Rep. Kevin McCarthy: China's actions “directly led to Americans dying”

LOS ANGELES - “What China did to us, the deception that China did, directly led to Americans dying.”

With more than 50,000 Americans dying as a result of the coronavirus, and some 900,000 having tested positive, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told FOX 11 anchor Elex Michaelson that America's anger should be directed towards China, not President Trump.  

Instead, McCarthy credits the president with shutting down travel to China, as well as Europe, despite pushback from experts, the World Health Organization, and other political leaders, who were themselves basing analysis on faulty data out of the Middle Kingdom.

“China was deceptive to the rest of the world, China influenced the World Health Organization to lie about it, China allowed 5 million people from Wuhan to go and fly throughout the world and infect all of us.”

McCarthy also expressed concern over China’s control of global supply chains, including some 50% of the world’s Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Despite that majority stake, McCarthy said China still sought to purchase more PPE, such as masks and gowns, for themselves, even as they continued to play down the threat the virus posed.

“When France actually sent PPE to China, what did China do when [the virus] infected France? Sold [France] the products back,” McCarthy said. “What did China also do during that time? For France to be able to purchase more PPE, they tried to influence them to let Huawei into their country.”

“The one thing that all of America should wake up to, is that we should never let China control any supply chain again… this is something that President Trump, as Candidate Trump, warned us about.”

In a wide-ranging interview on The Issue Is, McCarthy also discussed the $500B relief package passed this week in Congress, the surprising new relationship that has blossomed between President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom in the face of the crisis, and how Congress should operate in the time of social distancing.

The Issue Is is California's only statewide political show. Watch FOX 11 Los Angeles Fridays at 10:30PM and Sundays at 9:30AM. For more showtimes and information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com.