Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.
Fox News hosts are now riding high on CDC Director Robert Redfield’s prediction that there will be a “much lower” COVID-19 death toll than what the Trump administration previously projected as people are “taking the social distancing recommendations to heart.”
Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson collectively took to their primetime shows Tuesday night to declare that the worst is over regarding the COVID-19 outbreak:
Hannity says “book has now been rewritten” thanks to Trump’s “aggressive measures”
After citing Redfield’s prediction of a lower COVID-19 death toll, Hannity argued that the Trump administration’s “aggressive measures” with the help of the American people helped save countless lives.
Hannity went on to mention the China travel ban that former Vice President Joe Biden previously disapproved of before claiming that “unprecedented steps” taken by the administration early on means that “the book has now been rewritten.”
“We now know these crucial and critical and unprecedented steps taken by the administration early followed up with the biggest mass medical mobilization in the history of this country saved incalculable numbers of lives,” Hannity said. “The book has now been rewritten on how to handle future pandemics for the United States and the entire world.”
Hannity: "The book has now been rewritten on how to handle future pandemics for the United States and the entire world." pic.twitter.com/B2RgjuM8t8
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 8, 2020
Carlson argues “short-term crisis may have passed”
After claiming that “our health care system hasn’t collapsed” and that “fewer hospitalizations are a godsend for this country,” Carlson said that translates to the “short-term crisis may have passed.”
“We’ll see, but it looks like it may have,” Carlson said, before arguing that it’s “time to look ahead” by asking how to get 17 million of “our most vulnerable citizens” back to work.
“That’s our task,” Carlson said, citing how Denmark and Austria are gradually starting to reopen their economies.
“So, that’s what they’re doing. We’re not doing that here,” Carlson said. “We are not even talking about doing it because we’re not allowed to. Any discussion of how we might transition out of the shutdown back into normal life, for some reason, has become taboo in this country.”
Carlson: "That short-term crisis may have passed. We'll see, but it looks like it may have." pic.twitter.com/zfp9WKBGwk
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 8, 2020
Ingraham questions what response would’ve been if we had “more accurate models”
Ingraham took aim at earlier models by the White House coronavirus task force after referencing Redfield’s lower COVID-19 death toll projection.
After acknowledging that the country is experiencing “excruciating loss” from the novel coronavirus, Ingraham suggested that Redfield’s lower projection should lead to more skepticism of public health experts.
“What would our response have been and would our response have been less damaging to the economy, and to the lives of all of you millions of Americans, if we had had more accurate models from the start?” Ingraham said. “And shouldn’t this experience make us less willing to rely on the same experts to help determine when and how we should reopen our economy?”
Ingraham: "Would our response have been less damaging to the economy, and to the lives of all of you millions of Americans, if we had had more accurate models from the start?" pic.twitter.com/04GAS5K3hS
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 8, 2020
