Ocasio-Cortez knocks Pence: ‘Utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized Vice President Pence hours after President Trump said he would be putting him in charge of the administration’s response to the spread of coronavirus.

“Mike Pence literally does not believe in science,” she tweeted on Wednesday night. “It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic. This decision could cost people their lives. Pence’s past decisions already have.” 

She also took aim at Pence’s handling of an HIV outbreak in Indiana during his time as governor of the state in another tweet, saying: “As governor, Pence’s science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana’s history.”

“He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert. He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health,” she continued.

As governor, Pence’s science denial contributed to one of the worst HIV outbreaks in Indiana’s history.

He is not a medical doctor. He is not a health expert. He is not qualified nor positioned in any way to protect our public health.
https://t.co/1jVY44p2HF

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 27, 2020

According to The Washington Post, one of the most severe HIV outbreaks to ever occur in Indiana happened in 2015, during Pence’s time as a governor. At the time, he was reportedly met with criticism for his handling of the spread.

A number of Democratic lawmakers made similar comments knocking Trump’s decision to name Pence the head of the government’s coronavirus response on Twitter.

The only qualification @VP Mike Pence has is as supreme Donald Trump kiss-ass. It is frightening that this science denying knuckle-dragger is now in charge of our nation’s response to the #coronavirus. https://t.co/KWroz711jB

— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) February 27, 2020

Mike Pence is not an upgrade.

Putting a guy in charge of a deadly major pandemic who doesn’t believe in science and thinks smoking doesn’t cause cancer is…well…NOT A GREAT IDEA.

Radical idea: put someone qualified in charge. Take this seriously.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 27, 2020

Mike Pence is for conversion therapy. Mike Pence said smoking didn’t cause cancer. Mike Pence doesn’t believe climate science. Mike Pence questioned whether or not condoms worked. So,

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) February 26, 2020

Unfortunately, I have about as much confidence in Mike Pence leading us out of this crisis as Kellyanne Conway earned when she was tasked with leading us out of the opioid crisis.#CoronavirusOutbreak#coronavirususa https://t.co/n24xELMA5y

— Lloyd Doggett (@RepLloydDoggett) February 27, 2020

This is our coronavirus czar. https://t.co/CfrjmogrEn

— Rep. Ted Deutch (@RepTedDeutch) February 27, 2020

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been putting pressure on the Trump administration to step up its efforts to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus — which has been reported in more than 80,000 cases worldwide — from happening in the U.S.

However, Trump has downplayed concerns about the coronavirus, saying that while his administration is “ready to adapt if we have to” as more cases are reported in the country, he doesn’t believe an outbreak is “inevitable,” as other officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said.