MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough obliterated Republican lawmakers and governors who are urging Americans to continue gathering in public despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) went on Fox Business to encourage viewers to visit restaurants and bars, and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt shared a photo of himself and his two sons dining out over the weekend — and the “Morning Joe” host criticized their recklessness.
“The stupidity and the recklessness of political leaders to say, go out to restaurants, go out to pubs, as Devin Nunes said,” Scarborough said. “You had the governor of Oklahoma saying that, then the next day, having to declare an emergency. Yeah, the governor of South Carolina [Henry McMaster] last week saying he wasn’t going to close anything, in fact, he was going to go to the St. Patrick’s Day parade himself. Then he had to announce yesterday that he was closing schools in South Carolina.”
“I mean, what is it?” he continued. “What is it about these Republican leaders, that they think that you can shoot a virus? They think your AR-15 is going to help a virus. They think some, like, macho display is somehow going to beat the virus? No, you can’t. See, let me help you out here. You can’t bully a virus, okay? You’ve got to outthink it, you can’t be stupid. Taking your family out to a restaurant when the top scientists in the world are telling you to stay home and protect them. Then the next day, you’re made a fool of, you have to call a national emergency, so you’ve admitted you put your family at risk, everybody around your family at risk.”
“In South Carolina, the governor trying to act like a big shot — oh, we’re not listening to the World Health Organization,” Scarborough added. “People, keep going out eating, go to the pubs, I’ll be going to the St. Patrick’s Day parade myself, and then he’s forced to declare an emergency. It’s really — the recklessness is unbelievable. I know people were giving really dangerous, reckless monologues on TV, but that was last week, those were cable news people. You don’t aspire to be us. You’re a governor of a state, and you’re responsible for the health and well-being of senior citizens whose very lives are on the line. You have got to do better, your calling is higher. You’ve got to do more. You can’t play for the cheap seats.”