GOP Congressman-elect calls the coronavirus pandemic 'phony' while rallying with Trump supporters in DC

• GOP Representative-elect Bob Good of Virginia on Saturday labeled the coronavirus pandemic as "phony" at a rally in support of President Donald Trump in Washington, DC.
• "This looks like a group of people that get that this is a phony pandemic," he said. "It's a serious virus, but it's a virus. It's not a pandemic ... You get it. You stand up against tyranny.
• Just a day earlier, the US had roughly 231,000 new coronavirus infections and over 3,300 COVID-19 deaths, both record numbers for the country, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

GOP Congressman-elect Bob Good on Saturday labeled the coronavirus pandemic as "phony" during an appearance in Washington, DC, at the second "Million MAGA March" in support of President Donald Trump.

Good, a conservative who will represent Virginia's 5th Congressional district beginning in January 2021, made the statement in front of a throng of supporters who were in town to protest election irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, despite no evidence showing widespread voter fraud.

"I can't tell you how great it is to look out there and see your faces," he said. "This looks like a group of people that get that this is a phony pandemic. It's a serious virus, but it's a virus. It's not a pandemic ... You get it. You stand up against tyranny. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for saying no to the insanity."

On December 11, there were roughly 231,000 confirmed new coronavirus infections and over 3,300 COVID-19 deaths, both single-day records in the US, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Since the pandemic began in the country, 16 million people have been infected and over 297,000 people have died.

Outgoing GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, who lost to Good in an outdoor drive-through party convention this past summer, lit into his successor's comments on Twitter.

"My grandmother is in the Hospital with COVID," he wrote. "My brother is a critical care nurse taking care of those with COVID. Saying COVID is fake is irresponsible, embarrassing and everything that is wrong with politics. Virginia deserves better."

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic.

"We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the time. "We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear."

Ironically, Good defeated Democrat Cameron Webb, a doctor who treats COVID-19 patients, in the conservative-leaning district this past November.

Webb, who ran on expanding access to healthcare, among other issues, also responded to Good's comments on Twitter, calling his message "irresponsible."

"I've seen firsthand the devastation COVID-19 causes," Webb tweeted. "The fact is - even here in VA - the pandemic is surging right now. Anyone can be affected and it's our collective duty to respect this threat. It goes beyond partisanship or politics. This rhetoric is irresponsible and dangerous."

In November, Riggleman called the refusal of most Republicans to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's election victory a "massive grift" and said the GOP posturing was "just money-making for the 2024 election" and "completely unethical."

A spokesman for Good recently told The Washington Post that the congressman-elect would have signed the amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court by 126 House Republicans backing the Texas lawsuit challenging the election results in key states that Trump lost.

Good "stands fully behind President Trump," according to the spokesman.