Former “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe took issue on Tuesday with Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s contention that any lockdown measure is justified if it saves even one life from coronavirus.
Appearing on Fox News’ “The Daily Briefing” to discuss the debate between those who want to keep things locked down and others who want to see the economy reopened, Rowe told anchor Dana Perino that, despite what Cuomo said about taking a job as an “essential worker” if they want to go to work, Americans should “think differently” about what workers are deemed “nonessential.”
“If you look at the impact of removing those workers from our economy, our macroeconomy, you can see they’re absolutely essential. Language always matters,” he said.
Referring to Fox News host Greg Gutfeld’s statement about being trapped in a “prison of two ideas,” that ending the lockdown is “irresponsible” and continuing it is “cowardly,” Roe called both choices “bad” before arguing that “it’s what happens when we dispense cookie-cutter advice.”
The “Returning the Favor” host then took issue with another statement from the New York governor:
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“Well, not to pile up on the governor, but a couple of weeks ago he said another thing that really snapped my neck,” said Rowe. “He said, ‘No measure no matter how drastic or draconian should be deemed unjustified if it saves a single life.'” (RELATED: Tucker: WHO ‘Admitting’ Sweden’s ‘Model’ Is Working But US Policy Makers Won’t ‘Abandon A Sweeping Power Grab’)
“Safety obviously is very, very, very important, but the notion that nothing in the country is more important than staying safe, that’s not something commonsensical people embrace,” he continued. “That’s something you hear from people who are trying to sell you something, or politicians who are trying to get reelected. We have to get away from the cookie-cutter bromides and platitudes and start dealing with one zip code at a time.”