GOP Sen. John Cornyn criticizes Trump: 'He got out over his skis'

(Image credit: GRAEME JENNINGS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

published 5 October 2020

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), considered one of President Trump's closer allies in the upper chamber, provided some candid comments about the commander-in-chief's recent COVID-19 diagnosis in a conversation with The Houston Chronicle editorial board.

Cornyn was diplomatic, but relatively critical of the president, stating that he "let his guard down" while trying to show Americans that the coronavirus threat was winding down. "I think he got out over his skis," Cornyn said, adding that Trump's bout with the virus should be a lesson in self discipline.

Trump's policies, Cornyn said, "demonstrated the seriousness of the virus," but he couldn't say the same for his rhetoric. "He tries to balance that with saying, 'Well you know, we got this.' And clearly we don't have this," the senator told the Chronicle. "I think the biggest mistake people make in public life is not telling the truth, particularly in something with as much public interest as here because you know the real story is going to come out." Read more at The Houston Chronicle.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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