During an interview Tuesday morning with syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Democrats' obsession with impeachment in the first month of this year distracted the Trump administration from the threat of coronavirus. "It came up while we were tied down in the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government because everything every day was all about impeachment," he said. <blockquote>HH: I hope you are right that we could do it and that we do do it. Let me talk to you a little bit about Senator Cotton. Political yesterday recognized him as the first to the bell. In your experience in the Senate, was Senator Cotton the first one to say hey, Leader, hey Mitch, this is a deadly situation that I do not trust to the Chinese? Was he first? MM: He was first, and I think Tom was right on the mark. And it came up while we were tied down on the impeachment trial. And I think it diverted the attention of the government, because everything every day was all about impeachment. But Tom figured this out early, and he was absolutely right. HH: And China has not covered itself in glory. Far from it. I believe, however, a lot of our media is trusting their statistics and falling for their disinformation propaganda campaign. Do you see that, Senator McConnell? MM: I don’t know how to evaluate that. I sort of look to the health care professionals how to decide, you know, how to analyze these trends. And I know they’re spending all day every day doing it. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx have become national figures. They deserve to become national figures. And I think we have to listen to them, because we don’t have anybody else, you know, who can analyze these statistics and give us some kind of advice about the way forward.</blockquote>