Trump actually did address coronavirus during impeachment, but he didn't take it seriously.
From the March 31 edition of Salem Radio Network's "The Hugh Hewitt Show":
HUGH HEWITT: Let me talk to you a little about Sen. [Tom] Cotton. Politico yesterday recognized him as the first to the bell. In your experience in the Senate, was Sen. Cotton the first one to say, "Hey, Leader, hey, Mitch, this is a deadly situation, I do not trust the Chinese." Was he first?
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): He was first and I think Tom was right on the mark and it came up while we were, you know, tied down in impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything, every day was all about impeachment.
Tom figured this out early, and he was absolutely right.
McConnell isn't the first Republican to claim that the impeachment trial, which ended Feb. 5, is to blame for Trump's delayed and inadequate response to the coronavirus. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner blamed the impeachment for Trump's lax response, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Trump "did lose 'precious weeks' forced to defend himself," although Trump never testified or attended the trial.
In reality, the Trump administration tackled many policy issues during the impeachment trial and even addressed elements of the coronavirus outbreak, but did not take the threat seriously.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), despite McConnell's characterization of his statements, has been promoting racist conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus that have been debunked by experts in biology and science.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
