Trump’s Gamble on Reopening May Not Pay Off

Jonathan Bernstein: “The oddest thing in electoral politics over the past few weeks is what appears to be absolute, and unfounded, confidence among some Republican strategists that there’s a trade-off between public health and the economy, and that what matters for President Trump’s re-election is the economy…”

“Almost every relevant expert who has commented publicly has said that the economy can’t be repaired until the virus is at least somewhat under control… Open too fast and you could risk outbreaks that force a second round of shutdowns; open too slowly and you might test people’s patience with distancing measures.”

“But while tough choices remain about managing the pandemic over time, these aren’t really choices between the economy and public health. And more to the point, the whole electoral conversation is wrong: There’s no reason to think that reviving the economy by tolerating more lives lost — even if it were possible — would be the right electoral choice for the Trump campaign.”