As President Donald Trump becomes increasingly nervous about his reelection chances, Republicans are demanding the lifting of the social distancing guidelines that have kept workers at home and shuttered the economy.
On Tuesday, Rep. Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana said that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the “lesser of two evils” compared with the economic hardship caused by the “stay-at-home” ordinance, CNN reports.
Hollingsworth asserted during an interview with radio station WIBC in Indiana, that, while he appreciated the science behind the virus’ spread, “it is always the American government’s position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter.”
“The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on. Our (Gross Domestic Product) is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter,” Hollingsworth said, according to CNN. “It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office.”
Hollingsworth’s comments echo a growing desire among some Republicans to begin to ease the guidelines that have shuttered businesses and kept workers at home and President Donald Trump becomes increasingly nervous about his reelection chances due to the bad economy.
