NEW DSCC Video Highlights Senate Republicans’ Refusal To Hold Trump Accountable For Failed Coronavirus Response

As Coronavirus Surges Across The Country, Senate Republicans Still Refuse To Act On Needed Relief For Struggling Families and Communities

The DSCC released a new video today calling out vulnerable GOP Senate candidates for failing to hold President Trump accountable for botching the coronavirus response. Republicans on the ballot have openly praised Trump’s response and shown little willingness to hold him accountable — even in the face of growing evidence over the last several months of the White House’s failure to contain the surging outbreak.

Just this weekend, Trump repeated his claim that the virus is “going to disappear” on its own, has threatened to hold federal funding hostage unless schools fully reopen, and is now trying to block funding for testing and contact tracing. Senate Republicans are now attempting to distance themselves from Trump’s inadequate response, even as they “have avoided direct confrontation” with a president who exercises “nearly total control over his party.” 

WATCH:

The failed leadership from Washington Republicans has compounded the crisis and the United States has led the world in reported coronavirus cases and deaths, as more than 50 million American workers have filed initial claims for unemployment relief. Even as Republican senators return to Washington after failing for months to take action on additional coronavirus relief, they are prioritizing liability protections for corporations, looking to “cut taxes for people who have jobs while cutting benefits for the unemployed,” and obstructing “any new aid for states and cities.” 

“Vulnerable GOP senators own their party’s mismanaged coronavirus response just the same as President Trump does, and it’s one more reason voters will fire them in November,” said DSCC spokesperson Helen Kalla. “Their refusal to pass additional needed relief for struggling communities and unwillingness to hold the White House accountable as the crisis worsens across the country is yet another example of Senate Republicans’ spineless adherence to the party line at the expense of their constituents.”

Take a look at some of the praise of Trump’s pandemic response from vulnerable Republicans, as highlighted in the DSCC’s new video:

• Sen. David Perdue (GA): “I give President Trump a lot of credit. I mean he recognized early this could be serious.”

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC): “I think the president has made really hard calls well and we’re going to be well below the 100,000 minimum expected.”

• Sen. Cory Gardner (CO): “The president took unprecedented action at the very front end of coronavirus.”

• Sen. Martha McSally (AZ): “President Trump took decisive actions early on.”

• Sen. Mitch McConnell (KY): “I think the president is doing very, very well…and I’m proud of the way he’s been handling it.”

• Sen. Joni Ernst (IA): “I think that the response by the administration has been absolutely appropriate.”

• Failed politician John James (MI): “I think the president has done everything that he possibly thought was best.”

• Sen. Susan Collins (ME): “The president seems to have everybody organized on the same team and speaking effectively in one voice.”

• Sen. John Cornyn (TX): “The president has, I think, led well.”

• Sen. Steve Daines (MT): “The administration is doing exactly the right thing.”

• Sen. Thom Tillis (NC): “I think the president is taking every step he can to help the health and safety of the people of the United States.”

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