(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

“There really is no middle ground, and it’s very tough to say to people, ‘Hey, keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner. We want you to keep spending because there’s maybe a politician who thinks GDP growth is all that counts.” Bill Gates

I’m confused. Do we need to immediately pass a multi trillion dollar stimulus package to rescue a drowning country in preparation for a months long economic depression or is the liberal media overhyping a flu-like virus that will be gone by Easter? If you’ve been paying any attention to the President, it’s very hard to tell. In the past 24 hours, Donald Trump has both condemned Democrats for adding measures to a relief stimulus package and proposed we “reopen the economy” and bring everything back to normal by Easter; as if a pandemic spreads and dies on his schedule. In the mind of Donald Trump, this pandemic is nothing more than an obstacle in his way. As he does every time reality stands in the way of his political interests, he will spread misinformation and cause irreversible damage until this is forgotten or blamed on somebody else. Oddly enough, the skills required of a reality TV host don’t translate to effective Presidential leadership in times of crisis.

In the President’s safe space of a Fox News town hall on Tuesday afternoon, he said he’s looking to have the economy “reopened” by Easter. Before any Fox News viewers jump for joy and book April vacations, there are some facts for you (and the President) to consider. The coronavirus is infecting the U.S. population at a shockingly faster rate than Italy, Iran, and France. If we follow the President’s advice, the spike in confirmed cases could overwhelm hospitals far beyond their treatment capacity and skyrocket the U.S. death toll beyond the 2.2 million predicted in the Imperial College coronavirus model, which has been widely cited by public health and economic experts. Since widely accessible testing is still unavailable, a sudden “reopening” of the economy would fill the streets with unknowingly infected people, overload hospitals with patients they’re unable to treat, and damage the economy more than the current containment policies, according the health professionals. But hey, Trump wants to tweet some good news and get back to Mar-A-Lago, so we’re just casualties in pursuit of his political ambitions. This should be obvious but unfortunately, it must be said: putting momentary economic success over public health concerns will worsen the crisis by forcing hospitals to treat beyond capacity.

(Erin Clark/Boston Globe/Getty Images)

The motivations for Donald Trump to “reopen” the economy are strictly political. The chaos and uncertainty of a crumbling economy entirely derail his re-election strategy, and he does not take kindly to losing. Unfortunately for all of us, tough economic times lie ahead. However, worsening the pandemic will not make that any easier in the long term. The experts have made it very clear: this won’t be over by Easter. Rather than risking millions of lives to temporarily give the President the peace of mind granted by a day or two of good news, we must listen to the experts and maintain social distancing until it’s safe for society to reintegrate and come back in contact with one another. There simply aren’t enough healthcare professionals or medical supplies to handle the scale of illness they’ll be asked to manage if we prioritize the President’s personal political motives over the advice of the experts.