Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) says the news that President Donald Trump contracted COVID-19 should be a “lesson to all of us.”
Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle editorial board, “I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us.”
“I think he got out over his skis, and frankly, I think it’s a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self-discipline,” he added.
Cornyn’s comments come after he was asked about Trump’s aversion to wearing masks and his decision to continue to hold events with social distancing.
However, Cornyn said the president “demonstrated the seriousness of the virus” by implementing a travel restriction on China and signing coronavirus aide bills.
Still, he said the president’s messaging “creates confusion.”
“He tries to balance that with saying, ‘Well, you know, we got this.’ And clearly, we don’t have this,” he said, adding, “I think the biggest mistake people make in public life is not telling the truth, particularly in something with as much public interest as here because you know the real story is going to come out.”
Cornyn’s comments come days after Trump revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
After the president’s positive test results, he was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. But by Monday, his physician Dr. Sean Conley said Trump had “met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria.”
“Though he may not entirely out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president’s safe return home, where he’ll be surrounded by world-class medical care 24/7,” he added.
After Trump tested positive, three Republican senators, First Lady Melania Trump, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, also tested positive for the virus.
Despite feeling that the president let his guard down, Cornyn said he prefers Trump over Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, “If you’re asking me to choose between the policies of a Biden presidency with the pressure he’ll get from the left of his own party … I would vote for the president and his policies.”