Trump's COVID-19 Infection Shows 'No Lockdown' Can Prevent Spread, Matt Gaetz Says

Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said Friday that if coronavirus can infect President Donald Trump, then "no lockdown" or social distancing measures can possibly keep it from spreading to the average American.

Gaetz told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he's traveled with Trump frequently, and if the intensive testing measures taken by the White House weren't enough to prevent the president from becoming infected then "there's no place" COVID-19 could be stopped from spreading. He said the country must continue to re-open as Trump himself has called for because lockdown and social distancing protocols are futile.

Gaetz touted the strength of Trump, who announced he tested positive early Friday, saying people will soon be talking about whether "coronavirus survived Trump" instead of the other way around.

Both Gaetz and Carlson agreed the U.S. should focus on therapeutics and the development of a vaccine rather than enforcing "draconian" restrictions to daily life. Last March, the congressman mocked initial coronavirus pandemic reports by wearing a gas mask into Congress for a vote.

"If this virus can get into the Oval [Office], into the body of the president, there is no place that it can not possibly infect one of our fellow Americans," Gaetz told Carlson Friday evening. "And that's why it's so important to continue executing on President Trump's strategy to allow our country to open up, but then to ensure we protect the vulnerable, because there is no lockdown that can be a panacea to save everyone from everything and this is proof-positive that's the case."

"I hope that in a matter of days or weeks we're not talking about how Trump survived the coronavirus, but maybe how the coronavirus survived Trump," Gaetz added. "He is the hardest-working man I have ever met, he is one of the strongest, and I wish him all the best."