On Sunday, speaking to the press, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that most of the deaths in America from the coronavirus were President Trump’s fault.
A reporter asked, “Given all of the demand still out there that you’ve talked about, how large a package would you like to see President-Elect Biden introduce next year as President and how much money for state and local aid do you think should be in that package?”
Pelosi responded, “Well, we’ll make a judgment all the time about what the needs are. I think that when you see the surge and the Coronavirus, you know that we cannot just think it’s over or that we can ignore it. The denial, the delay, the distortion, the calling it a hoax has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, not all of them attributed to President Trump, but most of them that could have been avoided.”
“So, this is a matter of life and death: the lives of the American people and the livelihood of our economy and their economic security,” she continued. “So we’ll make a judgment as we go forward as to what has changed and what — what may be for the better or may be for the worse as we go forward.”
In mid-July, Pelosi stated that “thousands of Americans” had died because of Trump. Speaking on CNN’s “Situation Room” with host Wolf Blitzer, the two had this exchange:
Blitzer:But let me start with the President’s news conference he just had. He encouraged people to go ahead and wear masks, he admitted that things would get worse before they get better, eventually it will disappear. How far do you think all that goes in addressing this crisis that is still killing hundreds of Americans every single day?
Pelosi: 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, it is a pandemic that has gotten worse before it will get better because of his inaction. And, in fact, clearly, it is the Trump virus.
Blitzer: Well, what do you mean when you say the Trump virus?
Pelosi: The Trump virus: if he had said months ago, let’s wear masks and let’s not – let’s socially distance instead of rallies and whatever they were, then more people would have followed his lead. He’s the President of the United States. Instead of being a bad example, like a manhood thing not to wear a mask.
So, in any event, it was weird because a briefing on the coronavirus should be about science, and that is something the President has ignored. It should be about governance and, now, he’s finally embracing – saying it is okay to wear a mask. So, I think a good deal of what we have suffered is clearly the Trump virus.
Blitzer: So what you are saying is that thousands of Americans have died because of what the President has done or not done; is that what you are saying?
Pelosi: Yeah. Yes, that’s what I am saying. I think it’s clearly evident.