by Daniel Brouse
March 28, 2025
Trump the Destroyer
During his first term, Trump oversaw the rise and spread of COVID-19, which resulted in millions of deaths. He downplayed the virus, even calling it a hoax. He suggested ingesting disinfectants and exposing the internal organs to UV light as remedies, despite widespread medical warnings against such dangerous misinformation. Now, he has cut all funding for critical programs aimed at preventing future pandemics, leaving the nation vulnerable to future outbreaks of even more deadly viruses.
The Trump administration, in coordination with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has implemented sweeping cuts to COVID-19 research funding, including the critical AVIDD (Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development) and ASAP (Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines) programs. These cuts threaten the progress made in understanding and combating zoonotic diseases, which are responsible for the emergence of deadly viruses such as COVID-19.
Scientific experts have warned that reducing funding for these antiviral programs will leave the U.S. and the world more vulnerable to future pandemics. AVIDD and ASAP were instrumental in the rapid development of treatments and vaccines during the COVID-19 crisis. Without sustained investment in these areas, research into potential emerging pathogens will be significantly hindered, delaying response times and increasing the likelihood of widespread outbreaks.
The administration’s decision to cut funding is part of a broader rollback of public health initiatives. The NIH, which oversees AVIDD and ASAP, is facing an overall budget reduction, including a proposed 20% funding cut that would impact infectious disease research, vaccine development, and pandemic preparedness. Scientists and health officials have raised alarms that these cuts could set back medical advancements by decades, making it harder to develop treatments for existing and future health threats.
Public health organizations and advocacy groups are mounting opposition to these policy decisions, emphasizing that weakening pandemic defenses in a world still recovering from COVID-19 is reckless and dangerous. The cuts not only threaten scientific progress but also put millions of lives at risk by reducing the nation’s ability to respond swiftly to new viral threats.
As researchers scramble to find alternative funding sources, the long-term consequences of these cuts remain uncertain. However, history has shown that underfunding infectious disease research can lead to devastating consequences. The world witnessed this with COVID-19, and without continued support for programs like AVIDD and ASAP, the risks of another pandemic grow exponentially.
The question remains: Will the U.S. learn from past mistakes, or will short-sighted policy decisions undermine the progress made in pandemic preparedness?