GOP senator: 'I smell the stench of politics' in states trying to stay safe

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) told Fox News on Wednesday that he “smells the stench of politics” in the decision-making of Democratic governors who have resisted reopening their states before coronavirus guidelines say it’s safe to do so.

Echoing other Republicans who have advanced baseless conspiracy theories, Scott said the governors were acting in order to influence “election results” and not out of concern for public health and safety.

Scott also argued that the public should look at the pandemic, which has killed over 82,300 Americans, through a “prism of optimism.”

Experts have repeatedly warned about reopening states before the data shows conditions are safe enough. In testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, at which Scott was in attendance as a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Dr. Anthony Fauci said reopening states too early could lead to “spikes that might turn into outbreaks.”

From the May 13 edition of Fox News’ “Fox & Friends”:

BRIAN KILMEADE, co-host: The problem is, I’m led to believe, just by looking at what’s going on with red and blue states, the blue governors are reluctant to open up their states, and the reds seem more than willing to do it, and I’m wondering if you see politics in this?

 

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): I smell the stench of politics, partisan politics driving behavior for election results, not focusing on supersound science, as Dr. Scott Atlas said.

 

Supersound science is where we should focus our attention that leads us to the conclusion that, if you don’t have two underlying conditions, the chances are, you’re going to be okay. If you’re under the age of 60, the chances are really high you’re going to be okay, and in South Carolina, if you’re under the age of 20, we’ve had not a single death.

 

So we have a lot to celebrate and we need to look at the information and the facts through a prism of optimism, and not simply through the prism of the worst-case scenario every single time we start talking about the pandemic.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.