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With the call to reopen the U.S. economy beginning to resound across the country, even from some Democrats, the left finds itself in the unenviable position of denying Americans their very livelihoods.
Another unenviable position they find themselves in is disagreeing with Dr. Phil.
Dr. Phil McGraw, America’s celebrity psychologist, appeared Thursday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” to talk about the mental toll the lockdown is having on folks, suggesting more people may die from poverty due to a crashing economy than from the coronavirus.
In calling to reopen the country, Dr. Phil drew the ire of those looking to prolong the shutdown, perhaps in the hope that it could have a negative impact on President Donald Trump’s reelection chances.
“This is invisible,” McGraw said. “I can’t show you an X-ray of depression. I can’t show you an X-ray of anxiety. But the fact of the matter is, the longer this lockdown goes on the more vulnerable people get and it’s like there’s a tipping point.”
“There’s a point at which people start having enough problems in lockdown that it will actually create actually more destruction and actually more death across time than the actual virus will itself,” he continued.
McGraw is not a licensed psychologist, but he holds a doctorate in psychology.
He went on to add some perspective on the number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. — that number is currently over 34,000.
However, McGraw’s entire argument was quickly dismissed by the left because he inadvertently flubbed a couple of statistics.
“Two hundred and fifty people a year die from poverty,” McGraw said. “The poverty line is getting such that more and more people are going to fall below that because the economy is crashing around us.”
It appears that McGraw meant to say 250,000, which is more consistent with a 2011 study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
“And they’re doing that because people are dying from the Coronavirus. I get that,” he added. “But look, the fact of the matter is, we have people dying, 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes. 360,000 a year from swimming pools, but we don’t shut the country down for that.”
McGraw said there were 360,000 deaths due to swimming pools, but the number he was referencing is actually 3,600.
And while he misplaced a few zeroes here and there, and critics sought out studies that presented nickle-and-dime arguments over the other figures offered, the analogy of the impact the shutdown is having on people’s lives is accurate.
“The fallout is going to last for years because people’s lives are being destroyed,” Dr. Phil insisted.
Host Laura Ingraham pointed out how the economic impact of shutting everything down is crushing small business owners, noting how grown men are being reduced to tears in dealing with the fallout.
“[T]hese are grown men,” she said. “And I’ve never seen this. I’ve never witnessed this before. Ever.”
As for the push back from the anti-Trump cabal, here’s a quick sampling of responses from Twitter that pretty much eliminates any argument it’s not politically motivated:
Monica…have I got some news for you…Dr. Phil isn’t a doctor. https://t.co/cNoQBhPj9T
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 17, 2020
It would be a gift to the world and would probably save a lot of lives if Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz never made another television appearance for the rest of eternity.
— adrienneelrod (@adrienneelrod) April 17, 2020
Good Morning. Dr Phil’s apology video had better feature “cash me outside” girl or it’s a nonstarter.
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) April 17, 2020
I have no patience right now for coldheartedness. I never do, but now especially.
To casually and cavalierly discuss death like it doesn’t matter like Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, to dunk on generations suffering their 2nd or 3rd recession like David Brooks…
It’s the grossest thing.
— brittany packnett cunningham is on extended break. (@MsPackyetti) April 17, 2020
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1251126626336858113?s=20
America needs to be less Dr. Phil and more Dr. Gupta.
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) April 17, 2020
I would suggest Dr. Phil do what some other doctors are doing, and volunteer to help out in overburdened hospitals or nursing homes, or offer free home visits or tele-consultations to people who shouldn't go out. But of course he's not a doctor. https://t.co/HEPT99WchL
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 17, 2020
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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