POLITICO: Donald Trump, Master of Disaster?
Jeremy Konyndyk, former director of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance

“…How an administration handles major emergencies like [Ebola] heavily shapes its legacy. Mismanaging a high-profile crisis can irreparably harm a presidency … But more importantly, it can have dire consequences for Americans at home, American interests abroad, and vulnerable people around the world. Getting these crises right is not a partisan matter — there is no particular liberal or conservative policy platform on crisis response, and there have been highly effective emergency managers in both Democratic and Republican administrations. It is instead a matter of competence. … There is no partisan or political reason that President Trump need ignore the expertise of scientists and career public servants, run a weak [National Security Council (NSC)] process, break with bipartisan consensus on foreign affairs funding, undermine his credibility as a source of public information, or alienate America’s friends and allies. But if these problems are to be fixed, the course correction must start now. Global crises do not tend to wait for us to be ready” (3/1).