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GOP Congressman: More Coronavirus Deaths Are ‘Lesser of Two Evils’ to Help the Economy

An Indiana congressman says letting more Americans die is the “lesser of two evils” compared to the U.S. economy falling apart.

An Indiana congressman has explicitly come out and said that letting more Americans die from the novel coronavirus is the “lesser of two evils” compared with the U.S. economy suffering due to lockdowns. Speaking with radio station WIBC in Indiana, Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth said that he appreciated the science behind the lockdown measures, but added: “It is always the American government’s position to say, in the choice between the loss of our way of life as Americans and the loss of life, of American lives, we have to always choose the latter.... It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction.” Following criticism of his comments, Hollingsworth elaborated on his statement in a written response, saying: “It’s hyperbolic to say that the only choices before us are the two corner solutions: no economy or widespread casualties. We can use the best of biology and economics to enable as much of the economy to operate as possible while we work to minimize disease transmission.”