The White House is moving the goal posts once again. Instead of taking drastic action, like asking every state's governor to mandate a quarantine to reduce the spread of coronavirus, it is quietly upping its projected death toll, just one day after stunning Americans with a six-digit death rate.
On Sunday President Donald Trump told Americans he thinks if 100,000 Americans die from coronavirus he will have done "a very good job."
On Monday Dr. Deborah Birx announced the White House is projecting 100,000 to 200,000 deaths.
Tuesday evening, the number increased 20 percent.
It's now telling Americans that it is expecting up to 240,000 coronavirus deaths – as the best case scenario.
Trump spent a good portion of Tuesday's coronavirus press briefing claiming that "a lot of people" wanted him to do nothing and just "ride it out." He noted that deaths then would be 1.5 million to 2.2 million. He used those numbers to pat himself on the back, saying again that by comparison 100,000 to 240,000 "is a very low number."
It is not. It is directly attributable to the President's refusal to take seriously the coronavirus pandemic from the start, to Trump's refusal to provide enough tests, and to Trump's refusal to provide enough medical equipment and supplies.