Eric Trump has dismissed coronavirus as a Democrat ‘strategy’ (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty)
Eric Trump has claimed that coronavirus is part of a Democrat conspiracy that will “magically” disappear as soon as the election is over.
In an interview with Fox News, Eric took a page from his father’s playbook to cast doubt on social distancing measures designed to curb the spread of the virus.
He claimed the disease that has killed almost 90,000 Americans and disproportionately impacted LGBT+ people is actually a “cognisant strategy” by Democrats trying to score points ahead of November’s election.
“They think they’re taking away Donald Trump’s greatest tool, which is being able to go into an arena and fill it with 50,000 people every single time,” he said.
“And you watch, they’ll milk it every single day between now and November 3. And guess what, after November 3 coronavirus will magically, all of a sudden, go away and disappear and everybody will be able to reopen.”
It should be noted that Trump has rarely, if ever, attracted crowds of 50,000 people at his rallies, despite claims that he has.
Eric Trump repeated that Democrats are trying to “milk” the devastating crisis for everything they can, adding that Biden “loves” it because it allows him to avoid the campaign trail.
The Biden campaign attacked Eric Trump’s remarks in a statement.
“We’re in the middle of the biggest public health emergency in a century, with almost 90,000 Americans dead, 1.5 million infected, and 36 million workers newly jobless,” said Kate Bedingfield, communications director for Biden’s campaign.
“So for Eric Trump to claim that the coronavirus is a political hoax that will ‘magically’ disappear is absolutely stunning and unbelievably reckless.”
Eric Trump’s attempt to downplay the coronavirus pandemic suggests a return to his father’s early strategy of denying its very existence.
On January 22, when Chinese authorities were putting Wuhan on lockdown, Trump was asked: “Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?”
The president responded: “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
As late as February 28, at campaign rally in South Carolina, the president was referring to it as a “new hoax” by Democrats who wanted to impeach him.