President Donald Trump using his opponents’ arguments against them.
As the coronavirus has spread, several Democrats have claimed he did not take the coronavirus threat seriously enough when it began spreading in the country.
Trump has been criticized for claiming that “it’s going to be just fine” in regard to the outbreak in its early days. But he was not the only encouraging Americans to continue with their daily lives.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump took aim at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and shared a video of her from late-February encouraging people to visit Chinatown despite the coronavirus outbreak.
“Crazy Nancy Pelosi deleted this from her Twitter account. She wanted everyone to pack into Chinatown long after I closed the BORDER TO CHINA,” Trump wrote.
He added, “Based on her statement, she is responsible for many deaths. She’s an incompetent, third-rate politician!”
Crazy Nancy Pelosi deleted this from her Twitter account. She wanted everyone to pack into Chinatown long after I closed the BORDER TO CHINA. Based on her statement, she is responsible for many deaths. She’s an incompetent, third-rate politician! pic.twitter.com/uWNI7DCG3o
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 16, 2020
In the video from February 24, Pelosi is heard saying, “It’s exciting to be here, especially at this time, to be able to be unified with our community.”
She continued, “We want to be vigilant about what is out there in other places. We want to be careful about how we deal with it, but we do want to say to people ‘Come to Chinatown, here we are — we’re, again, careful, safe — and come join us.”
Trump pointed out in the tweet that Pelosi’s comments came after he had banned travel from China. He announced the travel ban on January 31.
Many have noted that Trump was not the only public official who encouraged Americans to carry on with their daily lives. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged New Yorkers to continue their daily routines as late as March 11, as IJR has previously reported.