Did Trump ‘downplay’ COVID-19? Buchanan, Good spar over nationwide pandemic response
Candidates running to represent the Manatee County area in U.S. Congress have very different reactions to President Donald Trump’s alleged comments in Bob Woodward’s new book.
On Wednesday, Woodward, an esteemed journalist who played a significant role in uncovering the Watergate scandal, released audio from a series of interviews with the president over the course of several months. As early as February, Trump reportedly said he understood COVID-19 to be a deadly disease, but chose to “downplay” the threat to prevent a nationwide panic.
Trump appeared to confirm those statements in a tweet Thursday morning.
“Bob Woodward had my quotes for many months,” Trump wrote. “If he thought they were so bad or dangerous, why didn’t he immediately report them in an effort to save lives? Didn’t he have an obligation to do so? No, because he knew they were good and proper answers. Calm, no panic!”
While Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, didn’t directly respond to Trump’s comments in a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald Thursday afternoon, he pointed to his early call for a public health emergency at the beginning of the year.
“The coronavirus is a deadly threat, which is why I was one of the first in Congress to call for the declaration of a public health emergency back on Jan. 28,” Buchanan said in a prepared statement. “The Washington establishment from both parties was slow to acknowledge the threat. Transparency and honesty is always the best policy, especially when it comes to the safety of the American people.”
The Bradenton Herald previously reported on Buchanan’s request for a public health emergency, which came days before Trump declared one.
Buchanan’s opponent, state Rep. Margaret Good, D-Sarasota, however, called out Buchanan and other national leaders for misleading the public in their response to the pandemic.
“With nearly 200,000 dead from COVID-19, it is unacceptable that our leaders in Washington misled us and put themselves, their party and special interests before our health and safety,” Good said in a prepared statement.
“National leaders have not taken this pandemic seriously and have not provided us with vital information about the virus, and Vern Buchanan has stood right there with them: hosting a fundraiser with Mike Pence during the pandemic and cutting in line to rake in PPP money that was supposed to go to small businesses,” Good added. “Florida deserves a leader who will put aside politics to get the job done.”
Responding to Good’s comment, Max Goodman, Buchanan’s campaign manager, said it was hypocritical to attack Buchanan over PPP loans, referring to the Sarasota law firm where she works.
“Her hypocrisy is astonishing – Margaret needs to explain why her high-priced law firm Eastmoore, Crauwels & Dubose received federal PPP funds as well as her husband’s employer Southern Air Systems. She’s also the last person who should attack someone over the coronavirus after trying to exploit the deadly disease to raise money for her political campaign,” Goodman said.
According to her financial disclosure form, Good, isn’t a partner and does not have ownership in the law firm.
Buchanan and Good are running against one another to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes Manatee County and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties. The General Election is Nov. 3.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 4:23 PM.
