Paul Person, a flower farmer from Fredericksburg, Texas, and a Trump supporter said that while he does not believe that the coronavirus is a hoax, many people have blown it out of proportion. 

“COVID is a political football orchestrated by the higher-ups,” he said.“A whole lot of people like Fauci and Woodward are making a lot of money from this. “Although almost 200,000 people have died from it, that’s less than the people who died from the flu last year. There are approximately 330 million people in this country. Do the math on that.”

Person said that he questioned famed investigative reporter, Bob Woodward’s, credibility.

“Woodward is just a writer who wants to sell more books and put a dollar in his pocket,” said Person. “He didn’t catch Trump in a lie like he thinks he did. Trump did all he could do. He shut down the entire economy during the pandemic to save the American people.”

Not everyone agrees that Woodward was wrong in the way he disseminated the news to the public.

Funbi Abolarin, a student in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said that Woodward released his book detailing his conversations with President Trump at the right time.

“…Writing a book like that on a trending topic like the coronavirus, and tying a prominent political figure to it is a perfect strategy,” said Abolarin. “Of course, he might also have political motives for delaying the release of the book up until now to make Trump look like a less favorable candidate to indecisive voters, but that’s what makes it even more brilliant.”

The widening schism between Trump supporters and non-Trump supporters is all too apparent in recent times, especially as they relate to his recent rallies.

Dorathy Sule-Aerga, a professor in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, said that she was not surprised that President Trump would rally around the country without following the CDC’s precautionary guidelines.

“Given his past history, I am also not surprised that he chose not to tell the general public what was happening. The fault is not entirely his, though. People are adult enough to take responsibility and make smart choices,” said Sule-Aerga. “The fact that he continues to hold rallies does not mean that they have to engage.”

While the coronavirus has dramatically affected some lives, others say that they have not been affected.

Ross Sietsema, an entrepreneur and business owner in Allendale, Michigan, said that the coronavirus has not affected him or anyone he knows.

“It’s tough for me to say that I buy into the coronavirus stuff,” said Sietsema. “I don’t wear a mask unless I have to. I wear it at work, but that’s as far as it gets.”

Sietsema had a different perspective on Woodward’s recent revelations.

“If Bob Woodward is tied to the democrats, then it makes sense that he would try to make Trump look bad,” he said. “Donald Trump is a reasonable businessman first. If he truly knew something like the coronavirus would affect the economy, he would have shared it sooner rather than later. I find the whole thing hard to believe.”

But other people have a different opinion.

Ikenna Njoku, a research assistant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said that Trump’s refusal to share the information about the virus with the people points to his lack of presidential experience.

“While I understand that he was trying to prevent panic, it was not the right move to try to prevent panic by downplaying the virus when people were obviously dying,” he said. “For one, it begs to question his credibility as a leader. It was unwise, unsafe, and unnecessary.”

 Njoku said that Trump was capitalizing on his following by holding the rallies.

“He has successfully gathered a strong following of supporters that listen to him, even when he is being openly deceptive,” said Njoku. “COVID-19 has been politicized, and turned into a blame game; when things like this happen, people tend to see things through the lens of “us vs. them,” and they rally around the political candidate that aligns most with their views. In this case, that candidate is Donald Trump.”

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“I don’t think in the history of the MTA it’s seen anything close to the magnitude of what—from a financial perspective—the MTA is facing,” said Schwartz, in response to the Chief Financial Officer Robert Foran’s detailing of the agency’s fiscal crisis. 

Its operating budget, estimated at $17 billion for 2020, is projected to lose 45% of its funding, primarily due to the loss of ridership in the first half of the year. The $4 billion of emergency funding received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) only covers a fraction of this deficit.

“If the federal government doesn’t come through with additional federal aid, the magnitude of this problem is just that much worse,” said Schwartz.

The MTA had already braced for a loss of funding for other projects, namely its groundbreaking 2020-2024 Capital Program, a $51 billion undertaking that aims to revamp much of the outdated transit systems in the city and the state. But as the meeting wore on, it became clear that more needed to be done.

“Right now our focus is on the $3.9 billion to get us through 2020,” said Patrick Foye, Chairman and CEO of the MTA. “The immediate deficit and the immediate financial crisis.”

The MTA’s future is as clear as this subway tunnel. Photo by Daniel Girma

The MTA capital programs, multi-year initiatives that cover a wide array of projects, have a complicated funding process. It is a delicate balance between allocating its own revenue, borrowing, and securing funding from the federal, state, and municipal governments. The 2015-19 Capital Program, which cost $29 billion, was covered mostly by MTA revenue and an $8.3 billion commitment from Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

But the 2020-24 program, over $20 billion more than the previous one, was expecting to get a large boost from NYC’s congestion pricing tax, as new internet tax and estate tax for mansions. This, along with the other conventional funding sources, have been completely upended by the shutdown. 

The crisis doesn’t stop there. Even projects that were initiated under the previous capital program and slated to continue under the current program have been affected by the loss in revenue.

“The 20-24 program as well as a great deal of the remaining 15-19 work is essentially on hold,” said Janno Lieber, Chief Development Officer of the agency. “Flagship programs in the capital program are being delayed.” 

Among these are the vital accessibility upgrades that would provide access to 70 stations across the city for its disabled residents.

“That initiative, which was well along in procurement before the covid crisis hit, is on hold,” said Lieber.

There have been some bright spots. The drop in ridership and new late-night closing of the subway has allowed for the acceleration of station and tunnel repairments across the system.

“We were able to identify opportunities to get more access to work areas and extended outages,” said Lieber. “But those are frankly exceptions.”

With endemic funding all but dried up, board members admitted that the agency would have to start prioritizing projects in order to stay afloat.

“One of the suggestions I’m going to make is that the MTA start breaking things down in various categories on what is essential and what is deemed non-essential,” said Schwartz. “It’s going to end up being a combination of things, and all of those things are going to be tough and hard to implement and approve.” 

Schwartz stressed that fares could not be increased, and that the agency should not apply for loans to cover the deficit. 

“I don’t think we can borrow our way out  of this problem,” he said.

Board members continuously emphasized the necessity for more federal support. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES), a follow up relief bill that passed the House in May, promises nearly $15.75 billion in aid for public transportation, with $11.75 billion dedicated for cities of over 3 million people. State legislators from both sides of the aisle have voiced their support for the bill.Representatives 

“Eighteen  of the most prominent New York State republican elected officials signed a letter to senate leader Mitch Mcconnell arguing that the HEROES Act or any COVID relief bill must include adequate money for the MTA,” said Lieber. “This is truly a bipartisan issue.”

With the HEROES Act stalled in the senate, some in the agency fear catastrophic consequences if funding is not secured.

“If we don’t get HEROES funding or something similar pretty soon, we are moving closer and closer to a fiscal cliff,” said Lieber. “Broadly speaking, we are in dire straits.”

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