When State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced in March that he’s running for Governor, he said, “Voters like candidates who attack problems, not people.”

That didn’t last long.

He must have figured out that, in Trump’s Republican Party, the whole point of politics is to attack people.

And – shades of Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris – who better to attack than a strong, accomplished woman?

Folwell pounced on news that President Biden will appoint Dr. Mandy Cohen, North Carolina’s former Secretary of Health and Human Services, to lead the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like Trump, Folwell tweeted: “Pray for our country. As a member of the NC Council of State, my observation is that the actions of Dr. Mandy Cohen during Covid resulted in more disease, death, poverty and illiteracy. As NC Governor, I would be hard pressed to ever follow her lead at CDC if chosen by the POTUS.”

Earth to Dale:

Remember 2020, when the pandemic was raging, Trump was pooh-poohing it and you were hospitalized with Covid for five days? And three of your staff members caught it?

As of this March, nearly 3.5 million Covid cases had been reported in North Carolina. Nearly 30,000 North Carolinians had died. Tens of thousands more still suffer long-term effects.

Cohen and Governor Cooper saved lives. Republicans put lives at risk.

When he announced his candidacy, Folwell said voters “are going to respond to somebody who speaks to them like adults.”

He failed that test fast.