MSBNC host Joe Scarborough ridiculed supporters of President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying they are “not conservatives, they’re idiots” for not supporting state lockdowns during the coronavirus crisis.
Scarborough insisted that “an overwhelming majority of Americans” stand behind governors who have instituted strict state lockdowns during a conversation with NBC national affairs correspondent John Heilemann on MSNBC’s edition of “Morning Joe.”
“You look at those numbers from this poll, the [National Public Radio] poll matches, the Pew poll matches, other polls that have been out that show an overwhelming majority of Americans think that their governors are doing the right thing,” Scarborough said in reference to shutting down state economies and the movement of citizens.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has even instituted a ban on the sale of garden hoses and vegetable seeds in her state. Anti-lockdown protesters have organized demonstrations in several states, demanding that the economy be reopened for regular business.
Business owners in Pennsylvania are asking the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 measures. (RELATED: ‘No Penalty For Authoritarianism’: Tucker Carlson Blasts ‘Mediocre Politician’ Gretchen Whitmer’s ‘Power’ Grabs)
Scarborough suggested Tuesday that it was time to “start figuring out a way to move towards reopening the economy. But reopening schools — 85% of Americans think this is a bad idea. And yet you have Donald Trump going out suggesting that schools reopen this year.”
“So these conservatives — not conservatives, they’re idiots — these Trumpists who think that they’re finding a way forward politically by attacking stay-at-home orders, they’re the 10%, they’re the 15%. They’re in the minority,” Scarborough said, predicting that Trump will lose the fall election and the Republican Party will be in tatters as a result. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: Media Is Colluding With Power By Banning ‘Harmful Misinformation’)
U.S. Attorney General William Barr speaks at the National Opioid Summit at the U.S. Department of Justice on March 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. More than 400,000 people in the United States have died of opioid overdoses since 2000. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Heilemann also suggested the polls were on the side of the lockdown governors. “Look at the approval ratings of the governors in the states that have been hardest hit by this virus who have had the most aggressive stay-at-home orders,” Heilemann said, specifically citing Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Whitmer as examples of state leadaers who are enjoying high approval ratings.
Attorney General William Barr has said that the Department of Justice may prosecute governors who are exceeding their authority with state lockdowns that potentially violate civil rights.