Bill Bennett: Trump's 'balanced view' of COVID-19 provides hope
Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, weighs in on criticism of President Trump and his view that he's a 'war time president' amid coronavirus fight
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Some of President Trump's critics and opponents seem almost "impervious" to any good news during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dr. Bill Bennett said Wednesday.
Appearing on "America's Newsroom" with host Ed Henry, Bennett said that he was reminded of a book by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called "The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of Its Traditional Defense."
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"The children of light see everything optimistically, everything's going to turn out fine," Bennett explained. "The children of darkness see everything is never going to turn out fine; it's all going to be awful."
Bennett advised that, unlike the children of light and children of darkness, Americans need to have a balanced view of the current state of our nation.
"It seems to me the president has a balanced view," he added.
President Trump received backlash from his critics after calling himself a "wartime president" last week and telling Fox News hosts at a virtual town hall Tuesday that he didn't want the cure for COVID-19 to be "worse than the problem itself." He went on to list ways that a crumbling economy could also destroy a country.
Additionally, Trump said he hoped to reopen American businesses by Easter Sunday.
Even before the deadly virus tightened its grip on the United States – specifically New York, Washington and California – scientists were desperately searching for a solution and a vaccine.
On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence said that “the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] is approving off-label use for the [anti-malarial drug] hydroxychloroquine right now" to help infected patients.
Physicians have told Fox News that trials of the drug have shown positive results so far, and during a news conference on Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the Empire State has acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of the antibiotic zithromax and 750,000 doses of chloroquine. Trials were set to start on Tuesday.
"Some people are absolutely impervious to good news. There is some good news coming out of these fronts," Bennett remarked.
"Look, the testing is now at a massive level, Ed. We have tested more people than South Korea, which is the model. The mortality rate is holding at a very low level...There is hope for things like hydroxychloroquine, which has proved to be successful in some cases. And, the president is pointing us toward Easter and reminding us that it's a big country."
While New York admittedly has a "terrible problem," Bennett told Henry, "a lot of the rest of the country probably can go back to work sooner. And, we need to be ready to do that."
"And, I think what the president is doing – the aspiration about Easter, but the care and caution about protecting those most vulnerable and attention to the places that have the most problems like New York – is, I think, the right thing," Bennett concluded.
"But let's be balanced," he urged. "Let's not be impervious to good news like the Senate actually acting and passing something and the market going up. This is good news -- not just financially, but good for Americans and their morale."
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Early Wednesday morning, Senate Democrats and Republicans reached a historic $2 trillion deal, capping days of heated negotiations that had nearly been derailed by last-minute demands from House Democrats.
The unprecedented economic rescue package would give direct payments to most Americans, expand unemployment benefits and provide a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.
Fox News' Gregg Re, Chad Pergram, Caroline McKee, and John Roberts, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
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