Fox’s Martha MacCallum is pressing White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on her criticism of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D).
Conway appeared on Fox News late Wednesday to discuss President Donald Trump’s task force, the $2 million stimulus package, and the coronavirus response efforts.
But during the interview, Conway opted to criticize de Blasio and accuse him of lying to America about his counter-coronavirus response efforts. She also accused de Blasio of downplaying the serious nature of the coronavirus.
Conway referenced a tweet de Blasio posted on March 2 encouraging New Yorkers to go on with their lives “despite coronavirus.” The tweet was shared at a time when the spread of the coronavirus was starting to accelerate.
Since I’m encouraging New Yorkers to go on with your lives + get out on the town despite Coronavirus, I thought I would offer some suggestions. Here’s the first: thru Thurs 3/5 go see “The Traitor” @FilmLinc. If “The Wire” was a true story + set in Italy, it would be this film.
— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) March 3, 2020
Conway attempted to offer a “contrast in leadership” comparing Trump’s leadership and coronavirus response.
“I think it shows you the contrast in leadership when you have feckless leaders,” Conway said, referring to de Blasio, “Or when you have a president, who’s publicly facing every single day, giving people information, engagement they need.”
MacCullum interjected and reminded Conway of Trump’s coronavirus response timeline and his early attempts to downplay the severity of the virus.
The Fox host also suggested that de Blasio may have led by example, noting in flaws the president’s leadership and response efforts.
“But Kellyanne,” MacCallum interjected, “In terms of the things that you’re mentioning, you could probably match up some of those early statements from him with also similarly optimistic statements from President Trump, although they’ve handled it very differently since then.”
Conway quickly responded by saying, “There’s no comparison between the two leaders,” adding, “There’s no comparison.”
However, MacCallum wasn’t deterred. She attempted to bring the conversation back to the focal point, reiterating where the comparison was made — de Blasio and Trump’s early responses.
She pressed, “In terms of get out and live your life and go ahead and do what you’re doing, back in early March?”
While Conway noted evidence to support her arguments about de Blasio’s early actions, she did not deny Trump’s early statements about the coronavirus. Instead, she went on to note his latest approval rating.