Thread by @ZeeshanAleem

I have no idea why this isn’t getting more traction.

Trump’s HHS @SecAzar singles out 1 reason to explain why the US has the most coronavirus deaths in the world to @jaketapper:

“Unfortunately the American population is ... very diverse...” (2:32)

/1

Here's the full quote:

He basically distills the casualty numbers to health problems in the black community. He's implying that racial minorities, not the federal government, are to blame for the fact that the richest country in the world has somehow got the most deaths too./2

The more immediate and larger explanation for the US’s exceptional number of deaths is, of course the callous, disorganized and science-phobic response by the federal government to the pandemic. /3

But even setting that aside, the fact that many communities of color do have worse health outcomes is a function of longstanding socioeconomic marginalization & discrimination, and uneven access to nutrition, health care, and a healthy environment. /4

In other words, Azar’s formulation should be flipped: it’s not people of color driving up America’s casualties, but America that is driving up people of color’s casualties. /5

The whole formulation is clever, because it's true that many racial minorities are dying at higher rates in part because of disproportionate levels of health problems. But within the conservative paradigm it's basically a bit of a shrug - 'don't blame us, blame THEM'.. /6

... for their bad life choices. It's also disturbing because it implies that the "true" American numbers would be lower if weren't for those burdensome poor black and Latino people; it depicts them as a drag on the American project. /7