Texas Republican senator John Cornyn says Trump 'let his guard down' over COVID, created 'confusion' and needs to exercise self-discipline
Sen. John Cornyn shamed President Donald Trump for his cavalier treatment of the coronavirus, as the Texas Republican faces a closer-than-expected re-election challenge.
Cornyn told The Houston Chronicle's editorial board that Trump 'let his guard down' on the coronavirus and is responsible for 'confusion,' as the president sowed anti-masking sentiment and held large rallies and White House gatherings.
The September 26 Rose Garden event to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney to the Supreme Court is likely how several top aides and U.S. senators were infected with COVID-19.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican facing a tougher than expected re-election fight, told The Houston Chronicle's editorial board that President Donald Trump 'let his guard down'
Sen. John Cornyn pointed fingers at President Donald Trump for sowing 'confusion' on the coronavirus. Here the president has removed his mask while still being contagious as he battles COVID-19
On Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was in the Rose Garden, announced she had tested positive of the coronavirus. The president, as he returned to the White House after leaving Walter Reed, removed his mask for a photo-op, despite still being contagious.
In the interview, which was published about an hour before Trump's release, the Texas senator called the president 'his own worst enemy.'
'I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us - I think he got over his skis and frankly, I think it's a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self-discipline,' Cornyn told the paper.
Cornyn also said that Trump 'should've known' his comments to veteran journalist Bob Woodward would come out.
Trump had first sounded the alarm about the virus to Woodward in February - while he was downplaying it to the American public - he later told the veteran Washington Post that that was by design.
Cornyn did give Trump credit for shutting off some travel with China and pushing Congressional relief package to deal with some of the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis.
Those moves, Cornyn argued 'demonstrated the seriousness of the virus.'
The president's rhetoric: now so much, in Cornyn's view, as he told the paper that it 'creates confusion.'
'He tries to balance that with saying, "Well, you know, we got this.'" And clearly we don't have this,' Cornyn said.
'I think the biggest mistake people make in public life is not telling the truth, particularly in something with as much public interest as here because you know the real story is going to come out,' the Texas lawmaker added.
Cornyn also said that Trump, 'on the main,' has been good for the U.S., but he also suggested the president's unconventional administration hasn't always been easy to deal with.
'[I]t is not easy to try to get things done working with him or the White House,' Cornyn said.
Cornyn is battling Democrat MJ Hegar, a former Air Force pilot, to retain his Senate seat in what has been a traditional Republican stronghold. Recent polling shows Cornyn, on average, 8 points ahead.
