Impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on the economy and public health
Charlie Kirk joins Steve Hilton to discuss the impact of COVID-19 shutdowns on the economy as well as overall public health.
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Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk urged lawmakers Sunday to reopen the U.S. economy responsibly, weeks after the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to shutter.
"We can't just wait until we find the perfect solution and then reopen America," Kirk said on "The Next Revolution."
"Right now, there is a crisis in America in addition to the virus, and that's the 17 million people that have filed unemployment claims. It is the families that are becoming disjointed. It's the disruption of everyday life. It's the national distress hotline that had an 891-percent increase in the calls to them last week. It's the doubling of the suicide rate in certain states and counties," Kirk continued.
President Trump addressed the issue this past Friday, calling the decision about reopening the economy "the biggest decision I've ever had to make."
"I want to get it open as soon as possible,” Trump told reporters at Friday's briefing with members of the White House task force. "This country was meant to be open and vibrant and great.”
The president added that he would convene an "Opening our Country" task force this Tuesday, a group comprised of doctors and business leaders.
As the country heads into some of its toughest weeks yet, many of the president's critics have taken issue with his focus on the economic impact of the pandemic -- but Kirk rejected the notion that the question of when to end the economic shutdown was a "binary" decision.
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"What troubles me is, we are stuck in this bigotry of binary choices. Either we reopen the American economy -- 'if you believe in that, you only care about money -- or, you can keep everything locked down because you care about lives.' You care about lives if you care about both," he clarified.
Trump made a point Friday of saying that he would continue to listen to health experts including Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx while considering when to relax the federal guidance. Health experts have warned that if the country were to roll back restrictions too quickly, case levels could soar again, especially without widespread testing to determine who might be a carrier of the virus.
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"This sort of 'lock everything down,' it's not sustainable much longer," Kirk concluded. "I'm telling you, people out there are getting very anxious and they're looking for answers."
Fox News' Michael Ruiz and Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.
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