Ben Shapiro Taking Heat After Comments About Those Over 80 Dying of Coronavirus

Ben Shapiro is facing criticism after he suggested the death of an elderly person is not the same as that of younger people. Shapiro stated what he called "the obvious truth" while appearing on Tuesday's The Rubin Report, during which he and host David Rubin discussed the factors that states must way when deciding how and when to lift coronavirus lockdowns.

"Nobody just wants to say the obvious truth, which is we're all making actuarial deductions about what are the costs in terms of how many human lives, how many years of life, because that is an actual issue in actuarial tables," Shapiro said. "If somebody who is 81 dies of COVID-19, that is not the same thing as somebody who is 30 dying of COVID-19. I mean, if this were killing children, everyone would be in lockdown forever. That's the reality. If grandma dies in a nursing home at age 81, that's tragic and it's terrible; also, the life expectancy in the United States is 80."

"In moral terms, you want to save every life you can, at the same time, to pretend that it is of the same calculation, the age of the person, no public policy acts like that, not a single public policy in America acts like that," Shapiro added.

The remarks struck many on social media as harsh. As video of the discussion began to make the rounds on Twitter, many slammed Shapiro as a hypocrite, as he is pro-life and has frequently spoken out about the value of life. Keep scrolling to see what social media has to say about Shapiro's comments.