When it comes to trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says, “We’re going to bomb the hell out of it.”
During a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity late Thursday, the Republican senator noted that he spoke with President Donald Trump prior to the interview, adding, “Basically, we’re going to counterattack the virus. We’re going to starve it, we’re going to bomb it, and we’re going to kill it.”
He then referred to social distancing as a means to “starve” the virus, and suggested bombing the virus is through drug therapies.
“We’re going to bomb the hell out of it,” the lawmaker said of the coronavirus, adding, “We’re going to take it from a 10 to hopefully a one or two, and eventually we’re going to kill it with a vaccine.”
When discussing a bill to offset financial pains many are experiencing due to COVID-19, Graham said, “We’re going to keep the income coming to you. It’s going to take a while to get there but you’re going to have an income stream you can rely upon as we work together to defeat the virus.”
“We’re going to starve it, we’re going to bomb it through drug therapies, and the president is working on accelerating a vaccine that is the most promising idea I’ve heard yet. … The way you eventually kill it is through a vaccine.”
Watch Graham’s interview below:
This week, the president signed off on a second emergency relief package to address the coronavirus crisis, as IJR previously reported.
As of Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a proposal totaling at least $1 trillion to offset economic pains amid the coronavirus outbreak. Part of his proposal includes sending payments to Americans.
He was questioned on why Senate Republicans didn’t seek input from Democratic colleagues on the proposal, but he insisted, “It’s speeding it up,” as IJR also reported.
Democratic and Republican Congressmembers are expected to meet on Friday to seek an agreement.
“We are ready to act as soon as an agreement with our colleagues across the aisle can be reached,” McConnell said on Thursday. “The Senate is not going anywhere until we take action.”
This comes as there are at least 14,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and 205 deaths, as of Friday morning.