LA mayor blames Trump for coronavirus surge: ‘We’ve seen no national leadership’

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) blamed President Trump for a lack of leadership as the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across Los Angeles County and said the city was “on the brink” of another stay-at-home order. 

Los Angeles shut down in March, when there were relatively few cases nationwide, then opened and later had to shutter many of its businesses again along with much of California as case numbers spiked. CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Garcetti on Sunday what went wrong. 

“I think a lot of things went wrong here,” Garcetti responded on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“We’ve seen no national leadership,” the mayor added. 

Garcetti said Los Angeles officials were forced to deal with “so much outside of our lane,” including managing testing and other factors tied to the coronavirus pandemic. 

He also slammed Trump for not wearing a face mask for months and for sending a message to Americans that the coronavirus pandemic was under control. 

“I think when leaders say that, people react,” Garcetti said, adding that it causes people to stop socially distancing and stop wearing face masks.

“This was politicized when it should have been unified. We were left on our own when we should have had help,” he added. “We know this will be a marathon. Stop telling people this will be over soon … if we don’t come together as a nation with national leadership we will see more people die.” 

He pushed Trump to take charge and lead the nation through the surge in cases. 

“[It’s the] last chance for the president to prove he cares about the people of this country,” Garcetti said. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) last week shut down several indoor activities and all bar operations amid rising coronavirus cases across the state. 

Tapper asked Garcetti how much worse the coronavirus surge has to get in Los Angeles before he issues another stay-at-home order. 

“I think we’re on the brink of it,” Garcetti said. 

The mayor added, however, that he thinks officials need to take a “surgical” approach targeting hardest hit areas rather than an order that “would just shut everything down.”