Pence Backs Trump Jr.'s Claim Democrats Want Coronavirus To Kill Millions

President Donald Trump and members of his team have been claiming that Democrats and members of the media are intentionally turning the novel coronavirus outbreak into a political issue. Others, including the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., have gone so far as to accuse Democrats of hoping the virus comes to the United States and “kills millions of people” – remarks that have since been defended by Vice President Mike Pence.

Appearing on NBC’s Meet The Press, Pence was asked about whether or not he believed these accusations had any merit. In response, the vice president said, “there's been a lot of irresponsible rhetoric” from Trump’s opponents surrounding the virus.

Host Chuck Todd challenged Pence’s claim, calling it “gaslighting.”

Pence pointed to a recent New York Times editorial that advocated renaming the virus the “Trumpvirus,” something the vice president said was “reckless and irresponsible.”

Todd also questioned Pence on recent remarks made by conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh. During a recent show, Limbaugh claimed that “media hype” was part of how “the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump.”

Pence simply replied that he had “great respect for Rush Limbaugh, and he’s a strong conservative commentator” who is among those “pushing back as hard as [Democrats are] pushing. It’s time for the other side to turn down the volume.”

Trump Jr. and Limbaugh aren’t the only conservative figures accusing Democrats of politicizing the coronavirus outbreak. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel recently said, “Democrats are using this for their political gain to try and stoke fear in the American people, which is shameful, wrong, and I think un-American.”

The Trump administration has come under fire in recent weeks over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Last week, the president announced that Pence would be leading a task force to address the virus, but faced severe criticism over reportedly preventing experts from speaking to the public without approval.

Trump has also been criticized over allegedly being more concerned about the coronavirus’ impact on the economy – with worries about the virus causing 4-point losses in the U.S. stock market over the past week – than about the human loss.