Jake Tapper takes aim at Trump over COVID infection: ‘You have become a symbol of your own failures’

CNN anchor Jake Tapper had a stern message for President Donald Trump on Sunday, three days after the world learned of Trump’s COVID-19 infection.

During a monologue on “State of the Union,” Tapper excoriated Trump for “failed leadership” and “undermining” efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

“Many Americans are likely feeling both sympathy and anger today, emotions that don’t necessarily mix well,” Tapper began. “Sympathy for all of those suffering, including President Trump, who remains at Walter Reed Medical Center. But also anger because so much — so much of all this pain could have been avoided.

Tapper continued:

So many of us since March have been doing everything we can to preserve the health of not only ourselves and our families, but our communities, our neighbors, you. Social distancing, wearing masks, holding events remotely, weddings have been canceled, jobs lost, children are missing out on in-person education, and their ability to see friends. It’s a real crisis. It’s going to leave scars. 208,000 Americans have died. Thousands of Americans have lost loved ones without being able to properly mourn or even say good-bye. But we’re in the middle of a once in century pandemic. Health experts say this is what we need to do in order to get to the other side.

“Regardless of the sympathy we may feel, we also know the president has been undermining these efforts, expressing disdain for health regulations and those who abide by them,” Tapper claimed.

Tapper went on to say that “Americans who don’t listen to science or medicine” are making “it worse for all of us” — and he claimed those individuals are “are taking your cues” from Trump.

Then the CNN journalist tore into Republicans for gathering together last Saturday, many of them maskless, during Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination announcement.

“My god. How are future generations going to try to make sense of these images of the Republican leaders of the nation acting like this during a once in a century pandemic with more than 200,000 Americans dead?” Tapper said.

“It’s not just through failed leadership or setting bad examples. You are all now literally risking spreading the virus yourselves,” he continued. “The president and his team have been behaving as if the pandemic is over. This callous indifference to the wellbeing of the citizens the president swore to protect, it’s no longer just theoretical, it’s no longer well, they might get the virus.”

Then, Tapper directed his speech directly to Trump, who remains at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he is battling his COVID-19 infection.

“Sick and in isolation, Mr. President, you have become a symbol of your own failures. Failures of recklessness, ignorance, arrogance. The same failures you have been inflicting on the rest of us,” Tapper said. “Get well, and please, for the rest of us who don’t get to go to Walter Reed, get well and get it together.”

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