Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Leaked Internal Trump Administration Document Projects Virus Deaths to Almost Double by First Week of June

Leaked Internal Trump Administration Document Projects Virus Deaths to Almost Double by First Week of June
Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

After years of taking credit for a trend of economic prosperity that began long before his inauguration, President Donald Trump is scrambling to revive the market that was once a key talking point in favor of his reelection.

In the past five weeks, 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment and non-essential businesses around the country have closed their doors until the national health crisis in the United States subsides.


For his part, the President has been advocating for a swift reopening of these businesses, calling for governors to scale back stay at home orders recommended by health experts. While opening soon could save jobs, it could also endanger lives.

A leaked internal memo reported by the New York Times found that—even as Trump presses to reopen—models predict deaths from the virus to double by June.

The Times reported:

"The projections, based on government modeling pulled together in chart form by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, forecast about 200,000 new cases each day by the end of the month, up from about 25,000 cases a day currently.
The numbers underscore a sobering reality: While the United States has been hunkered down for the past seven weeks, significant risks remain. And reopening the economy will make matters worse."

The report continued:

"As the administration privately predicted a sharp increase in deaths, a public model that has been frequently cited by the White House revised its own estimates, doubling its projected death toll."

Nevertheless, as recently as Sunday night, Trump criticized certain states for not reopening soon enough.

The dissonance between the administration's predictions and its recommendations indicated that Trump values economic success over the survival of those he's sworn to protect.







A spokesman for the Trump administration stressed that the findings of the document hadn't been vetted and didn't come from the White House task force responding to the virus:

"This is not a White House document nor has it been presented to the...Task Force or gone through interagency vetting. This data is not reflective of any of the modeling done by the task force or data that the task force has analyzed."

People weren't heartened by the response.



The Trump administration greatly values dollars, but not sense.

For a deeper look into Trump's ineptitude, check out A Very Stable Genius, available here.

More from People/donald-trump

Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less

Things People Do In Relationships That Seem Sweet But Are Actually Toxic

Content Warning: Controlling and Toxic Relationship Behaviors

We've all either been involved in or witnessed a relationship where we saw something that we thought was cute or sweet at first, but we eventually found the behavior to be troubling or "too much."

Keep ReadingShow less
A piggy bank surrounded by loose change.
coin bank

'Poor Person Habits' People Won't Give Up No Matter How Rich They Get

When money is tight, we look for every possible way to avoid spending it.

As much as we might find ourselves missing out on some of the nicer things life has to offer, we find ourselves contented by the fact that we will always have enough money in our bank accounts to pay our bills on time.

Keep ReadingShow less