Chaffetz: We're gonna have a difficult time until we get more testing
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz reacts to President Trump's meeting with COVID-19 survivors.
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Former House Oversight Committee Chairman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz told "Outnumbered Overtime” Tuesday that the United States will have a “difficult time” dealing with the coronavirus outbreak until more testing is available.
“I think there's been a great deal of progress, but I can tell you I have a relative who thought they had it [COVID-19] and they were concerned about it to the point that they called 911 because there was a shortness of breath and the advice was if you don't have it and you go to the hospital you may get it,” Chaffetz said. “So unless it's really, really dire, you've got to just stay home and fight through it and I think a lot of people have gone through that experience around the country.”
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Chaffetz stressed that “testing is still an issue,” adding that “it still needs to get out there and until we get to that point, I think we’re going to have a difficult time.”
Chaffetz also reacted to President Trump’s comment during Monday's coronavirus task force breifing that “the president of the United States calls the shots” pertaining to reopening the economy.
“The president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful,” Trump said during a news conference with the White House Coronavirus Task Force on Monday. “The president of the United States calls the shots. If we weren't here for the states, you would've had a problem in this country like you’ve never seen before.
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“We were here to back them up and we more than backed them up. We did it a job that nobody thought was possible,” Trump continued. “It's a decision for the president of the United States.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacted to Trump’s comments Tuesday, saying, “His proclamation is that he would be king. That's what a king is. A king has total authority. That statement cannot stand.”
In response, Chaffetz said while he mostly agreed with the president, “many of these decisions need to get pushed down to the local-est of levels.”
“How they do it in Las Vegas is going to be very different than how they do it say, in Pittsburgh, or how they might do it in a small, rural town in Nebraska,” he explained.
He added, “You can’t just put one blanket, one-size-fits-all and have it work.”
“So I think the president's attitude and approach is 110 percent correct, but I do think the governors and these local communities also have a huge role to do it and make sure that everybody is safe,” Chaffetz said.
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“At the end of the day, there’s still personal responsibility,” he continued. “I don't care what that government says, if you don't wash your hands and do the proper hygiene, you still put yourself at risk.”
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