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All these risks will grow if panic ensues. Preventing that requi-
res trust, particularly in those tasked with informing the public
and responding to the crisis. But Trump and the Republican Party
have been sowing distrust toward government, science, and the
media for years, while giving free rein to profit-hungry social-me-
dia giants like Facebook, which knowingly allows its platform to
be used to spread disinformation. The perverse irony is that the
Trump administration’s ham-handed response will undermine
trust in government even further.
The US should have started preparing for the risks of pandemics
and climate change years ago. Only governance based on sound
science can protect us from such crises. Now that both threats are
bearing down on us, one hopes that there are still enough dedicated
bureaucrats and scientists left in the government to protect us from
Trump and his incompetent cronies.

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