Coronavirus will kill more Republicans as they've been 'brainwashed' into feeling safe by Fox News: WaPo columnist
If one had to combine politics with the pandemic of coronavirus in this presidential election cycle, nobody could do it better than Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin. The 57-year-old self-described conservative and a former Republican remarked during a panel discussion on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” on Sunday (March 15) that more Republicans will die from the coronavirus than Democrats because of the misinformation spread by President Donald Trump and Fox News.
The host of the show, Joy Reid, pointed to a Washington Post analysis titled 'Older Americans are more worried about coronavirus — unless they're Republican' during the conversation and Rubin expressed her opinion then.
“There is a particular cruelty, irony that it is their core viewers, the Republican older viewers, who are the most at risk,” Rubin said. She also praised the Democrats for having taken the first step towards canceling the political rallies in the wake of the outbreak that has claimed over 100 lives in the US. Over 6,000 people have been affected in the US. Trump was initially hesitant to cancel his rallies but he eventually did.
“So, I hate to put it this way, but there will be less Democrat deaths because there will be fewer mass gatherings, there will be fewer opportunities for people to congregate and share this horrible disease,” she said.
Rubin said the challenge lied in showing Trump’s supporters the right way for, according to her, Fox News has been “brainwashing” them to convince that the president is proactive on the matter.
“They will contort themselves to kind of get in line and get in sync,” she said. “And, you know, we’re always saying ‘but, but, but,’ pointing to the past. They don’t. They simply move with the flow. Every day is a new day. Every day is a new storyline, and they’re gonna stick with it."
US should take lessons from Italy
Rubin also feared that the US could meet the fate of Italy, the second-worst affected country after China with a death toll of over 2,500. “I think the problem will be what happens unfortunately if we start to follow that Italian model where we have mass casualties, and our lives are not disrupted for a week or two, but we’re talking months,” she added.
“And that is going to be some serious stuff. And I don’t know if their brainwashing is so strong as to carry on and make excuses for Trump during that. But this is going to be some serious stuff.”
The Trump administration has come under the scanner over its controversial response moves but the president has remained stubborn and attacked opponents — both at home and abroad.