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There are many concerns raised in today's Editorial [1]. As a specialist in Public Health, I was most alarmed by the prediction that under President Trump 'progress in health equity will slow'. Slow? Reversing progress is more likely, and widening inequalities are likely to damage physical, mental and intergenerational health. I have tried to follow Trump's ideas as carefully as I could, across the Atlantic. If he does aspire to be America's first Dictator (at least for "One Day") he may well damage the US systems predicted by Emanuel and Ozisik [1] but health resources, research and surveillance could be disrupted in ways that affect the rest of humanity, too. Health protection needs global collaboration across a huge workforce, and the health impact of climate change may far exceed the challenge of, say, Covid-19. Trump, the "Great Disrupter" needs a new vision, far beyond the gates of Mar-a-Lago. He will need to develop an interest in "losers" in "shithole countries".
When I was a young Lecturer at St. George's Hospital in London, I worked for an inspiring professor, Arthur Crisp. Crisp taught me that leopards really can change their spots. The BMJ has many readers, often people with courage and imagination.... who knows how to access the Presidential den of "leopard" Trump, and to liberate his mind ?{2}
Re: Health policies under Trump
Dear Editor
There are many concerns raised in today's Editorial [1]. As a specialist in Public Health, I was most alarmed by the prediction that under President Trump 'progress in health equity will slow'. Slow? Reversing progress is more likely, and widening inequalities are likely to damage physical, mental and intergenerational health. I have tried to follow Trump's ideas as carefully as I could, across the Atlantic. If he does aspire to be America's first Dictator (at least for "One Day") he may well damage the US systems predicted by Emanuel and Ozisik [1] but health resources, research and surveillance could be disrupted in ways that affect the rest of humanity, too. Health protection needs global collaboration across a huge workforce, and the health impact of climate change may far exceed the challenge of, say, Covid-19. Trump, the "Great Disrupter" needs a new vision, far beyond the gates of Mar-a-Lago. He will need to develop an interest in "losers" in "shithole countries".
When I was a young Lecturer at St. George's Hospital in London, I worked for an inspiring professor, Arthur Crisp. Crisp taught me that leopards really can change their spots. The BMJ has many readers, often people with courage and imagination.... who knows how to access the Presidential den of "leopard" Trump, and to liberate his mind ?{2}
[1] Emanuel EJ, Ozisik ML. Health policies under Trump. BMJ 2024;387:q2587
[2] Malcolm X. 1964, https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/malcolm-xs-by-any-means-ne...
Competing interests: I used to teach Global Health courses