Trump Dilemma: Goose Economy Or Maintain Shutdown?

If he gooses the economy by getting people back to work, Covid-19 will surely come roaring back and he'll be accused of killing people to improve things economically and increase his election chances; if he maintains the lockdown (the course recommended by the medical experts), unemployment could exceed 30% and he'll face the election with the economy devastated. What to do, what to do? Poor Donald. As president, he is believed to be protected from indictment for criminal conduct; if he loses the election, what are the chances of an indictment? Excellent, says Michael J. Stern, a federal prosecutor for 24 years.

Click here for an article by Stern in The Hill, entitled "Trump's self-interest is at odds with safe coronavirus policy."

While the immediate danger of Trump’s wish for “packed” public events has passed, it is a mistake to think he finally respects the health risk posed by this virus and is committed to doing all he can to mitigate it. It should not be long before Trump redirects his effort to resume the course he previously charted: people back to work and a growing economy, despite the human toll.

With any other president, we could default to the belief that he has the country’s best interests at heart. But if a Trump presidency has taught us anything, it is that Donald Trump’s first allegiance is — and always will be — to himself. Instead of using this existential crisis to bring people together, Trump has tried to take down anyone who criticizes his botched response to the pandemic, while simultaneously heaping undeserved praise on himself.

Trump absolved his failure to supply hospitals with adequate medical supplies by repeatedly implying that exhausted healthcare workers were stealing surgical masks (and apparently selling them on the black market).

And always looking to leverage a quid pro quo — in deed if not in word — Trump suggested that governors should withhold any criticism and instead be publicly “appreciative” in order to get life-saving federal medical supplies for their hospitalized citizens.