President Donald Trump stunned the nation on Tuesday afternoon when he said that he wants “churches to be packed” on Easter Sunday despite the massive spike in COVID-19 across the country.
“We’re opening up this incredible country. Because we have to do that. I would love to have it open by Easter,” Trump said on Fox News.
“I would love to have that. It’s such an important day for other reasons, but I’d love to make it an important day for this. I would love to have the country opened up, and rarin’ to go by Easter,” he told the stunned reporter, who then pressed on why he’s so set on Easter Sunday, less than three weeks away.
“Easter’s a very special day for me,” Trump responded.
He then mused, “Wouldn’t it be great to have all the churches full? You’ll have packed churches all over our country … I think it’ll be a beautiful time.” Trump added that “I’m not sure that’s going to be the day,” but “that would be a beautiful thing.”
Trump is excited about the prospect of packed churches for Easter Sunday.
At this point you have to wonder if he wants people to die.
— Read Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell) (@JPHilllllll) March 24, 2020
After the interview aired, Dr. Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, urged Americans to follow the stay-at-home orders issued by their respective states.
“Every American needs to continue the president’s guidelines for these next six days or seven days. We have to have them following those guidelines,” she said.
Of course, Trump had more to say on the issue.
“Excuse me just one second,” Trump said, interrupting Dr. Birx. “You can’t compare this to 1918 where close to 100 million people died. If you got it, you had a 50/50 chance, or very close, of dying. I think we’re substantially under 1% because the people that get better are not reporting,” he said.
“When they came into my office, don’t forget — they said 3%, 4%, 5% — there’s a very big difference. No – we have to put our country back to work.”
Trump appears to have had his fill of medical experts, and the plan right now is to roll full steam ahead next month, come what may.
“They came in, experts, and said we’re gonna have to close the country. I said, ‘Are you serious about this?’ We are going to take this country that is fully employed, and you’re telling me we have to close it? And people are gonna go out of business and they’re gonna go bankrupt and they’re not gonna have jobs? I gave it two weeks,” he said.
