Toddler-in-chief in the White House is frantic to reopen the economy

U.S. President Donald Trump has an election coming up in six months, and he will lose it if the economy has not recovered by then. Dr. Anthony Fauci has doubtless explained that lifting the restrictions on movement on May 1 will cause a second wave of deaths and a second lockdown before November, but Trump doesn’t retain that sort of information for long.

U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured on April 7, 2020, in the White House press briefing room. Mr. Trump might actually order the country to reopen on May 1, as he believes that 'When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total.' But most states wouldn’t obey his command: as New York governor Andrew Cuomo said: 'We have a Constitution … we don’t have a king … the president doesn’t have total authority.'Photograph courtesy of Flickr/White House photographer Andrea Hanks

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

April 20, 2020

LONDON, U.K.—Wuhan, the Chinese city where it all started, was locked down for 79 days before the restrictions on movement were finally lifted last week. A bit over-cautious, perhaps, but in China the coronavirus does really seem to be under control—not totally eradicated, but controllable witho...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.

Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past weekâ€™s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy