Statement by Tom Steyer: Coronavirus Could Be Trump's Katrina

(SAN FRANCISCO, February 28, 2020) — Today, Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer released the following statement in response to President Donald Trump's response to the threat of COVID-19:

"We are witnessing a total failure on the part of the White House right now that risks a Katrina level disaster for our country. The virus became known to the public on December 31st, but President Trump did not call an official press conference until February 26th, missing a crucial window to address the outbreak. And, as we saw from President Trump's press conference yesterday, the pathetic response and chaos that reigns inside the White House risks putting millions of American lives at risk. The plan itself is woefully late and incompetent. It's clear that Vice President Pence has absolutely no background that prepares him for being in charge of containing coronavirus. Furthermore, Trump's reckless decision to strip the Center for Disease Control of funding and ignore it's science based assessment of the virus risks leaving our response drastically underfunded and ill equipped. I urge the President to fully fund the CDC, take it's assessment of the coronavirus seriously, and act immediately and appropriately to protect the lives of American citizens' at risk."