Coronavirus Is A Global Threat. Mike Pompeo Won't Say Whether He Thinks It's A Hoax.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to say that the coronavirus is not a hoax, as President Donald Trump and his allies increasingly try to manage the public health crisis in a way that benefits the president and his public image.
“It’s a gotcha moment. It’s not useful,” Pompeo said when Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) asked him whether he believed the coronavirus is the “hoax of the day” during a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday.
Lieu’s question centered around comments made by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney at a gathering of conservative activists on Friday morning.
Mulvaney played down the disease that is spreading around the world, saying, “It’s not a death sentence, it’s not the same as the Ebola crisis.”
He also accused the press of ignoring the crisis because it was too focused on covering the impeachment “hoax.”
“The press was covering their hoax of the day because they thought it would bring down the president,” Mulvaney said.
“The reason you’re seeing so much attention to [coronavirus] today is that they think this is going to be the thing that brings down the president,” he added. “That’s what this is all about it.”
Mulvaney didn’t actually call the coronavirus a “hoax,” despite Lieu’s question, but Pompeo still wouldn’t simply assert that it wasn’t one.
“The State Department is doing everything it can to protect American citizens around the world. I’m not going to comment on what others are saying. ... I’m just telling you what the secretary of state is doing,” he said, repeatedly refusing to deny that the disease is a “hoax.”
