Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) on Sunday slammed the Trump administration for "admitting defeat" in the fight against COVID-19 after White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNN "we are not going to control the pandemic."

Meadows made the remark Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, telling host Jake Tapper that the president's strategy is "to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas," even as cases skyrocket across the United States.

"They are admitting defeat," Harris told reporters when asked about Meadows' comment. "This is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of America."

Noting that Meadows told Tapper that COVID-19 "is a contagious virus just like the flu," Harris ripped the administration for once again "suggesting to the American people that this is like the flu."

"We have known from the beginning — and they knew since January — that it's five times more deadly than the flu," Harris said.

"We are breaking records for the number of people that are contracting a deadly virus," she continued. "And this administration fails to take personal responsibility or responsibility in terms of leading the nation through this dangerous and deadly mass casualty event. And that's why they have forfeited their right to a second term."

Asked about Vice President Mike Pence refusing to quarantine despite his chief of staff Mark Short testing positive for coronavirus, Harris argued her team has been a model for how to handle outbreaks during a tough campaign season.

"They should take our lead," she said.

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