We don’t have to look at a transcript of a phone call. The Democrats are telling the president and the American people, “We will give you help to fight the coronavirus in exchange for advancing our radical agenda.”

This quid pro quo makes the Ukraine phone call look like child’s play. This isn’t holding up aid to some foreign country. This is the Democrat Party holding up aid to our country, aid that millions of Americans desperately need. 

It has always concerned me that 40% of Americans are in a crisis if they miss a paycheck. It reminds me of what growing up in my home in Newport, Kentucky, was often like when we were just one paycheck away from disaster. But that is exactly what Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are allowing to happening.

The crux of the controversy here is extremely important. 

It is not surprising that Republicans and Democrats would have different economic approaches to deal with the fallout from the crisis. That’s why we all knew that the final legislation would have compromises, things we like and things we don’t like, to best protect the economy so it can bounce back when this is all over. 

But that is not what is holding up the bill. The problem is that Democrats, by their own admission, are exploiting the crisis to push their radical agenda on a host of issues totally unrelated to the virus. 

We reported this week that Rep. James Clyburn, a member of the House Democrat leadership team, referred to the “phase 3” relief bill currently pending in the Senate as “a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision." 

They are using the suffering of the American people as leverage to force Republicans to accept things that have nothing to do with the coronavirus.

Moreover, Schumer and Pelosi realize that McConnell is short five votes right now. As a result, we need 12 Senate Democrats, not seven, to get the 60 votes necessary to move the debate forward. They are exploiting the fact that some GOP senators are following CDC guidelines to further take advantage of the situation.

For example, what do election rules have to do with the coronavirus? As you know, the left has fought every effort to ensure ballot security and voter ID laws. 

But Pelosi’s emergency bill prevents Republican governors and legislators from cleaning up state voter rolls or requiring identification to obtain a ballot. Her bill mandates nationwide same-day voter registration, an invitation to massive fraud. 

It would nationalize ballot harvesting by insisting that every state allow partisan activists to go door to door collecting ballots, a process that is illegal in most states.

This is a glimpse of what the left will do if it gets the White House and Senate back this November. It will ram through an agenda that will guarantee Republicans never win another national election.

Coronavirus & Impeachment

While a deadly virus was getting ready to attack America in January, the Democrat Party and its media allies were in an all-out attack on the commander-in-chief. 

Let’s revisit what was happening back in January of this year. That’s the period of time when Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer are suggesting that the president should have been taking dramatic steps to fight this virus. Had he done so then, they claim we would not be in this mess now. 

I’m still waiting for them to acknowledge the two months we lost because China lied about the outbreak in Wuhan. But the left hates Trump more than it hates Chinese communists.

President Trump did take dramatic action in January by cutting off travel to China. All the critics viciously attacked his decision and used it as another opportunity to attack Trump as a "racist.”

But put all that aside for a moment. What else was going on in January? 

On December 31st, China informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that it was dealing with a new virus, but insisted it was under control. Two weeks later, on January 14th, the WHO told the rest of the world that there was nothing to worry about because Chinese authorities said that the virus wasn’t contagious. 

And what were Schumer and Pelosi doing at that time? They spent the entire month telling us that the most important foreign phrase we needed to know wasn’t “coronavirus pandemic” but the Latin phrase “quid pro quo.”

They spent the entire month trying to impeach the president and tying his administration in knots! 

They demanded that multiple officials leave their posts to testify about a phone call. They tried to force the president out of office, nine months before the American people could render their own judgment about his leadership and policies. 

They did this knowing there was a looming threat on the horizon. Yet they insist that Trump should have understood what was coming and should have done more. 

By the way, I’ve noticed in recent days that the media are cutting off the president’s press briefings. Five of the six networks ended their coverage of Trump’s briefing Monday once he started answering questions. 

But in January there was never enough time for a “quid pro quo.” Whenever Democrats wanted to talk about impeachment, the media covered every word of it. Now that we’re dealing with the coronavirus, the media doesn’t want Trump talking to the American people.

Stop the Spread

As the number of coronavirus infections and deaths continues to grow, the White House is once again urging everyone to do what they can to stop the spread of the coronavirus. We are now well into a 15-day campaign to slow the infection rate. Here’s what you need to know:

• Follow the directions of your state and local authorities.

• If you feel sick, stay home. Contact your medical provider.

• If your children are sick, keep them at home. Contact your medical provider.

• If someone in your household has tested positive for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home.

• Older Americans should stay home and away from other people.

• Those with serious underlying health conditions should stay home and away from other people.

In addition, the White House is also urging Americans to:

• Work from home whenever possible.

• Avoid gatherings of more than 10 people.

• Avoid bars, restaurants and food courts. Use delivery, pickup and drive-thru options.

• Avoid discretionary travel.

• Avoid unnecessary visits to nursing homes and retirement centers.

Return to Normal?

More and more experts are suggesting that we need to shift our approach to combatting the virus as soon as possible, as the economic destruction increases with each passing day.

Those over a particular age and those with compromised immune systems may need to continue following strict quarantine provisions. The rest of America should return to work as soon as possible in order to limit the economic damage. 

The president has suggested that the cure must not be worse than the problem. Tuesday morning, the stock market opened significantly higher. I believe it was based largely on the hope that the president is signaling a possible end to these onerous restrictions. There may be light at the end of the tunnel! 

During a town-hall event yesterday on Fox News, President Trump said he wanted to see the country “reopen” by Easter. “We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. We don’t turn the country off,” Trump said. “We have to get back to work.”

This decision will be one of the most consequential decisions of Trump’s presidency. You can guarantee that his political enemies will try to exploit it to the fullest. 

There are suggestions that a huge debate is going on within the administration over the best way to proceed. This decision could be impacted by signs that the virus may be peaking in Italy, as well as reports that there are a number of drugs that may ameliorate the worst consequences of the coronavirus for patients.