In countries like the United States and Brazil opposition to science played a central role in the electoral successes of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsanaro. However, the coronavirus has made the costs of ignoring science abundantly clear. Trump initially ignored COVID-19 saying it would "magically go away". His slow response is being blamed for tens of thousands of additional deaths. This has been compounded by his administration's roll-back 100 environmental protections which makes Americans more vulnerable to the virus. The systemic racism and environmental injustice in Trump's America has proven to be especially deadly for people of color.
When faced with a life threatening virus and an economic collapse Americans are turning to credible sources of information and this translates to established media brands. This is the conclusion of a New York Times analysis which drew upon SimilarWeb's assessment of internet usage in the United States. The readerships of CNBC, The New York Times and the Washington Post have all increased while interest in more partisan sites are flat or waning. This includes opinioned publications like The Daily Caller, on the right, and Truthdig on the left. Even Fox News appears to be losing market share. People are reaching out for hard science as evidenced by the increased popularity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. New research reveals that PBS is the most trusted and unbiased source of news in the nation.
This is consistent with Trump's resistance to science. His disdain for science was evident in 2018 when he tried to hide a report by his own government scientists and again in 2019 when he made a series of inaccurate statements about Hurricane Dorian. His administration has become notorious for purging scientists and blocking up scientific dissent. Trump's budgets in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, have repeatedly called for reductions in support for science at almost every level.
By now it is apparent that Trump's presidency will be defined by the mendacity of the commander and chief. It is apparent that facts don't matter to this president as indicated by the more than 20,000 lies he has told as president. The subterfuge of this administration is not restricted to the White House. Trump's Department of the Interior is at war with science, so is his EPA.
Trump did manage to undermine the credibility of popular media for a time as journalists struggled to find a strategy to fight Trump's lies. However, in the era of COVID-19 the need to discern facts from lies is leading people away from Trump's orbit. The coronavirus has highlighted the deadly implications of a commander and chief that flouts science.
Republicans were disseminating disinformation long before Trump but it is important to understand that they take their cues from the fossil fuel industry. The API's long history of disinformation is now a matter of public record. The dishonesty of the entire fossil fuel industry even extends to academia. However, in 2019 polls started to show that these disinformation efforts were faltering.
Lies, denial and deception do not make for a good long term political strategy. One day in the near future Republicans will have to embrace the facts as a matter of political survival. Despite our foray into a maelstrom of political spin we are returning to a place where reason prevails as we acknowledge that science is the best method we have of apprehending reality. The coronavirus appears to be helping us to realize that science can be a bridge the unites us.
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