Parscale says Trump should have been more empathetic about coronavirus

Former Trump campaign manager Brad ParscaleBrad ParscaleAides tried to get Trump to stop attacking McCain in hopes of winning Arizona: MORE report say that President TrumpDonald John TrumpGeraldo Rivera on Trump sowing doubt on election results: ‘Enough is enough now’ Murkowski: Trump should concede White House race Scott Atlas resigns from his post as Trump’s coronavirus advisor MOREThe biggest political mistake by the public ahead of the 2020 election was showing a lack of public empathy for the novel coronavirus.

“People were scared,” Parscale said in an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum that aired Tuesday night. “I think if he had been publicly empathetic he would have won by a landslide there. He could have leaned into it instead of running away.

Parscale, who was kicked out of the role of campaign manager over the summer, said Trump’s decision to push for the country’s reopening instead of showing empathy about COVID-19 was had injured with suburban voters in swing states like Georgia and Pennsylvania that Trump ultimately lost to. Joe bidenJoe BidenGeraldo Rivera on Trump casting doubt on election results: ‘Enough is enough now’ Senate approves two energy regulators, rounding out Murkowski panel: Trump should concede House race White PLUS, who is now president-elect.

Parscale described the move as the campaign’s biggest “policy mistake”, differentiating it from technical mistakes.

Trump, who was sickened by the coronavirus in October, has avoided public health guidelines for months to organize large election rallies and other White House events while downplaying the threat of COVID-19. The virus has infected more than 13.6 million Americans and killed more than 270,000.

After Trump spent three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center recovering from the virus in October, he urged Americans not to be afraid of COVID-19 or to let it “rule” their lives.

Biden has spent much of his campaign focusing on Trump’s handling of the virus and contrasting his own planned approach to controlling its spread.

The interview was Parscale’s first since stepping down from his role in the Trump campaign in late September. Parscale was arrested by police and taken to hospital in September after his wife said he was armed and threatened to self-harm.

Parscale served as Trump’s campaign manager until a reshuffle in July that saw him demoted and replaced by Bill StepienBill Stepien Former Trump Campaign Leader Parscale Reportedly Planned To Write A Book The Memo: Trump Strikes As The Tide Rises For Biden The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden Draws Close To Victory MORE. Parscale served in a limited role as senior campaign adviser until the September incident.

Parscale said during the interview with Fox that he and his wife were in a “better place” and attributed the incident to emotional stress over the past five years.

Parscale declined to call Trump the election loser in the interview, instead expressing hope his efforts to challenge the results might work in his favor.

Trump’s legal team produced no evidence to support his claims of widespread electoral fraud and his own attorney general said on Tuesday there was no evidence of electoral fraud that would change the outcome of the presidential race . Key states where Trump contested the results, such as Arizona and Wisconsin, have certified their results showing Biden’s victory.

Parscale said he had not spoken to Trump recently, but urged him to “keep fighting”.