Jobless claims last week totalled over 1.3 million. In response, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas issued the following statement:
“This is the 17th consecutive week in which more than one million people have filed for unemployment benefits, a damning indictment of Donald Trump’s failed leadership on coronavirus that has had devastating consequences for our country.
“The truth is that this crisis never had to get this bad. Trump could have avoided causing the worst unemployment since the Great Depression and more than 137,000 deaths by simply listening to medical experts begging him to take decisive action early on to stop the spread of the virus.
“Instead, Trump chose to waste weeks downplaying the threat of the coronavirus, ignoring testing and PPE shortages, and then rushing states to reopen against the advice of public health officials. Now he’s doubled down on that strategy by threatening to withhold funding from public schools to force them to reopen regardless of whether it’s safe to do so. This will not only make the crisis worse but potentially put our kids in danger.
“Make no mistake: No matter who Trump tries to blame, the American people know he is responsible for how bad this crisis has gotten — both for our economy and health — and they’ll hold him accountable for it.”