Harrison Blasts Christie’s Callousness Toward Death of Frontline Workers in CNN Interview

[May 5, 2020 – Longport, New Jersey] In an interview yesterday with CNN’s Dana Bash on The Daily DC Podcast, former Governor Chris Christie made a series of comments regarding COVID-19, at one point stating, “”We sent our young men during World War II over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive. And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life.” 

The following is a response from Brigid Callahan Harrison, Democratic congressional candidate for New Jersey’s 2^ndDistrict: 

“Chris Christie’s callous disregard for protecting our front line workers across the county is simply shame full.  Brave young men and women fought for freedom, and the President that Chris Christie and Jeff Van Drew have committed their allegiance to has squandered that freedom by failing to protect and safeguard the American people and its economy.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is rife with examples of failed leadership by Trump and Van Drew – New Jersey counties and the Veterans’ Administration are having their PPEs commandeered by the federal government; the President dismissed the pandemic as a hoax, then minimalized its potential impact, saying that the United State would see the virus “disappear” and now has become outed as the global village idiot in his handling of this pandemic. Now Trump and Christie want people to return to their jobs, but in New Jersey, even symptomatic people have been denied testing and only a fraction of the American workforce has been tested to determine if they have anti-bodies to this illness.

“In addition, “some of these folks” that Governor Christie references tend to be the folks that do not have the luxury of being able to work from home, with the added luxury of having every need delivered to their front porch. When Chris Christie was governor, he slashed funding for hospitals who were treating these “folks.” Today, these very same hospitals have been inundated with COVID-19 victims and “these folks” – disproportionately black and brown people—are on the frontlines, putting their lives and the health of themselves and their families at risk while politicians like Christie write them off as “sacrificed lives” – the collateral damage of a mismanaged pandemic. It’s impossible to live the American Dream if you’re dead.

“During his tenure as governor, I held Christie’s feet to the fire for his toxic, divisive brand of politics, a brand, it seems, that Donald Trump has bested him at. Gov. Christie’s recent statements are dangerous because they contribute to the false, divisive public narrative that Trump and Van Drew have spun: that are there those who oppose reopening the American economy.

“To be clear: everyone wants to see the American economy reopened. Those of us who value the expertise of scientists recognize that the only way to do this is to listen to medical experts, coordinate precautions so that America’s workers are protected, and continue to collect data to avoid a second wave of devastation.”