Glenn Beck declared Tuesday that he'd "rather die" from coronavirus "than kill the country."

“I sincerely hope that we are not in a place as Americans to where we are going to let the Democrats jam down the Green New Deal because we are at home panicked,” Beck said on BlazeTV in a clip first flagged by left-wing Media Matters. “I want to have a frank conversation with you and ask you, ‘Where do you stand?'”

“I’m in the danger zone. I’m right at the edge, I’m 56," he continued. "In Italy they’re saying if you’re sick and you’re 60, don’t even come in. So, I’m in the danger zone. I would rather have my children stay home and all of us who are over 50 go in and keep this economy going and working."

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"Even if we all get sick, I’d rather die than kill the country," he added. "Because it’s not the economy that’s dying, it’s the country.”

Glenn Beck says older Americans should return to work: “Even if we all get sick, I would rather die than kill the country”https://t.co/CQdDAMByXK pic.twitter.com/sgLZ32aJ8C — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 24, 2020

The comments come after President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE introduced the possibility of getting the U.S. economy back up and running by Easter Sunday, which falls on April 12 this year.

“Every decision we make is grounded solely in the health, safety and wellbeing of our citizens,” Trump said Tuesday, adding he would consult with coronavirus task force health officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx and other advisers before making a decision.



“I think that would be a great thing for our country and we’re all working very hard to make that a reality. We’ll be meeting with a lot of people to see if it can be done,” the president added.

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Fauci called Trump's broaching of an Easter reopening of some parts of the country "aspirational," stressing a need "to be flexible" on such a date based on what happens over the next few weeks.

"The president clearly listens," Fauci said Tuesday. "I mean, he has this aspirational goal of hoping that we might be able to do it by a certain date."

"We talked him about that. We say we need to be flexible," he added.

The U.S. death toll stands at more than 725, with cases topping more than 50,000 as testing available continues to accelerate, according to a New York Times tracker.