White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Friday defended the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus and accused the media of covering the crisis to hurt the president.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mulvaney told the audience that the media is only covering the spread of coronavirus because it’s out to get President Donald Trump, according to the New York Times’ Annie Karni.
Mulvaney accused the American media of using coronavirus as a political weapon, despite the fact that concerns about the virus led Japan to shut down its schools for at least a month.
“They think this will bring down the president,” Mulvaney said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
He then downplayed the health risks to Americans who contract the virus by arguing that the virus won’t kill everyone who contracts it despite the fact that it has killed thousands in China alone.
“It’s not a death sentence,” he said. “It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis.”
More Mulvaney: "It’s not a death sentence. It’s not the same as the Ebola crisis. "
— Annie Karni (@anniekarni) February 28, 2020
In fact, it’s estimated that the mortality rate from contracting coronavirus is two percent, which is why several governments across the world are taking significant measures to protect their people from getting infected.
