Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) made an appearance on Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight on Friday, and came to this ridiculous and dangerous conclusion while discussing the fact that Trump was just diagnosed with coronavirus:
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R- FL) said on Fox News Friday night that President Donald Trump shows that no lockdown can be 100 percent effective and that the president’s strategy for reopening should continue. [...]
The Florida congressman and Trump ally went on to make the case that what the president’s positive test shows it that lockdowns cannot stop the virus 100 percent and that the administration’s strategy for reopenings should continue:
“I am familiar with the testing and other coronavirus protocols that are around the Oval Office and Air Force One. What I can tell you is that if this virus can get into the Oval, into the body of the president, there is no place where it could not possibly infect one of our fellow Americans. That’s why it’s so important to continue executing on President Trump’s strategy to allow our country to open up, but then to ensure that we protect the vulnerable, because there is no lockdown that can be a panacea to save everyone from everything, and this is proof positive that’s the case. I hope in a matter of days or weeks, we are not talking about how Trump survived the coronavirus, but maybe how the coronavirus survived Trump. He’s the hardest working man I have ever met.”
On this Saturday's Inside Politics on CNN, host John King appeared to have reached his limit with these irresponsible Republicans who apparently have no concern for how many more Americans end up dying from listening to their dangerous rhetoric:
“No, it is not proof positive that’s the case,” a fuming King explained. “It is proof positive that if you behave recklessly, you might get infected.”
“I want to show you this, the president’s schedule in the days before his diagnosis,” he continued. “We could go back weeks and months. The SCOTUS announcement at the White House — a packed crowd at the White House. People packed into small meeting rooms inside the White House before that. A crowded rally in Pennsylvania. A press conference in the briefing room — walking out with Pence.”
“He had a rally in Duluth,” he continued. “He gets on Air Force One headed to a fundraiser after being told one of his aides tested positive within his proximity. The problem is the president’s reckless behavior, not that COVID can get anybody.”
It's astounding that Trump and his death cult are still twisting themselves into knots to defend the indefensible even after so many of them, including Trump, have contracted the virus, but here we are. They need to be going after their enablers on Fox as well, and quit treating their propaganda network as though they're a legitimate source of news, instead of the threat to our democracy and public health that they've become.
