House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) argued that President Trump’s defense of protesters defying stay-at-home orders is a “distraction” from his response to the COVID-19 outbreak, during Sunday morning interviews.
Asked by ABC News’ George Stephanopolous about whether she thinks that the President’s guidelines to the governors are appropriate and if states are ready to begin the process of opening up, Pelosi responded that she “wouldn’t exaggerate the protests across the country” before adding that Trump’s support of the protests is “a distraction.”
“There are some in some places, largely where there’s a Democratic governor,” Pelosi said. “But I think of it largely as a distraction and the President’s embrace of it as a distraction from the fact that he has not appropriately done testing, treatment, contact tracing and quarantine.”
Pelosi went on to add that “the key that opens the door to the economy is testing,” which she said “we haven’t done it right.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Trump’s support for stay-at-home order protests is a “distraction from the fact that he has not appropriately done testing …”
“The key that opens the door to the economy is testing, testing testing. We haven’t done it right.” https://t.co/PYRdRpKqJS pic.twitter.com/U8UHEsJxpd
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 19, 2020
Pelosi echoed similar sentiments during an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” saying that she can’t understand why there are protesters defying social distancing measures when the “answer” to the pandemic is to “shelter in place.”
“People will do what they do. But the fact is, we’re all impatient. We all want out. But what they’re doing is really unfortunate,” Pelosi said, referring to the protesters.
Pelosi on protesters defying stay-at-home orders: "The fact is we're all impatient. We all want out. But what they're doing is really unfortunate." pic.twitter.com/wuUvgmE3C8
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 19, 2020
Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish Democrats would fight like Republicans.
“Donald Trump is a sick, dangerous man. We all know it. He is destroying this great country one deranged tweet at a time, and he needs to resign immediately and take his whole criminal administration and his whole criminal family with him so we can arrest them and put them where they belong.”
C’mon, Nancy. Asking for a nation.
Good response, for now.
She is correct, of course. Trump is flailing around trying to shift the blame and everything he does only makes it worse. He can’t focus on increasing the testing because that would tacitly admit that current testing is inadequate when he has already claimed that it was wonderful and everyone who wanted it could get tested. He has locked himself in a box and he keeps pulling in the sides. He can’t resist the briefings although they are a complete disaster because he needs the attention. He is totally predictable and never changes the way he responds to anything.
I know what you mean, and the first part of what you suggest has, in fact, been said by some Democrats here and there – but expecting anything like the rest of it from the party as a whole is … bound to result in disappointment.
To say nothing of making empty threats …
Yeah. But, we’re different. I’m not sure I’d want to give any of that difference up.