SPECIAL ELECTION COVERAGE STARTING AT 6:00 P.M. EASTERN.
>> Tucker: GOVERNOR AND WELCOME
TO TUCKER CARLSON SENT THE
CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC TURNS OUT
TO BE JUST THAT AN EPIDEMIC.
THERE IS NO DENYING THAT NOW.
ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL COUNT
THIS COUNTRY HAS RECORDED MORE
THAN 500 CASES OF THE VIRUS AND
SUFFERED AT LEAST 24 DEATHS.
THE REAL NUMBER IS WITHOUT
QUESTION FAR HIGHER THAN THAT
SOON WE WILL HAVE A BETTER SENSE
OF JUST HOW MUCH HIGHER.
BY THEN THIS EPIDEMIC WILL HAVE
CAUSED ECONOMIC DAMAGE WHOSE
EFFECTS MAY DOG US FOR YEARS.
PEOPLE YOU KNOW WILL GET SICK,
SOME MAY DIE.
THIS IS REAL.
THAT’S THE POINT OF THIS SCRIPT
TO TELL YOU THAT.
GIVEN WHOLE THING SNUCK UP FROM
YOU AS FROM NOWHERE.
A OBSCURE VIRUS RISING FROM A
MEAT MARKET IN CHINA TO SICKEN
AMERICAN CITIZENS IN OREGON AND
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MID
OPPORTUNITY MANHATTAN IT SOUNDS
RIDICULOUS.
RIDICULOUS. NOR HAVE OUR LEADERS HELPED TO
US TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.
ON THE LEFT YOU REAL WORRY MIGHT
USE THE WRONG WORRY TO DESCRIBE
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. IT’S RACIST TO BLAME THE MOST
RACIST NATION IN THE WORLD FOR
THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS.
RIGHT.
RIGHT. MEANWHILE, IF WE ARE BEING
HONEST, THE OTHER SIDE HAS NOT
BEEN ESPECIALLY HELPFUL EITHER.
PEOPLE YOU TRUST, PEOPLE YOU
PROBABLY VOTED FOR, HAVE SPENT
WEEKS MINIMIZING WHAT IS CLEARLY
A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM.
IT’S JUST PARTISAN POLITICS,
THEY SAY.
THEY SAY. CALM DOWN.
CALM DOWN. IN THE END THIS WAS JUST LIKE
THE FLU AND PEOPLE DIE FROM THAT
EVERY YEAR.
EVERY YEAR. CORONAVIRUS WILL PASS.
AND WHEN IT DOES, WE WILL FEEL
FOOLISH FOR WORRYING ABOUT IT.
THAT’S THEIR POSITION.
NO DOUBT THESE PEOPLE HAVE GOOD
INTENTIONS AS THEY SAY, THIS
MANY OF THEM ANYWAY.
THEY MAY NOT KNOW ANY BETTER.
MAYBE THEY’RE JUST NOT PAYING
ATTENTION OR MAYBE THEY BELIEVE
THEY ARE SERVING SOME HIGHER
CAUSE BY SHADING REALITY.
NO ONE WANTS TO BE MANIPULATED
BY A CORRUPT MEDIA ESTABLISHMENT
AND IT IS CORRUPT.
AND THERE IS AN ELECTION COMING
UP.
UP. THAT’S NOT TO SAY ANYTHING THAT
MIGHT HELP THE OTHER SIDE.
WE GET IT.
BUT THEY ARE WRONG.
THE CHINESE CORONAVIRUS IS A
MAJOR EVENT.
MAJOR EVENT. IT WILL EFFECT YOUR LIFE AND BY
THE WAY.
THE WAY. IT’S DEFINITELY NOT JUST THE
FLU.
FLU. IN A TYPICAL YEAR THE FLU IN
THIS COUNTRY HAS A MORTALITY
RATE IN ABOUT 1 IN 1,000.
THE OVERALL DEATH RATE FOR THIS
VIRUS BY CONTRAST IS AS HIGH AS
3.4%.
3.4%. THAT’S 34 TIMES DEADLIER.
BUT EVEN THAT NUMBER MASKS THE
TRUE EFFECTS BECAUSE THE
MORTALITY IS NOT DISTRICTED
EVENLY.
EVENLY. FOR THOSE AGED 70 TO 79, THE
DEATH RATE IS ABOUT 8%.
THOSE OVER 80 IT’S NEARLY 15%.
DEATH RATES ARE ALSO HIGHER FOR
THOSE WITH DIABETES, RESPIRATORY
AILMENTS OR HEART CONDITIONS.
THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO WHAT WILL THINGS LOOK LIKE
ONCE THE EPIDEMIC MATURES IN
AMERICAN?
AMERICAN? FOR ANSWERS CONSIDER WHAT’S
HAPPENING IN ITALY.
ITALY ISN’T AUTHORITARIAN LIKE
CHINA AND NOT BACKWARD LIKE
IRAN.
IRAN. IT IS A MODERN DEVELOPED WESTERN
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. MANY WAYS LIKE OUR COUNTRY.
AS OF TONIGHT, CORONAVIRUS HAS
BROUGHT ITALY TO A STAND STILL.
THE PRIME MINISTER HAS SUSPENDED
ALL TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE
COUNTRY UNLESS IT’S FOR WORK,
HEALTH OR EMERGENCIES.
ALL MUSEUMS AND ARCHEOLOGICAL
SITES ARE CLOSED.
ALL PUBLIC GATHERINGS HAVE BEEN
BANNED.
BANNED. SPORTING EVENTS ARE NOW
CANCELLED ENTIRELY FOR THE FIRST
TIME SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
IN EFFECT, THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IS
LOCKED DOWN TONIGHT.
OVER THE WEEKEND PRISONERS
RIOTED CAUSING SEVERAL DEATHS.
ITALY IS NOW SUFFERING ALMOST
100 CASUALTIES, PEOPLE WHO HAVE
DIED EVERY DAY FROM THE VIRUS.
THAT’S FAR WORSE THAN HERE.
BUT THE ONLY DIFFERENCE LIKELY
IS TIME.
IS TIME. EARLY EVIDENCE SUGGESTS IT TAKES
ABOUT 6 DAYS FOR THE NUMBER OF
CORONAVIRUS CASES TO DOUBLE.
IF THAT TREND HOLDS HERE IN THE
UNITED STATES, IT WILL BE JUST A
FEW WEEKS UNTIL WE ARE WHERE
ITALY IS NOW.
IN A FEW MONTHS, IF NOTHING
STOPS THE VIRUS, THERE WILL BE
MILLIONS OF CASES HERE.
THIS IS BAD MORE THAN SIMPLY FOR
PHYSICAL HEALTH, THE DOW JONES
AVERAGE FELL MORE THAN 2,000
POINTS TODAY.
POINTS TODAY. THAT’S THE A DECLINE OF MORE
THAN 7.5%.
THAN 7.5%. MARKET’S WORST DAY SINCE THE
2008 MARKET CRIES CRISIS.
FOURTH WORSE DAY SINCE THE GREAT
DEPRESSION.
DEPRESSION. A COUNTS BE FIRM IS PREDICTING A
GLOBAL RECESSION DUE TO THE
EPIDEMIC AND VERY LITTLE GROWTH
IF ANY HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES.
STATES. IF A RECESSION DOES HIT, IT WILL
NOT BE SO SIMPLE TO FIGHT IT.
THE USUAL STIMULUS EFFORTS TAX
CUTS AND LOWER RATES WON’T
REOPEN FACTORIES THAT HAVE SHUT
DOWN TO CONTAIN THE VIRUS.
IT WON’T GET PEOPLE TO EAT AT
CLOSED RESTAURANTS OR SHOP IN
CLOSED MALLS OR ATTEND CANCELLED
SPORTING EVENTS.
SPORTING EVENTS. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A DEMAND
PROBLEM IN THIS ECONOMY AND
THAT’S A BIG DEAL.
IN OTHER WORDS, OUR COUNTRY IS
LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A PAINFUL
PERIOD WE ARE POWERLESS TO STOP
STOP.
STOP. PANIC.
PANIC. YOU SHOULDN’T PANIC.
IN CRISIS IT’S MORE IMPORTANT
THAN EVER TO BE CALM.
STAYING CALM IS NOT THE SAME AS
REMAINING COMPLACENT.
REMAINING COMPLACENT. IT DOES NOT MEAN ASSURING PEOPLE
THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.
WE DON’T KNOW THAT.
INSTEAD, IT’S BETTER TO TELL THE
TRUTH.
TRUTH. THAT IS ALWAYS THE SUREST SIGN
OF STRENGTH.
OF STRENGTH. AS THEY LEVEL WITH US, OUR
LEADERS OUGHT TO PREPARE THE
PUBLIC FOR WHAT MAY COME NEXT.
IF A RECESSION IS COMING, WE
NEED TO SAVE MONEY FOR THE
POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF THAT IF
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ARE COMING,
WE SHOULD KNOW THAT TOO.
ALREADY THE NONSTOP TRAIN
SERVICE BETWEEN NEW YORK AND
WASHINGTON WHICH IS CRITICAL TO
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAS BEEN
SUSPENDED.
SUSPENDED. OF THE TENNIS TOURNAMENT IN
CALIFORNIA THE LARGEST IN THE
WORLD HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR
THIS YEAR.
THIS YEAR. MARCH MADNESS BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT IS SUPPOSED TO START
IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS BUT IT
COULD BE HELD IN FRONT OF EMPTY
STANDS OR POSTPONED OR CANCELLED
AS WELL.
AS WELL. IN THE END YOU MAY BE GIVEN THE
OPTION TO WORK FROM HOME.
BUT EVENTUALLY MAYBE ORDERED TO
DO THAT.
DO THAT. YOU SHOULD KNOW, WE SHOULD ALSO
FOCUS ON PREPARING OUR
HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR THE WORST.
THE TIME OF CONTAINING
CORONAVIRUS AND WIDESPREAD
TESTING QUARANTINES BLOCKING THE
BORDERS USEFUL BUT THAT TIME IS
OVER.
OVER. THERE ARE TOO MANY CASES HERE
NOW.
NOW. WE CANNOT STOP THIS EPIDEMIC.
WE CAN ONLY LIMIT THE DAMAGE
THAT IT DOES.
ALSO THE TIME TO START LOOKING
AHEAD TO THE FUTURE.
THINK ABOUT WHAT IT WOULD MEAN
TO FACE A DEADLIER VERSION OF
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. IT’S NOT UNIMAGINABLE.
IT’S VERY EASY TO IMAGINE.
ARE WE READY FOR THAT?
WE ARE NOT READY NOW.
WE OUGHT TO BE.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE CAN
DO TO PREPARE OURSELVES IS BREAK
OUR DEPENDENCE ON CHINA FOR
ESSENTIAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES.
LAST WEEK CHINA’S OFFICIAL NEWS
SERVICE PLUSHED A PIECE GLOATING
THAT THE COUNTRY HAS BROUGHT
CORONAVIRUS UNDER CONTROL.
THE STORY CLAIMS THE REST OF THE
WORLD SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO CHINA
FOR CRITICIZING THE COUNTRY OVER
THE VIRUS AND THEN DROPS THIS
NOT VERY SUBTLE WARNING.
QUOTE: IF CHINA RETALIATES
AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AT
THIS TIME IF ADDITION TO
ANNOUNCING A TRAVEL BAN ON THE
UNITED STATES, IT WILL ALSO
ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC CONTROL OVER
MEDICAL PRODUCTS AND BAN EXPORTS
TO THE UNITED STATES.
IF CHINA ANNOUNCES THAT ITS
DRUGS ARE FOR DOMESTIC USE AND
BANS EXPORTS THE UNITED STATES
WILL FALL INTO THE HELL OF A NEW
CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC, UNQUOTE.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY’RE
THREATENING TO KILL US AND
THAT’S NOT AN EMPTY THREAT.
WE REALLY ARE THAT DEPENDENT ON
CHINA FOR MASKS AND MEDICAL
EQUIPMENT, FOR BASIC MEDICINES
FOR PHARMA SUIT CALLS PHARMACEUT
KINDS.
KINDS. SHOCKING TO FIND OURSELVES IN
THIS SUPINE POSITION DEPENDENT
ON A COUNTRY WHO HATES US.
THE PEOPLE WHO DID IT WHO MADE
US THIS DEPENDENT ON A HOSTILE
FOREIGN POWER DESERVE TO BE
PUNISHED FOR WHAT THEY DID.
THAT WON’T HAPPEN PROBABLY.
AT LEAST WE CAN TRY TO FIX THE
DAMAGE THEY CAUSED AND THERE IS
A LOT OF IT.
THE CHINESE CORONAVIRUS WILL BE
GET WORSE.
GET WORSE. EFFECTS FAR MORE DESTRUCTIVE
THAN THEY ARE NOW.