LISTEN: Perdue Tries to Rewrite History After Trump Praised Chinese Government’s Coronavirus Response

After Trump administration failed to adequately prepare for the coronavirus outbreak and praised Chinese leaders, Perdue says Trump should get “high marks” for coronavirus response

ATLANTA — As Senator David Perdue continues trying to distract from his stock trading scandal, he’s now attempting to rewrite the record on President Donald Trump’s disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Perdue is now claiming that the White House deserves “high marks” for “stand[ing] up to China” even as President Trump applauded the Chinese government’s coronavirus response and sent 18 tons of critical medical supplies as Georgia and states across the country face dire shortages.

Let’s check the record on Trump’s praise of the Chinese government as the coronavirus outbreak progressed:

January 24th: While his own administration was receiving intelligence reports that “Chinese officials appeared to be minimizing the severity of the outbreak,” Trump instead claimed “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus,” and that he “greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency.” He went as far as to say that, “on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”

February 7th: Even after the Trump administration received reports from within the West Wing about the potential severity of the coronavirus outbreak, Trump sent “nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to the Chinese people, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials” — and he again praised Chinese President Xi Jinping.

March 27th: Trump claimed he had “much respect” for the Chinese government, again praised President Xi while saying that he and the Chinese government were “working closely together” in response to coronavirus. 

April 2nd: Despite Trump’s numerous statements praising the Chinese government’s coronavirus response, Perdue claims that Trump “should get high marks” for “stand[ing] up to China and call[ing] them out for their nefarious activities.”

Widespread reporting shows that the Trump administration “wasted months” to prepare for the outbreak while Trump himself “played down the seriousness of the virus and focused on other issues.” And after Trump shipped away 18 tons of medical supplies, the US stockpile “is nearly out of the N95 respirators, surgical masks, face shields, gowns and other medical supplies desperately needed to protect front-line medical workers.” But while Georgia health care providers are still “scrambling” after the state received only “one-quarter of the requested N95 masks and just over a third of requested ventilators,” Perdue is more focused on rewriting history on behalf of the administration than helping Georgians. 

“Georgia families are struggling to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, but Senator David Perdue is more focused on scoring political points with the White House than being honest with Georgians,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Instead of holding the administration accountable for their poor response to the coronavirus, Perdue is trying to rewrite history after reports showed just how ill-prepared the White House was to handle this public health crisis.”

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