Kamala Harris: ‘People Are Dying’ Because of Trump’s ‘Vacuum of Leadership’

Wednesday on ABC’s “The View,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said President Donald Trump’s “vacuum of leadership” has caused American lives in the coronavirus pandemic.

When asked if Trump bears some of the responsibility for the loss of American lives, Harris said, “The buck stops with him, you know, here’s the thing, this is a moment of international crisis, and this is when leaders must lead. The president of the United States was also the commander-in-chief, in a moment of crisis, which is a public pandemic that has led to an economic crisis as well. The president of the United States, the commander-in-chief, must use the voice of that office in a way that is about speaking truth, embracing fact, speaking about facts, no matter how uncomfortable it may make people to hear. It is about embracing science and listening to the public health professionals all with the intention of lifting up the American people, both in terms of dealing with the solutions to this problem, which means acknowledging it is a real serious issue and not a hoax, which means saying that one of the tools in the tool belt of the president in a crisis is to use the Defense Production Act, to require that where we don’t have what we need to meet the crisis and meet the moment, we will create incentives and direction to the private sector to create those things, in this case, ventilators, masks, tests.”

She continued, “What we have in this president is someone who has been concerned about himself full-time since he has been in office and including during this pandemic. And so we have heard — frankly, and I have to be candid, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. We have heard lies. We have heard him try to shift blame.”

She added, “At a national level, and in particular from the administration, we’ve seen a vacuum of leadership, and we’re paying a price for it. And as to your point, people are dying.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.