Beto O’Rourke slams Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his 'death cult'

Former congressman Beto O’Rourke appeared Thursday on The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell and spent the entirety of the interview discussing the increase in COVID-19 cases in Texas, which he heavily attributes to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s desire to keep the state open.

Patrick made headlines in March when he suggested the elderly would be willing to die for the economy. Gov. Greg Abbott briefly shutdown the state, but under alleged pressure from Patrick, he reopened early and against CDC guidelines.

A recent spike in cases has led to a partial shut down again, as some hospitals have reported their ICU facilities are over capacity. Despite this, Patrick is still fighting to open the state. He is also no longer taking the advice of infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“Dan Patrick and this death cult that he's trying to lead here in Texas, where he says there are more important things than living as an argument to re-open the state,” said O’Rourke.

O’Rourke believes Patrick is unencumbered by concern for those most at risk by keeping the state open. “He’s asking minimum wage workers, Black Texans, Latino Texans, to do the dying,” said O’Rourke. “He just literally does not care about them.”

The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell airs weeknights at 10 p.m. on MSNBC.

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