CNN anchor Don Lemon said Monday that President Donald Trump was “just embarrassing himself” with his delay in signing the coronavirus stimulus bill.
Lemon said, “Ron, I got to tell you, watching this as much as you can as a layperson over the holidays because I was spending time off and not working, it’s embarrassing. The president is just embarrassing himself and really ruining whatever legacy that he has acquired since he’s been in office.”
He added, “These stimulus checks, Ron, were already slated to go out as soon as this week. Though, that timing could slide according to an administration official. And then the president comes in. He delays the deal for a week. It’s not just politics. There are real — this impacts Americans who are counting on this money.”
Senior editor at The Atlantic, Ronald Brownstein said, “Well, embarrassing is the right word, Don.”
He continued, “If he actually wanted to affect the substance of this bill, he has months to intervene, but he was completely checked out on this bill as he has been on the broader pandemic itself.”
He added, “Since the election he’s been focussed on trying to overturn the election. He’s been pressuring the Justice Department to appoint special prosecutors aimed at his political opponents. He’s been dolling out pardons to his cronies and confederates and all while being AWOL on what is becoming an almost unimaginable national security challenge. We have been saying we’re living through a 9/11 or a Pearl Harbor a day. The projections from the University of Washington is that the month of January could exceed even that astounding death toll. We are talking about maybe 100,000 projected deaths in the month of January from COVID and the president is simply AWOL on it while he’s nursing his own grievances.”
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