After expressing sympathy for the commander in chief, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized President Trump for his “brazen” behavior leading up to his COVID-19 diagnosis.
“We receive that news with great sadness. I always pray for the president and his family that they’re safe. I’ll continue to do so more intensified,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Friday.
“This is tragic. It’s very sad. But it is also something that — again, going into crowds unmasked and all the rest is sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen,” the California Democrat continued.
Trump announced early Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after a campaign event in Bedminster, New Jersey. The announcement followed the revelation that senior counselor Hope Hicks had also tested positive.
[LIST: People in Trump’s orbit tested for COVID-19]
Pelosi expressed hope that the Trumps’ diagnoses would be a catalyst for renewed commitment of social distancing and wearing masks during the pandemic. “Maybe now that people who see the president of the United States, with all the protection that he has and the first lady, still having this exposure, it might be, as you say, a learning experience,” she said.
Asked by Ruhle whether Trump’s announcement had spurred conversations with the White House about continuity of government in the event of Trump’s death, Pelosi responded: “That is an ongoing, not with the White House but with the military, quite frankly. … Thank God the vice president has tested negatively … I wouldn’t go so much to that.”
“That continuity is always in place,” she said.
