NBC host Chuck Todd claimed Vice President Mike Pence and other Republicans are gaslighting the public about Democrats blaming President Trump for the coronavirus.
Several Republicans, including Trump, have accused Democrats of using the coronavirus as a club to hit the White House rather than expressing concern about the situation. During a Sunday interview on Meet the Press, Todd asked Pence to explain why some Republicans were making such statements.
“What facts are there that Democrats are doing this?” Todd asked. “It seems like people are asking questions and are concerned about the virus. This implies some sort of political motivation, which is kind of gross.”
Pence responded, “I will tell you, there’s been a lot of irresponsible rhetoric among Democrats and commentators on the Left.”
“Name some names, sir,” Todd said. “Because this is just — it just feels like gaslighting. Please, name some names. We’re all big. We’re all big people here. Name some names.”
Pence referenced a New York Times article by Gail Collins that suggested the coronavirus should be renamed “Trumpvirus” as one example. Todd conceded that as an example but continued to confront Pence, saying, “Does that apply to all?”
“I never begrudge people responding to unwarranted, unjustified attacks,” Pence said. “But I promise you, we are going to continue to focus on the mission the president’s given this task force and given this government, and that is, we’re going to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear.”
So far, more than 88,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus, which is also called the COVID-19 virus, since the outbreak began in 2020. Nearly 3,000 have died from the disease, including one man in the United States.
