Bernie Sanders Would Refuse to Close Border Due to Coronavirus

Fox News reports:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Monday during a Fox News Town Hall that he would not consider restricting movement across the U.S. border to prevent the spread of a worldwide contagion like COVID-19, commonly called the coronavirus.

Anchor Bret Baier asked Sanders about the option after President Trump expressed strong support for closing borders in that instance.

Sanders responded by calling Trump's actions in office xenophobic and claiming the president is "propagating ... anti-immigrant sentiment from before he was elected."

Instead of making what he characterized as a political decision in response to an epidemic, Sanders said he would let the medical experts and scientists decide what steps to take.

Sanders also said he suspected Trump may be using the coronavirus outbreak as a vessel to force the implementation of his controversial border security policies.

"Isn't it interesting that a president who has been demagoguing and demonizing immigrants, the first thing [he] can think about is closing down the border?" Sanders asked. "We need scientists to tell us the appropriate approach."

Daily Caller adds:

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he would not close the borders over the escalating coronavirus outbreak.

The Democratic presidential candidate flatly said, “No,” when asked at a Fox News town hall broadcast.

Sanders continued that closing the borders is something “you don’t want to do right now,” claiming doing so would be in the spirit of a president “who has propagated a xenophobic, anti-immigrant sentiment from before he was elected,” Sanders said, attacking President Donald Trump.

But the senator could not provide an alternative, saying “What we need to do is have the scientists take a hard look at what we need to do.” He suggested we first have to examine the communities where the virus is spreading and ask why.

“It may mean self-quarantine, it may be not having public assemblies,” Sanders told the audience before quickly reiterating his belief that closing the border is “the same old thing. Isn’t it interesting that a president who has been demagoguing and demonizing immigrants, the first thing that he could think about is closing down the border?” Sanders asked, suggesting scientists need to develop coronavirus policy — not politicians.