Trump signals an economic pivot on coronavirus shutdowns

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-economy-recession-donald-trump-0b5ab109-1a5e-4397-b54b-5f17d802c029.html

President Trump and some of his senior officials are losing patience with the doctors’ orders.

The state of play: Amid dire predictions for jobs and the economy, the White House is beginning to send signals to business that there's light at the end of the tunnel — that the squeeze from nationwide social distancing won't be endless.

<snip>

Why it matters: Taken together, Trump’s tweet and Pence's comment supply the strongest public signals we've seen that the administration is looking for ways to get people out in the world again to fire up the economy — perhaps much sooner than Dr. Fauci would like.

Trump is responding both to his own instincts and to messages that key outside allies have been sending for days.
He retweeted a number of those outside allies echoing similar stances on Monday morning.
Between the lines: Senior Trump officials, including the president himself, have only limited patience for keeping the economy shut down. They are watching stocks tumble and unemployment skyrocket.

What’s next: At the end of the 15-day period, there will likely be a serious clash between the public health experts — who will almost certainly favor a longer period of nationwide social distancing and quarantining — versus the president and his economic and political aides, who are anxious to restart the economy.

</snip>

Link to tweet

Jonathan Swan ✔@jonathanvswan

What’s next: At the end of the 15-day shutdown period, there will likely be a serious clash between the public health experts versus the president and his economic and political aides, who are anxious to restart the economy.

https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-economy-recession-donald-trump-0b5ab109-1a5e-4397-b54b-5f17d802c029.html …
As the economy falters, Trump loses patience with doctors' orders on coronavirus
The administration wants business to know that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

8:10 AM - Mar 23, 2020

He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.

[SidDithers]

1. In 15 days, it will be obvious that people can't go to work...nt

Sid

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Obvious to Trump? No. Nothing is obvious to him. n/t

[The Magistrate]

11. It Is Unclear What He Has To Say About It, Sir

The 'hunker down' measures are all local, acts of state or city governments, or they are private decisions by business owners.

[denem]

49. What he will say about it will be blame state and city governments for unemployment, recession,

and all the bears on his precious, precious stock market.

[BeckyDem]

3. Trump willing to spread the virus in an attempt to save the stock market?

Damn right he will. He has never seen anything like this. He needs to be removed from office.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. I expect at the end of the 15-day period, Trump will go on national TV and tell everyone

to leave their homes, to re-open their businesses, go out to eat, go shopping, have large parties, and resume "normal" lives.

You know, the Captain Peter Wrongway Peachfuzz advice . . . . .

(For the younger DU-ers: https://mr-peabody-sherman.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Peachfuzz)

[Celerity]

5. He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.

He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.
He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.

[UpInArms]

6. This 👆🏼

Well said.

[Celerity]

7. well, I just borrowed it from the OP, so all credit to them

[Moostache]

13. Amen....never in human history was moment and man more unevenly matched...

EVER!

This is like sending 70-something Trump into fight against 20-year old Mike Tyson. And even THAT may be an inadequate mismatch...

[Initech]

29. He's got it

Or he's trying to get it. There's no way he could be at Mar-A-Shithole that long with people who have it, and not contracted it.

[Butterflylady]

45. Please tell us how you really feel.

[Moostache]

8. ANY business that goes against the doctors and scientists on this is finished...forever.

Temporary gains in a depressed market are fool's gold.

The pandemic does not recognize polls or ideologies or hatred of government...it just rages on as long as non-immune populations are maintained in close proximity to maximize transmission.

This is NOT a game or a hoax or a political issue - it is LIFE AND FUCKING DEATH for MILLIONS and suffering and pain for HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS!!!!

These lies and obtuseness are the reason the market is in free-fall and will not stop until Trump is muzzled, the government is activated and the experts are running EVERYTHING, not just doing dammage control at daily propaganda sessions.

[Chainfire]

9. Nothing new here

Read about the Philadelphia Bond Drive Parade during the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918. The Health officials begged to cancel the large parade, the local government overruled them and the results devastated the city.

Trump's rationale is probably based upon the notion that it would be better for everyone to just get the damn virus, die or get over it, then we could go on about our business of business, campaigning and Making America Great Again. He is quite willing to sacrifice anyone but himself.

[Moostache]

16. It is the GOP healthcare plan in a nutshell...

Get sick and die faster.

They see the "survival rate" and think - "well, if at least 95% of people will live, then fuck the ones who won't, we have MONEY that needs to be made and used to control other people".

The 'economy' is nothing without a population who accept it and participate in it. Do they think reopening restaurants NOW will work? Do they believe the crowds will just reappear? Just how fucking myopic ARE these cretins?

[Hugin]

21. They think the stock market indexes (particularly the DOW) are the economy.

From the looks of the futures they are preparing to BANG the market this morning. Strictly illegal in normal times with a rational leadership.

[smirkymonkey]

10. What does he think is going to happen to the economy when people go back out

too early and start getting sick and/or dying by the hundreds of thousands and cannot go into work, or go out and spend money, etc.?

Does he really think he can just will this disease away and the economy will magically rebound just in time for him to be re-elected? He's a complete madman. He has got to go. He is a threat to the health and lives of all Americans.

[dalton99a]

12. He's getting ready to shift the blame to the governors for the stay-at-home orders

[Docreed2003]

25. This

It's always about shifting blame with this asshole. It's not about leadership, he has no concept of what that even means, it's about preserving the image of "leadership" while refusing to take the blame for his utter and complete failures. It's sickening and people are dying from his incompetence.

[uponit7771]

41. This needs to be an OP !!! Claim it first

[aka-chmeee]

14. Don't want him to drop dead!

I prefer a protracted decline with his pressers replaced with daily graphic descriptions of his extreme discomfort and worsening condition.

[dalton99a]

22. A beautiful and perfect demise befitting a malignant, sadistic, evil piece of garbage

[denem]

23. A very stable genius

[dalton99a]

24. +1

[NoMoreRepugs]

15. Did I miss something?? Is Italy back to normal??

China humming along??

[onethatcares]

17. when their blanket of dollar bills

gets thinner and thinner, the wealthy get very worried.

Afterall, what's a couple of dead peasants when you have 5 houses, 2 jets, and a lifestyle to maintain?

Get them lackeys back to work.

[JCMach1]

18. That would be a 4M+ fuckup and still destroy the economy

[UpInArms]

19. Thank you, Dennis, for putting it so succinctly

He will continue to FUCK this up until he's removed or drops dead of COVID.

[Hugin]

20. Seriously? This is like responding to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by passing the Marshall Plan.

Two weeks is going to put the US square in the middle of the worst part of the Pandemic and will likely prolong it and make many more unnecessary casualties.

This is a completely insane response.

[C_U_L8R]

26. Trump has no idea what he's doing. None. Zero.

He's totally winging it... and being the idiot that he is, he's endangering everyone.

[Historic NY]

27. He'd rather see the death count go up then the Stock Market go down.

[magicarpet]

55. Irresponsible parenting, irresponsible leadership....

Chicken Pox parties, force infect just get it over with.

[PubliusEnigma]

28. The fiddler, he now steps to the road.

He writes ev'rything's been returned which was owed
On the back of the fish truck that loads
While my conscience explodes

[Ponietz]

48. I detect the El Supremo from the room at the top of the stairs

Well I've been around the world
And I've been in the Washington Zoo
And in all my travels
As the facts unravel
I've found this to be true

While the poor people sleepin'
With the shade on the light
While the poor people sleepin'
All the stars come out at night

Show biz kids making movies
Of themselves you know they
Don't give a fuck about anybody else

*lost wages*

[getagrip_already]

30. In 1-2 weeks, every hospital in the country will be out of icu beds and more importantly, respirator

Well, every public hospital anyway. Private hospitals will be reserved for the elite and probably won't even have signs out front. These hospitals will have all the latest treatments in ample supply and all the staff they need. They won't be open to dems or the poor.

At that point, there will be story after story where some 30 something died because there was no bed available, and triage will screen out anyone over 55 for no treatment.

They know this. They are choosing to burn through the dead to save their wealth. They think that as long as the survivors sill have jobs and their 401k's at the end, they will win. A not small part of me is afraid they are right.

[ffr]

31. All of the RW'ers must be getting their programming from Fox: go to work, act normal

It's logical to assume that their interactions with one another in this business-as-usual manner will actually make them the reality available spreaders of the disease. And if they're all spreading it withing their liked-minded communities, that would simply be natural selection at work.

So long as they don't tie up the healthcare system with their numbers and don't expect preferential treatment for their ignorance, let nature sort it out with them.

[duforsure]

32. Trumps ignoring the medical professionals warning

Shows how careless he is with this now. He'll soon announce people should return to work, knowing this isn't over yet, but that is what he will do, force people back prematurely casing more health issues. He'll the screw American people over this, that's what trump does. He could care less about their risks from having to return early. People will be pissed, and vote soon.

[DinahMoeHum]

33. The markets will continue to tank and give Trump the finger. . .

. . .until he gets the message.





#newrostrong

[bucolic_frolic]

34. Darwinist Survival-of-the-fittest GOP Party to its core

They don't care about the human suffering. It is God's will, but their portfolios must go on.

[NickB79]

35. If he has a backbone, Dr. Fauci will publically tell him off

In front of the cameras for all Americans to see.

[Midnightwalk]

36. It explains no federal actions

Idiot says it needs to be over in 15 days. That’s the response plan.

Why order protective gear? Why plan for temporary treatment centers?

We have been given an order to get over it. It’s up to us now.

How many people will needlessly die?

[ScratchCat]

37. Within a week

We will likely see that this is STILL confined to specific areas, and, with exception to THOSE AREAS, it would be logical to continue social distancing but re-open some retail businesses. The heavy-hit areas will have longer, but the rest of "fly over country" is going to get back to life soon.

[Brainfodder]

38. KARMA might have a plan?

[fingers and toes all crossed]

[Orrex]

39. He is an active and credible threat to over 300M Americans.

How would we, as a nation, treat any other person who is an active threat and credible threat to 300M Americans?

That's how we, as a nation, should respond here.


Incidentally, this may be the first time in that stupid motherfucker's life that he's actually been credible at anything.

[spanone]

40. Not Humanitarian..... economic. Pure trump.

[LiberalFighter]

42. Jonathan Swan is an idiot.

This part.

Trump is responding both to his own instincts and to messages that key outside allies have been sending for days.

Swift is making an assumption that Trump has any instincts. It is playing into the narrative that Trump knows what he is doing and he is special.

[Dopers_Greed]

43. If the spread continues to go unchecked, it will do just as much damage as the shutdowns are

When we're at a massive death rate, people will be even more scared to go out.

The best thing we can do is stop this Trump Plague from spreading.

[Butterflylady]

44. Knowing it's wrong but I prefer the latter.

[Yavin4]

46. Trump and congress will have to issue a law protecting businesses from lawsuits

Or else there will be an avalanche of wrongful deaths suits against businesses that re-open and expose their employees to the virus.

[Victor_c3]

47. I certainly think it's the wrong move, but we are on the cusp of an economic collapse

I read dire article about corporate debt growth over the last 10 years.

It’s predicted that if the economy tanks 1/2 as much as it did during the bush recession that 40% of large corporations could face bankruptcy. It seems that instead of saving and preparing for a rainy day, corporations have been busy borrowing money and spending anything they earn on stock buy-backs.

That, coupled with low interest rates, and other financial nonsense that I don’t understand regarding bonds and whatnot means that this could be a much bigger financial situation than we’ve seen in the past.

Article linked below

https://unherd.com/2020/03/covid-19-has-exposed-our-financial-fragility/

[Moostache]

56. Wait...you mean the house of cards economy, built on the backs of labor is soft?

NO WAY, BILL!!!

YES WAY, TED!!!



The facts are that no one knows what to do in this situation because no one is asking or considering the right questions. IF you're goal is to temporarily stabilize the status quo system in the hopes of returning to "business as usual" soon, then the correct things to do are to:

1) freeze all foreclosures and simply add on an extra month of payments or restitution for the number of months of protection/stagnation this requires; keep people in homes, keep businesses in place and keep from a destructive momentum that would wipe out jobs, businesses and local economies simply to grant landlords the titles and restitution in the face of this disaster. During this time landlords and debt holders could be provided with principal payments, but would have to forego interest payments until the economy is restarted...we're trying to keep people and businesses WHOLE, not ENGORGED or MAXIMALLY PROFITABLE...

2) provide direct financial assistance to the public only when it is done as a pass-through for wage replacement on a sliding scale that basically provides all workers (and bosses and owners) Federal Minimum Wage benefits for the duration of the shut down...I'm sure many people would be wishing that $15/hr. minimum had gone through, but we can put a floor under people, not necessarily the entire structure though...

3) Criminalize ANY profiteering, price gouging, or stock buy back style executive enrichment during this time AND for the immediate 6 months after the crisis abates...those at the top are going to have to share in the pain of those at the bottom if we want to retain a civilized society and not fall into a totalitarian nightmare or dystopian anarchy in many areas. This is being bandied about as a 'war footing', well war profiteering was one of the ugliest charges a person could face in the 1940's, so it should be treated the same here and now...

4) Food distribution and the food preparation and delivery system should be prioritized to kick in as soon as the need becomes overwhelming...like now or next week at the latest; one of the ways to help people in this time of need is to eliminate the worry of where the next meal is coming from...keeping people from being overcome by fear is a great challenge, but keeping HUNGRY people from mob violence and social disintegration is even harder still. I have heard literally NOTHING about this challenge from anyone in Congress or the office of POTUS or the media for that matter...this is a major oversight and needs to be addressed ASAP...

5) Medical care for non-COVID19 patients...if nothing else, this crisis is shining a very ugly spotlight on the shortcomings of the medical system in the USA - the "best in the world"...supplies are critically under stocked and under produced to pretend like they are any other commodity unit in a business warehouse textbook. You cannot have the 'best in the world' ANYTHING without the 'Best in the World PLANS and CONTINGENCIES"...nurses, practitioners, aides and staff are being run through a wringer right now because admins and bean counters values PROFITS over PEOPLE (not solely their fault...it is endemic to the entire economic system). Without a massive allocation of resources to these hospitals and clinics and offices, there will be suffering and deaths and a ripple effect through the overall economy and society.

And that's just to duct-tape this whole thing together long enough to GET TO THE NEXT PHASE - rebuilding a NEW economy from the ashes of this one... This idea that Trump (or ANYONE) could simply decree that things go 'back to normal' ignores the very reason this thing is as bad as it is - FEAR. Yelling at a scared animal is not going to make them do what you want them to...and demanding that "the economy be restarted" is not something the President can make happen...open the doors? Maybe...get people to gladly risk infection for the profits of someone else? Doubtful...

This is an opportunity for bold proposals and policy ideas to come forth and to redesign a new economy for Q3-2020 and beyond, a new start on how governments, people and businesses SHOULD interact and staff and stock; as well as a thorough review of the impacts of this on the current economy to enhance building a new one from its ashes. Anyone else holding their breath waiting for THAT outcome? Didn't think so....

[ck4829]

50. Dangerous and disgusting

[randr]

51. He is posturing just to keep Wall Street at bay

[uponit7771]

53. +1, this is my thought case the DOW was heading to 17 ... that's another bottom point.

[Cousin Dupree]

52. Call me naive, but Trump's plan to relax restrictions is not going to happen.

[RockRaven]

54. In order to think this is a good idea, you have to believe that China, S Korea, Singapore, Germany

are all economic morons. They might not always be right about everything, but they aren't morons. They've got a variety of different economic systems and value-priorities, and yet they are all acting similarly. That tells you nothing, Dotard? And you think you've figured out this one weird trick -- that nobody else has -- to minimize the economic impact of covid-19?

Uh.... okay then. Welp.