Conservative commentator Mark Levin denounced MSNBC host Joe Scarborough for mocking Sen. John Kennedy after the Republican advocated for reopening the U.S. economy, despite warnings from U.S. health officials that more time is needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“While Scarborough, among the biggest morons on TV, is paid millions and safely employed by Comcast — despite no ratings — to relentlessly trash the president, he attacks Sen. Kennedy for wanting to reopen the economy so others can work,” Levin tweeted. “He’s typical of the Democrat Party-media, which don’t give a damn about the millions of unemployed, thousands of closed businesses, lives destroyed, and the disastrous mental and physical health consequences from these governors slamming shut their economies.”
Scarborough shamed Kennedy during his program Thursday after Kennedy on Wednesday night said “trying to burn down the village to save it is foolish” regarding whether lockdown measures work.
The senator from Louisiana also suggested the lockdown measures put in place by states across the nation have not stopped the spread of the virus, only slowed it.
Kennedy, Scarborough said, was purposefully “playing dumb on TV” in an attempt to please President Trump’s base.
“But he knows, Willie [Geist], that it’s the businesses, the small business owners that you and I know, and Mika [Brzezinski] knows so well, that own family businesses and own small restaurants and small bars and small shops,” Scarborough said. “They’re the ones that are going to be hurt the most if we reopen the businesses. … It’s just stupid and shortsighted, and he knows it.”
2. He’s typical of the Democrat Party-media, which don’t give a damn about the millions of unemployed, thousands of closed businesses, lives destroyed, and the disastrous mental and physical health consequences from these governors slamming shut their economies.
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) April 16, 2020
Levin suggested Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, has sold out to advance Democratic causes related to the pandemic, which the Trump-friendly radio host and author calls “tyrannical.”
“Scarborough is a propagandist for tyranny, pure and simple, as is his grunting sidekick,” Levin said in an apparent reference to Brzezinski, Scarborough’s wife and co-host.
President Trump has said he is eager to reopen the U.S. economy soon and is working on a plan to open as many as 20 states before May 1. Current federal social distancing guidelines are in place through April 30.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading member of the White House task force on the coronavirus, has said it might be possible to implement a rolling approach that allows for reopening local economies in areas of the country not as affected by the virus.
Still, health experts warn, a premature relaxation of public health guidelines could cause another spike in cases and more death.
Trump said he had “total authority” to compel states to reopen their states for business, an assertion constitutional experts have said is false. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacted to those comments by saying Trump is conducting himself more like a “king” than a president.
Levin has spent the last several days on his radio program warning that the U.S. economy must be reopened soon to avoid a total economic meltdown and attacking Democrats who have said Trump was not prepared to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
“When it comes to federalism, these blue state governors want all the power without the financial responsibility and accountability,” Levin said. “They want federal tax dollars and bailouts without strings. If they decide when businesses can open and people can work again in their states, then they should pay the bill until they do.”
As of Thursday, more than 640,000 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, and nearly 29,000 people had died.
