Trump said reopening parts of the nation's economy now would inevitably cost some Americans their lives. But he argued that the benefits outweighed the costs, in an interview on ABC.
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable on supporting Native Americans, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Phoenix.WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that reopening parts of the nation's economy now, against the advice of many health experts, would inevitably cost some Americans their lives. But he argued that the benefits outweighed the costs.
"We have to get our country back, you know, people are dying the other way, too. When you look at what's happened with drugs, it goes up. When you look at suicides, I mean, take a look at what's going on," Trump said. "People are losing their jobs. We have to bring it back and that's what we're doing."
Trump's acknowledgement that the decision to reopen the country now would likely cost lives represents a shifting White House calculus about risk and reward, given the economic hardship the closure of most businesses in most states has caused over the past month.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump says up to 100,000 Americans may die from coronavirusU.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he now believes as many as 100,000 Americans could die in the coronavirus pandemic, after the death toll passed his earlier estimates, but said he was confident a vaccine would be developed by the year's end.
Read more »
Trump Admits He's Blocking Coronavirus Oversight Because Of 'Trump Haters'"The House is a bunch of Trump haters," the president said dismissively of a co-equal branch of government.
Read more »
Trump again shifts estimated US coronavirus death tollPresident Trump says 80,000 to 90,000 people in the US could die from coronavirus, a marked increase from what he'd said previously
Read more »