MSNBC’s Ruhle Mocks Trump’s Economic Task Force: ‘This Isn’t a Snow Day… We’re Talking About Life and Death’
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle scoffed at the news that President Donald Trump is forming a new coronavirus task force to focus on the pandemic’s economic impact.
As the disease continues to devastate the national economy, multiple reports say Trump is planning a second White House task force that will be dedicated to revitalizing the economy at the end of April.
When Ruhle joined her colleagues to discuss this on Thursday, she agreed with Katy Tur that it’s not up to Trump to decide when people across the country think it’s safe enough to say they’re open for business.
“Let’s make something clear: open for business is a sentiment. It’s a sign, it’s not real life,” Ruhle said. “This isn’t a snow day. We’re not going decide a week from now or three weeks from now ‘alright, everybody trot back to work.’ Look at Singapore. Singapore opened back up and then they saw the largest daily jump to date. Who was it? It was blue collar workers. We’re not going to go back to work until public health experts weigh in here.”
Ruhle continued by saying that the country’s economic woes will end when the pandemic is tackled “in a public health policy way, or we’re going to be in worse shape than ever.” While she acknowledged that the latest unemployment numbers are “upsetting and jarring,” Ruhle stressed that Americans “need” to stay home right now while the government figures out what to with unemployment benefits and protecting people from Covid-19.
From there, Brian Williams asked Ruhle if Trump was possibly forming the new task force in order to reassure various industries amid the pandemic. Ruhle answered that “maybe he’s winking at them, but the president’s showmanship or whether we’re seeing the numbers overstated or understated, aren’t going to play this time, because we’re talking about life and death.”
“People are dying. Grocery store employees are dying. If he is mentioning this to people in the agricultural community, if you run a farm, you cannot run the risk that people you have out there working have the virus, they’re spreading it to someone else. This is very serious business. So yes, the president is getting out there, talking up a big game. It makes the market go up and it makes the market go down. But this is a perfect example of where the stock market and real life and the real economy are two very different things.”
Ruhle’s comments were a considerable expansion of a tweet she penned earlier, wherein she also raised skepticism for the “noise” about kickstarting the economy already.
NOTHING ABOUT “OPEN FOR BUSINESS” NOISE MATTERS
Until there is Department of Health led widespread case tracking & policies put in place.
THIS IS NOT A SNOW DAY.
This is a pandemic & it’s not over.— Stephanie Ruhle (@SRuhle) April 9, 2020
Watch above, via MSNBC.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
