Rep. Don Young may be 86 years old, but he’s treating the coronavirus like a Florida spring breaker.
The Alaska Republican told constituents that he believes the COVID-19 pandemic is being overhyped and that it isn’t a serious threat to the average American. Young, who is the longest-serving member in Congress, said that people need to continue living despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of isolation.
“They call it the coronavirus. I call it the beer virus. How do you like that?” Young told a crowd of more than 80 elderly Alaskans at Mat-Su Senior Services on Friday. “It attacks us senior citizens. I’m one of you. I still say we have to as a nation and state go forth with everyday activities.”
He later added, “Whether you realize it or not, we are at war now. But mostly because of the presentations by the mass media.” Young paraphrased Franklin Roosevelt, saying, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
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The lawmaker said he was concerned about Congress’s plans to throw billions of dollars at the economy to help it recover coronavirus-induced losses when the federal government is already several trillion dollars in debt.
“We have to be aware of that because even the president’s proposal sounds good, $50 billion, $50 billion we don’t have. We’re gonna borrow that money from the future generations,” he said. “We (would) solve a problem right now that’s been created primarily by hysteria.”
He added, “We can overcome this mess if we just be calm. We will prevail. You cannot prevail by hiding and responding to fear.”
Young also questioned the severity of the disease, saying, “Again, guys, this is blown out of proportion about how deadly this is. It’s deadly, but it’s not nearly as deadly as the other viruses we have. I say the exciting part about if you just look even in China where this thing originated, it peaked and then it’s going down. It will happen here in the United States.”
The congressman’s staffers have been taking the illness more seriously than their boss. His website links to a “Coronavirus Resource Center” that details the CDC’s recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus.
Truman Reed, Young’s reelection campaign manager, told the Anchorage Daily News that the congressman’s words were not meant to downplay the severity of the illness but rather to calm those who were anxious about the virus.
“It was my understanding that the congressman was trying to urge calm, stressing his confidence that we will weather this storm. This pandemic’s impact is very real, growing, and causing all of us, our governments, businesses, healthcare professionals, and as individuals, to have evolving views and protocols to face its challenges,” Reed stated.
Most of Young’s campaign events have been canceled because of the coronavirus. The senior center where he spoke on Friday did not respond to questions from the Anchorage Daily News as to why it was still hosting large events.
The CDC has listed the elderly and people with underlying health conditions as the most vulnerable to having a fatal response to the coronavirus. Alaska has nine confirmed cases of COVID-19.
