Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


A Look at US Presidents and Public Health Crises

Patsy Widakuswara

   Almost all American presidents have faced a crisis while in office,
   whether it's a political scandal, natural disaster, economic calamity
   or terrorism. But not all have the misfortune of having to deal with
   epidemics and pandemics. Here are some of them and how historians view
   their performance.

   Woodrow Wilson -- Spanish flu

   President Woodrow Wilson faced the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 that
   killed 20 million to 50 million people around the world while the
   United States was fighting in World War I.

   "Even though President Trump has talked about being at war with the
   pandemic, in the case of Wilson and the Spanish flu, the United States
   really was at war," said Thomas Schwartz, professor of history at
   Vanderbilt University.

.