CNN’s Harlow, Trump adviser Schlapp clash on Trump’s handling of pandemic

Trump campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp and CNN anchor Poppy Harlow had a heated exchange on Friday about President Trump’s COVID-19 response.

The exchange came as Harlow questioned why Trump continues “to downplay the severity” of the coronavirus pandemic, eliciting a sharp response from Schlapp. 

“For months and months, why did the president continue to downplay the severity of this?” Harlow asked Schlapp.

“That is so false what you are saying, Poppy,” Schlapp responded before adding that the president had taken “decisive and bold actions from the beginning.”

“When his medical experts came to him and said, ‘Look, we need to put these travel restrictions on China,’ the president acted immediately,” Schlapp added.

Harlow later pivoted to medical supplies and resources on the state level, citing comments from governors that “they don’t have the resources they need.”

“What are you talking about?” Schlapp asked.

Harlow proceeded to play a clip of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) who said it was “hopeless” to wait for Trump’s help on fighting the virus.

“This president and the vice president — the coronavirus team — have been actively working on getting a vaccine, have been actively working on ensuring that we are getting these dosages of remdesivir to ensure that that helps across the board,” Schlapp responded. “We are deploying HHS teams in these hot spots. We are also ensuring that we are deploying thousands of doctors and nurses to these states.”

The exchange comes as Trump’s approval ratings have sunk recently amid voter concerns about his response to the coronavirus, putting him on the defensive on an issue expected to shape the election in November.