On Wednesday night, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) conceded that the COVID-19 outbreak will accelerate if the U.S. reopens its economy right now, but he argued it needs to reopen anyway.

During an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Kennedy asserted that those who believe that businesses ought to remain closed until the spread stops “probably still believe in Bigfoot.”

“We’ve gotta reopen,” the GOP senator said.

“And when we do, the coronavirus is going to spread faster,” he continued. “And we’ve got to be ready for it.”

But don’t make any “sophomoric accusations” that the Republican lawmaker doesn’t care about life, okay?

“This isn’t a question of not valuing life,” he insisted. “This is a question of making a hard decision with the cold, hard facts.”

Watch Kennedy below: