(CNN) – President Donald Trump says he wants the nation “opened up and just raring to go by Easter” — a date just more than two weeks away that few health experts believe will be sufficient in containing the spread of coronavirus.
Speaking during a Fox News town hall on Tuesday, Trump reiterated he was eager to see the nation return to normal soon, even as doctors warn the nation will see a massive spike in cases if Americans return to crowded workplaces or events.
“I give it two weeks,” Trump said earlier in the town hall, suggesting he was ready to phase out his 15-day self-isolating guidelines when they expire. “I guess by Monday or Tuesday, it’s about two weeks. We will assess at that time and give it more time if we need a little more time. We have to open this country up.”
But Trump said Monday that the health experts on his task force do not necessarily agree with his hope for a quick return to their jobs to boost the economy. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, are also sounding the alarm.
“There will be no normally functioning economy if our hospitals are overwhelmed and thousands of Americans of all ages, including our doctors and nurses, lay dying because we have failed to do what’s necessary to stop the virus,” Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, tweeted Tuesday.
Trump’s new Easter goal — to have the country back to normal by Sunday, April 12 — came hours after the New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state is expecting a height of coronavirus infections to come in two to three weeks.
In a separate Fox News interview later Tuesday, the President provided a little more reasoning behind his timeline.
“So, I think Easter Sunday, and you’ll have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time. And it’s just about the timeline that I think is right,” he said.
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- Discussion
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Overruling top health officials, Trump says he wants the country 'opened up and just raring to go by Easter'https://t.co/jVpNHLtgMO
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 24, 2020
Trump has now set Easter as the date for having the country "opened up and raring to go."
Fox anchor says "That would be a great American resurrection!"
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
Hemmer on Fox is trying to push Trump on "Why Easter?" and Trump is just hammering away on the economy, and now Hemmer is – as much as anyone on Fox ever will – is arguing with him. Looks to Birx for backup, who is trying to avoid contradicting Trump.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020Trump now breaking in and pissed at Birx bringing up the Spanish Flu, and is now lecturing everyone on why they're not comparable, and how we're at less than 1 percent lethality, and "we have to put our country back to work."
Hemmer ignores him and moves to the panel.— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
Dr. Oz now pushing back on Trump's Easter deadline. Trump is telling Oz it's gotta happen. Trump yelling that doctors would telling him to "keep it closed for two years" which no one is saying.
This bizarre exchange is everything I ever worried about.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
Fox gives Pence the last word and then gets out of the segment, with Hemmer sounding relieved.
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
Arguably one of the biggest public health issues in the United States right now is whether the president’s favorite TV channel will back his insistence on reopening the economy fast pic.twitter.com/DjxT9uP1DG
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) March 24, 2020
What concerns me is that an awful lot of Trump’s supporters would absolutely go to a crowded restaurant if a Trump said it was okay. https://t.co/zAuyCkCbnf
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) March 24, 2020
Cool, cool https://t.co/zIqlKCKIRo
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
Ah yes, the traditional celebration of Easter: sacrificing the weak and elderly to improve the economy. https://t.co/0B961iZWRF
— Emma Ashford (@EmmaMAshford) March 24, 2020
But he's just thinking out loud, see, he hasn't really settled on this as an idea or even as an order.
He just wants his cult to pressure their local authorities to get on board with the Big Win for Jesus. https://t.co/wBGjsPJjX0
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 24, 2020
We're less than two weeks into "slow the spread," and the spread is increasing. Trump's restlessness in the face of these facts is alarming. His apparent constitutional ignorance is concerning. We need an endgame, but one based on data, not impatience: https://t.co/XXUgA0RuO8
— David French (@DavidAFrench) March 24, 2020
Asked how he came up with Easter as the date by which things should be reopened, Trump says, "Easter's a very special day for me."
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 24, 2020
NARRATOR: "The virus did not observe the holy day of Easter."
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 24, 2020
Every R calling to end the lockdowns should really be calling for more tests & beds. We can’t afford to lift restrictions until we can test & contain more effectively.
If you’re just saying we should send everybody back out in a week or two, that’s not a plan—it’s a disaster.
— Heath Mayo (@HeathMayo) March 24, 2020
Donald Trump’s conversion to being “pro-life” was short lived. Are seniors not on the Republican list of lives worth protecting?
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 24, 2020
Glenn Beck says older Americans should return to work: “Even if we all get sick, I would rather die than kill the country”https://t.co/CQdDAMByXK pic.twitter.com/sgLZ32aJ8C
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) March 24, 2020
Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that Trump is mentally unbalanced? Trump now thinks he’s the Easter Bunny.
What Trump wants and what he might get could be two different things, especially in states where a lockdown is in place by order of governors and local officials. I don’t believe the federal government has the authority under the Constitution to usurp the states’ rights to issue lockdown orders.
And it’s easy for Beck to say older Americans should return to work, potentially putting the lives of that age group at risk. His job can be done without other people present — no risk to him of infection. What sacrifice would he be making by working?
Granny, I’d say both Trump and his fans have lost their minds.
I hope we're done with the "he's just hoping for Easter and it wasn't really a plan." He picked a day that he knew would make his base pressure their state authorities to make Dear Leader's wish happen. He will literally endanger your life if that's what it takes to get his way. https://t.co/GTrFSJb1gk
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) March 25, 2020
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