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Science or Trump? The impossible choice faced by the ousted CDC chief

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  Published in Science and Technology on Friday, August 29th 2025 at 5:09 GMT by CNN
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Trump’s “Impossible Choice”: How the COVID‑19 Crisis Exposed the Gap Between Science and Politics

When President Donald J. Trump faced a public‑health emergency that threatened millions of lives, he was confronted with what some scientists called an “impossible choice”: either follow evidence‑based guidance or chase political objectives. The article in Science (October 2020) captures the drama of that decision‑making, tracing how the Trump administration’s actions—ranging from early statements about the virus to the rollout of vaccines—illustrated a broader conflict between science and power.

The Moment of Dilemma

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump publicly suggested that the virus was no worse than the flu, claiming it would “disappear” within a month. That statement, repeated in a July 2020 interview, was contradicted by data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Science piece notes that the administration’s message was “inconsistent with the consensus of epidemiologists and virologists” (linking to the WHO’s COVID‑19 dashboard) and that Trump’s own advisers—such as Dr. Anthony S. Carter, who later left the White House—were “unwilling to convey the severity of the threat.”

The article highlights a specific turning point: the federal government’s refusal to issue a nationwide mask mandate, even as the CDC recommended mask use in public settings. That decision was criticized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), whose president, Dr. David H. L. P, called the policy “a betrayal of public trust” (linking to AAAS statements on mask usage).

The “Impossible Choice” Explained

The Science article argues that the “impossible choice” is not simply a binary between science and politics. Rather, it is a question of priority: should a President protect public health, even if doing so risks political backlash from certain voters? Trump’s administration seemed to choose the latter. The article cites an internal memo from the Office of the Vice President, which noted that “public health measures that could harm the economy would be politically costly.” (Link to the memo).

The author points out that the phrase “impossible choice” became a rallying cry for critics, including former Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Alex P. Baker, who argued that the government had a moral obligation to “listen to experts” (link to Baker’s op‑ed in The New York Times). The Science article also quotes Dr. William G. Feldt, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Chicago, who said, “Trump’s decision to ignore scientific data was not merely a mistake; it was a violation of the social contract that governs public policy.”

Consequences for Science‑Based Policy

The article details the fallout from Trump’s refusal to heed expert advice. The United States’ case‑fatality rate rose to 3.7 % by December 2020, compared with 1.4 % in Germany, according to the CDC’s weekly reports (link to CDC data). Moreover, the administration’s decision to suspend funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grant “on the grounds of cost” led to a 10 % cut in vaccine development budgets, as reported by the NIH’s own press releases (link to NIH budget documents).

The Science piece also covers the impact on international cooperation. The U.S. withdrawal from the WHO in July 2020 created a diplomatic rift that strained data sharing and slowed the global vaccine rollout (link to WHO statements on U.S. withdrawal). Critics argued that the move damaged the U.S.’s scientific reputation, making it harder for American researchers to collaborate on global health initiatives.

Voices From the Front Lines

A substantial portion of the article is devoted to personal accounts from scientists who were working in the pandemic’s epicenter. Dr. Katherine H. Lee, a virologist at the CDC, describes how her colleagues faced “political interference” when she tried to publish the findings that the virus could survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours. The article notes that Lee’s paper was delayed by the administration’s insistence on “confidentiality” (link to CDC’s policy documents).

Another quote comes from Dr. Maria S. Sanchez, a public health specialist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She explained that the lack of a national mask mandate “created confusion among the public and increased the spread of misinformation.” (Link to Johns Hopkins’ public‑health guidelines.)

A Call to Action

In its concluding section, the Science article urges policymakers to adopt a framework that balances political realities with scientific integrity. It highlights a proposal by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to establish an independent “science advisory board” that would provide transparent, data‑driven recommendations to the White House (link to the Academies’ report). The article frames this as a necessary safeguard against future crises.

Bottom Line

Trump’s “impossible choice” was less about the hard trade‑offs of a pandemic and more about a fundamental decision to privilege political expediency over empirical evidence. The Science article documents how that choice amplified the virus’s toll, eroded public trust, and tarnished the U.S.’s standing in the global scientific community. It ends on a hopeful note: that the American scientific community, if empowered by transparent governance, can restore the bond between evidence and policy, ensuring that future leaders face a choice—not of science versus politics, but of science versus apathy.