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New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman Says Coronavirus Is Coming For ‘White Supremacists Driving Golf Carts’

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New York Times opinion columnist Paul Krugman said Tuesday in a tweet that ‘reality is coming for white supremacists driving golf carts’ after news broke that coronavirus is reaching older populations in Florida.

Krugman linked to a Bloomberg article that said the pandemic is reaching more vulnerable populations in Florida, where record-high numbers of people over age 75 are testing positive for COVID-19. (RELATED: NYT’s Paul Krugman Blames Trump For Deadly Synagogue Shooting)

Coronavirus is especially deadly for elderly populations. A patient’s risk of “severe illness” from COVID-19 – which could mean hospitalization, intensive care, or death – increases with age, and the highest-risk population is people 85 or older, according to the CDC.

Elderly populations have already been hit hard by the virus. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered nursing homes to take in coronavirus patients to their facilities, which resulted in more COVID-19 deaths in the nursing homes according to some experts.

Krugman wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in late March criticizing America’s coronavirus response and “the dark side of American exceptionalism.” America handled the coronavirus crisis poorly, he argued, because of “incredibly bad leadership at the top” and America’s “national character flaws.” Climate change denial, a lack of universal health care, and “the rise of the hard right” all play a role in America’s poor handling of coronavirus, Krugman claims.