Mike Pence Thinks There Has Been “Irresponsible Rhetoric” Around Coronavirus AND YES MIKE, WE AGREE

In an interview on the Today show, Mike Pence said Thursday that he thinks there has been “irresponsible rhetoric” around the coronavirus.

In response to a question from Savannah Guthrie regarding what message he’d like to send to people who aren’t concerned about the virus, Pence admitted that “There’s been some irresponsible rhetoric, but the American people should know President Trump has no higher priority than the health and safety and well being of the people of this country.” So he didn’t specifically say Donald Trump is the person spouting that rhetoric but it sure seems like that’s what he means and we most definitely agree.

Trump, after all, has been saying for weeks that the virus is not a big deal, that it’s basically the flu but not as serious, even going so far as to push the idea that Democrats and the media are deliberately blowing the crisis out of proportion for political gain.

By repeatedly downplaying the potential risks of the virus and by mocking and blaming those expressing concern and trying to keep themselves and others informed, Trump has created a dangerous environment. The kind of environment that leads to stunts like this:

Talk about irresponsible.

Now, though, Trump is turning things around. In recent days, he’s switched to performative caution and he just declared a national emergency in response to the virus.

He did all that without ever acknowledging the damage he’d already done.

But somehow, Trump is managing to not just convince people this is No Big Deal, but also getting them to simultaneously panic.

When Trump announced a travel ban from Europe (excluding the UK), he forgot to mention that that wouldn’t apply to Americans living or traveling abroad.

That’s all just a drop in the bucket of “irresponsible rhetoric” that’s been coming out of this administration so yes, Mike Pence, you and everyone around you is acting incredibly irresponsibly. Glad we agree on that.

(image: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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