Kimberly Guilfoyle: Commander-in-Chief Unites Private and Public Sectors to Fight COVID-19

As a successful businessman, President Trump was elected to disrupt Washington, D.C.’s tired bureaucracy with innovative, private sector leadership. That’s exactly what America has witnessed with the President’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

History has proven that crisis comes for every leader. That reality has emerged as an unprecedented global pandemic that has challenged every facet of our nation. Yet, in the face of extraordinary challenge, President Trump acted decisively and with great resourcefulness.

At the direction of the President, the Coronavirus Taskforce and top advisors, including Jared Kushner, assembled a multi-disciplinary team to pursue innovative solutions to addressing this pandemic.

First, and maybe most critically, President Trump understood the need to quickly unleash the pioneering spirit of America’s private sector businesses. In coordination with government agencies, the President cut red tape and removed bureaucratic hurdles that were preventing companies from providing solutions and support their communities and customers.

This important action served to speed up testing and fast track treatments and cures. On March 11th, America was testing about 2,500 patients; today that number has expanded fifty-fold to now testing of 125,000 a day. Testing numbers continue to increase every day.

President Trump also understood that America was fighting a war against this virus, and that America’s healthcare workers were our soldiers on the frontlines. That meant tackling the problem with the urgency he has shown in rebuilding America’s military. He prioritized the need to provide personal protective equipment to the frontlines.

Waiting 30 days for cargo ship deliveries via sea of critical medical personal protective gear was unacceptable to the administration. Instead, Project Airbridge was formed, which cut transport time down to a single day by providing planes to transport supplies via air.

In just the first week, 11 flights carrying a total of 90 million gloves, masks, gowns, coveralls, shoe covers, and face shields have landed in six U.S. cities. Twenty-five more flights are scheduled to land throughout this week, bringing an additional 150 million personal-protective equipment with them. The program is expected to expand even further in the coming weeks.

Instead of just throwing limited resources at regions of the country or large cities, they’ve taken the time to understand specifically where shortages are and what equipment is needed. Through careful coordination with governors, mayors, and even individual hospitals, the administration has tailored its effort to ensure supplies are being delivered efficiently and effectively.

This team has also broken through the logjam in drive-up testing. This week, CVS became the first to open free, drive-up testing sites, with other large chains expected to follow and expand quickly. This will mean even more testing and quicker results for patients.

This global health crisis has tested governments across the world, challenging their abilities to manage and mitigate deadly threats like this virus. For America, we have been well served by an Administration that prioritizes solutions, outcomes, and speed.

We may not yet be out of the dark, but as President Trump recently said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to his leadership in uniting America’s innovators and problem solvers—writing the book on public-private partnerships in a time of crisis—our nation will emerge stronger than ever.

Kimberly Guilfoyle is the National Chair of the Trump Victory Finance Committee and Senior Advisor for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.