigorous response — but that President Trump had other priorities.
It’s a revelation that has people lining up to level criticism at the once well-respected physician. “For months as the calamity worsened, she let Trump’s lies go unchecked on the public stage,” Dr. Megan Ranney, director of the Brown Lifespan Center for Digital Health, wrote in an op-ed for CNN. “The harm was irrevocable.”
Judging from our Boston.com poll on the subject, many of our readers agree with Dr. Ranney that Birx should have spoken up when she had the chance. “She caved under pressure and is now nothing but an example of what happens when you don’t stand up to bullies,” said Samantha from Melrose, while Brendan from Upton commented, “Bottom line, this woman became nothing more than a puppet for Trump.”
In total, 71% of the almost 500 readers who responded said Birx and the other public health officials in the Trump administration could have helped mitigate the effects of the pandemic by speaking out sooner. Only 6% were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they did all they could, but their hands were tied; while 18% took issue with Birx and her colleagues blaming Trump, arguing he actually kept them from possibly making it worse.
“She had her chance to help, but didn’t, and now she blames the man who thought she could do the job,” said Edward from Gloucester, while Paul from Framingham argued, “Blame Trump all you want, but in the face of a global pandemic … I’d say he did just fine.”
Here’s a sampling of comments from Boston.com readers who thought Birx should have said and done more; that she was wrong to blame Trump; or who thought the blame lies squarely with the former president and not with Birx and her public health colleagues.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Birx should have spoken out:
“Why in God’s name didn’t she stand up for the American people at the time?! I don’t know how these people live with themselves. Shame on all of those who were too cowardly and self-serving to speak out. This excludes Dr. Fauci, who kept his integrity.”
“If Dr. Birx had stood up and spoken the truth at the podium, she might have had more impact on mitigating the deaths. But she caved under pressure and is now nothing but an example of what happens when you don’t stand up to bullies and speak the truth, regardless of personal consequences.” — Samantha, Melrose
“If she felt this way, then why didn’t she push harder for mitigation than she did? There were months that went by that no one really heard from her and it was just hearing from Trump. Don’t tell me she couldn’t because she would have [been] fired — if she felt so strongly for the public safety then she should have risked being fired and then fought for public safety!” — Dennis, Quincy
“Dr. Birx remains responsible for lying and omitting facts. It is easy to say something now, which is a hair better than nothing but far less than what she could have done with courage. Dr. Birx should devote her time to current health mitigation efforts rather than mitigating the damage to herself via empty apologies.” — Richard, Medfield
“Bottom line, this woman became nothing more than a puppet for Trump. Let’s face it, throughout this crisis there was no leadership coming from D.C. Performance from the Republican party was absolutely deplorable! PS: I voted for both Bushes, so spare me any GOP hate mail. Moving forward, Kasich was the last Republican I’ll support. Romney? Ha!” — Brendan, Upton
“Here’s my reaction: Hermes doesn’t just make scarves — Hermes is also the Greek messenger god. You honored one splendidly and failed the other tragically.” — Andy, West Newbury
Birx isn’t to be believed:
“She had her chance to help, but didn’t, and now she blames the man who thought she could do the job.” — Edward, Gloucester
“They keep saying lives could have been saved, but never how. Everything they have said turned out to be false. They want to rewrite history in their favor.” — Pat, Hopkinton
“No one is buying the *&@%! these people are selling anymore. They are desperately clinging on for their 15 minutes of fame.”— Lisa, Braintree
“Dr. Birx is a massive hypocrite and should really keep her mouth closed.” — John, Arlington
“Trump didn’t tell Cuomo to send sick elderly patients to nursing homes, he didn’t tell DeSantis to open beaches. He let governors decide what was best for their states. So yeah, blame Trump all you want, but in the face of a global pandemic … I’d say he did just fine.” — Paul, Framingham
“The big issue is that the average American is 30-50 pounds overweight and this virus attacked that.” — Anonymous
“As a country we were unprepared for any pandemic, regardless of who was president. I recently traveled to the Caribbean and re-entering the U.S. is a joke! Entering another country was not easy — stressful and very regulated. We are not doing anything superior to protect our nation’s people even after a year and a change in presidents.” — Anonymous
Don’t blame Birx, blame Trump:
“The Birx number would be up for debate, but in January, Trump’s famous ‘I like my numbers’ comment shows arrogance and ignorance to the issue, only to dismiss it like the flu. This event in this country’s history really should show why we need leaders in these positions, regardless of political party.” — Dante, Cohasset
“She’s right … look at New Zealand! We could be out of this mess, but instead it’s being prolonged because of the Trump administration. Obviously, the U.S. is different than N.Z., but so many people died without just cause. They have blood on their hands. Masks should’ve been a national mandate.”
“Thought I was as disgusted with Trump as anyone could possibly be; after seeing the piece I’m certain he’s beyond unstable and a national security concern. He should be tried for gross negligence, in disregard of humanity.” — Jay, Brant Rock
“It is really tragic to know that had our country had the appropriate leader, with a plan (like Australia, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand), hundreds of thousands of U.S. deaths would not have occurred. Having a president who has competent, experienced professionals in leadership roles has clearly made a difference since President Biden has been in office for the last two months. Having a president who actually cares about each U.S. citizen is a relief after four years of President Trump who cared about no one except himself.” — KC, Medfield
“I’m not surprised. The recordings of Trump collected by Woodward make it clear Trump was lying to downplay the seriousness of pandemic to benefit himself politically. Trump lied and people died.”
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
Get Boston.com's browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com