NBC anchor Chuck Todd said Thursday on MSNBC’s “MTP Daily” that President Donald Trump “leadership vacuum” on the coronavirus pandemic meant we are experiencing “what you could call the fall of America.”
Todd said, “Welcome to Thursday. It’s ‘Meet the Press Daily,’ and we are searching for somebody to fill a leadership vacuum. I’m Chuck Todd. The White House announced, believe it or not, a stunning announcement that members of the White House coronavirus task force will be allowed to hold an actual public briefing this afternoon. This is the first time they’ve done this since July. Roughly 100,000 of Americans have died of this virus since then. To be clear, we don’t know which task force officials will be speaking publicly, whether it’s the real ones or somebody like Scott Atlas. But the fact they’re holding one, I guess, is a sign of some acknowledgment of what the rest of us are experiencing in America. And this comes as moments ago, the CDC bluntly warned Americans against traveling this Thanksgiving. Obviously, the president’s personal epidemiologist on this, or he’s not a real epidemiologist, Scott Atlas, is giving the exact opposite guidance. Hopefully, this task force briefing might clear something up. As the weather gets colder and the leaves are falling, and winter approaches, we’re experiencing what you could call the fall of America. And, yes, the pun was intended.”
He added, “The virus is raging out of control amid a leadership vacuum that rivals some of the darkest periods of America’s history. More than 1200 Americans are dying every day, and that number is going up. More than 160,000 are being infected every day, and around 10,000 of those infected get hospitalized every day, and our hospitalization number is 60,000 to 80,000 on any given day. The president has not once acknowledged the problem since election night. Not once. Instead, he’s cheering on legal and local efforts to overturn the results of an election he lost. Up until this point, governors and local officials have been left on their own to try to convince a COVID-weary public their house is on fire as our public health system battles the deadly virus and a massive misinformation ecosystem that has been consistently fed by this White House and its irresponsible allies. This outbreak is so bad right now, the governors everywhere, even the governors in the heart of Trump country, who have long resisted restrictions and mask mandates are pleading with their constituents to act.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN