George Conway is firing back at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for blaming President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus on the impeachment trial.
Shortly after McConnell made headlines for the remarks, Conway penned an op-ed in The Washington Post where he detailed the timeline of events and how it contradicts McConnell’s claim.
Conway noted that the impeachment trial — which ended on Feb. 5 — was “over before it even started, thanks in large part to McConnell.”
The attorney also shed light on the roles of responsibility during the impeachment trial.
While lawyers in the executive branch and Congress devoted the majority of their time to the impeachment trial, Conway argued government officials were not as consumed with the trial as McConnell claims.
Conway also noted Trump’s travels during January and February. Despite the impeachment trial, the president managed to squeeze in “at least four” trips to Mar-a-Lago in the schedule and held multiple campaign rallies in different states.
He went on to remind readers of Trump’s reference in late January to China’s battle with the coronavirus via Twitter.
China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020
In January, the president also spoke about the virus at his campaign rally in Michigan. To Conway, this proves Trump was well aware of the potential havoc America could face from the coronavirus.
Conway concluded by blaming Trump for the delayed handling of the coronavirus and accused McConnell of also playing a part in the crisis due to his refusal to remove the president.
“For Trump, it’s always about Trump and only Trump. If anything, it was McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans’ refusal to remove him, not the impeachment itself, that helped bring us to where we are today.”
Conway’s remarks follow McConnell’s phone interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. During Tuesday’s call, Hewitt asked McConnell if Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was the first to express concern about the potential severity of the coronavirus. McConnell admitted that Cotton was.
“He was first,” McConnell said of Cotton, adding, “And I think Tom was right on the mark.”
Then, McConnell went on to share the reason why he believes the government did not act immediately. He suggested the impeachment trial diverted the president’s attention from daily government affairs.
“It came up while we were tied down on the impeachment trial,” he continued. “And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment.”
Listen to McConnell’s interview below:
The coronavirus is continuing to spread throughout cities and states across the country. There were more than 189,000 positive cases in the U.S., as of Wednesday morning.
