"Right now, we have record joblessness, and GDP is certainly going to take a huge hit," said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. "That's exactly what you want in an election year when you're running against an incumbent. If we reverse that too soon, we're basically helping Trump's reelection."
"If we reopen now, it could be an absolute disaster," added Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "We could have people in November saying, 'Wow. Things are getting better. Trump is doing a great job.' It's hard to imagine anything worse than that."
Pelosi and Schumer said that "out of an abundance of caution," they need to wait to make sure things stay pretty bad until after the election, as that will be the only way to stave off another Trump term.
"Oh, and I guess if we reopen things too soon," Schumer added as an afterthought, "it could also lead to a resurgence of people dying."
"Well, we'd have to hope," Pelosi said, "or it would look like Trump knows what he's doing."
R.C.