Crisis Management

I recently received an email inviting me to Neuberger Berman’s 2020 Election Speaker Series conversation with Nikki Haley, in which Trump’s former UN Ambassador would “share her views on the upcoming U.S. election and key foreign policy issues… .”

Uh. No thanks.

In my RSVP: NO, I noted that at a time when we face multiple severe, possibly existential, crises in public health, the economy, racial justice, the structure of our global alliances, how information is disseminated, and the integrity of our elections, all of which have been caused by, exacerbated by, or exploited by Donald Trump, I wasn’t the least bit interested in listening to one of his chief apologists share her views.

Not to mention, disappointed that Neuberger Berman is helping Haley line her pockets. A report last year said she charges $200,000 and use of a private jet for public speaking engagements; hopefully, they received a pandemic discount.

Feeling a bit of catharsis after firing off my email, I went for my evening walk, the Chicago sun setting beyind a smoky haze, then came back in and turned on the news just in time to hear President Trump telling California Gov. Gavin Newsom, “It’ll start getting cooler. You just watch.”

For God’s sake, I thought, I forgot to even mention climate in my list of crises!

Despite the fact that the West Coast is burning, all-time heat records are being toppled, slow-moving hurricanes are inundating the Gulf Coast, and a 42- square mile chunk of Greenland’s icecap just broke away, all in just the first half of September.

It’s all a bit overwhelming, and worrisome that, even if there is a change in administration and hopefully control of the Senate, we will still have Trump apologists doing all they can to stop action from being taken. And at this point, those remain big “ifs”. If they don’t happen, it’s hard to imagine how any of these crises move toward resolution.