Can this awful man sink any lower?
By John Welford
@indexer (4852)
Leicester, England
March 16, 2020 6:26am CST
My opinion of American President Donald Trump was never all that high, but now it has sunk to a new low.
Why? Because of his recent bid to take over a German company - Curevac - which has made substantial progress in developing a Coronavirus vaccine.
Trump's motive for buying the company was to ensure supplies of the vaccine exclusively for American citizens and to deny it to all other nationalities. This is despite the fact that the research being done by Curevac has been financed by European grants.
Fortunately, the bid has been soundly rebuffed. As the company states: if they create a viable vaccine "it will be for the whole world".
But what do you make of the morality - or lack of it - in trying to reserve the benefits of this vital research solely for your own citizens? Do you really think that your responsibility as a world leader does not extend beyond your own shores? Because you are rich, do you really think you have the right to refuse to share the benefits of that wealth with those less fortunate than yourself?
I have a funny feeling that this appalling conduct on Trump's part will not get a lot of publicity in the United States!
8 people like this
7 responses
@MALUSE (69390)
• Germany
16 Mar 20
Is there a term for the fact that someone writes a post on the exact same topic that one wanted to write oneself? I've just finished collecting information and wanted to put fingers to keyboard! You've won, the floor is yours. :-)
The firm in question is in the German town of Tübingen in the south-west of Germany which is ~74km / ~46 miles away from the town where I live. Tübingen has one of the oldest universities in Europe. It was founded in 1477.
3 people like this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
16 Mar 20
I remember visiting Tubingen many years ago when staying in Ebingen, a few miles to the south.
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
16 Mar 20
@MALUSE My then wife had a German penpal (from her schooldays) living there. She invited us over for a couple of weeks and took us round a number of places. I remember climbing the spire of Ulm Cathedral, visiting Schloss Lichtenstein and hopping across the border into Switzerland - via a road that kept popping into and out of the latter!
It was a memorable trip, not least because my wife was a graduate in French and had failed to notice that we would be crossing Paris - between railway stations - on the 14th of July!
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48542)
• Mojave, California
16 Mar 20
I wrote about this but most likely people here will not care. Many will say he was just putting US first like he said he would do. I find it to be crap, not a leader I would ever follow if given a choice. I am very happy they blocked it though. This should not be about money or status. I mean if we cannot even do this right, maybe the Virus should just kill us all.
3 people like this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
16 Mar 20
I'm sorry to say that my sister was disappointed to learn that Trump's coronavirus health check came back negative!
@lazydaizee (6737)
• United Kingdom
16 Mar 20
I heard that a vaccine for this virus will take up to two years to develop. There is also a rumour that people who catch it will be automatically immune to it in the future.
1 person likes this
@indexer (4852)
• Leicester, England
16 Mar 20
That is not just a rumour. If you catch any viral disease you will gain immunity from it for some time afterwards, because your body will develop antibodies that will see off any future infection. With some diseases this protection is permanent, but that is not always the case.
@Torunn (8609)
• Norway
16 Mar 20
I just read it. I thought he couldn't do anything worse than what he has already done, but this is an all-time low.
Research like this should be free for every one. I'm usually for free research, scientific results should be free and open. Maybe expect for some weapon research etc, but this really shouldn't be for one nation.
What a total sod! (I don't think mylot will let me post the words I want to use)
1 person likes this
