During a portion of an interview with the Fox News Channel that took place on Monday and was aired on Tuesday’s broadcast of “Special Report,” 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump said he doesn’t regret his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and that he told governors “you do what you want, you can shut it down or not.” And that while Georgia “did a good job” Florida was shut down.
Host Bret Baier asked, [relevant exchange begins around 4:15] “So, it is a big part of that spending, COVID. Do you have regrets about how you handled that?”
Trump responded by shaking his head and saying, “No.”
Baier then turned to criticisms from some of Trump’s 2024 rivals on lockdowns and asked, “And do you have regrets about doing that?”
Trump answered, “I gave the governors the options. For instance, Henry McMaster (R) of South Carolina…he didn’t shut it down. Tennessee didn’t shut it down. South Dakota didn’t shut it down. Georgia shut it down for a little while, but not much. They did a good job. … It’s a federalist system. I told all governors, you do what you want, you can shut it down or not. Florida, by the way, he shut it down tight, no highways, no beaches, no this.”
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