Texas' lieutenant governor has suggested that he would rather die than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren due to the coronavirus crisis in a shocking interview Monday night.

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rallied behind the words of President Donald Trump and pushed back on the advice of public health officials by urging America to open for business during his appearance on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight. 

The 69-year-old, who turns 70 next week, says that people at a high risk to catch the contagious disease like himself 'will take care of ourselves'. 

'No one reached out to me and said, "As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?" And if that is the exchange, I'm all in,' Patrick said. 

Patrick said there were lots of grandparents like him keen to see the economy in motion again and he doesn't 'want the whole country to be sacrificed' due to the outbreak.