House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a swipe at President Trump shortly after he resumed his coronavirus briefings Tuesday — calling the contagion “the Trump virus” in response to his description of it as a Chinese bug.
“Well, I think with the president’s comments today, he recognized the mistakes he has made by now embracing mask-wearing and the recognition this is not a hoax,” the California Democrat said on CNN.
“It is a pandemic that has gotten worse before it will get better because of his inaction,” she told Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.”
“In fact, clearly, it is the Trump virus.”
In his solo news conference Tuesday, the president touted progress but warned that the pandemic will likely “get worse before it gets better” and urged people to wear masks in crowded areas.
He also touted a reduction in deaths and progress on vaccines and treatments for the illness, which he referred to repeatedly as the “China virus.”
“If he had said months ago, let’s wear masks, let’s not — let’s socially distance instead of having rallies and whatever they were, then more people would have followed his lead,” Pelosi said, according to The Hill.
“He’s the president of the United States,” she added.
When asked by the host whether she believed thousands of Americans had died because of Trump’s response, Pelosi said: “Yes, that’s what I am saying. I think it’s clearly evident.”
She added: “We’re approaching 4 million. We’re approaching 4 million people infected, people affected by this, infected by it, and a large number, like 140,000, who have passed away.
“If it’s important to wear a mask now — it would have been important to wear it in March instead of telling us that by April we would all be going to church together. I wish that were the case, but he had no scientific basis for that,” Pelosi said.
“If they don’t return to science and governance — and that’s a way that we can overcome this. We have hope and prayers for a vaccine. God willing that will be soon,” she continued.
“But it is still months away, and people will die. So let’s hope that the president comes closer to embracing the reality of this pandemic, this Trump virus.”