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Schumer rips Mulvaney over ‘Orwellian’ coronavirus remarks

by Jordain Carney - 02/28/20 2:24 PM ET
by Jordain Carney - 02/28/20 2:24 PM ET
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) lashed out at Mick Mulvaney on Friday after the acting White House chief of staff accused the media of reporting on the coronavirus as part of an effort to “take down the president.”
 

Schumer argued in a statement that the Trump administration had “learned nothing from the Chinese government’s failure to quickly and transparently combat the coronavirus.”

 
“For Mick Mulvaney to suggest that Americans turn off their TVs and bury their heads in the sand when they’re worried about a global health pandemic is Orwellian, counterproductive, dangerous, and would be repeating China’s mistake,” Schumer added. 
 
Mulvaney, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, accused the media of peddling a false narrative about the administration “scrambling” to contain the virus and said the press was ignoring the coronavirus until now because publications were too preoccupied with Trump’s impeachment before that.
 
The White House official added that to “calm the markets” he would “turn the television off for 24 hours,” as fears of a widespread coronavirus outbreak in the United States have roiled Wall Street this week. 
 
Earlier House Democrats received a briefing on the coronavirus, with lawmakers voicing “frustration” afterward about the lack of transparency.   
 
Schumer echoed that in his statement, saying there needed to be “more transparency from the government, and that the American people need to hear the unfiltered truth directly from the scientists and health experts.”

“President Trump and his team have to stop blaming everyone but themselves, focus less on political rallies and more on solutions to combat the spread of coronavirus,” he added.

The Trump administration’s efforts to combat the virus are coming under increasing scrutiny. The virus has been contained in the U.S. thus far, but health officials have said that its spread is likely. The World Health Organization on Friday increased its coronavirus risk assessment to “very high.”

Tags Chuck Schumer Donald Trump Mick Mulvaney

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