Sen. John Kennedy Declares U.S. Economy Must Reopen Soon, Even Though That Means ‘Virus Is Going to Spread Faster’
Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) declared on Tucker Carlson Tonight that the U.S. economy must re-open for business amidst the coronavirus pandemic, even as he acknowledged that the result would be that the Covid-19 virus will spread faster.
The senator’s comments to Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night appeared to accept as reality that more people would die as part of the White House’s push for ending nationwide shelter-in-place rules and allowing commerce to flow much more widely.
“I mean, here’s the way I see it. The American people are not morons,” Kennedy said in his trademark pithy, homespun manner. “They understand what I’m about to say, and at some point, we’re going to have to trust them. Number one, very, very soon, the can is going to run out of road.”
“We’ve got to open this economy. If we don’t, it’s going to collapse,” he warned Carlson. “If the U.S. economy collapses, the world economy collapses. And trying to burn down the village to save it is foolish. That’s a cold hard truth. Number two: Yes, we shut down, but the shutdown did not stop the spread of the virus. I wish it had. But it’s too late for that.”
Kennedy then added the qualifier that while the shut down was effective, it continues to leave a consequential strain on the U.S. economy, even as the nation set another grim new single-day record on Wednesday for coronavirus deaths.
“The shut down slowed the spread of the virus at enormous cost, but it still spread,” he acknowledged, before implying many in the country would be fine with re-accelerating the coronavirus risk to reignite the country’s economy and return to normal. “Number three: When we end the shutdown, the virus is going to spread faster. That’s just a fact. And the American people understand that.”
“So when we open up and we’re going to have to, and somebody’s got to make the call, we got to be smart about how we do it,” Kennedy explained. “Don’t open up in the middle of a hotspot. Encourage your elderly and those with pre-existing conditions to stay quarantined and provide them financial support. Wear masks. Try to socially distance. Use technology without violating privacy to track the hotspots and track people who have been exposed. Test as much as we can. Make sure that we got healthcare capacity.”
“This is like choosing between cancer and a heart attack,” Kennedy concluded.
Watch above, via Fox News.
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