MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough gave President Donald Trump credit Monday for extending the social distancing guidelines through the end of April because of the novel coronavirus.
Trump changed his mind Sunday on his original idea to re-open America by Easter and announced that the social distancing guidelines would be extended through the end of April. Scarborough, a frequent Trump critic, praised the president for making “the right decision” Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“The president yesterday chose to listen to the scientists, and a lot of Americans are a lot safer because of it,” Scarborough said. “We’ve been harshly critical of this president. I just gotta say, in a pandemic, as in a war, if the president makes the right decision, we need to underline that decision and encourage him to continue listening to doctors and scientists.”
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Scarborough appeared to acknowledge that the decision to keep America shut down was a hard one, as it will likely have devastating affects for numerous Americans. (RELATED: ‘I Guess We Got To Do It’: Dr. Fauci Explains The Moment That Led To Trump Extending Social Distancing Mandate)
“People are going to lose their jobs,” Scarborough told co-host Mika Brzezinski. “They’re losing their jobs. Unemployment is going to explode. Small businesses, people that had a restaurant, a small business in their family for generations have seen it destroyed in a month’s time.”
“Larger corporations that employ tens of thousands of people have seen their company destroyed in a short amount of time.”
The MSNBC co-host called the decisions surrounding the novel coronavirus “a constant balancing act” for both the president and others in positions of political power. He also admitted that “it’s very easy” for people to talk on television about what the president has to do, but that it’s harder for those in power to actually take the step and implement it.