George Conway is firing back at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for blaming President Donald Trumpâs handling of the coronavirus on the impeachment trial.
Shortly after McConnell made headlines for the remarks, Conway penned an op-ed in The Washington Post where he detailed the timeline of events and how it contradicts McConnellâs claim.
Conway noted that the impeachment trial â which ended on Feb. 5 â was âover before it even started, thanks in large part to McConnell.â
The attorney also shed light on the roles of responsibility during the impeachment trial.
While lawyers in the executive branch and Congress devoted the majority of their time to the impeachment trial, Conway argued government officials were not as consumed with the trial as McConnell claims.
Conway also noted Trumpâs travels during January and February. Despite the impeachment trial, the president managed to squeeze in âat least fourâ trips to Mar-a-Lago in the schedule and held multiple campaign rallies in different states.
He went on to remind readers of Trumpâs reference in late January to Chinaâs battle with the coronavirus via Twitter.
In January, the president also spoke about the virus at his campaign rally in Michigan. To Conway, this proves Trump was well aware of the potential havoc America could face from the coronavirus.
Conway concluded by blaming Trump for the delayed handling of the coronavirus and accused McConnell of also playing a part in the crisis due to his refusal to remove the president.
âFor Trump, itâs always about Trump and only Trump. If anything, it was McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicansâ refusal to remove him, not the impeachment itself, that helped bring us to where we are today.â
Conwayâs remarks follow McConnellâs phone interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt. During Tuesdayâs call, Hewitt asked McConnell if Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was the first to express concern about the potential severity of the coronavirus. McConnell admitted that Cotton was.
âHe was first,â McConnell said of Cotton, adding, âAnd I think Tom was right on the mark.â
Then, McConnell went on to share the reason why he believes the government did not act immediately. He suggested the impeachment trial diverted the presidentâs attention from daily government affairs.
âIt came up while we were tied down on the impeachment trial,â he continued. âAnd I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment.â
Listen to McConnellâs interview below:
The coronavirus is continuing to spread throughout cities and states across the country. There were more than 189,000 positive cases in the U.S., as of Wednesday morning.
