Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, who was named to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force on Monday, profited off lockdown policies he used his expertise to advocate for, critics say.
Biden named his coronavirus task force after a number of major media outlets declared him the winner of the 2020 presidential election. President Donald Trump is continuing to litigate the election in court over instances of voter fraud that his campaign argues may have influenced the outcome of the election.
Emanuel was one of a dozen health experts that Biden named to his task force to advise him on how to handle the pandemic. Emanuel worked as an adviser for COVID-19 RECoVERY Consulting, a firm that provides guidance to businesses on how to navigate pandemic regulations as elected leaders begin lifting strict lockdown measures, according to the Washington Examiner.
In September, Alex Berenson, a former reporter for The New York Times and vocal critic of lockdown policies, appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and accused Emanuel of profiting off the policies he advocated for that played a significant role in forcing millions of Americans out of jobs and closing thousands of businesses. During the lockdown, the United States hit its highest level of unemployment since the Great Depression.
“Zeke is doing good by doing well and doing well by doing good. He has his own consulting firm where he consults with people for profit to make money from giving them recommendations about how to get around and get past the lockdown advice that he’s pushing, the lockdown that he’s pushing,” Berenson told Carlson.
“The company is, it’s basically consulting, if you reopen, here’s how to reopen safely. He’s encouraging lockdowns to be in place and to be sort of moved back phase by phase. And then if you have a business where you actually want to have customers, he’s going to tell you, he and others, are going to tell you how you can do that. And I think it’s easy to sort of underestimate how big a business COVID has become,” he continued. “Testing alone, at this point, we are spending almost a billion dollars a week on testing. Nothing else.”
In April, Emanuel appeared on MSNBC and pushed for lockdowns, or some form of them, to remain in place for 18 months or longer because of the pandemic. Not until a “vaccine or effective medications” are created should the United States consider returning to “normalcy.”
“Realistically, COVID-19 will be here for the next 18 months or more. We will not be able to return to normalcy until we find a vaccine or effective medications,” Emanuel said. “I know that’s dreadful news to hear. How are people supposed to find work if this goes on in some form for a year and a half? Is all that economic pain worth trying to stop COVID-19? The truth is we have no choice.”