Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday issued a blistering assessment of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, charging Trump with “delay, denial, distortion of reality” on COVID-19.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, Pelosi said the president “does not have the capacity, leadership or plan for testing, tracing, and isolation that is needed,” she wrote.
“Instead, Trump’s delay, denial, distortion of reality and disdain for science has exacted a deadly and preventable human toll,” the Speaker continued.
Pelosi also criticized the president for walking away from coronavirus relief negotiations on Tuesday until after the November election.
“This week, when President Trump walked away from the coronavirus relief negotiations, he walked away from a strategic plan to crush the virus – showcasing his deadly contempt for science, for governance and for the health and lives of the American people,” Pelosi wrote.
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin talked by phone on Wednesday about a stand-alone airline relief package, as the industry has indicated they will lay off thousands of workers this month.
Trump, in what appeared to be a slight change to his tune on Wednesday, urged Congress to send him smaller, stand-alone bills instead of a sweeping stimulus legislation proposed by Pelosi and Mnuchin.
Trump yet again changed his stance on Thursday morning, saying that he was negotiating a “bigger deal” than a narrowly focused package to rescue airlines, but there’s no indication that talks have started on a larger bill.
Pelosi has rejected this piecemeal approach to coronavirus relief.