‘Selfish’ or ‘correct’? Twitter’s blue checks go to war over New York Post cover story demanding NYC lockdown ends NOW

As the New York Post prepares to run a cover story urging for an immediate end to the Big Apple’s lockdown, pundits have raced to their battle stations to fire off a barrage of hot takes and pithy attacks on the hot-button column.

The Post’s David Marcus has made waves with a self-described “rant” entitled “End New York City’s lockdown now!” – set to feature on the cover of the paper’s Thursday edition. Arguing the shutdown has already served its purpose, Marcus called for an abrupt end to the containment measures, originally imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19.

“By prolonging the coronavirus shutdown long after its core mission was accomplished, [Governor Andrew] Cuomo and Mayor [Bill] de Blasio have plunged tens of thousands of New Yorkers into poverty,” Marcus wrote, observing that the most dire predictions for New York City never materialized.

We were told we were moments away from running out of ventilators. We weren’t, and now the United States has built so many, we are giving them away to other countries.

The column was met with cheers among Twitter’s right-of-center commentariat, with conservative big-wigs including Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Meghan McCain offering words of praise (or in Hannity’s case, a retweet).

Locals also took note of the opinion piece, among them Democratic councilman of NYC Chaim Deutsch, who dubbed it an “excellent read.” A former reporter with the city’s liberal newspaper of record, the New York Times, also weighed in to applaud the article.

The story was not without its detractors, however, with the Daily Beast’s editor-at-large Molly Jong-Fast dismissing the op-ed as “dumb,” and inviting the Post’s elderly billionaire owner Rupert Murdoch to be the first to buck the lockdown.

Another critic lambasted Marcus’ lack of medical expertise, labeling the author an “MD” mockingly.

The clash of the blue checks comes amid heated debates nationwide about how the country should reopen, after dozens of states imposed similar lockdowns amid the lethal outbreak, which has infected over 1.5 million and killed more than 93,000 in the US. While federal health officials have pointed to falling infection and fatality numbers in some regions – including New York, the worst-hit state by far – experts have cautioned against reopening too quickly, warning it could trigger a resurgence of the virus.

US President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection, has urged states to fast-track the process, hoping to reinvigorate the country’s economy as the shutdowns throw tens of millions of Americans out of work. His calls have earned condemnations from critics, however, who insist he is risking lives in order to bolster his chances in November.

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