Want this in your inbox each morning? Sign up here.

Trump joins the restart-the-economy crowd

President Trump signaled yesterday that he’s open to lifting restrictions soon on social distancing in an effort to get the American economy back to normal. It’s a moral trade-off between saving lives and sustaining economic livelihoods.

He has heard publicly and privately from advisers and business leaders who’ve repeated variations on the line “the cure can’t be worse than the disease,” including the former Goldman Sachs executives Lloyd Blankfein and Gary Cohn and the White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow. In announcing that he may relax social restriction guidelines, Mr. Trump said yesterday, “America will again — and soon — be open for business.”

Behind his change in thinking is fear of plunging markets and a shut-down American economy. “He is worried about the impact of soaring unemployment numbers and severe economic contraction on his 2020 re-election bid,” the WaPo reports.

Loosening restrictions after what the White House has called “15 Days to Slow the Spread” — which runs until Monday — represents a risky gamble. It’s the opposite tack of countries like Italy, France and now Britain, which last night announced a virtual lockdown that closes most businesses and restricts people’s movements. The Dutch recently extended a ban on gatherings until June 1.