House Speaker Nancy Pelosi erupted during a private call with Democrats over President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing the commander-in-chief of obscuring the truth, according to a report.
Speaking during a caucus call with Democratic lawmakers Monday, Pelosi described the Trump administration’s failure to live up to promises they made to make testing available to all Americans and address the protective equipment shortages as “almost sinful,” according to Politico.
“The more misrepresentations he puts out there, the more it obscures the truth. We have to insist upon the truth — what they’re saying is not knowledge, is not facts, is not real,” the California Democrat lamented to House members on the call.
Pelosi went on to warn that without a plan for adequate coronavirus testing, it will not be possible for the economy to reopen or for Americans to return to work safely.
The House speaker told those on the call that Democrats were responsible for speaking out about Trump and his administration’s failings, “and we cannot let them lie about it.”
Pelosi’s comments come as the White House continues to push their hope that they are able to reopen the economy by May 1.
Trump’s May 1 deadline puts him on a collision course with state leaders who are pushing back, saying it would be dangerous to slow down progress in the war against the virus.
The top Democrat has sparred with the president numerous times over the federal government’s response to the deadly pandemic.
President Trump has argued that the House impeachment inquiry and Senate trial late last year left them all too distracted to attend to the business of combating coronavirus.
Pelosi, who is currently in the midst of a standoff against Republicans over contents of the next coronavirus stimulus package, has long been a Trump critic.
Earlier this month, the speaker announced that a House committee would be established to provide oversight for the $2.2 trillion coronavirus bill, a move Trump slammed as a “witch hunt.”
“This is not the time for politics,” the commander-in-chief said during a White House briefing in a slight at the panel.
“Endless partisan investigations have already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years.”
