The Trump administration has come under fire for their response to the coronavirus from both parties. Recently, Scott Jennings, the strategist for Senator Mitch McConnell, spoke to CNN and defended the administration’s response, only to get humiliated in the end.
Jennings appeared on CNN to discuss the response to the pandemic, with cases all over the world increasing over time since the outbreak in December of 2019. Jalissa Washington-Price, a former coordinator for Senator Kamala Harris, explained how everyone, especially the Democrats, is sticking to the issues at hand regarding the coronavirus.
Jennings then cut in by saying that although he agrees that the coronavirus should be taken seriously, he does not think the Democratic candidates, such as former vice president Joe Biden and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg are doing exactly that. Jennings went on to say that Biden and Bloomberg are spreading misinformation and inciting fear and panic. “I agree with you. We should be treating this seriously. But when Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg and other Democrats jump on a stage in South Carolina and tell their supporters that the president and his administration have defunded the Centers for Disease Control, who is inciting public panic? Who is taking this seriously? That is a flat falsehood. Funding for the CDC has increased.”
However, CNN anchor Victor Blackwell cut in their argument. “Is that what he proposed in his budget? Aside from what has – the increase in the funding, what was in the president’s budget for the CDC?” Jennings insisted that Trump did not “defund” the CDC. This prompted Blackwell to ask him some more follow up questions to his statement.
“Did it cut funding for the CDC? Did he propose a cut for the CDC?” asked Blackwell, to which Jennings could only respond by repeating his answer that the Trump did not defund the CDC, but added that Trump proposed reductions for federal spending all over.
Blackwell continued to rip into Jennings after his remarks. “To say the CDC was defunded is incorrect. It is wrong. But we should point out, the president proposed a funding cut for the CDC. He also said there will be a miracle that comes along and will take care of the coronavirus, and when the weather changes that coronavirus cases will decrease.”