Stacey Abrams: “Willful Ignorance” Has Led U.S. Coronavirus Response

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Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams says the United States’ coronavirus response under President Donald Trump and the Republican Party has been characterized by “willful ignorance.”

“One of the deep disappointments of the current administration is their willful ignorance and their willingness to ignore the challenges that present themselves in real time,” Abrams said in a virtual Reuters Newsmaker event.

Abrams added that the U.S. is “failing” its test to show the world that it has the capability to deal with its response to the pandemic, which has already claimed nearly 160,000 lives in the U.S. alone.

Abrams recommended that Trump and Republicans fund election security measures as part of the coronavirus relief bill currently being negotiated in the U.S. Senate, saying that election funding would help state officials deal with what’s sure to be a wave of mail-in ballots and provide an adequate number of polling sites nationwide.

“The United States knows how to run elections, we just have to agree to do it properly,” she said. “Our bottom line is we have to have a full tool box of methods of voting.”

Yesterday, Abrams suggested Trump’s refusal to fund the U.S. Postal Service could have dire consequences for the election.

“We will not be able to effectively count the votes of every eligible American because he’s doing his best to undermine our confidence in the process, but worst he’s doing best to actually steal the vote by undermining the postal service,” Abrams said.

“Unfortunately his partisan leader that he’s put in charge of the post office is doing his best to undermine one of the core pillars of our society, which is our ability to communicate,” she added, referring to Louis DeJoy, whose actions as Postmaster General prompted Congressional scrutiny.