Trump's Commerce Secretary Gets Dragged for Boasting That the Coronavirus Could 'Accelerate' the U.S. Economy

Around 7,000 people have been infected and 170 have died due to Coronavirus cases in Wuhan, China. Travel in the area is suspended and officials are working around the clock to provide adequate medical care to those infected as the death toll continues to rise.

President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, tried and failed to provide a silver lining.

Watch below.

In an appearance on Fox News, the 82-year-old said:

"Every American's heart has to go out to the victims of the coronavirus, so I don't want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease."

Nevertheless, he still took the victory lap.

"But the fact is it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain. On top of all the other things, you had SARS, you have the African swine (fever) virus there, now you have this. It's another risk factor that people need to take into account. So I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America ― some to U.S., probably some to Mexico as well."

Ross claimed that the deadly virus spreading further in China could result in more jobs and greater opportunities to the United States.

While Trump may solicit other countries for political investigations, a pillar of his campaign platform was bringing U.S. jobs from overseas.

Ross's optimism at a potential pandemic was just another extension of Trump's mindset.

China recently saw its biggest jump in single-day fatalities due to the virus.