US Democratic House Representative Ayanna Pressley lambasted US President Donald Trump’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the US, saying that the president's lack of decisive action is “akin to war crimes”, adding that the White House pandemic response is itself “a crisis within a crisis”.
The lawmaker, during a virtual press conference with a number of House Representatives, called for providing “robust and long-term” financial assistance to Americans, regardless of their immigration status, within the next phase of the coronavirus stimulus package.
Pressley also called for repairing the “systemic and structural injustice” that is “disproportionately borne by black and brown communities”.
“The virus does not discriminate by race, income or immigration status and neither should our relief efforts,” Pressley said, adding that “this hurt is unprecedented, it is being felt by everyone, and the relief should be felt by everyone”.
The Dem Rep claimed that the ongoing pandemic is causing “discriminatory and hateful and hurtful legislation” that has long been “killing” people of color is now occurring “much more bluntly”.
“So as far as I’m concerned, what’s happening with this administration, it’s akin to war crimes — criminal negligence, science denials, a sluggish response,” the lawmaker observed. “And so we find ourselves in the position of playing catch up in the midst of a pandemic, which is the last place that you want to be in the midst of any public health crisis and certainly not a pandemic”.
Democrats have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of slow response to the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country and have continued to criticize the way the president and his advisers are handling the situation currently, as the US remains the nation most affected by the new disease.
Trump has made claims that the COVID-19 crisis in the US could not have been foreseen in the early stages of its spread. He also suggested, without offering details, that “a lot of people” are blaming Democrats for the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the US, alleging that lawmakers have been overly focused on his impeachment.
As of Tuesday, the United States has registered 823,257 coronavirus infections, compared to 783,290 recorded roughly 24 hours earlier, marking an increase of 39,967, according to JHU’s data. The death toll stands at 45,105, according to JHU.