President Trump on Monday continued his campaign to convince the American people that the coronavirus pales in comparison to the seasonal flu, and therefore worries are overblown.

Investors, unconvinced, kept right on dumping stocks and stashing money in government bonds — the modern equivalent of hiding savings in a mattress. The sell-off partly reflects sober assessments of the likely economic consequences of the coronavirus, which already is disrupting economic activity across the United States and around the world. But investors also are fleeing to safety because they are afraid, and Mr. Trump’s behavior is exacerbating those fears.

Historians generally agree the Emperor Nero did not actually fiddle while Rome burned, but Mr. Trump apparently likes the image. On Sunday, he retweeted a meme of himself playing the violin, captioned, “My next piece is called, ‘Nothing can stop what’s coming.’” Seemingly oblivious to its import, he wrote, “Who knows what this means, but it sounds good to me!”

Image Credit... via Twitter

Who knows what this means, indeed.

Well, one meaning discerned from the global financial crisis of 2008 was that the quality of a nation’s leaders and technocrats is important. We are now learning that lesson again. It’s not that Mr. Trump wants a recession. It’s just that his characteristic combination of ignorance, arrogance and indifference seems likely to push the economy over the edge.