LANSING– After Trump’s erratic and inadequate COVID-19 response, he has desperately sought to blame anybody but himself for his failure to lead in a time of crisis. Now, after repeatedly failing to hold China accountable on trade, he is attempting to pass the buck to them for his failure to contain COVID-19. Here are five times he praised China’s response before they became the latest scapegoat:
- January 24: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.”
- February 7: “I just spoke to President Xi last night, and, you know, we’re working on the — the problem, the virus. It’s a — it’s a very tough situation. But I think he’s going to handle it. I think he’s handled it really well.”
- February 10: “Well, I think China is very, you know, professionally run in the sense that they have everything under control. I really believe they are going to have it under control fairly soon… World Health Organization and a lot of them are composed of our people. They’re fantastic.”
- February 18: “Look, I know this: President Xi loves the people of China, he loves his country, and he’s doing a very good job with a very, very tough situation.”
- February 29: “And I want to say that China seems to be making tremendous progress. Their numbers are way down. And if you read, Tim Cook of Apple said that they are now in full operation again in China. Their numbers are way down.”
“Donald Trump has desperately flailed while trying to blame anybody but himself for his erratic and inadequate COVID-19 response,” said Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Christian Slater. “The truth is, he failed and Michigan voters will hold him accountable in November.”
