FLASHBACK: Obama Was Playing Golf Same Day H1N1 Was Declared Public Health Emergency
Media fell over themselves to present Obama in best light
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During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump took decisive actions that saved many lives.
But despite the left and the media's campaign to undermine Trump during the crisis with the narrative that his administration botched the response, there is something they conveniently forgot.
During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the media fell over themselves to present the then-President Barack Obama in the best light possible.
Despite the pandemic and the fact that America was in the middle of a recession, Obama could do no wrong.
But the media, in retrospect, was trying its best to prevent widespread panic, even as the H1N1 virus spread.
Obama also failed to take common-sense measures to slow down the spread as the media remained silent.
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There were 60 million cases of H1N1, 274,304 hospitalizations, and 12,469 deaths due to H1N1.
But there was no lockdown.
Schools didn't shut, sports leagues didn’t cancel their seasons, bars and restaurants weren’t shut down, and concerts weren't canceled.
The Obama administration did not take the threat seriously enough to make the tough decisions to reduce the rate of infection.
The media didn't try to undermine him and create panic.
No, they did the complete opposite; here is what The New York Times reported at the time.
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Mr. Obama added, “We want to ensure that in the worst-case scenario, we can manage the situation appropriately.”
The president’s comments came at the end of a weeklong balancing act in which his public words and actions were carefully measured to summon a sense of urgency without setting off a panic. It was no coincidence, his aides said, that he played golf the day his administration declared a national emergency. And there were behind-the-scenes worries about whether he would be ridiculed for using a presidential news conference to urge people to wash their hands.
It can only be imagined the type of frenzy the media would have gone into if Trump played golf right after declaring a national emergency.
If Trump had done such a thing, do you think the New York Times would have credited him with trying not to set off a panic?
But Obama was praised, even despite the fact that there was over 12,000 dead at the end of the pandemic.
Barack Obama went golfing to show we shouldn’t panic over a pandemic.
President Trump declared a national emergency just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.
Trump was even mocked after his announcement because he had previously urged the public not to panic.
Obama did not declare H1N1 a national emergency until four months after WHO declared it a pandemic.
But all was well because Obama could still play golf.
