If the virus disappeared completely today, I think we'd (aviation) be back to 100% within a couple weeks. The longer it goes, of course, the harder that becomes.

Yeah, this is it. He will want to open it back up, and he'll get screamed at, and then blame whoever that is as saying they are anti-trump and anti-america and they just want the country to be ruined before the election.

I know I'm pessimistic, but I think the lockdowns are failures now. Enough people will see things as do Trump and Fox and go out. We don't really want to arrest anyone and at some point, we just won't be able to.

We're going to let the original UK plan of herd immunity play out here and it's going to result in a lot of needless suffering and death.

I fear you are right. I hope you are wrong.

And it isn't like Trump's doing this alone. A small contingent of GOP politicians could stop him in his tracks because he has no idea how to actual lead.

Maybe warm weather will kill this thing . . .

Generally shitty people can also do good things, and its good to acknowledge it when they do, this is excellent!

This. Stop analyzing this clown.

I don't think Trump knows why Easter is special for 'many people' based on this briefing.

If Trump wants the markets to recover he should just send Fauci out to do the briefings. That would help confidence.

I doubt it. Fauci would be too honest about where we are.

The market folk would rather have honesty and competence than the nuttiness of Trump. The markets drop when Trump says something obviously false on this.

Did something else happen this afternoon, 'cause it sure looks like it was right around the time he dropped that Easter BS that the Dow really took off.

I think the news of the big bailout being close helped.

It dropped about 350 when he started talking. Then went up later.

The Easter comment was near the end. (I think after he took quite a few question.)

(Just checked....based on Tweets, it looks like he said it somewhere around 1:30-1:45.)

I never thought I'd reach a time where 35% of the country would think our president never made a mistake and 35% of the country couldn't give him credit for doing anything right. That's just wild to me - 70% of the country is just incapable of having any kind of an open mind on our sitting president (half for exactly the opposite reason). To be honest, I'm probably part of the 35% that can't give him credit. I'd like to think I could if he did something well, but I'm not sure. So I'm just as guilty.

I look at myself as part of the 30%. The problem is to the 70%. If I defend him, I am scum to 35% liberals. If I attack something he does, the 35% "conservatives" light me up. The hell of it is, that 35% is not conservative.

Just because he does something does not mean it is automatically bad, just like everything he does is not automatically good.

I do have fewer issues with any federal stimulus money now than I did in 2008 because this is not because of economic wrong doing by part of the economy. This falls into act of God territory and am willing to see some money to stimulate the economy and keep things moving. The problem though is I don't trust government, or corporations for that matter, to properly use the money.

I think the core is always revealed and it was again recently when he learned that Romney might have it. He couldn't resist the urge of implying that he was glad. He just couldn't because people aren't people to him but resources and marks.

I find that fascinating because I'd be very surprised if it didn't take a lot longer than that in the restaurant business. I'll be mildly surprised if it ever gets back to 100% in fact (though I could definitely see 90% or so happening).

It's a shame the bailout and the Easter opening were both on the same day. Now Trump will internalize that the market went up solely because of his announcement and it will put much more pressure on him to do it.

If there was a cure or it went away, personally I would resume my eating out cadence no problem. Right now I really don't want to eat sushi or a 5 guys burger.

But I do agree with you, it won't get back to near 100% until unemployment goes back to pre-coronavirus and people feel more confident in their current jobs. I suspect many of us think we could get laid off or furloughed.

I think he's the worst or second worst President of all-time (James Buchanan). I think he's stupid, corrupt, racist, and pathologically narcissistic. But I'm a public defender, and I give him credit for the First Step Act. It was a very defendant-friendly criminal justice reform, and the people who helped make the sausage say that the White House (and Jared in particular) really helped push it through.

When the man does stuff worth crediting, he should get credit.

I will also put him above George W mainly because he hasn't pissed away trillions of dollars on a war in Iraq yet.

Jimmy Carter? That guy was terrible. Way over his head.

at least he sold his peanut farms...

I think Carter was a far better president than he's given credit for. A better one than we deserved for certain.

Apparently there's a deal in place now. It'll be interesting to see if it gets rammed straight through over the next couple of days, or if there are any hangups.

All it takes is one person to vote no in person and it can’t pass via unanimous consent.

Yeah, but with any luck Rand Paul won't be back, so seems like it'll be fine

The other option is a voice vote once a quorum is established.

For the amount of the stimulus they could've given every adult $9,500.

New CBS poll says 90% of Republicans trust Trump for coronavirus information.

That seems really high. I wonder if the question was worded in a way to skew the answers. Anecdotally most Trump supporters I know, while not willing to criticize him, certainly aren't looking to him as an authority.

FFS

Wonder how long it will be before it is the G6.

Graham and crew are now threatening to hold up the bill because "it incentivizes people to get laid off"

edit: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...fting-n1168766

He's not wrong.

How so? Employee doesn't really have a choice in whether they are laid off or not. You don't get unemployment for quitting.

Graham is a fucking ghoul.

This is what I get for doing it the old fashioned way.

The @nytimes reports that Americans who are eligible for the coronavirus relief cash payments but who *don't already have direct-deposit bank info on file with the IRS "will need to wait up to four months" to get a check, per Democratic aides. https://t.co/LOomu3GTiS

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) March 25, 2020

How is it ghoulish?

You think people should make more by not working?

It's for 4 months and an insignificant amount of money in certain states. Most of the people are not going to be able to find work in 4 months either so the little extra might be a nice cushion.

Just such a minor thing to be upset about when you're giving half a trillion to companies who already got a fucking handout a couple years ago.

The GOP: fighting to make sure free money is only for rich folks.

I should add that unemployed people will have to now pay for health insurance. Unemployment doesn't take that compensation into account. So if anything this helps people with their COBRA payments for a few months. It's good to have insurance during a pandemic.

Guh. Sanders has a point, Graham et al. have a point, and they all need to shut up and vote for it. Neither one of their points is anywhere near important enough to delay this further.

November can't get here soon enough.

These briefings are such a joke. He literally turns every question into some random response on why he is the second coming of Jesus and we should all be so grateful for his wisdom.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/bern...ulus-bill.html

I'm not sure what Bernie is going for here. Is he threatening to delay the bill if the Republicans delay the bill?

How many are going to make more from this? My wife, for example, was sent home until dental clinics are allowed to reopen. She's eligible for unemployment during that time, but you could $600 per week on top of what she's projected to get and she'd still be well under what she'd normally make. Screwing over the majority to prevent the extreme minority from benefiting is the stupid logic we use to lose money drug testing people on welfare.

Yes. I think he's calling Graham's bluff essentially. Holding up the bill for a matter of hours or days is going to hurt the market much more than individual unemployed Americans, but Graham is trying to pretend he's the one operating from the position of power.

No, I think he's just saying leave the UI as it is, I'll hold the bill up if you change it.

Yeah, the only folks who are going to even consider staying on unemployment, in the middle of a pandemic, in order to get another 14-weeks of $600 are folks making less than $15 an hour, and frankly I'm cool with the individual poor of American getting over on the corporations for once in recorded history.