Senator Ted Cruz Discusses Coronavirus, China, Trump Response, U.S. Economy [INTERVIEW]

Thursday on The Chad Hasty Show, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined the program to talk about the latest news on the coronavirus front.

Cruz and Hasty discussed the origin of the virus and the responsibility of the Chinese government for allowing the pandemic to get out of hand, as well as the U.S. government response, the rapid rise of unemployment claims, and the government's stimulus efforts to mitigate damage to the economy.

Hasty asked Cruz about his reaction to recent jobless claims in the United States of 6.6 million this week, coming to a total of 10 million in the last two weeks. Cruz replied,

The economic damages we're seeing right now are catastrophic, and we're facing two crises simultaneously. We've got a public health crisis that is the coronavirus pandemic, and that is serious, and we are working hard and we will will defeat this crisis. But we've got simultaneously an economic crisis that is caused by the public health steps that government is taking to try to defeat the public health crisis. And you're looking at millions and millions of Americans out of work. We have never seen anything like it.

When asked by Hasty about his views on the culpability of China in the disastrous spread of the disease, Cruz replied,

China bears enormous responsibility. We know for a fact they lied, they covered up this outbreak when it occurred in Wuhan. For moths they tried to keep it a secret. They punished the whistle-blowers. Had we acted swiftly, had we gone in there with doctors with containment units, it is possible we could have contained this virus in Wuhan, and not seen it become a global pandemic. But because they were scared that it would make them look bad, the communist government of China instead lied and allowed this virus to get out of hand and to spread, and it has lead now to deaths all over the world.

Cruz also thanked Lubbock businesses that are stepping up in a major way by producing badly needed masks and sanitizers.

Listen to the entire interview with Senator Ted Cruz in the video above.

(This article was edited to include quotes.)

The Chad Hasty Show airs weekday mornings live, from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, on the fantastic & the free KFYO App, as well as on all Alexa-enabled devices using the KFYO Skill. Follow Chad on Twitter via @ChadHastyRadio & KFYO Radio at @KFYO!