Donald Trump’s latest reported insensitive comment about Covid-19 sparked anger on Twitter on Thursday, with accusations the president again has shown his contempt for Americans.
In a video released by the Republican Voters Against Trump group, former White House official Olivia Troye claimed the president (a notorious germaphobe) once said an upside of the coronavirus pandemic was that he’d no longer “have to shake hands with these disgusting people.”
“Those disgusting people are the same people that he claims to care about,” Troye said. “These are the same people still going to his rallies today who have complete faith in who he is.”
Check out the video here:
The recollection of Troye, a longtime Republican who during her time as an aide to Vice President Mike Pence sat on the White House coronavirus task force, drew widespread condemnation on social media. In the same video, Troye slammed Trump’s response to the pandemic and endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Trump last month callously dismissed the soaring death toll from the crisis, telling Jonathan Swan of Axios that “it is what it is.”
“When a former top Pence staffer goes on the record to say that Trump described *his own supporters* as ‘disgusting people’ ― it becomes even more credible than it already was that he referred to America’s war dead as ‘losers’ and ‘suckers,’” tweeted David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush.
Carol Giacomo, a member of The New York Times’ editorial board, described Trump’s comment as “so cruel and cynical.”