Congressman Adam Smith said he believes it was not China’s responsibility to warn the United States about the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated within its borders.
In a speech on the House floor Tuesday, Smith voiced his opposition to a proposed measure called the Defend COVID Research from Hackers Act. Rep. Mark Green proposed adding it as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Smith said that rushing the amendment through would be a mistake.
He also argued that laying the blame at China’s doorstep was not totally fair.
“One of the gentleman’s arguments,” he said in reference to Green, “was that China hid the true risk of the virus from the American people, and yes, that is terrible that China did that. It’s not actually their job to warn the American people. It’s the president’s job to warn the American people.”
In response to the congressman’s statement, other members could be heard loudly objecting.
“Talk about someone who has done a horrible job of warning us of the true dangers of the virus,” Smith added. “You don’t like mandates? Okay, that’s fine. Let’s have the leader of our country tell us what we ought to do to protect ourselves. He is the one who is not warning the American people of the true danger of this virus.”
Smith chided President Trump for not being more apt to warn people to wear masks.
Hours later, in a press conference, Trump told reporters that he thought the virus would “get worse before it gets better” and urged citizens to wear masks.
“We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask. Get a mask, whether you like the mask or not,” he said. “They have an impact. They’ll have an effect, and we need everything we can get.”
