Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) is supposedly “pro-life,” but while speaking to the press on Wednesday he seemed upbeat about the potential death toll in the United States from the coronavirus, even though that toll could number in the millions.

Cases in the United States soared this week to over 9,000 and the death toll stands at over 135. This is a national emergency and the virus must be taken seriously given how contagious it is and the fact that there is no vaccine yet.

But Johnson, a Trump supporter, once again downplayed the virus and shrugged it off by comparing it to the flu and said he is optimistic because only 3.4 percent of the population could die.

“I’m not denying what a nasty disease COVID-19 can be, and how it’s obviously devastating to somewhere between 1 and 3.4 percent of the population,” Johnson said according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But that means 97 to 99 percent will get through this and develop immunities and will be able to move beyond this. But we don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways. It’s a risk we accept so we can move about. We don’t shut down our economies because tens of thousands of people die from the common flu. Getting coronavirus is not a death sentence except for maybe no more than 3.4 percent of our population [and] I think probably far less.”

The problem is that 3.4 percent of the 300+ million population of the United States is over 10 million deaths. That’s far more than the thousands that die from the flu every year, for which there is a flu shot. There is no vaccine for coronavirus, and likely won’t be one for months, giving the pandemic plenty of time to spread across the country and kill more people. Johnson should be taking this seriously, especially since a fellow member of Congress, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), has tested positive, becoming the first member of Congress to be a confirmed coronavirus patient.

The math clearly shows that Johnson is heartless and has no business being a public servant. Because no public servant should be upbeat about 10 million people dying.

 

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