MSNBC’s Ali Velshi tore into the Trump administration on Saturday, particularly the two men at the top, for essentially being the last two people on earth who should running a global health emergency response effort.
During a discussion with Joy Reid, Velshi said that Donald Trump and Mike Pence have no credibility to deal with global or domestic crises, from terrorist attacks to natural disasters to mass shootings.
Time and again, the two most powerful men in the world has demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to be straight with the American people.
“The currency of trust is gone,” Velshi said. “So when you look at people selling the markets, it’s not that they’re listening to Democrats or media. They’re saying I’m not getting good information.”
He added, “They’re hoping the government’s honest with them, but we’re not really getting the sense that they are, and that’s when this thing starts to break down.”
Video:
Ali Velshi says Trump and Pence have repeatedly shown that they can’t be trusted in times of crisis. #ctl #p2 #amjoy pic.twitter.com/GzMLfV0Fi3
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 29, 2020
Velshi said:
You look at the president, what do you need from a president? In times of a terrorist attack, you need guidance. What does Donald Trump doing? He talks about Islamic fundamentalism and ignores the threat of home-grown terrorism. In a natural disaster, like hurricanes, you need leadership from the president. What does he do? He draws lines with sharpies on hurricane maps and throws paper towels out to people. In mass shootings, you need guidance and leadership. What does the president do? He echos NRA talking points. So now we’ve got a … possible pandemic, it’s not something we faced before, and the currency of trust is gone. So when you look at people selling the markets, it’s not that they’re listening to Democrats or media. They’re saying I’m not getting good information. You know where you don’t get good information about these diseases? In China and Iran and we’re very critical of those governments who do not test properly, they do not honestly report on when’s going on and we worry that’s why this thing spreads. So this is half medical science and half trust in your government. The president has put Mike Pence in charge of this. Mike Pence in 2000 wrote a blog that said cigarettes don’t cause cancer. I know a lot of us didn’t think it caused cancer, but in 2000 we actually knew it did. Mike Pence spoke about when he was the governor of Indiana, when he was running for Congress as well, about needle exchanges. There was an HIV epidemic. He didn’t believe needle exchanges stopped the transmission of infection. We know that they do. So this is the problem: People are having to make their own decisions because they’re hoping the government’s honest with them, but we’re not really getting the sense that they are, and that’s when this thing starts to break down. When you start finding out there are people at work and people you know who have this stuff and you’re not getting guidance, you’ll make your own decisions.
The Trump administration puts politics before people
As this administration stumbles from crisis to crisis, they have repeatedly shown the country that they are unable or unwilling to set politics aside and be straight with the American people.
As I noted earlier, just days after Trump named him to lead the coronavirus response, Pence is holding political fundraisers.
A president and vice president incapable of putting people over politics has no business leading a global health emergency response.
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