On Sunday’s “State Of The Union,” CNN Host Jake Tapper, who reportedly has a net worth of $8 million, asked one of the world’s richest men, multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose net worth is reportedly $129 billion, whether states needed to consider taking “the kind of drastic action we saw when the pandemic first began? Or can there be a more nuanced approach?”
Gates responded, “Bars and restaurants in most of the country will be closed as we go into this wave. And I think, sadly, that’s appropriate.”
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) fired back at Gates’ comment about closing restaurants and bars on Twitter, writing: “Leftists: a millionaire & a billionaire discuss how they think its ‘appropriate’ to destroy & bankrupt small businesses across America. Tell you what…halt ALL salaries at CNN & Microsoft, stop paying Dem politicians & then let’s see if they think TWO MORE YEARS shutdown is OK.”
Leftists: a millionaire & a billionaire discuss how they think its “appropriate” to destroy & bankrupt small businesses across America.
Tell you what…halt ALL salaries at CNN & Microsoft, stop paying Dem politicians & then let’s see if they think TWO MORE YEARS shutdown is OK. https://t.co/OwKLXLYZxT
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 13, 2020
As far back as September, CNBC reported, “Some 163,735 businesses have indicated on Yelp that they have closed, a 23% increase since mid-July. According to Yelp data, permanent closures have reached 97,966, representing 60% of closed businesses that won’t be reopening.”
In the interview, Tapper asked Gates, “What do you think? Do you think more states need to consider taking that kind of drastic action and the kind of drastic action we saw when the pandemic first began? Or can there be a more nuanced approach?”
Gates answered, “Well, certainly, mask-wearing has essentially no downside. They’re not expensive. Bars and restaurants in most of the country will be closed as we go into this wave. And I think, sadly, that’s appropriate. Depending on how severe it is, the decision about schools is much more complicated, because, there, the benefits are pretty high, the amount of transmission is not the same as in restaurants and bars.”
“So, trade-offs will have to be made,” Gates continued. “But this — the next four to six months really call on us to do our best, because we can see that this will end, and you don’t want somebody you love to be the last to die of coronavirus.”
“When do you think life will fully return to what we thought of as normal back in January, no masks, no social distancing, no other protective measures necessary?” Tapper asked.
“Certainly, by the summer, we will be way closer to normal than we are now,” Gates replied. “But even through early 2022, unless we help other countries get rid of this disease, and we get high vaccination rates in our country, the risk of reintroduction will be there and, of course, the global economy will be slowed down, which hurts America economically in a pretty dramatic way. So, we will have, starting in the summer, about nine months where a few things, like big public gatherings, will still be restricted. But we can see now that, somewhere between 12 to 18 months, and we have a chance, if we manage it well, to get back to normal.”