Pandemic as Campaign Stage: On Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 in the United States

This research paper analyzes US President Donald Trump's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that he treated the crisis as a campaign stage. The author contends that Trump pursued a laissez-faire 'herd immunity' strategy, not for epidemiological reasons, but to frame himself as a protector of the working class and small business owners against a perceived 'elite' scientific and political establishment.

• The Trump administration adopted a laissez-faire approach to the pandemic, which included disbanding the White House pandemic response team in May 2018 and removing the CDC epidemiologist from China. The administration also rejected 2019 simulation findings that indicated the US lacked sufficient personal protective equipment, ventilators, and ICU beds, and that public health infrastructure was underfunded.
• The author describes the administration's strategy as a deadly version of the 'herd immunity' approach, where the government encourages the virus to spread among able-bodied people to reach an immunity threshold faster. This approach was only partially mitigated by state and municipal public health measures such as mask mandates and school closures.
• President Trump framed public health restrictions as an attack on the working class and small business owners, associating lockdowns with unemployment and economic hardship. He used this to position himself as a defender of the people against Democratic administrations, which he claimed were using the virus to score political points.
• Trump's rejection of scientific guidance was part of a broader campaign rhetoric that viewed specialized expertise as a tool of the elite. He framed scientists as protecting elite interests and claimed that correct knowledge is derived from common sense and 'natural instinct' rather than formal education.
• The author suggests Trump's political support remained resilient because he successfully presented a choice between health and employment. This narrative particularly appealed to the 'petite bourgeoisie,' specifically less-educated small business owners and the self-employed, who viewed health restrictions as government overreach.
• By December 2020, the US had 19.4 million cases, representing nearly 25% of the global total and double the number of cases in India, despite India having four times the US population.

APA

Levenson, Z. (2021). Pandemic as Campaign Stage: On Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 in the United States. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/pandemic-as-campaign-stage-trumps-handling-of-covid-19-usa/

Chicago

Levenson, Zachary. Pandemic as Campaign Stage: On Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 in the United States. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2021. https://pari.org.za/pandemic-as-campaign-stage-trumps-handling-of-covid-19-usa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Levenson |first1=Zachary |title=Pandemic as Campaign Stage: On Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 in the United States |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=14 January 2021 |url=https://pari.org.za/pandemic-as-campaign-stage-trumps-handling-of-covid-19-usa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{levenson2021pandemic, author = {Levenson, Zachary}, title = {{Pandemic as Campaign Stage: On Trump’s Handling of Covid-19 in the United States}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://pari.org.za/pandemic-as-campaign-stage-trumps-handling-of-covid-19-usa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }