As election day nears, the Let's Find Common Ground podcast speaks with two members of Congress, one Republican and one Democrat, who are reaching across rigid partisan divides, recognizing the value of compromise and seeking constructive change.
Five years ago this month, COVID-19 changed the world. The first pandemic in a century altered how Americans saw themselves, each other, work, healthcare, relationships, government, mortality, and media. It tangled everyone across the globe in webs of fear, conflict, grief, disbelief, estrangement, and gratitude.
It prompted a parallel pandemic of disinformation that has only deepened in the years since and crescendoed in the last few months. It is foolish to ignore the impact of these past five years on every person in this country and the world, particularly with current policies and practices that ignore this distinct past.
The U.S. has a vaccine skeptic in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. Without explanation, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. canceled the Food & Drug Administration’s annual meeting this month of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. This group analyzes flu strains likely to affect populations and the types of vaccines needed.
Along with proclaiming that his team is scrutinizing all childhood vaccination schedules, Kennedy has limited funding to the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An earlier executive order withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization, which partnered with the U.S. to share critical data and information during the pandemic and create a global vaccine. This move has been called a “global health massacre.”
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All of this is as the bird flu—H5N1-- is spreading to humans. In his first week in his position, Factcheck.org examined six major falsehoods Kennedy promoted. These are precarious moves, as the first measles death of an unvaccinated child happened in Texas, where 150 cases were reported.
Since 2020, every corner of the world has been affected by the pandemic, and the U.S. saw at least 27 million COVID-19 deaths by August 2024. These numbers are low compared to much of the world, as many countries did not have adequate testing or reliable counts on death causes. The WHO reports a total of 777 million deaths from COVID to date.
The WHO and the Centers for Disease Control declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency in May 2023. Unfortunately, Long COVID lingers, with more than 40% of U.S. adults reporting some symptoms of long Covid. The CDC estimates there will be up to 36,000 COVID deaths in this country in February 2025.
To put five years in context, assault, property crimes, embezzlement, or drug offenses can earn a convicted offender five years in prison. In five years, a child grows from infancy to kindergarten, during which time they will learn the alphabet and some favorite songs. Medical residencies take an average of five years, depending on expertise. A fast-growing tree, like a cypress, can grow six feet in that time.
But how much wisdom have policymakers and individuals retained in that time?
COVID caused the greatest economic recession in the U.S. since World War II because of necessary layoffs and cutbacks, according to the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities. Yet the thousands of new layoffs of federal workers recently by the Department of Government Efficiency has no plan to counter the harms done to the economy, let alone the families of those laid off.
During the half-decade of COVID, most Americans trusted facts from the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the WHO and complied with vaccines. More than ”270,000people or 81% of the U.S. population have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. Overall, 230,637,348 people or 70% of the population are considered fully vaccinated,” according to a national database.
Today, trust in government is deeply evaporating. A 2024 study shows that 63% of Americans do not trust the government. In 2025, The Edelman Trust Index shows 47% of Americans trust in their government, compared to China, which has a high % trust rate of 77%.
Each of us has a COVID story that has informed how we behave. In March 2020, I was on a business trip in Dallas, Texas, where Mayor Eric Johnson declared the city in a state of local disaster because of five reported cases of COVID. I didn’t touch the doorknobs in my hotel room, and the 20 participants in the conference room wore face masks and sat several feet apart.
As it was for millions in the U.S., my work became totally remote; all travel was canceled. I had groceries delivered. I did not meet with friends. I attended the memorial service for two close friends on Zoom.
Fear governed almost every movement, interaction, and thought. Loss infected personal and professional lives, with news of family members, colleagues, bosses, and mentors succumbing to the bewildering disease.
In the five calendar years since COVID’s start, millions have reinvented a new “normal,” perhaps not returning full-time back to the office or staying in relationships that cracked and crumbled under the weight of confinement. The National Law Review reported that by April 2020, ‘the interest in divorce had already increased by 34% in the U.S.”
After five years, the COVID-sparked recession resolved, with a current 4% unemployment rate. Millions have pivoted to new work, entrepreneurship, and flexible schedules. Some companies demand limited work-from-home schedules and more in-office presence.
According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, 46% of workers report “that if their employer no longer allowed them to work from home, they would be unlikely to stay at their current job. This includes 26% who say they’d be very unlikely to stay.”
Consumer confidence is rated at 71.7% in January 2025, down from 74% a month earlier, according to Surveys of Consumers, University of Michigan, University of Michigan: Consumer Sentiment© retrieved from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
I am up to date on all my COVID-19 vaccines, and I contracted COVID once in August of 2022 and not since. I am lucky.
With the latest policy directives on healthcare and the economy departing from knowledge earned and lessons learned due to COVID, many may not be so lucky again. These past five post-COVID years have made everyone older. Tragically, not everyone is wiser.
Michele Weldon is an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty at Northwestern University and senior leader with The OpEd Project. Her latest book is The Time We Have: Essays on Pandemic Living.
Publishers' Notes:: Our challenge as a publication, dedicated to keeping our readers informed so we can repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives, is not to be overly reactive or partisan. At the same time, we must not ignore the dangers of the administration's degrading, hostile, and accusatory language and actions when they occur. We invite you to read this column outlining our editorial position covering the Trump administration by clickingHERE.
Not every column represents the editorial focus of the Fulcrum. However, consistent with our mission, the column below represents a commitment to sharing many perspectives to widen our readers' viewpoints.
“But he hasn’t got anything on!” said a little child. “The emperor has no clothes!”
In Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” it takes an innocent child to declare what all those surrounding the emperor will not. That is the “magical” garments,” which only the brilliant and astute purportedly can see, do not exist. They are mere fabrications. But for fear of crossing the mighty ruler and being thought inept or stupid, the courtiers proclaim the beauty of the emperor’s non-existent clothing.
If we take the emperor’s “clothes” to mean the dignity and true power of the office of the Presidency, then indeed, Donald Trump is wearing no clothes. And his chief tailor, Elon Musk, has never sewn a stitch of diplomacy or practiced relational tactics in his life.
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In the United States, we do not have an emperor, and despite the publication from the White House declaring otherwise, we do not have a king. We have a president, the head of the Executive branch, whose job is to execute the law. We have two other equally powerful branches: the Legislative and the Judicial, whose jobs are, respectively, to make the laws and to judge the laws. Our forefathers intended for each branch to provide checks on the others, which is critical for the balance of power within the government.
Now, all three branches are peppered heavily with Republicans. In the true sense of Lincoln’s Republican Party, this would not be a problem. But this is no longer the Republican party. A perfect example is how the Republican members of Congress, the party that enthusiastically voted for military aid and support to Ukraine, have changed their tune almost unanimously now in support of Trump's clash with Ukraine president VolodymyrZelensky on the 28th of February.
However, it is the job of all members of Congress, regardless of which party, to speak up when legal or moral rules are violated.
Our country is a tangible collection of many ideas and ideologies, yet all are subject to its laws, and all citizens within the realm possess guaranteed rights. Even those who argue we need a thorough cleansing of the federal bureaucracy are not advocates of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” Sure, we have very real problems: unchecked immigration, out-of-control national debt, etc. We do, of course, need to solve these problems.
However, the answers cannot be found in alienating half of our country’s citizens and many allies worldwide. President Trump’s meeting with President Zelensky at the White House was a national embarrassment, playing out on an international stage.
How can any of us remain nonplussed when viewing the chaos of the last several weeks? Or have Donald Trump’s litany of executive orders been so stunning that we are stunned and senseless?
Apparently so. Although some are rising in protest, and some judges and districts are bringing lawsuits, most Americans are acting as if all they need to do is change the channel on their smart TV, and this all-too-real reality show will go away.
But many don’t want to change the channel and believe our 47th President exhibits the “strong leadership” our nation needs. Of course, we do want strong leadership, but it must be tempered with respect and compassion, remembering that as president, our leader speaks for all his constituents, and he is the voice the world hears.
Our 26th President, Teddy Roosevelt, said it plainly, “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far.” Roosevelt’s approach emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong military as a deterrent while prioritizing diplomacy. One example of many was Roosevelt sending a fleet of U.S. Navy ships on a world tour to demonstrate American naval power, a peaceful yet powerful display of strength, aligning with his philosophy of speaking softly while carrying a big stick.
Perhaps many Americans who don’t support Trump's actions remain silent because they believe that, ultimately, the pendulum will swing, as it has in the past, and that we’ll restore sense and balance. But might it not be too late for us and the world if we do not take action now?
Presently, there are 96 legal challenges to the various Executive orders issued by the Trump Administration. Following the rule of law is one way to act with legal challenges and is likely to overturn many of Trump's executive orders. But there is more you can do. Protests against the DOGE cuts are happening across the country at an ever-increasing rate. A “50501 Movement’ standing for “50 states, 50 protests, one day” has emerged in which dozens of demonstrations across the U.S. were recently held.
The overriding message is “No Kings,” where protesters are criticizing some of President Donald Trump’s actions as illegal and beyond the scope of his presidential powers. Additionally, more and more protestors are taking aim at billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency-led efforts to cut spending and fire employees across the federal government without due process.
Donald Trump was re-elected as President of the United States to serve, not to reign, and he should return to these core principles.
Amy Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."
A sign marks the location of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters building on January 29, 2025, in Washington, DC.
From 1995 until COVID hit, Scott Harding led student groups to volunteer in areas affected by natural disasters through the National Relief Network (NRN).
Harding, who also founded NRN, said he has taken groups across the country to disaster sites in his time and noticed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives, a group helping communities in the United States recover from natural disasters. But Harding said what he calls a “Biden Administration phenomenon,” caused by the Democratic culture in the nation’s capital, has politicized the disaster relief process.
“If I am not mistaken, D.C. is probably 95 or more percent Democrat, and there just seems to be a lot of political turmoil,” Harding said.
According to results from the 2024 presidential election, 92.5 percent of D.C. residents voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and 6.6 percent for President Donald Trump.
During efforts to assist those affected by Hurricane Milton and Helene in 2024, FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington was fired after reports stated she told FEMA workers to skip over houses in Placid, Fla., displaying support for Trump.
As a result, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and Washington in November 2024.
“I am taking swift legal action to find out how far this political discrimination reaches and to make sure all Americans who fall victim to devastating storms are served, regardless of their political affiliation,” Moody stated in a press release.
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In February 2025, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel filed a Hatch Act complaint against Washington for her actions. The Hatch Act’s purpose is to ensure federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner so federal employee's actions are not passed on political merit.
According to a report from the New York Post, an agency official told The Post it was “an open secret” during the Biden administration that FEMA employees avoided “white or conservative-dominated” disaster zones. These orders were “clear guidance” from the official’s supervisors.
Recently, new legislation has been introduced to the House of Representatives. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) introduced legislation to prohibit discrimination based on political affiliation when granting disaster assistance. Perry, Tracey Mann (R-Kan.), and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced similar legislation during the 118th Congress.
“The blatant disregard of President-elect Trump supporters directly contradicts FEMA’s core mission and values,” the members wrote when introducing the legislation last year.
Although Harding has not volunteered to support people in natural disasters since before COVID-19, he said FEMA supervisors in the nation’s capital can override what local FEMA representatives are doing. One example Harding recalls is FEMA supervisors drawing a line in a community in North Carolina affected by flooding, meaning not all residents received disaster assistance.
“They make decisions in Washington, D.C., which make absolutely no sense for the people on the ground,” Harding said, adding storms do not follow man-made lines.
Harding also said that in American society, he has noticed how people with different political opinions cannot get along now, compared to previous years. According to the Vanderbilt Unity Index, the U.S. is on track to continue increasing political polarization. When Harding used to take students to volunteer in these natural disaster areas, he said he encouraged students to talk with those they were serving.
One example he recalls is bringing a group of students down to Morehead City, N.C. While cleaning out an older man’s house, which was flooded, he brought out a rocking chair to sit on his lawn and watch the volunteers. Harding said he suddenly looked over and noticed six students seated on the ground talking to the man.
Harding said the students learned the man had been born approximately 80 years ago in his now-flooded house, which his father had also built.
“That’s what I think FEMA forgets,” Harding said. “They’re too busy looking at logistics they forget who they are serving.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump is speaking about the early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress, emphasizing that his administration is “just getting started” in the wake of a contentious beginning to his second term. Significant themes, including substantial cuts to the federal workforce, shifts in traditional American alliances, and the impact of an escalating trade war on markets, characterized his address.
In his speech, Trump highlighted his actions over the past six weeks, claiming to have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken over 400 executive actions to restore “common sense, safety, optimism, and wealth” across the country. He articulated that the electorate entrusted him with the leadership role and stressed that he was fulfilling that mandate.
During the lengthy address, which lasted an hour and 40 minutes, Trump defended his administration’s strategies, including a pointed acknowledgment of billionaire advisor Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency task force (DOGE) for their contributions to the significant reduction of the federal government’s size.
"Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” Trump remarked while acknowledging, “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.”
Trump asserted a strategy of reciprocal retaliation regarding tariffs, stating, “Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them.” He maintained that the new tariffs would stimulate economic growth and create jobs despite warnings from economists that such policies could negatively impact consumers and exacerbate inflation. Hours earlier, he initiated a trade conflict with three of the United States' major trading partners, which led to a downturn in financial markets. The U.S. established 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, increasing the previous levy on Chinese products to 20%.
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Mr. Trump remarked, "The media and our allies in the Democrat Party repeatedly stated that we needed new legislation in order to secure the border. However, it appears that all we required was a new president." He highlighted his administration's efforts regarding border security and immigration, claiming it to be "the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history."
Trump also touted other controversial actions taken by his administration, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico, designating English as the official language of the US, and prohibiting trans women from competing in women’s sports. “Our country will be woke no longer,” he stated.
He also mentioned ongoing efforts to “reclaim the Panama Canal” and reiterated his intention to take control of Greenland, saying, “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
The speech contained several inaccuracies and misleading statements, such as a claim about centenarians aged “110 to 119” receiving Social Security benefits.
Additionally, Trump attributed the rising price of eggs to his predecessor’s energy policies while promising that his “National ENERGY Emergency” plan would promote increased domestic drilling. He remarked, "Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control—and we are working hard to get it back down."
While egg prices did reach record highs during Biden's administration, it is important to note that the administration implemented various measures to address the bird flu outbreak, a significant factor contributing to the increase in egg prices.
Click HERE to read CBS News fact-checking of Trump's address to Congress.
Past presidents have typically used their first major speeches to reach across party lines and appeal to critics. In contrast, Trump labeled Joe Biden as the “worst president in American history” and suggested that new tech investments would not have occurred had Kamala Harris won the 2024 election.
“Why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America?” Trump challenged Democrats, many of whom remained expressionless in the chamber.
The president received sustained applause from Republican members while facing jeers from Democrats. Throughout the address, several Democrats exited the chamber, and others silently protested with handheld signs.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a first-term senator from Michigan, delivered the Democratic rebuttal to President Trump's speech before Congress. In her remarks, Slotkin accused Trump of increasing costs while advocating for what she termed an “unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends.”
She stated, “For those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down. And if he’s not careful, he could walk us right into a recession.”
To watch Sen. Elissa Slotkin's response, click HERE.
To watch President Donald Trump's speech, click HERE.
Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network.
