Mike Rowe: I have a front-row seat to the greatest self-inflicted economic disaster in history
TV host Mike Rowe reacts to the 'unintended consequences' of applying one safety standard to the entire country for COVID-19.
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The U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak has led to "unintended consequences" -- including lost pride for many American workers, TV host Mike Rowe said Saturday night.
Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs" and other shows, weighed in on the coronavirus situation during an appearance on Fox News' "Watters' World" with host Jesse Watters.
"We've taken this incredibly complicated situation and we've treated it as if it's the same from sea to shining sea," Rowe told Watters. "We treat the whole country like it was a hot spot. And virtually every citizen as though they were infected. And we did it in the name of safety.
HUNTINGTON BEACH PROTESTERS ASSAIL CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM'S ORDER CLOSING BEACHES
"And the unintended consequences of doing that have become, I think, the true headlines of the day," Rowe said.
Earlier Saturday, another protest was held in Huntington Beach, Calif., where many residents have opposed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order.
Similar protests have been throughout the nation as Americans grow frustrated with state- and local-level restrictions on their everyday activities.
Rowe said the message being sent to many Americans is that they are "non-essential" -- and he asserted that this angers them.
"You've got 33 million people right now sitting on the sidelines who have essentially been told they are non-essential. That pisses people off," Rowe said. "No one wants to be told, even though they're grateful for the people who are keeping the lights on, no one wants to be told they don't matter. And that's what we're doing when we draw the line between essential and nonessential."
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"A big chunk of the country is feeling alienated and I don't blame them," Rowe said.
Fox News' Sam Dorman contributed to this story.
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