“I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us — I think he got out over his skis and frankly, I think it’s a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self discipline,” Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle editorial board…

Cornyn also said the president “should’ve known” that comments he made to journalist Bob Woodward about downplaying the virus in his public statements would be published. He said that while he believes Trump’s policy actions on the virus — including shutting off travel to and from China and supporting stimulus packages worth trillions of dollars — “demonstrated the seriousness of the virus,” the president’s rhetoric at times “creates confusion.”

“He tries to balance that with saying, ‘Well you know, we got this.’ And clearly we don’t have this,” Cornyn said. “I think the biggest mistake people make in public life is not telling the truth, particularly in something with as much public interest as here because you know the real story is going to come out.”