On Friday’s CNN Tonight, host Don Lemon collaborated with former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to fearmonger about people gathering with their loved ones for Thanksgiving. Lemon decreed “don't gather” and Andy Slavitt, the former Obama stooge, declared “don’t add parents, don't add neighbors, don't add college kids” to Thanksgiving celebrations.
Lemon began the segment by decreeing how Americans should celebrate this Thanksgiving by telling us “Just -- so just don't do it, people. I mean, don't gather.”
This set up Slavitt to go on an insane rant where he commanded that we not gather with our loved ones:
They should have Thanksgiving with the people that you're spending time with now and that's it. Don't add -- don’t add parents, don't add neighbors, don't add college kids. And the good news is -- I know that's hard. I know we all love our Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. But the truth is we're crushing, we're crushing our hospital system. And the good news is we do have vaccines coming. They'll be coming around the corner. So this is one year. You know, we have to find -- pick a holiday Don, that we're going to take off. We didn't do it Memorial Day. We didn't do it Independence Day. We didn't do it Labor Day. We've got 200 million tickets sold for Thanksgiving. This is not going to work. We are going to have over 100 million super spreader events.
Andy Slavitt sure does seem to hate college kids, as this week he tweeted that families should “shun” college kids coming home for the break and “have them sleep in the garage.”
Lemon backed up Slavitt’s dystopian assertions by suggesting that family members should only talk to each other at the “end of the driveway.” Slavitt of course loved this idea (click "expand"):
LEMON: So in my -- in my family, my mom has been seeing her -- my sister and her nieces, right, and her -- and her great grandbabies at the -- and her granddaughters, sorry, my nieces, her granddaughters. She has been seeing them. They've been standing at the end of the driveway, right --
SLAVITT: Mm-hmm.
LEMON: -- and saying -- coming over to say hello to my mother. Don't -- they should not be gathering for Thanksgiving just because it's Thanksgiving. They got to continue to say hello at the end of the driveway, right, regardless.
SLAVITT: Right. Right. This is just another day in November. Look, if you're somewhere warm and you can meet outdoors, terrific. If you're seeing someone and they're in your household, you're seeing them every day anyway, terrific. Otherwise, just keep doing what you're doing, just keep -- keep the distance. We'll be glad we are. The virus unfortunately has now spread really deeply into most communities and it's -- it’s, you know, it's -- it’s something we're going to have to deal with. It's not, you know, I think only in America do we consider skipping one meal with some friends to be a sacrifice.
It is a “sacrifice” for families who love each other and want to give thanks for all the many blessings that we have here in America.
Slavitt continued to insist that we be suspicious of our friends and neighbors and continue to consider every person who we love as a vector of a contagious disease:
If they're in your bubble already and you're -- you’re spending time with them already and you know that they're only spending time with you, then -- then -- then that's one thing. But if you're going to have some people over and you don't know who they've been spending time with, you don't know how big your bubble is, right, because they -- their, you know, their kids are spending time with other people's kids who are doing other sort of things, and that's how people are catching this.
Lemon then suggested that families should not celebrate Christmas: "My favorite holiday is Christmas. We will see what happens. But it's going to be tough, but maybe I won't get to see my family, and that’s just the way it is."
While Slavitt attacked people for assessing risk for themselves and making their own decisions:
"I think common sense should tell us that -- what -- what risk -- are you willing -- are you willing to take a 15 percent chance with your mother or your grandmother or your father or your grandfather? I think that those risks are too high," he lectured.
Being anti-Thanksgiving is an interesting stance for CNN to take but as it has demonstrated throughout the pandemic, CNN loves authoritarian policies which strike at our basic liberties.
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Read the full November 13th transcript here:
CNN Tonight
11/13/20
11:33:38 PM
DON LEMON: Just -- so just don't do it, people. I mean, don't gather. So can families celebrate safely this Thanksgiving? Joining me now to discuss is Andy Slavitt, the former acting administrator for Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services or Medicare and Medicaid Services. It is good to see you, Andy. So, I mean, I want to be with my family, but I'm not going to do it. But, I mean, what? Who’s right? What -- tell -- what should Americans be doing?
ANDY SLAVITT (FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES): They should have Thanksgiving with the people that you're spending time with now and that's it. Don't add -- don’t add parents, don't add neighbors, don't add college kids. And the good news is -- I know that's hard. I know we all love our Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. But the truth is we're crushing, we're crushing our hospital system. And the good news is we do have vaccines coming. They'll be coming around the corner. So this is one year. You know, we have to find -- pick a holiday Don, that we're going to take off. We didn't do it Memorial Day. We didn't do it Independence Day. We didn't do it Labor Day. We've got 200 million tickets sold for Thanksgiving. This is not going to work. We are going to have over 100 million super spreader events.LEMON: Okay. So let me ask you then, because people are going to think, I'm exempt to this because I've been seeing my family, I've been hanging out with them, we've been wearing masks, I've been meeting -- you know, having barbecues, whatever. So in my -- in my family, my mom has been seeing her -- my sister and her nieces, right, and her -- and her great grandbabies at the -- and her granddaughters, sorry, my nieces, her granddaughters. She has been seeing them. They've been standing at the end of the driveway, right --
SLAVITT: Mm-hmm.
LEMON: -- and saying -- coming over to say hello to my mother. Don't -- they should not be gathering for Thanksgiving just because it's Thanksgiving. They got to continue to say hello at the end of the driveway, right, regardless.
SLAVITT: Right. Right. This is just another day in November. Look, if you're somewhere warm and you can meet outdoors, terrific. If you're seeing someone and they're in your household, you're seeing them every day anyway, terrific. Otherwise, just keep doing what you're doing, just keep -- keep the distance. We'll be glad we are. The virus unfortunately has now spread really deeply into most communities and it's -- it’s, you know, it's -- it’s something we're going to have to deal with. It's not, you know, I think only in America do we consider skipping one meal with some friends to be a sacrifice.
LEMON: So even if you live across town or in the same town as your family -- if they -- I don't know. I mean, what do you do?
SLAVITT: If they're in your bubble already and you're -- you’re spending time with them already and you know that they're only spending time with you, then -- then -- then that's one thing. But if you're going to have some people over and you don't know who they've been spending time with, you don't know how big your bubble is, right, because they -- their, you know, their kids are spending time with other people's kids who are doing other sort of things, and that's how people are catching this. And you don't want to catch this virus. And look, two weeks from today, we had 160,000 cases today, two weeks from today, a large number of those people are going to be entering the hospital systems that are in many places already at breaking points. So let's give our ICU nurses a break, please. Let's give our doctors a break, please. They are begging us to do this. I know most people are careful, but a lot of people are not.
LEMON: Mm-hmm. My favorite holiday is Christmas. We will see what happens. But it's going to be tough, but maybe I won't get to see my family, and that’s just the way it is. I got to get this in, doctor. This is a -- let’s talk about this -- this is a cool online tool from researchers. This is at Georgia Tech that helps you assess how likely you are to come in contact with someone who has coronavirus. This is very important, people. A lot of Thanksgiving events can range between 10 to 15 people. So we tried that out and in places like Tallahassee and -- and Wilkes-Barre, right now, the chance of there being someone with COVID is in the low to mid-teens. In places like Amarillo and Cedar Rapids, you're basically flipping a coin. Can a tool like this help people assess the risk that they're willing to take?
SLAVITT: Look, I think common sense should tell us that -- what -- what risk -- are you willing -- are you willing to take a 15 percent chance with your mother or your grandmother or your father --
LEMON: Yeah.
SLAVITT: --- or your grandfather? I think that those risks are too high. And look, there’s great news. The news around -- about the virus is -- about the vaccines should encourage us. During the course of next year, we're going to get our lives back. This is not going to be forever. This is a short period of time. We can do this. We have to be able to do this.
LEMON: Yeah. Andy, thank you for speaking truth to the viewers. I appreciate it. I'll see you soon.
