Ilhan Omar says Trump's coronavirus response could cost 'hundreds of thousands' of lives

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for April 3

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here. 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., argued that President Trump could cost "hundreds of thousands of lives" through his administration's "completely failed" response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think with each day that goes by, it becomes clearer and clearer how badly this administration has completely failed the American people,” Omar told Sirius XM host Dean Obeidallah during the Thursday edition of his radio show.

“When you have the richest country in the world and we have all kinds of advantages, yet thousands, yet hundreds of thousands of people could die because of his mismanagement and his inability to really be quite upfront with people is quite devastating. As you just pointed out, for weeks, this president downplayed this crisis," she added.

REP. ILHAN OMAR CALLS TRUMP'S CORONAVIRUS PRESS CONFERENCES A 'TRAIN WRECK'

Omar depicted Trump as unable to play "the role" of a leader of a country facing a pandemic, saying: "I would say the level of incompetency, and the narcissism that drives need to constantly focus on what his poll numbers are, what the ratings look like, who is being nice to him and who isn't, is completely appalling. I mean, we want him to pay attention, lead, be honest, and not be so focused on pointing fingers and just do his job."

Her comments came amid an ongoing debate over how President Trump has handled the crisis. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also floated legislation that would grant Congress subpoena power in investigating the administration's response.

On Thursday, the president admonished "partisan investigations" in an apparent jab at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who had announced a committee to oversee the coronavirus response.

ILHAN OMAR PRAISES TRUMP'S 'INCREDIBLE' RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

"I want to remind everyone here in our nation's capital, especially in Congress, that this is not the time for politics, endless partisan investigations. Here we go again. They've already done extraordinary damage to our country in recent years," Trump said.

Omar has both praised and criticized aspects of President Trump's response to the crisis. For example, she said it was "incredible" for Trump to demand relief like mortgage foreclosure suspensions and cash payments for Americans.

CLICK HERE TO GET COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

She also said, however, that one of the administration's press conferences was "disturbing to watch."

"It’s not only the lies and spins that are disturbing, but the millions of people who watch this and actually believe this insane stuff. It’s like watching a train wreck happen and not knowing what to do," she said.

Fox News' Gregg Re and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.