Coronavirus USA Response: CDC Slams Trump, Politicians; 'Politicization Is Not Helpful'

President Donald Trump seems to treat the raging COVID-19 pandemic as a threat to his re-election bid, an outlook that helps explain some of his more controversial decisions to date.

The most recent Trump decision is to suggest re-opening the country for business on Easter Sunday by easing-up on federal guidelines mandating social distancing. Trump revealed this decision Tuesday when the U.S. was the sixth most COVID-19 infected country in the world. The U.S. as of Thursday has the most number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world.

Trump later said those disagreeing with this view just want to see his reelction bid suffer.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bemoans the politicization of the country's COVID-19 response.

“I've worked for the CDC for 32 years now, and I've worked through every administration since 1988," Schuchat told The Hill in an interview. "Politicization is not helpful. This is a battle against a virus, and it's a virus that we absolutely have to take seriously, and I think today that's more evident than ever to politicians and to the public."

She also said doing away with social distancing that is the bedrock of any effective response to the coronavirus is wrong. Dr. Schuchat said ending the social distancing practices that have not yet begun to show an impact in slowing the spread of the virus would have devastating consequences. She noted everything she sees today suggests the U.S. needs "to take this virus very seriously."

The U.S. also has to be absolutely sure its healthcare system around the country is ready for the increased burden to be placed on it by the pandemic. She pointed out the U.S. has a good system that detects, tracks, isolates and reduces the spread of new cases. All this is at risk if a premature order ending social distancing is given, as Trump had suggested.

"So I would be very reluctant to let up on measures in the nation as a whole. There are probably geographies where the virus hasn't yet arrived in great force but where the health care system needs to be prepared for it."

She acknowledged the federal response to COVID-19 has become tinged with politics in a way that other outbreaks have not. The primacy of politics seems to be the result of the country's highly polarized political scene where nonpartisan institutions such as the healthcare community are unwillingly dragged into partisan squabbles. Dr. Schuchat said keeping the CDC apart from politicization is important for the country's long-term health.

Politics intruding into the fight against COVID-19 was manifested in the very early days of the pandemic. On Wednesday, Trump fired off on reporters alleging conservative media and Democrats oppose his idea of opening U.S. businesses by Easter because they want the economy to fail and hurt his re-election bid.

"The media would like to see me do poorly in the election," Trump said during a press briefing.

"I think there are certain people who would like it not to open so quickly. There are certain people who would like [the economy] to do poorly because that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls. I don't know if that's so, but I think there are people in your profession that would like that to happen. I think it's very clear."

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Thursday has also slammed New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, who she wrongly claims is responsible for the staggering number of coronavirus cases in the city.

In an interview, Conway said de Blasio "lied to America" for saying he was "on top of this from the beginning." He called out the mayor for visiting the gym and taking public transportation.

“I’m not playing politics,” Conway added.

There were 23,112 confirmed cases and 365 deaths in New York City as of Thursday evening. The city accounts for 28% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S., a number that stands at 82,547.