Wisconsin governor on Trump’s claim doctors aiming to make money: ‘That is such a stupid thing to say’

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said Sunday that President Trump’s claim that doctors are purposefully increasing coronavirus case numbers to make money was “a stupid thing to say.”

Evers criticized the comments Trump made during a rally in Waterford Township, Mich., on Friday, telling CNN’s “State of the Union” that the allegation is not “the basic issue here.”

{mosads}“We are in the middle of a pandemic,” he said. “We have hotspots all across the state. People are dying at high numbers, and then Trump is up in Green Bay at the same time talking about the fact that the doctors are … identifying people as COVID-19 deaths when they’re not just so they can make money.”

“Honest to God, it’s just breathtaking,” he continued. “We’re in a very difficult situation here. We should be pulling together.”

The Wisconsin governor countered Trump, who has repeatedly said the virus is “rounding the corner,” by saying “It ain’t over.”

“We have a president that believes the doctors are at fault or are messing with the numbers,” he said. “And he believes that it’s over. It ain’t over.”

Evers said he was not considering imposing another lockdown but noted if the public is concerned about their health they won’t “go spend money.”

“We need to do the basic things in Wisconsin and frankly some people aren’t doing them because they’re listening to Donald Trump,” he said.

“People aren’t gonna go spend money if they don’t have confidence in their health,” he added. “That is the basic issue here. It’s not whether doctors are making more money for not. That is such a stupid thing to say.”

“Honest to God, it’s just breathtaking. We’re in a very difficult situation here. We should be pulling together,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers says on President Trump criticizing his handling of the pandemic.

“He believes that it’s over. It ain’t over” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/qFAfqnXlZu

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) November 1, 2020

President Trump has held many rallies over the last month including in Wisconsin where most attendees do not social distance and do not wear masks. 

The New York Times ranks Wisconsin as the state with the third most daily average of new cases per 100,000 people in the past seven days, with 1,121.6 cases per day.