FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sunday, August 30, 2020
CONTACT: Liz Doherty
TONIGHT: TX Gov. Abbott to Join Dan Forest’s Rally—What Does Forest Think About Abbott’s Biggest Regret of His Coronavirus Response?
“If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars.” – Gov. Abbott, 6/26/2020
RALEIGH — Tonight, Dan Forest will hold a “Digital Rally and Telethon” with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has described reopening bars too early as his biggest regret of his coronavirus response. Forest unsuccessfully sued Governor Cooper over his executive orders such as closing bars and restaurants back in March, and has repeatedly criticized his decision to keep bars closed to help curb the virus’ spread.
In early June, Forest said, “other states opened bars, gyms and other businesses weeks ago with no negative impact on public health.” Three weeks later, Abbott shut bars down again, and expressed regret in an interview in El Paso:
If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting.
[The] bar setting, in reality, just doesn’t work with a pandemic. [People] go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize, and that’s the kind of thing that stokes the spread of the coronavirus.
In another interview with WFAA in Dallas, Abbott reiterated regret over the pace of bar reopenings, calling it an “easy thing to pinpoint.”
In early July, Abbott also issued a mask mandate for Texans in counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases, despite his previous resistance to the idea (at one point, he even banned local governments from requiring masks).
Forest has said, “masks do not work with viruses. He has held numerous indoor campaign events with no mask wearing or social distancing. He told a reporter that part of his campaign strategy during the pandemic involves shaking “as many hands as we can” and promised there will be “a lot more of this.”
Liz Doherty, spokesperson for Cooper for NC, said, “Governor Abbott opened bars too soon and now regrets it. But Forest has remained committed to playing politics throughout the pandemic. He’s proven himself completely unfit to be governor.”
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