As the country grapples with a rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases, Senate Republicans are starting to sound the alarm on the accelerated spread of the virus in their states while trying to appear optimistic about the odds of a quick disappearance of the virus.
The warnings come as President Donald Trump sinks in the polls, threatening to bring down the entire GOP with him.
Trump continues to link the recent spike to an increase in testing, while also overselling his administration’s response to the pandemic. But GOP senators, back in their home states, are painting a more sobering picture with their on-the-ground view, The Hill reports.
According to The Hill, “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has crisscrossed Kentucky during the recess, telling constituents that the coronavirus will not “magically disappear” and stressing that wearing a mask should not be a political issue.
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“Regretfully, this is not over. There were some that hoped this would go away sooner than it has. And I think the straight talk here that everyone needs to understand is this is not going away,” McConnell said during one of the stops.
“This is going to be with us for a while,” he added, The Hill noted. “The coronavirus is not involved in American politics. It has its own way forward, and we need to act responsibly.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is facing a tough reelection, characterized the public health crisis as a “disaster,” pointing to an increase in cases coupled with a decrease in hospital space and available protective equipment.
“You can see the effects of what happens when you kind of let your foot off the gas,” he said, according to The Hill.
Graham, a close congressional ally of Trump, also called for individuals to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and practice social distancing, comparing the coronavirus fight to a “war.”
“All I can say is that if you believe wearing a mask is a sign of weakness, then you’re wrong,” he said. “Nobody is asking you to go to Afghanistan and get shot — just asking you to use common sense.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose state recently became the global epicenter, told Fox News, “Look it’s bad. It’s not great.”
“People need to wear their mask, they need to be more conscious of it. I believe they now are. But remember, the hospitalizations we’re seeing today are the infections that happened two or three weeks ago. Hopefully, if we can begin to correct that behavior now we’ll see improving numbers as we move forward into the next month,” he said.
Trump has sustained months of criticism for his administration’s response to the coronavirus, including a costly delay early on before ramping up production of medical equipment and a lag in testing. He even suggested earlier this month that the virus would simply “disappear.”
The United States hit an all-time high in the number of cases in a single day on Thursday with more than 75,600 cases, The Hill reported, citing The New York Times data.
