In an interview with the Signal on Tuesday, MJ Hegar said both President Trump and Sen. John Cornyn have failed to properly inform Texans about the seriousness of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I feel like there’s a real vacuum of leadership,” Hegar said. “There’s a lot of problems that the coronavirus is causing. Obviously, the thing people are talking about the most is fear of contracting the virus, but here on the ground, out when I’m talking to people, it goes well beyond that.”
Hegar said Texans are hoarding resources and food because Trump and Republican lawmakers haven’t developed a concrete plan to ease people’s fears or guide them through the outbreak. She said it was part of a larger problem in establishment Washington, where incumbent elected officials are difficult to reach and motivate.
“John Cornyn is tweeting things out like this a cakewalk … clearly his only concern is contracting the virus,” Hegar said. “But he’s disconnected from the plight of regular working Texans.”
Hegar said she supported rapidly expanding testing, emergency paid sick leave, and was in favor of mail-in ballots during the primary run-off election between her and state Sen. Royce Wet set for May 26.
You can listen to the full interview on the upcoming Signal podcast this Friday.
Photo by MJ for Texas
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com