Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather said the presidential election in November would show how many people were “dumb enough to believe” President Donald Trump when he says he didn’t want to spread panic in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rather said, “What this presidential election is about is whether the country’s going to move more in the direction of white supremacy or move more in the direction of a multiracial, constitutional republic based on the freedom and the democracy. That’s the proper frame, in which we now should put this election given what the president says, what he’s been doing — this long list of things. No sense going through the litany, but, you know, he knew in early February how serious the coronavirus was, but he repeatedly misled the American people. He said using an excuse and a lie, he didn’t want to spread panic.”
“Well, throughout his entire presidency and particularly during this presidential re-election campaign, he’s been trying to get people panicked,” he continued. “Panicked about dangerous people moving into the suburban neighborhood, panic over immigration. He’s asking us to believe that when it came to the coronavirus, he just didn’t want to spread panic. Anybody who believes this will believe that rocks grow, and we’re going to find out how many people are dumb enough to believe that. I’d like to think that most people in the country recognize it for what it is, and that is an excuse, and it’s a lie, and it’s outrageous, and it’s very dangerous.”
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