Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) thinks that President Trump saw the COVID-19 pandemic coming when he delivered his State of the Union speech in early February.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Scott lamented that the country is in a position of economic “devastation” in light of 22 million unemployment claims filed in the past month, which he said is “consistent throughout this nation.”
Scott went on to say that the President “has got to balance living and livelihood” because poverty has “a negative consequence that lingers for decades if not generations.”
“He is understandably concerned not simply about our health — he’s done a great job of trying to balance that — but he’s also concerned about the economic health of this nation,” Scott said. “We both know that poverty kills, and so what he’s trying to do is to position this economy to come back with a vengeance.”
Scott then off-handedly theorized that Trump foreshadowed the pandemic during his State of the Union speech.
“I think during his State of the Union speech, when he was talking about the great American comeback, he was talking foreshadowing the necessity of a v-shaped recovery coming out of this virus before we even knew about a virus,” Scott said. “So it’s really important for us to get back to work.”
Scott’s latest remarks come as Trump faces increasing scrutiny over his downplaying of the novel coronavirus early into the outbreak, which included accusing Democrats of “politicizing” COVID-19 by creating a “new hoax.”
Later Sunday, Trump re-upped his praise for Scott’s newly released book in a tweet.
Great book by @SenatorTimScott! https://t.co/9o31w3DhJr
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2020
Watch Scott’s remarks below:
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) says Trump foreshadowed the COVID-19 pandemic and the "necessity of a v-shaped recovery" from it during his State of the Union speech pic.twitter.com/uGQnaUJOjJ
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 19, 2020
