Chris Hayes Erupts on ‘Deeply Broken’ Republicans Decrying New Covid Policies: ‘Ridiculous Theatrics That Are Getting People Killed’

Chris Hayes went absolutely All In (sorry) on Republicans reacting negatively to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will ask the Department of Labor to implement new Covid requirements on employers with 100 workers or more. The policy would require that employees at such organizations be vaccinated against Covid-19 or receive weekly testing for the virus.

Calling them “the faction on the side of the virus,” Hayes said Republicans “are reacting with histrionics and tantrums.”

He cited outraged responses on Twitter from the governors of South Carolina and Tennessee, the latter of whom, Gov. Bill Lee, tweeted, “The Constitution won’t allow this power grab, and in the meantime, I will stand up for all Tennesseans.”

Hayes noted that Tennessee has set a new record for Covid-related hospitalization every day this month through Thursday.

“In that state, the governor says he will stand up for the Tennesseans by fighting for the mandate,” said Hayes. “It’s too late for him to stand up for the ones that have died.”

He also played a clip of Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) calling Biden’s policies “a diversion” from September 11 and the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“That is such a revealing thing to say,” exclaimed Hayes. “A diversion. Covid is an abstraction. A political game.”

Then he went off:

Fifteen hundred people died today! Americans. Like the Americans we lost on 9/11, like those brave service members we lost in Afghanistan. Today. Tomorrow. On the one hand, these are just ridiculous theatrics but they’re ridiculous theatrics that are getting people killed and have been getting people killed for the past 18 months. If there’s one thing I still – and you can probably tell – cannot abide, cannot acclimate myself, cannot come to accept after a year and a half, it is the despicable glibness with which these people treat this stalking tragedy in our lives as some point scoring opportunity, as some dumb rhetorical game for their Facebook posts.

Hayes later added, “Something is deeply broken with them.”

Watch above via MSNBC.