McConnell: Impeachment 'diverted attention' from coronavirus

[lavenderdiva]

Source: Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's impeachment trial distracted the federal government from the coronavirus as it reached the United States in January, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, despite warnings at the time from public health experts and members of Congress about the spread of the deadly virus.

The outbreak "came up while we were tied down on the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government, because everything every day was all about impeachment,'' McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

The Trump administration has been severely criticized for its slow response to the pandemic, especially for the shortage of coronavirus testing kits when the infection first spread to the U.S. from China. Trump initially downplayed the virus, comparing it to the seasonal flu and declaring it may go away on its own. The administration also has been criticized for not supplying needed protective medical gear for health care workers.

McConnell's argument breaks sharply with assurances that the Trump administration made early on about the virus. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who declared a public health emergency Jan. 31, said at the time that the public "can be assured the full weight of the U.S. government is working to safeguard the health and safety of the American people.”

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/McConnell-Impeachment-diverted-attention-from-15168958.php?cmpid=hpctp

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a convenient and wholly false statement by McConnell. But what else is new for him?

[bucolic_frolic]

1. What diverted Moscow Mitch's attention from Merrick Garland? /nt

[mitch96]

39. That huge aluminum plant given to Kentucky by Russian oligarch Derapaska, Putin's buddy.. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Didn't seem to divert His Lardship's attention from golf or rallies.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. So, these people can only work on one thing at a time, eh? Hmmm...sounds like we got some...

lazy a&&es in the Senate, that don't know how to multi-task. Despicable. We need better people in office obviously. He just admitted that they are incompetent, unable to handle more than one thing, and besides, they didn't read any of the evidence, didn't hear any witnesses, etc. that the House of Rep dealt with, so what in the hell were they doing? Sitting on their thumbs?

[Scarsdale]

13. Moscow Mitch was

bribing any gop member who might actually find their spine, and vote to impeach the giant peach. Susan Collins got a big donation to her campaign, Lisa Murkowski got a large donation to a project in Alaska. So McConnell was all tied up. None of them wasted time reading any evidence, or even listened to any tapes. So what the HELL do they do for their generous paychecks, Cadillac health insurance, and cushy retirement checks?

[SWBTATTReg]

15. Really. These people have really tough, very tough questions to answer, and I suspect that ...

they're not going to have any serious answers or give out ridiculous answers, which by then, if we all hear of such crap, there isn't going to be much patience to deal w/ crap like their idiotic answers any longer. Americans are going to be royally pissed at rump and the Senate. Big time. A simmering anger that the gop, if they were smart, would disappear into the woodwork quickly.

[Scarsdale]

36. They are so brazen about

defending tRump even in the worst situations, I wonder why? What do they know that the rest of us don't? One thing is certain, a democratic president who did a minor number of insulting, stupid things tRump has done, and continues to do, would have been GONE long ago. They made a huge deal about President Obama wearing a tan suit! He flew Michelle to New York for a celebratory dinner. They were outraged, listing every penny of the cost. President Obama paid for the meal. Now we have a joke of a president costing taxpayers MILLIONS for golf trips, and they are just fine with that. He violates the emoluments clause DAILY, and it is just fine with them. WHY???

[NCDem47]

38. We have a wanna-be mob president

It is my belief, that the entire GOP:

1. Is more diabolical than Trump himself and wishes they could inflict MORE pain and suffering on criticis/opponents; and

2. Everyone else has been bribed, bullied or blackmailed into submission.

[alwaysinasnit]

4. The implication being that 45 is either too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time, or has

the attention span of a gnat (or maybe even both).

[Scarsdale]

40. Look closer,

those are the QUALITIES that attracted the gop to him in the first place! That, plus the rubles Putin gave to get this clown into the WH.

[whistler162]

5. Nice of Mitch to admit Donnie's

so incompetent that he couldn't handle multiple tasks at the same time, unlike Bill Clinton!

[SunSeeker]

6. How? Trump didn't sit for any depos, went to no hearings, and turned over ZERO documents.

How exactly was he distracted?

[Grokenstein]

9. All the extra rage-tweeting.

[flibbitygiblets]

7. OMFG! *LAME* excuse, Moscow Mitch! I mean, holy FUCK does he think we don't own calendars?

1. Impeachment hearings happened January. You weren't distracted because you chose not to call any witnesses.
2. Even if #1 weren't true AND IT IS, these clowns can't walk and chew gum? Then get the FUCK out of government, asshole.

The House impeached Trump on December 18. The Senate trial began January 16, was effectively wrapped up with the vote to hear no live witnesses on Friday, January 31, and concluded with the vote of acquittal on February 5, the day after Trump’s State of the Union address.

[Botany]

8. Sure Donny was so damn busy with the impeachment

Last edited Tue Mar 31, 2020, 11:09 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

[Thekaspervote]

23. Rick Wilson for the tweet champ!

[RussBLib]

10. that is weak

we know Trump was too busy golfing to focus on any kind of governing.

[roamer65]

11. Lies.

[Cetacea]

12. And yet he has the time to focus on undoing Obama's emissions statndards in the midst of a pandemic

Unreal.

[niyad]

19. And don't. Forget barr's power gra b.

[Cetacea]

50. +1

Almost forgot already. Thanks

[Texin]

14. Said this earlier: McConnell should have said:

Trump proves retrumplicans confirm they can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

[BaronChocula]

16. Dornell: Trump Sociopathy and Incompetence Led to Impeachment and Coronavirus Bungles N/T

[C Moon]

17. It only took them a few weeks to come up with this one. :D

[niyad]

18. No, you fucking, lying partisan hack. Impeachment was over in DEC. IN THE House, and the grifter in

Chief KNEW that the. Gutless pukes would never vote to convict. Try another lie, massacre Mitch.

[58Sunliner]

20. Another sociopath lying for his own interests.

[Thekaspervote]

21. More grasping at excuses! They're re-election numbers must look bleak

[truthisfreedom]

22. Bull. Fucking. Shit.

[pat_k]

24. Here's what DT was up to

Here's an expansion on This Post (summarized rallies and golf dates in the critical early weeks).

Events and fundraisers added to the original list of dates are from the Wikipedia Q1 timeline and news reports.

Events Timeline

Timeline is from January 8, when scientists in China announced the discovery of a new coronavirus, to March 8, when the "task force" started accomplishing a few things (but mainly just left it to states to deal with the fallout of their colossal failures).

— January 9th -- rally Toledo
— January 13th

Test available. CDC should have been sourcing sampling supplies and distributing to states while simultaneously working to source supplies and mass produce the test and developing an effective distribution network. The FDA should have immediately used emergency use (EUA) authority to give labs across the country the go ahead to produce and distribute that test, or their own.

— January 14th — rally Milwaukee
— January 17th — entertains Louisiana State football team at WH (College football champions)
— January 18th — golf
— January 19th — golf
— January 19th — addresses American Farm Bureau in Austin, touting his greatness
— January 24th — addresses anti-abortion March for Life rally
— January 28th — rally Wildwood, NJ
— January 30th — rally Des Moines
— February 1st — golf
— February 5th — vote on impeachment
— February 6th — addresses National Prayer Breakfast
— February 6th — in what he calls a "celebration" (of impeachment vote) he delivers remarks from WH
— February 9th — attends National Governors Association dinner
— February 10th — rally Manchester, NH
— February 15th — golf
— February 15th — headlines fundraising dinner at billionaire's home (link)
— February 19th — rally Phoenix
— February 20th — rally Colorado Springs
— February 21st — rally Las Vegas
— February 28th — rally North Charleston
— February 29th — speech to Conservative Political Action Conference
— March 2nd — rally Charlotte
— March 7th — golf
— March 8th — golf
— March 8th — Mar A logo fundraiser (some attendees later tested positive)

He was also very busy on twitter:

Tweets from January 13 to March 8 = 1851 (average of 32 per day — 14 his tweets, 18 his retweets)

From search of Trump twitter archive (For those interested, procedure for exporting searches to Excel/Libre Office Calc) in this post.)

----------------
If anyone else finds report of an exclusive fundraiser (like the ones on Feb 15 and Mar 8) or other "non-presidential duty" activity, please post.

[ffr]

25. Then McConnell and his republican axis of evil are responsible for 9/11

It was his impeachment of Clinton that overshadowed government efforts to go after Bin Laden in 1998. What were the words that right-wingers were using then? Oh yeah, 'wagging the dog,' was their phrase used when calling out Bill Clinton's efforts to kill Bin Laden.

Mitch McConnell, you just admitted you are responsible for the deaths of over three thousand innocent American civilians by distracting Bill Clinton's efforts to kill the world's #1 terrorist!

[elleng]

26. Just COULDN'T walk and chew gum at the same time.

[Progressive Jones]

27. If the GOP were so concerned, they would have whined about it

all the way through the process.

Bull. Shit. McConnell.

Get rid of him, Kentucky. We've put up with this shit long enough.

[olddad65]

28. And McTurtle diverted attention from the impeachment trial, so maybe Moscow Mitch should be blaming

Himself.

[Doreen]

29. People who can not do several things at the same time

should not be leading a country.

Get him off the fucking golf course you stupid moron and then maybe he would have more time to see that there is an actual world out there.

[Cha]

30. NO to your Whiny excuses.. you Lying Bag

of Shite, Turtles are Smarter.

[Cha]

31. DT was playing golf & ******* rallies.. and blaming it on The Dems.

Link to tweet

[mpcamb]

46. Great item! Thanks!

[bluestarone]

47. What a GREAT election commercial this will be!

What Mcturtle says then show YOUR INFO!

[Cha]

48. Exactly!

[bfjd4u]

32. is there something special about legislators from kentucky?

[sprinkleeninow]

33. the macturdle is so very full of hovno. eom

[duforsure]

34. If that is true

Moscow Mitch is admitting he's not capable to do his job too. Letting a impeachment be a more important issue than a pandemic. Shows how flawed his judgement is. But really we all know what this is, just another trump and Moscow Mitch excuse for they're failures. They both failed protecting the American people and have got caught now, while people are dying from their incompetence. Unless they did this on purpose , and that's really bad if they did.

[procon]

35. Weak sauce. If Trump couldn't handle multitasking then

He should have prioritized, placing the most crucial problems first. Evidently he did that and placed his own self interests ahead of the spreading epidemic.
Obviously Trump made his decision and now he needs to man up pay the piper.

[Maxheader]

37. Well miccitch..

is parroting a dated winger line...dems like the virus..benefits joe..
or..dems created this in deep state anti America labs..

Get with it mcbitch..

[lagomorph777]

41. Nonsense. And what distracted Moscow Mitch from voting on the relief packages?

Vacation!

[BumRushDaShow]

42. Manufacturing a "fake history"

As Orwell famously wrote - "Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past".

[world wide wally]

43. He never even broke a sweat over impeachment because Mitch told him that

the fix was in.

[DeminPennswoods]

44. Really is no shame in the GOP

nt

[GeorgiaPeanut]

45. Gaslighting Moscow Mitch

"I wouldn't have broken your arm if you had not raised your voice."

[Politicub]

49. What about this idiotic narcotics focus?

Talk about a distraction.

[Snellius]

51. A desparate defense for a doomed party

The accumulating debt is becoming so overwhelming it will never be paid off without total government intervention, universal healthcare, basic income, etc. That is to say, Republicanism is finished.

[FiveGoodMen]

52. The Guardian was declaring the GOP doomed back in 2016

Just before they took over everything.