President Donald Trump visited a converted face mask manufacturing company in Arizona on Tuesday, where he confirmed that the virus task force charged with coordinating the pandemic response in the United States would gradually disband—a position he's since revoked after national outcry.
Trump emphasized the need to "reopen" the economy and continued his pressure campaign on the nation's governors to scale back stay at home and social distancing orders.
Health experts have repeatedly warned that it's too soon to return to normal, but Trump and his allies seem to disagree. Several Trump allies—such as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie—have prepared the public for increased deaths in the name of protecting the economy.
That's why one of the songs blasting over the Honeywell aerospace factory's system during Trump's visit couldn't have been more fitting.
That song was Live and Let Die by Guns N' Roses.
The song encapsulated the President's cavalier attitude toward the death of over 60 thousand Americans in just one month, and his continued refusal to implement a cohesive federal response to the distribution of critical medical equipment and testing kits. Instead, Trump has mostly left governors to fend for themselves, leading to bidding wars erupting between states and even with the federal government.
Live and Let Die, indeed.
People fear that Trump is at best indifferent to the deaths of thousands more Americans if it means reviving the economy.
For a deeper look into Trump's ineptitude, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.