Because the indisputable facts are ignored by Trump and his supporters. The US had a small, dedicated team to track animal-based infectious diseases (Predict).

Because the indisputable facts are ignored by Trump and his supporters. The US had a small, dedicated team to track animal-based infectious diseases (Predict). The Trump administration cut funding for it and it was dismantled last year. This dismantling was purely for ideological reasons. South Korea—an extremely market driven and democratic nation—also has nationalized health care. This means nobody has to wonder if they can afford testing because the leaders understood what was at stake. When Pence was asked this question, it was regarded as a political potshot by the journalist and dismissed out of hand. I remember this clearly, as I watched this in real-time when I was getting a haircut. South Korea took MERsS and SARS to heart and kept its experts in place; allowing SK to assess the danger rapidly. They too had their conservative party fight tooth and nail to make their administration (liberal) look incompetent. Meanwhile Trump supporters have insisted for months and still do. that this was mostly a liberal follow-up to a failed impeachment. The difference between how SK coordinated and how the US did not cannot be ignored, and a key difference is that the administration in power didn’t view their experts with suspicion as deep-state or as a money-sink for third-world-only issues. At every step Trump has shown that he does not nominate or keep anyone due to their competence in their field. There’s no dispute about these facts. Yet anyone who views current events with suspicion only has innuendo to back their position. Therefore, calling out anti-journalists for what they are is well-deserved.