'The Five' react to President Trump's CDC tour amid coronavirus outbreak
President Trump visits the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta having signed an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
Fox News’ “The Five” co-panelist Dana Perino on Friday called on state governors to take responsibility for managing the coronavirus in their own states instead of criticizing the Trump administration’s efforts combating the epidemic.
“I think that the governors if they point their fingers back at the president they should be very careful because if you’re not managing your state and your cities appropriately, that finger will come back at you and it will be much worse for you,” Perino said.
Perino’s comments came after President Trump on Friday called Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee a "snake" for criticizing the administration's response to the disease.
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The president was asked during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about Vice President Pence's trip a day earlier to Washington, where Pence met with Inslee and other state officials to discuss the virus.
"I told Mike not to be complimentary to the governor because that governor is a snake," Trump said of Inslee. "I said, 'If you’re nice to him, he will take advantage.'"
Trump reacted to Inslee who tweeted that Washington would be better off handling the disease if the Trump administration “stuck to the science and told the truth.”
Perino also noted that the Senate approved an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak one day after it passed the House. The money would pay for a multifaceted attack on a virus that continues to spread, threatening major disruptions in the U.S. and across the globe.
“Now the governors and legislators in Washington get all that extra money and where do you think that’s going to go? Right straight to the states,” Perino said.
Perino also said that the Trump administration won’t “hold back” that money for “politics” because they realize there is a crisis.
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Perino said that while Trump will always get the blame as is typical of any president during a crisis, self-care is not the federal government’s responsibility.
“Nobody can fault the [the Trump administration] for doing what they’ve done so far. They’re trying and they’re trying to be on top of it.”
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