Whoopi takes on Chris Christie on COVID-19: ‘Who are you willing to sacrifice?’
The comedian and the former politician went head-to-head over Christie's claims that 'people are going to die no matter what.'
Whoopi Goldberg had a quick comeback for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the two discussed his recent comments regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
The one-time presidential nominee appeared on The View, which Goldberg co-hosts, on Friday, May 15. During the episode, Goldberg asked Christie about his statements regarding the COVID-19 crisis, questioning who the political commentator “would sacrifice.”
“You upset a lot of people saying the country needs to re-open because people are going to die no matter what,” the Oscar winner began. “You compared it to World War II, calling it a sacrifice for the American way of life. I’m asking, since you’re suggesting that I sacrifice, who are you sacrificing? Who are you going to give up in your family?”
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Christie responded to Goldberg, referencing the United States’ growing unemployment rate as the reason to lift stay-at-home orders, which have gone into effect across the nation.
“It’s a choice, that’s what people don’t understand what was said,” Christie explained. “We have 36.5 million people unemployed. We have, in seven different states now, the suicide rate going up.”
Doubling-down, Goldberg asked the former politician once again who he is personally willing to sacrifice in his own family.
“Who are you willing to sacrifice to die, Chris?” she said. “You’re saying people should be willing to sacrifice family. Who are you willing to give up?”
“Listen, I said some Americans will make that sacrifice no matter what we do,” he replied. “Now we have to decide how we’re going to balance this. The balance is that there are people who are standing on food bank lines, people who are losing their homes, people who are losing their livelihood which is leading to depression, which is leading to suicide, which is leading to addiction, which is leading to domestic violence.”
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He continued, “I saw all these things after Hurricane Sandy when people lost their homes and their livelihoods. These things happen. I said we have to balance.”
More than 1.46 million people have been infected with coronavirus since the illness emerged in the U.S. in early 2020 and over 87,600 people have lost their lives.
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