The White House via Wikimedia Commons

While the media and partisans criticize every aspect of President Trump’s handling of this current pandemic, we should applaud Trump’s clear success – his January “ban” on Chinese travel to the U.S., and later restrictions on travel from Europe.

These restrictions certainly slowed the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus (COVID-19) but have been roundly criticized by many, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who has called Trump’s policies “xenophobic.”  Biden said  “Banning all travel from … any other part of the world — will not stop it.”

Biden is not alone. According to the House Foreign Affairs Committee website, Democratic Rep. Eliot L. Engel, stated at the February 5th “Wuhan Coronavirus” hearing, “These measures have not proven to improve public health outcomes, rather they tend to cause economic harm and to stoke racist and discriminatory responses to this epidemic.”

Democratic Rep. Ami Bera also criticized Trump’s travel ban. He told Politico the decision to impose travel restrictions “probably doesn’t make sense” adding. “At this juncture, it’s going to be very hard to contain the virus.”

However, on ABC News “This Week“, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health, and now the chief medical advisor to the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, said the Trump administration’s decision to restrict travel from China in January slowed the spread of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the United States.

The success of Trump’s rapid China travel restrictions has also been confirmed by the unfortunate case of Italy. Dr. Fauci said Thursday that Italy has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic because the country hosted thousands of Chinese tourists in recent months.

“Before they even knew what was going on, there was enough baseline people spreading that it essentially got out of hand, and it became difficult for them, as good as they are, and they’re very good, to be able to contain it,” Dr. Fauci said on CNN.

The role of international travel, and the need to restrict it during the early stages of an outbreak, has now been reinforced by another unfortunate case – New York City, which Dr. Fauci notes is “getting hit terribly hard.” This is due in part to the fact that New York City is a travel hub that experiences an “influx of travelers,” Dr. Fauci said.

“New York City reported 100 new deaths from the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 385 as the number of infections topped 37,200,” according to Yahoo News.

All this data shows that international travel, especially from China initially, was critical to the Wuhan Virus’s rapid spread to certain countries and cities.

Had the Chinese Communist Party admitted it had a serious outbreak a few weeks earlier, rather than cover it up and allow five million Chinese travelers to leave Wuhan by January, as reported by Business Insider, the world may have been spared a pandemic.

Trump may not be doing everything “perfectly” in his handling of this crisis, but he was right to quickly restrict travel from China in January, and more recently from Europe. Border security saves lives.

Paul Crespo is a defense and national security expert. He served as a Marine Corps officer and as a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at US embassies worldwide. He holds degrees from Georgetown, London, and Cambridge Universities. Paul is also CEO of SPECTRE Global Risk, a security advisory firm, and a Contributor to American Defense News.

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Comments

  1. Our President, Donald Trump is doing a great job in protecting us, the American citizens, from this Corona Virus—and we appreciate his actions—On the otherhand, Joe Biden, criticized part of Trump’s action—a part that is critical to our protection—even his—I realize Biden did this out of ignorence of the situation but when you don’t know enough to make an informed analization of a problem it is wise to keep your mouth shut—-Sorry Biden but you asked for that.

    1. 1. Knowing the Chinese, it is possible they were sending their SICK out into the world to spread the disease. That is why they were killing their doctors for publicizing the facts of the disease.
      2. Democrats can only keep finding fault. So we are NOT facing what Italy is because of Trump. The nation should be made to know that. But the media will not give Trump credit for good. And yes, they DO lie a lot.

      1. Absolutely no more chinese visitors posing as ‘immigrants’. Enough of this BS from the chinese. I live in San Francisco and have to deal with these ill mannered cretins everyday and see what they do and have done to this one time jewel of California and it’s disgusting.

  2. We don’t need any more chinese so called ‘immigrants’, period! These disgusting pigs will become welfare cases and living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve seen what these cretins have done and continue doing and for the most part they’re the first ones in line pushing and shoving for all the freebies doled out by the liberals running this one time golden state that in many places is one huge open air toilet!

    1. When the homosexuals took control of San Fran, that is what made them into the toilet. The book of Romans condemns them. That is why they hate Christians We follow what God says.

      1. Gee AD, The gays on San Francisco didn’t have anything to do with making San Francisco into the toilet it is today. Everyone here and elsewhere can thank the ‘progressives’or liberals with their laissez-faire attitude and policies of anything and everything goes’ did this years ago. Not all residents here like these conditions, homelessness crime, unaffordable housing crumbling infrastructure and don’t vote for this. California has pretty much gone into the toilet and the sad thing, jerry the ‘clown’ brown’s flunkee, ‘nasty’ nancy ‘pigliosi’s nephew gavin ‘giveaway the store for free’ newsom’s just doing what any liberal socialist would, continue the destruction with the attitude”F**K everyone else

    1. Bernie Guy your so right.. also where they have the largest amount of virus, if you notice they have Democratic Governors, Sanctuary city’s, and want open borders.. that tells me something.

  3. If we had a democrat in office, the coronavirus would have killed at least 50 times more people because them sick perverts doesn’t care who comes into this country. Why you think the swine flu killed so many people in 2009? Because of the media hiding it from the American people and the incompetence of the muslim traitor coward.

  4. We know that but the Dems want the illegals here to cause more chaos and keep things stirred up…..and they care nothing for how many are sacrificed via COVID-19 to meet their goal of absolute control.

  5. Italy was hit so hard because they allowed 100,000 Chinese from Wuhan area in to Italy for leather production. So articles made their could say “Made in Italy”, thus getting more money for leather goods. Pure greed. Ask Italy if they have hugged a Chinese today.

  6. Biden needs to go on an ASS KISSING tour of China.
    \
    < )=
    /

    Roses are red an violets are not if your nose is all stuffy it's probably full of………..BOOGERS.
    Betcha thought I's gonna say SNOT, didn't cha!

  7. What was the deadly disease they (who ever they were) that were making comments about when the major surge of illegals was moving toward the Southern border?

  8. As long as these Trump criticisms Are spouted by no experts they continue to confirm their lack of knowledge about what they are talking about.

  9. no good deed goes unpunished….. the MSM and their democrat stooges are so predictable that they aren’t even entertaining, because they have no substance….if I wanted to be informed by fake news casters, that have the equivalent of a 7 year old’s mentality I’d have to suspend my disbelief unless what they spout is self satirizing, which it sounds like….rationality and honesty did not survive the journalism school, without that they are nothing but pimps…..KAG

  10. It really isn`t interesting to me but Biden says whatever Trump does won`t stop the virus. No one is talking anymore about cloud seeding. I don`t think senators and street urchins shop at the same stores. The Democrats have tried everything else. Could this be another one of the Democrats contributions to America? Stop all trade with China at once. We are with China where we were with the Japanese in 1939.

  11. Absolutely no more chinese visitors posing as ‘immigrants’. Enough of this BS from the china and the chinese. This is germ warfare that got out of the lab, period

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