Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants President Donald Trump to deploy the U.S. military to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
De Blasio told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel Friday that the president should “get the hell out of the way,” and let the military handle the situation. (RELATED: ‘Not Racist At All’: Trump Defends Calling Coronavirus The ‘Chinese Virus’
“I know the quality and the devotion of the United States military,” de Blasio said. “If they got the order this hour to mobilize and get resources to the places in this country that are suffering, they would give it their all, and they have the best logistical capacity of any organization in America. No one doubts that.”
“They have an extraordinary group of medical personnel, and material and supplies that they could put on the ground,” de Blasio continued. “They know how to do it in a war, I assure you they could do it in their own country.”
The mayor then went on to rip Trump for not using enough of his powers to battle the rapidly-spreading virus.
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“The order has not been given by the commander-in-chief because he’s not acting like a commander-in-chief. He doesn’t know how,” de Blasio said. “He should get the hell out of the way and let the military do its job.”
Despite de Blasio’s attacks, the president has been praised by Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his handling of the crisis. Cuomo said earlier this week that the administration “has been on it,” and is doing everything they can to help battle the pandemic. New York has had the most positive coronavirus tests of any state in the country.