President Donald Trump’s war against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is escalating. A recent administration email accused the CDC of “undermining the President.” Trump’s contempt marks a dramatic break for this widely respected organization. Traditionally, Republican and Democratic presidents alike have treated the CDC as a neutral do-gooding agency, not a political piñata—what Bill Clinton called “our first line of defense against disease, injury, and disability.”
Surprisingly, this important agency was not founded as part of some top-down presidential initiative. Instead, Dr. Joseph Mountin—a little-known American medical prophet who didn’t care about medical profits—pushed and pushed to convince his fellow citizens that only an agency with national reach and international scientific credibility could coordinate the necessary federal and state efforts needed to keep Americans healthy.
Back in 1946, Mountin founded the CDC—today’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—to shift America from reactive medicine, or treatment, to preventive medicine, or nurturing public health. His is a 1940s-story involving Coca-Cola, malaria, and World War II’s massive mobilization. It’s also a timeless American story about juggling instant gratification and long-term investment, federalism and nationalism, medical science with public health, and the wealthiest Americans’ access to the best doctors with every American’s desire for quality care.