Twitter users are calling out Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for claiming that “lots of grandparents out there” are willing to take a chance against the COVID-19 coronavirus in order to save the economy.

Speaking on Fox News, Patrick agreed with President Donald Trump’s proposal for a quicker end to the shutdowns that have stalled the economy.

The closures and stay-at-home instructions are aimed at stopping the spread of the virus, especially to those most vulnerable, such as seniors, who make up 80% of all U.S. deaths.

But Patrick, who turns 70 next month, indicated he’s willing to put his own survival on the line in exchange for “keeping the America that all America loves” for future generations.

“And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in,” he told Tucker Carlson, adding there are “lots of grandparents” who agree.

“My message is that let’s get back to work, let’s get back to living, let’s be smart about it, and those of us who are 70-plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country,” he said.

Twitter users were aghast at the notion of grandparents being sacrificed to the virus in the name of the economy:

This kind of numbnuttery will kill people in Texas. Young as well as old. We need a state-wide shelter in place order to stop the spread of coronavirus and save hundreds of thousands of lives. https://t.co/C8r9Q7t2vs — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 24, 2020

I love my grandparents very dearly and would not like to see them as human sacrifices at the altar of the stock market and did not realize this desire had to be actively defended! https://t.co/nRvtZ8ywnA — Emma Baccellieri (@emmabaccellieri) March 24, 2020

Telling y'all, if Dan Patrick wants to sacrifice *himself,* that's fine. When he begins volunteering *other people* to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the state, then that's genocide. https://t.co/HOMy5L3Csp — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) March 24, 2020

To think Texans survived Jade Helm and transgender bathrooms only to be sacrificed by Dan Patrick himself. What a twist. https://t.co/D8YVqE6wf0 — Evan (@evan7257) March 24, 2020

I have to say, while the GOP’s dark, Shirley Jackson-esque plot twist isn’t entirely unexpected, that the primary victims would be a significant part of Trump’s base is certainly a surprise. https://t.co/B5ZwOx62TN — Radley Balko (@radleybalko) March 24, 2020

.@DanPatrick Do I have to choose which one of my grandparents to sacrifice, or do they do that for me? Is there a test they take? Maybe a panel of people who assess which ones can survive the longest? — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) March 24, 2020

Pump Up the Curve - Dan Patrick https://t.co/JKY3kaHGDO — John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) March 24, 2020

Hello it’s me a principled conservative and I am here to say why wait for grandma and grandpa to die in the pandemic when we can start hunting them for sport today — Mariya Alexander (@MariyaAlexander) March 24, 2020

2010: Conservatives freak out over “death panels.”



2020: Conservatives endorse reality version of “Logan’s Run.” pic.twitter.com/7SiDNL7VrM — Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) March 24, 2020

I’d prefer to keep my one remaining grandparent, thanks. https://t.co/6K0s1l6IuS — Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) March 24, 2020

Also, that’s the same guy who loses his shit about trans people existing, always going on about how it’s the government’s duty to protect people from the imaginary threat of trans people in bathrooms... now being like “Well, sorry, grandma’s gotta go for the sake of the market” — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 24, 2020

2016: "Let's make America great again!"



2020: "If hundreds of thousands of you have to die for us to have a lot of brands of cereal, I guess that's just the way it is" https://t.co/hGKaqpvDwK — Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) March 24, 2020

“Screw the masks & ventilators and start printing up those “I’D DIE FOR THE DOW!” t-shirts for Florida’s nursing homes!” — Scott Linnen (@ScottLinnen) March 24, 2020

Die for the Dow. https://t.co/9FIjpWTIur — Cameron Johnson (@cameronjawesome) March 24, 2020

Hey Memaws and Pawpaws, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick thinks it's better for you to die than for the stock market to crash. You ready to die for the Dow? https://t.co/nzkjL84Pl1 — Leanne Potts (@TheRealMLPotts) March 24, 2020

YOU CANT BE A PRO LIFE REPUBLICAN AND ALSO WANT PEOPLE TO DIE FOR THE DOW JONES — my king is andrew yang (@yang2020fangirl) March 23, 2020

after spending a single week inside, right-wingers are asking you to consider letting grandma die so their favorite Cheesecake Factory reopens. drinking bottomless margaritas on some cruise ship called "Mermaid Of The Seas" is a life or death issue for them — Brendan Karet 🚮 (@bad_takes) March 24, 2020

thank God none of our grandparents watch FOX News https://t.co/wJnHbV6ot1 — Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) March 24, 2020

I strongly resist duplexes being built in my neighborhood bc it would ruin its historic character also I’m ready to die for the Dow — Jason Goldman (@goldman) March 24, 2020

I don't often go wild here but fuck this, I'm sorry. This is sickening, pure and simple, beyond the type of shit you'd see as a cynical joke in dystopian fiction. Asking the elderly to sacrifice themselves for the economy - Dan Patrick and Tucker can fuck all the way off. https://t.co/1TKserPuzk — Steve Orlando (@thesteveorlando) March 24, 2020

Amazing how they’ll die for the Dow Jones to save their grandchildren but won’t do anything to stop the planet from melting https://t.co/eD0RdFyWLd — lights out (@countdown2march) March 24, 2020

*taptaptap*



Hi, 1st gen/naturalized Texan here.



DAN PATRICK IS A DELUSIONAL PIECE OF GARBAGE.



Protect your Ma-Maws and your Pa-Paws.



Por favor, protege a tu abuelas y abuelos.



STAY THE HELL HOME for as long as you can. #COVID19 #coronavirus #StayHome — Tanya 수정 Tarr (@nerdette) March 24, 2020

Genocide is the destruction of a national/ethnic/racial/religious group in whole or in part, but shouldn't it cover the preventable deaths of an entire generation? Because Dan Patrick, monster, thinks this'd be noble for the sake of a near work of fiction called "the economy". https://t.co/7kds1BVylM — Their Excellency Elan Morgan 🦉 (@schmutzie) March 24, 2020