Analysis

At last night’s White House press briefing about the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump expounded on his Sunday tweet, where he said that we “can’t let the cure be worse than the problem.”

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WE CANNOT LET THE CURE BE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF. AT THE END OF THE 15 DAY PERIOD, WE WILL MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHICH WAY WE WANT TO GO! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2020

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Despite expert warnings that a two-week lockdown (which isn’t even being fully implemented nationally) is not enough to halt the spread of the coronavirus, Trump said that he wanted to reevaluate things after that time was up (reasonable) and get people back to work, possibly reopening schools as well (which is less so), so that the economy could keep going.

It’s a strain of thinking that is growing in conservative circles.

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Flatten the curve NOT the Economy — Renee Williams (@FedupMil) March 23, 2020

The sentiment appalled a lot of people, because essentially what the president was saying is that we need to accept some level of death to keep the stock market from completely cratering.

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Some are saying that Trump is deciding whether to kill people to help his re-election chances; that's ludicrous. That's not a decision he has to think about or make. He is going to kill people to help his re-election chances, and gladly. The only decision is what it'll look like. https://t.co/EznFNPDRh5 — Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) March 23, 2020

Trump did not put it in such glaringly explicit terms. But Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) did, going on Tucker Carlson’s Fox show and saying we need to get back to work now, level of death be damned.

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Tx Lt Gov Dan Patrick says grandparents would be willing to die to save the economy for their grandchildren pic.twitter.com/wC3Ngvtsbj — Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) March 24, 2020

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) was just on Fox saying he agrees with Trump. He cast it as an opportunity for seniors to sacrifice in order to keep the country intact for their grandchildren. “Let's get back to living… And those of us that are 70+, we'll take care of ourselves.” — Felicia Sonmez (@feliciasonmez) March 24, 2020

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In the interview, Patrick said senior citizens needed to take a “chance” on their survival to keep America the way it is.

“I don’t want the whole country to be sacrificed… we can’t lose our whole country … let’s get back to work, let’s get back to living,” he said.

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But keeping things the way it is, in Patrick’s mind, would require a sacrifice that Republicans are keeping in abstract terms—what level of danger to the public is worth the economy still going.

On Twitter, that manifested in the hashtag #NotDying4WallStreet, with people saying they didn’t want the to put people in danger just to keep the Dow Jones afloat

I’m 37, a teacher & nonprofit director who works with hundreds of kids yearly. I served 6 years active duty in the poverty draft, a disabled vet with PTSD & Behçet’s disease, an auto immune that puts me at increased risk if I developed COVID-19. #NotDying4WallStreet https://t.co/0gGyRoqz6j — Anthony Clark in the Struggle (@anthonyvclark20) March 24, 2020

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give people money to stay home and they won't starve. it's that simple. #NotDying4WallStreet https://t.co/dT4X8HQnYW — Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) March 24, 2020

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I’ve always appreciated the value of compromise re legislation. But the #coronavirus can’t be compromised with.



We must *shut it all down* and we must *bail out the people.*



That is the only way we save lives & eventually the economy.



Details 👇🏼 #NotDying4WallStreet https://t.co/9eyl4cQsnQ — Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 24, 2020

But some Trump supporters were happy to proclaim that they would willingly sacrifice themselves not for their fellow man, but for the economy.

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If given the choice between dying and plunging the country I love into a Great Depression, I’d happily die. https://t.co/MznAkp3kwD — Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) March 24, 2020

Trump spoke of “trade offs” today in his press conference between the economy and some virus suppression measures



Get ready for the “Trump is a Russian asset who stole an election” crowd to completely freak out over the president “putting profits over lives!”



So predictable. — Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) March 24, 2020

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You can tell me coronavirus is worse. Maybe it will prove to be. But the fact is that 12 thousand people died of this. In one year. Including many children. And we never even entertained the idea of doing what we’re doing now. — Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 24, 2020

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While it does seem that we are in an untenable situation, and it’s possible there’s a balance to strike, doing so in a poorly thought out fashion doesn’t seem the way to go.

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