A Trump economic advisor jokingly suggested putting people in 'space outfits' to reopen the economy

• Stephen Moore, a member of President Trump's economic task force, jokingly suggested space suits as a way for people to avoid coronavirus infections.
• "Why don't we just put everybody in a space outfit or something like that?" he said to the New York Times in a Q&A interview published Tuesday.
• "No. Seriously, I mean — I know we don't have space outfits," Moore added.
• Moore has emerged in the spotlight as a staunch proponent of lifting stay-at-home restriction and restart the American economy.
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Conservative economist and Trump economic task force member Stephen Moore had a tongue-in-cheek idea for people seeking to ward off the coronavirus as the economy is gradually allowed to reopen.

Space outfits for all.

"I was thinking this morning, and this is just kind of a thought experiment because I was thinking about this — why don't we just put everybody in a space outfit or something like that?" he jokingly told the New York Times in a Q&A interview published Tuesday.

"No. Seriously, I mean — I know we don't have space outfits," Moore added before laughing. "I mean, just thinking out loud ... maybe this is a crazy idea."

Moore said he was in favor of keeping public health measures in place as states lift their restrictions.

He also called to completely lift economic restrictions and warned of "an economic civil war over the next ten weeks between red states and blue states."

Moore has been in the spotlight recently as a forceful proponent to loosen stay-at-home orders already in place across the nation.

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He recently drew a comparison between protesters calling to reopen shuttered businesses and Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who protested racial injustice.

"I call these people modern-day Rosa Parks," Moore told The Washington Post. "They are protesting against injustice and a loss of liberties."

The Trump administration recently announced a three-phase strategy to reopen the economy that begins after a recorded 14-day drop in coronavirus infections, combined with a robust testing apparatus and the ability for hospitals to manage existing caseloads.

The plan gives states a lot of room to determine when they can begin lifting restrictions.

Still, experts say that any return to normal life is a long way off, given the need for continued social distancing and contact tracing — until a coronavirus vaccine is created and successfully administered to a substantial chunk of the public.

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