Trump can't be trusted to make this decision - CNN - 0 views
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The first time most of us learned that President Donald Trump was thinking about relaxing existing measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic was on Sunday night, just before midnight. That's when his tweet shouted in all caps, "WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF."
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Trusting Trump with this decision is all the more unnerving because we have seen him at the White House podium behaving irresponsibly. His performances have included not just the usual self-serving boasts and the cringe-inducing attacks on the media and his political enemies, but something else; something new and disturbing.
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To be fair, it's understandable that the President is concerned. The stakes are enormous, not just for him personally and politically -- this is after all an election year -- but for everyone in the country. Trump, rightly, is deeply concerned about what's happening to the economy. He's not alone. Soaring unemployment, higher than during the Great Depression, and a crushing economic contraction, could occur as a result of efforts to stop or at least slow the spread of a pandemic that threatens to kill millions.
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It took a long time for Trump to acknowledge that Covid-19 is a major threat. But the toll we have seen on the economy and on the stock market -- until now his favorite gauge of presidential prowess -- is making him rethink his decision to listen to the experts, however reluctantly.
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The virus can be stopped by keeping it from spreading. That's how we suffocate it. That's how we reignite the economy. Widespread testing, including for antibodies to see who has already had it and has immunity, could make all the difference.