Ahead of Mike Pence’s trip to Iowa today, Democratic National Committee spokesperson John Weber released the following statement:

“After this administration’s failed pandemic response contributed to the cratering of our economy and left 33 million Americans out of work, Mike Pence owes Iowans answers, not a photo op. Instead of preparing for one of the most devastating disasters in modern history, the Trump administration wasted time, downplayed the crisis, and failed to deliver the testing and equipment we still desperately need.

“It didn’t have to be this bad. Iowans are facing the worst economy in a generation because Donald Trump refused to do his job. Pence can’t paper over that devastating failure.”

BACKGROUND ON TRUMP’S FAILED CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE

Promise: “We’re going to win with health care.” [Trump Campaign Rally, Clear Lake IA, 1/9/2016]

• Reality: After Trump spent weeks ignoring his own advisors and downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, the United States leads the world with more than 1.3 million confirmed cases and 75,000 deaths.

• Reality: Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Trump and the Republican Party are attempting to overturn the Affordable Care Act — endangering health coverage for 187,000 Iowans and threatening protections for as many as 1.29 million Iowans with a preexisting condition.

Promise:  “Anybody that wants a test can get a test.” [Trump Remarks at CDC Headquarters, 3/6/20]

• Reality: Trump’s testing “strategy” would provide tests for just 2% of Iowans.

• Reality: Two months after Trump’s promise on testing, Dr. Fauci says we’re still a month away.

Promise: “We are marshalling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people.” [Oval Office Address, 3/11/20]

• Reality: Unemployment has reached its highest level since the Great Depression, as more than 180,000 Iowans file unemployment claims.

• Reality: Iowans are still being forced to put themselves in harm’s way without adequate personal protective equipment — from nurses to meat plant workers.

• Reality: While experts warned of a coming pandemic, Trump took Chinese officials at their word, repeatedly praised the Chinese government and sent record shipments of N95 masks overseas.