Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie admitted that more Americans will die because of the coronavirus pandemic but said it's time to reopen the country because the "American way of life" is collapsing.
Christie's comments came during an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on "The Daily DC" podcast.
"Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can — but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?" Christie said. "Are there ways that we can ... thread the middle here to allow that there are going to be deaths, and there are going to be deaths no matter what?
"We've got to let some of these folks get back to work, because if we don't, we're going to destroy the American way of life in these families — and it will be years and years before we can recover."
In recent days, states have started to reopen from COVID-19 restrictions. On Monday, however, it was reported that the Trump administration expects the death rate to climb to 3,000 per day by the end of this month.
Christie compared the suffering and the sacrifices going on in the U.S. to what the country experienced during World War II.
"We sent our young men during World War II over to Europe, out to the Pacific, knowing, knowing that many of them would not come home alive," he said.
"And we decided to make that sacrifice because what we were standing up for was the American way of life. In the very same way now, we have to stand up for the American way of life.
"We've gone through it and we've survived it. We sacrificed those lives."
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