Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on March 31 said the attempt to impeach President Donald Trump earlier this year distracted the White House from focusing on the threat posed by the CCP virus.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, “came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment,” McConnell told “The Hugh Hewitt Show.”
He noted that Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who has been one of Congress most vocal opponents of the Chinese regimes response to the viral outbreak, was “right on the mark” in predicting it would become a threat to the United States. Cotton “figured this out early, and he was absolutely right,” McConnell said.
Cotton has said the CCP “will pay” for mismanaging and will be held accountable for the crisis.
The CCP claimed the first person died in early January, and on Jan. 23, the central city of Wuhan was placed on lockdown before the World Health Organization declared it a global health emergency on Jan. 30.
In that time frame, Trump was on trial in the Senate on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress impeachment charges before he was acquitted of all charges on Feb. 5. Three weeks of January and part of February was spent on the trial, which included arguments presented by House impeachment managers led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Trumps legal defense team.
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