Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee criticized President Trump on Sunday for not putting forth a more centralized response from the federal government to combat the coronavirus.
“This is ludicrous that we do not have a national effort to combat this,” Inslee said Sunday on Meet The Press. “To say we’re a backup … Can you imagine if Franklin Delano Roosevelt said ‘I’ll be right behind you Connecticut, good luck building those battleships.'”
Inslee was making a reference to comments from U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who predicted the coming week will be similar to Pearl Harbor as the number of confirmed cases and deaths from the virus skyrocket.
“Well, it’s tragically fitting that we’re talking at the beginning of Holy Week because this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly,” Adams said on Fox News Sunday. “This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment; only it’s not going to be localized. It’s going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that.”
WATCH: @GovInslee says it is “ludicrous that we do not have a national effort” against the coronavirus. #MTP
Gov. Inslee: “To say we are a backup … Can you imagine if Franklin Roosevelt said ‘I’ll be right behind you Connecticut, good luck building those battleships.'” pic.twitter.com/uAudl3SxAU
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) April 5, 2020
Inslee, whose state was among the first to see a widespread outbreak of the disease, called for a nationalized “mobilization” of America’s manufacturing base to provide states with gloves, masks, and other life-saving medical equipment.
” … we can get these companies, instead of making cup holders start making visors,” Inslee said.
Trump recently enacted the Defense Production Act, eliminating red tape bogging down the supply chain for medical safety material and directing companies such as General Motors to use their facilities and logistics to manufacture needed supplies.
Inslee, who ran for the Democratic nomination for president this year, called on Trump to be more aggressive in taking on what the president has called a “silent enemy.”
“If he wants to be a wartime president, be a wartime president,” Inslee said. “Show some leadership, mobilize the industrial base of the United States.”
