Matt Kim: We really messed up COVID

Matt Kim: They have lied to us over and over and over again. We are losing trust in all our institutions. We're losing trust in the healthcare system, the education system, and in the government as a whole. And when was the last time any of these institutions apologized to you? Never.

Just a simple "I'm sorry." And I think we'd be surprised how much we could heal as a society just by saying: "I'm sorry." Like if we said: we really messed up COVID, guys.

Did that ever happen before? I don’t know if it ever did, but we’ve never had the kind of access to information and communication that we have now.

Me, for example—I was a big fan of Trump going into this election, but there were a lot of policies that happened under Trump during COVID, and at the very least he could say: “Guys, maybe we didn’t handle it right.” Why not just say that at least once?

Matt Kim has publicly voiced his deep disappointment over the collapse of public trust in American institutions, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, “we’ve been lied to over and over and over again,” which has led to a widespread loss of faith in the healthcare system, the education system, and the government in general. He questions when was the last time any of these institutions apologized for their mistakes—and firmly answers: “Never.” For Kim, a simple “I’m sorry” would have tremendous healing power for society. He suggests that if authorities just admitted, “We really messed up COVID, guys,” it would open the door to national reconciliation.

He points out that this kind of accountability didn’t happen in the past, but now people have unprecedented access to information and direct communication channels, making institutional failures more visible—and more frustrating. Even as a strong supporter of Donald Trump, Kim acknowledges that many of the policies implemented during Trump’s term in the pandemic were flawed, and that at the very least, he could have said: “Maybe we didn’t handle it well.” For him, that kind of humility and recognition of mistakes would be a small but powerful gesture to help rebuild lost trust. His message isn’t partisan, but deeply human: take responsibility, apologize, and move forward as a society.