Here’s the bad news: America is at war. Not with a foreign enemy or a terrorist regime like the Islamic State Group. We’re at war with a highly contagious global virus, a pandemic, commonly known as the coronavirus. In order to combat, and ultimately destroy, this pernicious enemy threatening public health, our way of life and the U.S. economy, all Americans must put partisanship aside and practice unity.

We’re in this fight together.

After all, COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you’re a Bernie Bro, a Trump supporter or rooting for former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election. The coronavirus impacts us all in one way or another. As such, we must view this spiraling public health crisis as an opportunity to rise as one and support each other like Bostonians did in the aftermath of the 2013 marathon bombing.

Bostonians quickly rose to the challenge, and an entire city came together. We rallied. We supported victims and their families. We rebuilt. We healed. We carried on. Same with New Yorkers during 9/11. Our entire country came together.

The good news is America has triumphed in the face of every moment of adversity that’s been put before us throughout history. Today is no different. The face of the enemy has changed but not our resolve. That will never waver.

On Wednesday, the president tweeted: “The Media should view this as a time of unity and strength. We have a common enemy, actually, an enemy of the World, the CoronaVirus. We must beat it as quickly and safely as possible. There is nothing more important to me than the life & safety of the United States!”

Key takeaway: “a time of unity and strength.” Let that be your daily mantra.

This week, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, did an admirable service for our country. The far-left politician, who does not see eye to eye with the president on a variety of issues, put partisan politics aside and praised the Trump administration’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We had a private conversation, but he (President Trump) said, ‘We’re gonna do the right thing’ and ‘You have my support, all of our support, logistically, and otherwise,” said Newsom. “He (Trump) said everything that I could have hoped for. Every single thing he said, they followed through on.”

That type of unity, support and bipartisanship is exactly what our deeply divided nation needs during this unnerving time when so many Americans are grappling with fear and uncertainty.

We need problem-solvers on both sides of the aisle working together to combat this common enemy. After all, that’s what real leadership looks like: elected officials who work together, put ideological differences aside and do whatever is necessary to protect the American people and our nation.

Any politician of either party who fails to meet that standard in the face of a global pandemic should be shown the door come November. That’s something we should all agree on.

Until then, all Americans must practice proper hygiene and familiarize ourselves with Centers for Disease Control recommendations on avoiding contracting this highly contagious virus. Remember, the federal government can’t solve all our problems for us. It’s the publics’ responsibility to do our part to contain the virus from spreading.

Addressing the nation from the Oval Office Wednesday night the president said it best: “We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family.”

That’s how we’re going to beat this thing.

Adriana Cohen is a syndicated columnist with the Boston Herald. Follow her on Twitter @AdrianaCohen16. To find out more about Adriana Cohen and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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