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24 FEBRUARY
Heartache for the half-a-million lost
In a May 2020 address to the United States Studies Centre (USSC), former US Ambassador to Australia John Berry offered a snapshot into the painful reality of the COVID pandemic as it was unfolding in New York. Putting the scale of COVID deaths in the United States into context, Ambassador Berry explained, “if you take all the people who have died at Antietam – US citizens – all the Americans killed at Pearl Harbor, all the Americans killed at Guadalcanal, at Iwo Jima, at Normandy, the entire Iraq War, the entire Afghanistan War, that totals just over 28,000 people, putting all of those together. You would have to multiply that by greater than two – more than two – to achieve the amount of people who have died in the last six weeks in the United States of America. 60,000 almost 62,000 estimated today.”
Less than a year later, even if you expanded the Ambassador's comparison to include American casualties from 9/11, the entire Revolutionary War and the entire Second World War, you still would fall short of the number of Americans lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The death toll from the crisis reached half a million Americans one month after it crossed the 400,000 threshold. Americans account for more than 20 per cent of the 2.48 million deaths globally. Grappling with the sheer size and scale of these deaths is challenging. These visualisation tools can help:
Washington Post: 500,000 dead, a number almost too large to grasp
National Geographic: Visualizing 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.
New York Times: The Toll: America Approaches Half a Million Covid Deaths
As we reflect on all that has been lost in the past year, we are tremendously grateful for the many healthcare workers, government leaders, critical workers and researchers who have united in an effort to end this deadly pandemic. Their efforts have not been in vain and we look forward to turning the page on this sad chapter in history.
You can also stay up to date on the United States Studies Centre (USSC)'s latest news and analysis on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.
NEWS WRAP
Remembering the 500,000
A heartbreaking milestone | President Biden delivered a sombre address from the White House during a vigil held in honour of the half a million who have died from COVID-19. Americans were urged to put partisan politics aside and come together in unity in the battle against the outbreak. He asked citizens to "remember those we lost and those we left behind," but to also "remain vigilant" and to "get vaccinated." READ MORE HERE
Trump talks 2022 | Party unity and plans for the 2022 cycle were up for discussion in a meeting between former President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The South Carolina Senator returned to the Capitol after travelling to Florida to meet with Trump, who Graham said is "very involved in helping the team win" and has ambitions to remain a dominant force heading into the 2022 midterms. READ MORE HERE
Back in Paris | The United States has officially rejoined the Paris climate agreement, just over 100 days after President Trump officially withdrew the country from the accords on 4 November 2020. US Climate Envoy John Kerry said, "We feel an obligation to work overtime to try and make up the difference," while President Biden has promised to chart a path towards net-zero emissions by 2050. READ MORE HERE
Vow against extremism | During his Senate confirmation hearing, President Biden's nominee for attorney general Judge Merrick Garland vowed to fight domestic extremism, saying "we are facing a more dangerous period than we faced in Oklahoma City.” Judge Garland, who led the Justice Department's prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, told the Senate committee battling extremism is "central" to the Department's mission and an investigation into the 6 January Capitol riots would be his first priority. READ MORE HERE
Trump taxes on the table | The US Supreme Court granted the release of former President Donald Trump's tax records to New York City prosecutors. The ruling ordered Trump's accountants to hand over tax documents as far back as 2011. The probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance was initially centred on payments made prior to the 2016 election to women who claimed they had had affairs with Trump, but has since expanded to include examining allegations of tax evasion, and insurance and bank fraud. READ MORE HERE
We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blur or ‘on the news.’ And we must do so to honour the dead, but equally important, care for the living and those left behind.
President Joe Biden
on US COVID deaths surpassing 500,000
White House | 22 February 2021
VIDEO
Love and Wolpe on Republicans and Democrats, Biden's agenda and 2022
Against the backdrop of a deeply divided population, something which has been reflected in Congress, the USSC brought together a Republican and a Democrat to have an in-depth discussion about both parties, politics and the road ahead. Tune in to our latest webinar replay Love and Wolpe on Republicans and Democrats, Biden's agenda and 2022 featuring USSC experts Mia Love, former Republican Congresswoman, in conversation with Bruce Wolpe, former Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill.
Watch the full event HERE.
Catch this and other recent webinars on the USSC YouTube channel!
ANALYSIS
After Trump, what is the future of the Republican Party?
David Smith
Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy
In the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, seven out of 50 Republican senators voted to convict the former president of inciting insurrection. This has raised more questions than it has answered about where the Republican Party is going.
It still looks like Trump’s party, but for how long? Bill Cassidy, one of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump, says Trump’s power over the party will “wane." He will certainly hope so. The Republican Party of Louisiana has already censured Cassidy for his disloyalty to Trump.
On the other hand, Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top allies, believes Trump and his supporters are so important to the future of the party that Republicans should nominate his daughter-in-law to replace retiring Senator Richard Burr (who voted to convict).
Some in the party see Trump as a major liability who will only get more toxic. He is the first president since 1932 to oversee the loss of the White House and both houses of Congress in a single term. Joe Biden got the highest vote share of any presidential challenger since 1932 in the highest-turnout election since 1900, earning 7 million more votes than Trump.
However much Trump energised his supporters, he energised more of his opponents.
Despite all this, Republicans came within 90,000 votes of winning both houses of Congress and the presidency in 2020. Many Republicans believe Trump is an electoral asset who helped them outperform expectations and narrow the Democrats’ margins nationwide.
Unlike in 2012, there won’t be a Republican Party autopsy of the election defeat. Large numbers of Republicans doubt the outcome of the election, and most of the party’s legislators are unwilling to tell them otherwise.
In any case, the party went in the opposite direction from the path of moderation that the last autopsy recommended, and within four years they were back in control of the whole federal government.
So what might the future hold?
This is an excerpt from Assoc Prof Smith's latest article in The Conversation.
Click below to read the full article.
USSC EVENTS
US Politics and Policy Web Series
March edition
The United States Studies Centre and Perth USAsia Centre host a monthly web series reviewing the latest in US politics and policy and what this means for Australia.
With the transition of power behind, a new administration and Congress ahead, there is much to discuss and interpret.
We look forward to being joined by experts and insiders from across the globe for this web series co-hosted by the United States Studies Centre and the Perth USAsia Centre.
Subscribe to our events mailing list to have invitations and reminders sent straight to your inbox so you never have to miss an event.
WHEN
Friday 5 March, 1pm AEDT (Sydney) or 10am AWST (Perth)
Thursday 4 March 9pm EST (Washington, DC)
COST
Free, but registration is essential
BY THE NUMBERS
US COVID-19 death toll as a percentage of the population of major cities
Sarah Hamilton
Research Associate for Data Insights
The United States has surpassed 500,000 COVID-19 deaths (502,227 as of 23 February) in just under a year since the first on 29 February 2020. It is difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of this number.
To try and put this into perspective, the current death toll is equal to:
- 9.5 per cent of Sydney’s 2019 population
- 24.1 per cent of Perth’s 2019 population
- 117.7 per cent of Canberra’s 2019 population
- 6.0 per cent of New York’s 2019 population
- 71.1 per cent of Washington DC’s 2019 population
- 99.0 per cent of Atlanta’s 2019 population
While optimism about the slowing spread of COVID-19 has been steadily growing alongside the vaccination rate (now nearly 15 per cent of the US population), it is an optimism that must be taken with caution. While it took three months for the COVID-19 death toll in the United States to reach 100,000 on 27 May 2020, it took just 33 days for the death toll to jump from 400,000 on 19 January to the latest milestone of 500,000. Experts are warning the country could surpass the 600,000 milestone as early as 1 June 2021.
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University of Sydney NSW 2006
