Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy will help the United States emerge no worse for the wear from the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s business acumen and management style will help guide the country’s economy through the pandemic, Landry told the Daily Caller News Foundation. He also said the virus carries with it a silver lining: reveals the flaws of relying on China’s supply line.
“I have a tremendous amount of confidence in President Trump and his administration because he is a business guy, and he understands the economy,” said Landry, a Republican who was working on a range of issues before the virus took hold, including participating in an antitrust probe targeting Google.
The president’s response to the virus has been off-kilter, shifting from likening coronavirus, or COVID-19, to the flu to restricting travel in January to China where the virus originated. His administration engaged in a flurry of action recently addressing the pandemic. (RELATED: US Restricts Travel From China Amid Coronavirus Outbreak)
Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in March ordering General Motors to make ventilators after he criticized the company for not working quickly enough to produce the critical supplies required to care for coronavirus infected patients.
The president also signed Phase three of the stimulus package, which gives $1,200 checks to every American, with married couples receiving $2,400. That check will go to Americans making less than $75,000 per year.
More than 11 million people filed unemployment applications after federal and state officials effectively ground the country to a screeching halt.
U.S. President Donald Trump (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Still, Landry said the virus, which has killed more than 55,000 people worldwide, is only a speed bump.
“I believe in America, I believe that we will beat this fight,” he told the DCNF before suggesting the pandemic shows China as a bad actor that should not be trusted with U.S.’s supply chain.
“One of the silver linings in this time of darkness is that American people now realize the weakness in the supply chain,” Landry said. “Things coming from China are not always that great anymore. We recognize that all of our medication is being made in Asia.”
Other conservatives have expressed similar sentiments.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, for instance, called for “consequences” against the World Health Organization (WHO) for siding with China during the pandemic.
“WHO has sided w/ #China Communist Party against the world in this pandemic.” the Republican tweeted in March.
Landry also said that he is marshalling his offices resources toward bringing down legal hurdles that might prevent Louisianans citizens from gaining access to hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria that has shown promise in reducing symptoms in people suffering with COVID-19.
Louisiana reported a 2,726 new coronavirus cases Thursday — a roughly 42% increase from a day earlier.
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