Mike Pence doubles down on blaming Europe for coronavirus

Mike Pence doubles down on blaming Europe for coronavirus claiming most U.S. cases have been traced to there – and downplays Tony Fauci’s warning of ‘millions’ of cases saying it will be ‘thousands’

  • Vice President Mike Pence took to the morning shows Thursday morning to perform clean-up duty for the White House
  • He doubled down on blaming Europe for spread of coronavirus in America 
  • ‘The epicenter of the coronavirus has shifted from China to Europe,’ he said 
  • ‘When we looked over the last 36 hours of the 35 states yesterday early in the day that had coronavirus cases, 30 of those actually could be tied to contacts with Europe,’ Pence noted
  • He also downplayed predictions millions of Americans could be affected 
  • Pence said ‘thousands’ after other officials gave numbers in the millions
  • ‘We will have thousands of more cases across this country,’ Pence said 

Vice President Mike Pence took to the morning shows Thursday to perform clean-up duty for the White House where he doubled down on blaming Europe for the coronavirus spread in the United States and down played predictions that millions could be infected. 

Pence, in his appearance on five different news networks, blamed European travel for spreading the disease to America, explaining that was why President Trump imposed a travel ban on most flights from there. 

‘When we looked over the last 36 hours of the 35 states yesterday early in the day that had coronavirus cases, 30 of those actually could be tied to contacts with Europe. So the president said full stop on any travel incoming from Europe,’ he said on CBS’ ‘This Morning.’ 

‘We have tens of thousands of people that travel to the United States from Europe every day,’ he noted on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’ ’70 per cent of new cases in the world were in Europe, and when we looked yesterday at what was then the 35 states where we had cases, about 30 of them could be traced to contacts with Europe. So the president again made another unprecedented decision in suspending all travel from Europe because we essentially want to stop the flow of people bringing the coronavirus here.’

Vice President Mike Pence took to the morning shows Thursday morning to perform clean-up duty for the White House

Vice President Pence doubled down on blaming Europe for the spread of the coronavirus in America, calling Europe the new ‘epicenter’ of the disease

Vice President Pence told ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ that ’70 per cent of new cases in the world were in Europe’

President Trump sewed seeds of confusion with his Oval Office address Wednesday night, when he announced a 30-day ban on travel to the United States by Europeans and restrictions on cargo from all nations except the United States.

He had to take to Twitter later that evening to clarify there was no ban on cargo, which many saw as a potential economic disaster.

‘The restriction stops people not goods,’ the president wrote.  

Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf issued a statement detailing what the restrictions entailed and the countries affect. 

The ban will apply to travelers who have visited 26 countries in the EU’s Schengen border-free area in the last 14 days but not travelers from the UK or Ireland, or to US citizens, American permanent residents and their immediate family members. 

Trump said the ban would come into effect at ‘midnight’ on Friday though confusion reigned over exactly how it would be implemented – including how the cut-off would apply across time zones, which routes Americans would be allowed to use to get home, and whether travelers returning from Europe would face screening or quarantine. 

And Pence took to the morning shows to defend the president.

‘I don’t think there’s confusion,’ he told CNN.  

He also argued the worst of coronavirus has shifted from China to Europe, which is what necessitated the ban. 

‘The epicenter of the coronavirus has shifted from China to Europe,’ he said on CNN. ‘The health team came into the Oval Office, presented that to the president, and he made the decision – on the spot after hearing from all sides – that the best thing we can do is to suspend all travel.’

‘This is a part of our strategy. You combine that with what we are doing in communities in Washington state and California and New York where we have community spread, the CDC issued tough new guidance to those states about mitigation strategies and the overall recommendations to Americans to use common sense.’

The vice president also downplayed predictions – including one from Dr. Anthony Fauci – that millions could be affected by the disease.

‘We will have thousands of more cases across this country. But, your viewers deserve to know that most Americans, the vast majority of Americans who even contract the coronavirus will have flu like symptoms and will fully recover,’ Pence said on ‘Fox & Friends.’

While on NBC’s ‘Today Show,’ Pence answered ‘it is’ when Savannah Guthrie asked him if the coronavirus is more lethal than the flu but he refused to give a number on how many people may be affected.

”I’ll leave it to the experts to make the estimates of how many people may be infected. And it’s important for your viewers to remember, Savannah that the vast majority of people that even contract the coronavirus will experience flu-like symptoms and they’ll fully recover,’ he said. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday the coronavirus situation in the United States is going to get worse and ‘many, many millions’ will be affected. 

Oval Office address: Donald Trump finally addressed the nation about the coronavirus crisis from the White House on Wednesday and banned all travel to Europe

‘Bottom line, it’s going to get worse,’ Fauci, the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at congressional hearing on the outbreak.

He said it would hit millions.

‘If we are complacent and don’t do really aggressive containment and mitigation, the number could go way up and be involved in many, many millions. If we contain we could flatten it,’ he noted.

And U.S. Capitol physician Brian Monahan told Capitol Hill staffers at a close-door briefing this week that he expects 70 million to 150 million people in the United States – roughly a third of the country – to contract the coronavirus, Axios reported.     

Trump’s address also made no mention of measures being adopted by other countries to stop the spread of the virus within their borders – like closing schools, banning public gatherings and restricting travel between cities. 

‘I will always put the well-being of America first,’ he said in his remarks. 

After Trump spoke Wednesday evening:  

  • the NBA announced it had called off the rest of its season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gorber tested positive for the virus just before tip-off
  • the State Department told Americans to immediately reconsider any plans to travel abroad because of the danger of the virus 
  • Tom Hanks and his actress wife Rita Wilson revealed they had it too
  • Wall Street braced for more selling Thursday as the futures pointed to a loss of as much as 1,000 points on the Dow
  • Joe Biden prepared to deliver his own coronavirus crisis plan to go head-to-head with his presidential election rival
  • An aide to Democratic Washington senator Maria Cantwell became the first person on Capitol Hill to be confirmed as having the virus, while six other lawmakers remain quarantined over possible exposure
  • And Trump followed his own advice and canceled a campaign swing to Colorado and Nevada after being slammed for refusing to stop shaking hands and holding rallies. 

Many states have moved ahead of the White House on preventing the spread of the virus, and have already started limiting travel and putting in place ‘social distancing measures’ to limit contact between people.

 

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