Days after North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced that his state would remain on lockdown until May 8, the Tar Heel State press — and many national reporters — turned to Republican North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore for a contrasting comment.
For weeks, Cooper and Moore have been the North Carolinian embodiments of the nationwide debate over how officials should proceed in grappling with the coronavirus. Either they must keep most businesses closed and commerce minimized until safety is a certainty or gradually re-open businesses and begin on the economic “road back” immediately.
“Tim is like the leader of the loyal opposition in a parliamentary system,” former State Rep. Bill Current, R-Gaston, told Newsmax. “When the governor makes a decision on how we’re going to handle the virus crisis, the press almost immediately goes to the speaker for a rapid response.”
Newsmax spoke to Moore on Monday about ninety minutes after he concluded a joint press conference with Gov. Cooper on the next phase in the state’s reopening.
“As recently as ninety minutes ago, I urged a greater reopening of businesses throughout the state,” Moore told us, noting that it is still unclear just what will be reopening and what won’t in four days. “It is clear we’re in decline now and we desperately need more business and more commerce.”
Regarding polls that show citizens nationwide overwhelming prefer staying home and away from work until a vaccine for the virus is discovered, the speaker replied: “That’s not what I’m hearing. When this thing started, it caused a health scare. People were afraid of going to work and of shopping and it caused devastation to the state.”
According to figures provided by the state, 11,848 North Carolinians have contracted coronavirus as of this week and 430 have died from it.
Moore pointed out that there were models initially done about the virus’s impact on the state that showed thousands of death “and fortunately, they were wrong.” He also voiced concern about the restaurant industry, noting that “it is difficult to see improvement” in the minimal openings that have taken place so far.
“If we do the reopening of our state in a safe manner rather than simply ‘opening the doors,’ our economy will survive and recover,” he said.
Aside from the virus crisis, Moore feels confident that President Trump will not only carry North Carolina’s electoral voters for the second time but that Republican Sen. Thom Tillis — whom Moore succeeded as state House speaker — will be reelected over Democratic State Rep. Cal Cunningham.
“This will be close but we always have close Senate races here,” he told us. “But Thom knows how to campaign and, quite frankly, Republicans are in position to sweep the board — the governorship, the statewide offices, and keeping the legislature in Republican hands. It’ll be a campaign worth watching, believe me.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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