Trump has put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of handling the response to the coronavirus.
Are you scared yet? You should be. Because Pence has already proven he does not value the opinions of the CDC or health officials when it comes to containing the spread of a virus.
As governor of Indiana, Pence masterminded cancelling a free-needle program for addicts in the state. AIDS cases exploded. And now he's going to bring his clenched butt cheeks morality scolding to the Coronavirus panic?
AOC nailed it via Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez directly compared the immigration detention facilities to Nazi concentration camps when she referenced 'Never Again' — an unmistakable reference to the Holocaust. 'To compare the humane work of dedicated men and women of Customs and Border Protection with the horrors of the Holocaust is an outrage,' Pence continued. Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi GOP congressman demands Ocasio-Cortez apologize following Twitter exchange with Cruz Georgia senators pushed administration, Senate Democrats to pass a new round. Feb 27, 2020 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized Vice President Pence hours after President Trump said he would be putting him in charge of the administration's response to the spread of the new.
Ocasio-Cortez also appeared bothered by what she saw as 'gender dynamics' at work during the debate, in which Pence was the only male participant. She accused Pence of demanding answers for the. Jan 23, 2021 The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.
It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic.
This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have. https://t.co/NhMPOusOWm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020
As governor, Pence's science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana's history.
He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert. He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health.
https://t.co/1jVY44p2HF
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020
The Washington Post reminds us that Pence chose prayer over the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The spread of the disease was attributed to people injecting Opana, an addictive painkiller, with shared needles. But Pence didn't agree with federal health experts that distributing clean needles was a good idea.
'I don't believe effective anti-drug policy involves handing out drug paraphernalia,' he told the Indianapolis Star at the time. Despite assurances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it is an effective way to halt the spread of infections and diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C, Pence said if state lawmakers tried to send him a bill for a needle-exchange program, he would veto it.As cases spiked, Pence reportedly turned to prayer.
And this is not some partisan criticism of Mike Pence, Even if he is a right-wing religious zealot and anti-LGBTQ scold, but the findings from Yale University's investigative report:
In 2018, researchers at Yale University found the epidemic could have been prevented if Pence and state officials had acted faster. The study received financial support from the federal government.
This is the man now in charge of trying to contain the coronavirus.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez late Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump's decision to put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the administration's coronavirus response as an 'utterly irresponsible' move that could have deadly consequences.
'It's like putting an arsonist in charge of the fire department, a bank robber in charge of the U.S. Mint.'
—Gregg Gonsalves, Yale
'Mike Pence literally does not believe in science,' tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat. 'It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of U.S. coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic. This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have.'
Ocasio-Cortez pointed to Pence's tenure as Indiana governor, where he she said his 'science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana's history.'
'He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote. 'He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health.'
Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.
It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic.
This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have. https://t.co/NhMPOusOWm
Mike Pence literally does not believe in science.
It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic.
This decision could cost people their lives. Pence's past decisions already have. https://t.co/NhMPOusOWm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020
As governor, Pence's science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana's history.
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He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert. He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health.
https://t.co/1jVY44p2HF
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020
Ocasio Cortez Pence Wife
The Verge reported following Trump's announcement Wednesday that as governor of Indiana, Pence 'slashed public health spending and delayed the introduction of needle exchanges, which led to the state's worst outbreak of HIV.'
Gregg Gonsalves—a Yale epidemiologist who co-authored a 2018 paper connecting Pence's policy decisions as governor to the 2014 HIV outbreak in Scott County, Indiana—denounced the president's decision to allow Pence to coordinate the administration's coronavirus response.
Riley Roberts Ocasio Cortez
'Over 200 people were infected with HIV in an outbreak, met with ignorance, bumbling, incompetence, and ideological intransigence. Two hundred needlessly infected, now on medication for life at great costs to themselves and the state,' Gonsalves tweeted Thursday morning. 'Now Donald Trump has put Mike Pence in charge of coronavirus.'
Blanca Ocasio Cortez
'It's like putting an arsonist in charge of the fire department, a bank robber in charge of the U.S. Mint,' Gonsalves added. 'Donald Trump made the choice of putting someone absolutely not up to the task to this crucial position. It endangers us all. This isn't a Republican or Democratic issue—we have the potential for coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. and we needed to rise above the partisan fray.'
