Gay Jewish governor accused of Nazism – yes, really – for trying to save lives during coronavirus crisis
Jared Polis rejects claims of Nazism in a coronavirus press briefing (YouTube/Denver 7)
Jared Polis, Colorado’s gay Jewish governor, has furiously rejected accusations of Nazism for his coronavirus stay-at-home order.
The Democrat, elected in 2018 as the first Jewish governor in Colorado and the first openly gay governor in the US, is currently facing strong opposition for retaining the coronavirus lockdown in his state, a decision which many Republicans are seriously comparing to Nazi fascism.
At a press conference on April 15 a reporter asked him: “We’re seeing a lot of rebellion out here against your orders, which have been called tyrannical against local health department orders, being equated to Nazism.
“How do you react to that? What do you say to those people who are clearly getting frustrated with this stay-at-home order?”
Colorado governor Jared Polis outraged by Nazi comparisons.
As tears welled in his eyes and his voice cracked from emotion, Jared Polis gave an impassioned rebuttal to the ridiculous claims.
“As a Jewish American who lost family in the Holocaust, I’m offended by any comparison to Nazism,” he said.
“We act to save lives. The exact opposite of the slaughter of six million Jews and many gypsies and Catholics and gays and lesbians and Russians and so many others.”
He continued: “That being said, we know these steps are difficult, and it’s not a contest to see how much you can get away with. It’s a contest to see how well you can stay at home.
“By not staying at home, by having parties, by congregating, you’re not sticking it to the government, you’re not sticking it to Jared Polis — you’re sticking it to yourself, because you’re putting yourself and your loved ones in jeopardy.”
He urged Coloradans to act with unity and do the best that they can to stay at home so that the economic difficulties they face aren’t prolonged.
Polis has been plagued by comparisons with Nazism from the day he issued the stay-at-home order, when Colorado house minority leader Patrick Neville warned that it could lead to a “Gestapo-like mentality.”
It is particularly egregious in light of the fact that the Nazis killed six million Jews in the Holocaust, along with an estimated 10-15,000 gay men.
