Trump and his Chief of Staff dismiss coronavirus fears as media plot to take him down
As the coronavirus continues to spread around the world it’s becoming disturbingly clear that President Trump is completely unprepared to deal with the growing emergency. He’s given Vice President Mike Pence—a man who oversaw a terrible HIV outbreak during his tenure as Governor of Indiana—the role of coronavirus czar and Pence, in turn, has brought in economic hacks like Larry Kudlow to join his team.
Trump himself was reportedly enraged at a Center for Disease Control official for simply doing her job by warning Americans that they should prepare for the virus to spread throughout the country.
The administration is far more worried about the effects of the virus on the stock market and how this sudden, sharp downturn could hurt the president’s reelection prospects than they are about the health of the country. They are prioritizing politics over the safety of Americans even as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgrades its threat assessment of the coronavirus to “very high.”
Just last night, Trump blasted out tweets whining that he is getting blamed for failing to do more about the outbreak. He blamed China and said that he has stayed on top of the issue by closing borders and ending flights. His claim is strongly refuted by his behavior and the lack of attention he is devoting to the issue. Yesterday, instead of spending all of his time reviewing protocols and working with CDC officials he hosted a slew of right-wing D-list celebrities at the White House. There is simply no proof that he is taking this outbreak seriously enough.
Trump also targeted the “Do Nothing Democrats” and said they wasted time on an “Immigration Hoax” and efforts to make the Republican Party “look bad.” He repeated his claim about the border and flight closings and insisted that we are “way ahead in our battle” with the virus despite the manner in which every new report to emerge indicates the exact opposite. The grim truth is that Trump is botching our response to the virus and rather than course correct to save lives, he’s looking for a scapegoat.
So, the Coronavirus, which started in China and spread to various countries throughout the world, but very slowly in the U.S. because President Trump closed our border, and ended flights, VERY EARLY, is now being blamed, by the Do Nothing Democrats, to be the fault of “Trump”.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
The Do Nothing Democrats were busy wasting time on the Immigration Hoax, & anything else they could do to make the Republican Party look bad, while I was busy calling early BORDER & FLIGHT closings, putting us way ahead in our battle with Coronavirus. Dems called it VERY wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
The Hill reports that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney tried to do more PR damage control today at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He admitted that schools are likely to shut down and public transportation affected but insisted that the administration is doing a better job than reports would lead one to believe.
In true Trumpian fashion, he attacked the media for allegedly ignoring the virus until now because they were so focused on the impeachment process and ridiculously stated that the media is only covering the virus because they hope it will be what “brings down the president.”
“Why didn’t you hear about it? The press was covering their hoax of the day because they thought it would bring down the president,” said Mulvaney. He acknowledged that the coronavirus is “real” as if such a thing were ever in doubt, downplayed the risks it poses and likened it to the flue. “We know how to handle this,” he said.
Here's Mike Mulvaney at CPAC characterizing coronavirus coverage as "an attempt to bring down the president" and blaming the media for the stock market stump pic.twitter.com/a747Inf2ky
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 28, 2020
Mulvaney downplays the coronavirus, saying it’s “not ebola,” but then adds, “are you gonna see some schools shut down? Probably. Will you see impacts on public transportation? Sure.” pic.twitter.com/y2V5WdBpm6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 28, 2020
At this point, no American should take a single thing this White House says at face value. This administration is packed with liars who are solely interested in safeguarding their own grip on power. Concerned Americans would be wise to listen to the CDC and tune out the statements coming from Trump and his staff. It very well could save lives.
