Trump might not even care about widespread death so long as he can shift the blame: conservative

Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin is on a roll for a Monday. In her second column for the day, she ripped President Donald Trump for trying to dodge responsibility for his pathetically lame excuse for leadership on the coronavirus crisis.

Writing in the Washington Post, she cited the recent report estimating that the rate of COVID-19 deaths will double by June 1, in less than a month. As states are reopening restaurants, bars, beaches, salons and other public spaces, estimations for fatalities will likely return to what was experts warned would happen back in March.

"Nevertheless, Trump cheers impulsive, swift actions to reopen the states, even cheering unmasked and distance-defying protesters with his 'Liberate!' tweets," wrote Rubin. "Does he not care how many people die so long as he can shift blame for the recession?"

She contrasted Trump's approach and the "Mini-Me governors like [Brian] Kemp of Georgia" with the approach by other states that have focused on a regional approach with metrics that can prove they're ready.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set the bar at a 14-day decline in hospitalization, or under 15 hospitalizations per day, a 14-day decline in virus-related deaths, or under five deaths per day, and a 30 percent vacant rate in hospital beds. He wants to see ICU beds, in particular, have a 30 percent reduction.

"This is a far cry from 'Open the tattoo parlors! Open the beaches!'" wrote Rubin.

"At nearly every step in the crisis, Trump has ignored scientific warnings and medical evidence, or at the very least has prioritized his futile effort to prevent a deep recession," she closed. "Ironically, had he followed the scientific advice and warning earlier we would not have been forced to resort to a shelter-in-place response and thereby ground the economy to a halt. Now we have the worst of all worlds: More than 67,000 deaths and a recession the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression."

Read the full write-up at the Washington Post.