Sen. Tom Cotton sounds alarm on dangerous ‘conspiracy of silence' over COVID origins

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is finally vindicated for his 2020 contention that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China – a claim that had been dismissed as a "fringe theory" by several major news outlets.

Sen. Cotton joined "Mornings with Maria" Thursday, to discuss the severe mishandling of the investigation into the origins of COVID-19, arguing that the White House is "bending over backwards" to avoid a consensus. 

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"Maria, I appreciate you joining me and exploring the most likely explanation for this virus, which is the Wuhan labs. The only conspiracy back in the early part of 2020 was a conspiracy of silence among liberals and the media in the federal bureaucracy and Democrats in Congress to try to suppress the common sense, evidence-based conclusion that so many Arkansans had reached - that the Chinese Communists were responsible because of their negligent practices in this lab for unleashing this pandemic on the world. That's the only conspiracy theory that was circulating around," the Arkansas senator argued.

"Unfortunately, you still see, in some degree, that conspiracy of silence. You see White House officials this week bending over backwards to say they don't have a consensus, there's no firm conclusions to apologize for, or even defend Chinese communists," Cotton continued. 

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Sen. Cotton further argued that the Biden administration has continuously projected weakness when dealing with the Chinese Communist Party, specifically referring to his handling of China's surveillance missions.

"They did the same thing when China sent a spy balloon to America, speculating that it could have gotten blown off course from Guam to Alaska. That's a heck of a wind, Maria. That's what's dangerous, is that the Biden administration and liberals in the media still have this mindset that somehow if we appease Chinese communists, if we mollify them, if we kowtow to them, then they won't take provocative actions towards America. That's the exact opposite of what we should be doing," he explained.

Host Maria Bartiromo bolstered the Arkansas senator's declaration, expressing her concern that the Biden administration's progressive development of the U.S.'s relationship with China is "downright dangerous," and asking the senator why he believes the president is "so soft on China."

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"It's part of a pattern of Joe Biden's career. He's always excused Chinese communist aggression and wrongdoing. I mean, as recently as the 2020 campaign, he was saying that China is not a competitor of the United States, and he even goes out of his way, still, to say that he doesn't want a Cold War. Well, I don't either, and most Arkansans don't. But if China is waging a Cold War against us, as they have been for decades, our only choice is to win or to lose. And unfortunately, this administration has a losing policy," he said, Thursday.

In response, Bartiromo issued a heavy question to Cotton, asking "What can you, as an elected official, do about it?"

"Unfortunately, this administration has a losing policy. Right now, what we should be doing is taking actions that are long overdue to make it clear to China that there are consequences for unleashing this pandemic on the world. There are consequences for invading our airspace," Cotton concluded. 

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"Things like banning TikTok, banning Chinese nationals from buying farmland in America, having reciprocal treatment for their diplomats and spies in America that they impose on Americans in China. Most Arkansans think that's a very simple proposition, is that whatever China does to us, we should do to them. Simple reciprocity."