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‘MUST WATCH’: Dan Crenshaw Debunks The Left’s Coronavirus Claims; Trump Responds

   DailyWire.com
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) speaks on “The Fate of Our Culture and Our Nation Hangs in the Balance” during the CPAC Direct Action Training at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center February 26, 2020 in National Harbor, Maryland. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to address the annual event on February 29th. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw has had enough of the Left’s narrative about the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that leaves out key context and distorts the actual sequence of events. Along with repeatedly calling out members of the media who have attempted to blame President Trump for both the death toll and the economic devastation, Crenshaw has taken aim at his fellow lawmakers on the other side of the aisle promoting the same partisan portrayal of how the president and his administration have responded the crisis.

In a video he posted on social media Friday, the former Navy SEAL took a few minutes to unpack and debunk the Left’s “hyperbolic and hypocritical” attacks on the Trump administration. “You are being bombarded with the left’s hyperbolic and hypocritical attacks about the Trump Administration’s response to coronavirus,” he tweeted. “It’s disingenuous and counterproductive, so it’s time to debunk this false narrative with facts.”

On Sunday, President Trump promoted the video, writing “BRILLIANT, A MUST WATCH!”

“You are being bombarded right now by these really over the top accusations agains the president — that he’s got ‘blood on his hands,’ that his ‘denial’ and ‘delay’ has ‘cost lives’ and that, basically, he took no action until it was too late,” says the popular Texas Republican in his latest “here’s the truth” video. “The question is: Is any of this true?”

Crenshaw goes on to walk through the timeline of coronavirus-related events and Trump’s decisions — as well as the Democrats’ obstructive actions — to make the case that the Left’s coronavirus response narrative is not just misleading, but often 180 degrees wrong. Video below:

Over the last few weeks, Crenshaw has made similar arguments in response to various figures on the Left, including  in an appearance on Bill Maher’s show and in a tweet thread posted in response to a Washington Post op-ed titled “Trump’s Inaction Has A Staggering Toll” by Jennifer Rubin published Wednesday.

In the piece, Rubin attempts to blame Trump’s “utter incompetence” for the massive damage done by the pandemic, both in terms of human lives and the economy. Trump is guilty of “delinquency in acting to protect Americans against the pandemic” and “ongoing failure to ramp up testing, which would allow economic reengagement,” Rubin claimed. According to the columnist, Trump did not shut down the country fast enough “when the WHO sounded its alarm” and failed to “ramp up testing at a massive scale” and “prepare our health-care system” to handle the pandemic.

As The Daily Wire reported, Crenshaw responded in a lengthy thread (formatting adjusted):

STOP. REWRITING. HISTORY. Instead of attempting to spin the public into a hateful, frightened frenzy, let’s try reporting some facts with the correct context … On March 3rd, the day after you claim Trump should have shut our economy down, this is how the WHO downplayed the virus:  “COVID-19 spreads less efficiently than flu, transmission does not appear to be driven by people who are not sick”

Would the America public really have accepted millions of jobs destroyed for a virus that had infected just 102 people by March 2? Especially considering Italy would not lock down until March 10th, Spain on March 14th, and the UK on March 23? A bit of context is in order here.

I want to respond to this particular comment: “Because we did not act earlier to ramp up testing at a massive scale and prepare our health-care system, social distancing — shutting down most of the economy — was required.” Not sure where the magic COVID-19 testing switch is. The truth is that long-standing regulations – in place for decades – prevented us from doing so. [links to PolitiFact report finding FDA regulations did slow testing]

Additionally, you falsely state that social distancing should have been a “last resort.” But this has no basis in fact. Experts have long said flattening the curve via social distancing is the only way to prevent the initial case spike that would overwhelm hospitals. First, you argue that we should have shut down the economy weeks before we did. Then, you argue that the shut down, resulting job loss, and economic devastation are his fault too. Which is it? You can’t have it both ways.

Your analysis makes it seem like our government deliberately decided not to buy more PPE. The truth is there was a global production shortage when China began stopping exports, and demand soared. This is still happening.

While you argue that Trump ignored early warning signs, you ignore the headlines that ran on the pages of your paper in January and February. Here are a couple: [includes screenshots from The Washington Post] When it’s all said and done, this bad-faith analysis isn’t fact-based and lacks important context. Hating Trump is not an excuse for lazy argumentation and emotional reasoning. Now, more than ever, we need critical thinking and productive deliberation.

Related: Crenshaw ‘Wrecks’ Bill Maher Over Trump Coronavirus Response; Internet Erupts: Likely ‘Run For President’ One Day

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