Ruddy: Trump's Finest Hour

Throughout this national emergency President Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he’s the right person to lead the nation.

From the beginning we have seen Trump’s best attributes.

Some time ago, the Quinnipiac poll asked Americans about the president’s best attributes.

The public said he was a “strong person” (62%) and that he “is intelligent” (58%).

Both of those attributes of his have been on display during this crisis.

Trump has other arrows in his quiver: He’s calm and doesn’t panic, decisive, and follows the evidence, not the hype.

We saw that early on when Mike Pompeo’s State Department recommended to him that the U.S. shut down passenger traffic from China.

On January 31, the president issued a travel ban that restricted entry by foreign nationals who had traveled to China within the previous 14 days.

It was not an easy decision. China had just concluded a trade deal and they swore to us they had the matter under control.

Still Trump made his decision. Soon after, a dozen countries followed our lead and banned Chinese traffic.

China fumed.

But that decision will prove to have singularly changed what was to be a total catastrophe into a manageable crisis.

Trump has been chided for not taking the threat seriously.

But as his congressional opponents focused on a very flimsy impeachment inquiry, he was busy convening a coronavirus task force. And that was back in January.

Since then Nancy Pelosi and company have tried to blame him for the crisis.

Just this past weekend the House speaker told CNN that the president’s “denial at the beginning was deadly.”

And NBC’s Chuck Todd suggested to Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden that the president may have “blood on his hands.”

These attacks on Trump are akin to a “blood libel” and demonstrate a degree of political depravity unseen in our politics.

The record shows that in early January and February neither Pelosi nor Todd nor other Johnny-come-latelies were sounding any virus alarm.

Biden, to his everlasting shame, actually decried Trump’s closure of Chinese commercial traffic.

The day after Trump’s China travel ban, Biden tweeted: “We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.”

Trump’s cautious approach was based on expert advice and information he had at the time.

The Chinese consistently told the U.S. and others they had the virus under control.

At the same time, Trump was advised China did not have a strong healthcare system, and the U.S. system was far more robust and would handle the pandemic as it had all others before.

Throughout the crisis, Trump has remained focused and level-headed.

He defers to the experts at his task force’s daily press briefings, and has kept the nation informed without being panicked.

He is keenly aware of the facts, not the hysteria:

1. This is an epidemic. The coronavirus can’t be “stopped,” but can only be managed.

2. This is no normal flu. The crisis has been ignited by the fact this flu-like respiratory virus is highly contagious and strikes people who have underlying health conditions and people over 65 with weakened immune systems.

3. We really face a hospitalization crisis. There are just not enough beds and ICU slots in New York City, and potentially other areas, to deal with the sudden wave of cases.

4. We are in a race against time. We need beds, medical equipment and gear, and ventilators to deal with the immediate crisis.

This initial crisis will be over in weeks. Our manufacturing and health sectors will answer the call. Social distancing will pay off. And ubiquitous testing will prove crucial.

And the warm weather of spring and summer will help reduce transmission.

Still, many are calling for closing down the nation for four weeks, a mantra in the liberal establishment that makes no sense.

Why should states that have few cases shut down? What’s the rationale?

And in states that have cases in the thousands — a drop in the bucket when compared to normal flu infections — why should all businesses shut down?

Last week the country of New Zealand, after reporting no deaths and just 107 confirmed cases, locked down its whole nation for four weeks.

Insanity.

Trump’s approach of focusing federal resources on New York — where yesterday 50% of deaths occurred — is a wise one.

Michael Dorstewitz contributed to this article.

Christopher Ruddy is CEO of Newsmax, one of the country's leading conservative news outlets. Read more Christopher Ruddy Insider articles — Click Here Now.