At the top of his Saturday MSNBC broadcast, Al Sharpton revealed he and President Donald Trump discussed his concerns with the coronavirus, which included the homeless and incarcerated.
Sharpton said he was able to convey concerns for those that might not be able to take proactive measure to protect themselves from the pandemic.
“Tonight’s lead: This week, in the spirit of unity, I made a moral appeal to the White House to consider the homeless and the incarcerated amid the COVID-19 crisis,” he said. “To my surprise, President Donald Trump called me to discuss it. He and I have exchanged some very contentious words over the last several years, and though we have not changed our view of each other, we did talk about the fact that in the midst of this pandemic, people that may be on different sides politically must discuss and try to come to some kind of common ground to deal with those in this country and around the world that are most vulnerable.”
“I wanted to raise the point of those that are homeless and those that are incarcerated,” Sharpton continued. “They must be part of the equation because it is a moral issue, it is a humanitarian issue, and it is impractical to tell people that are homeless, that are not even in shelters, to stay home. It is really against any form of logic to tell people incarcerated in 6 X 12 cells to stay social distance six feet away from each other. So how do we test them, and how do we make sure that they are not, in fact, infecting others. How do we deal with the fact that most people in jail have been convicted of nothing, and therefore would be dealing with possible life sentences if they get the coronavirus while they’re awaiting trial, acquitted, go home, and they have been infected, and the worst could happen. He said he would consider it, made no promises, but the fact we talked helped put it on the national radar.”
(h/t Newsbusters)
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