Democrats and the liberal media have no room to criticize President Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic — their own reaction to the Chinese coronavirus crisis reeks of political opportunism and blatant incompetence.
From the very beginning, the left has treated the coronavirus as an opportunity to score political points. When the White House implemented an early ban on travelers from China, some liberals accused the President of being racist and xenophobic, subordinating concerns about Americans’ health and safety to their normal social justice priorities.
During a campaign rally in January, for instance, former Vice President Joe Biden insisted that “This is no time for Donald Trump’s record of hysteria and xenophobia,” labeling the common-sense move to restrict travel from the epicenter of the outbreak as “fear mongering.”
The mainstream media were equally critical of President Trump’s coronavirus containment strategy, lamenting the fact that travel bans supposedly stigmatize countries and ethnicities in articles with sensationalist headlines such as “The US coronavirus travel ban could backfire.”
Contrary to these smears, prominent disease experts have praised the president for his bold actions, noting in particular that his early decision to limit travel from China likely saved numerous American lives.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently said that the U.S. “would be in a worse position” if not for the President’s travel restrictions. Additionally, he insisted that the magnitude of the outbreak in the U.S. will depend on the government’s ability “to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country.”
Sadly for America, the left’s shameless politicization of COVID-19 continues unabated.
Despite the fact that experts are applauding the White House for limiting travel from countries that are struggling to contain the virus, liberal politicians and the biased media are desperate to portray the administration’s latest travel ban on individuals from Europe, Ireland and the United Kingdom as reckless. The Atlantic, for instance, ran an article arguing that “Trump’s European Travel Ban Doesn’t Make Sense,” while the Nation wrote that “there is a layer of toxic ideological motivation” behind the new travel restriction.
To make matters worse, Democrat lawmakers are obstructing President Trump’s life-saving policies, recently blocking a bipartisan bill that would have expanded doctors’ access to vital respirators and assisted face mask manufacturers. As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pointed out, nothing about the legislation was controversial. But the Democrats refused to let it move forward anyway.
Similarly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeatedly tried to co-opt emergency stimulus legislation to advance long-standing Democrat priorities such as subsidizing the abortion industry.
A deadly virus outbreak is not the time for partisan political obstruction. The American people deserve better from the Democrats and the liberal media than this despicable response to a serious health care crisis.
Harlan Hill is a political advisor, media commentator, and an advisory board member of the Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.