(CNN)Even President Donald Trump, a serial spinner of his own political realities, accepted science's dire truth in ditching an Easter target to open up the US economy with the coronavirus pandemic set to take a savage turn.
Trump's extension of social distancing guidelines until April 30 is a highly significant move that means American life will remain shut down for at least a month, and probably longer.
Despite cascading humanitarian and political impacts of that decision, the devastating toll of the virus left Trump little choice -- even though some conservative backers have been urging him to ease lockdowns.
A
President, who a month ago was predicting a miracle that would just
make the virus go away, was presented with cataclysmic figures that 2.2
million Americans could die if he indulged his itch to start reopening the economy in the coming week.
"Nothing
would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,"
Trump, who last week repeatedly suggested that win was near, said
Sunday, extending restrictions due to expire on Monday for another month
at least.
Trump's decision to listen to his
advisers will relieve public health officials and emergency physicians
countrywide and shows that he is, in extremis, willing to listen to
science -- in a way that would be a given for most presidents but has
not been so for a commander-in-chief who has so often blurred truth.
The President appeared at a Sunday evening news briefing in which he rattled off multiple false statements,
called corporate CEOs to the mic to praise his leadership and falsely
and personally attacked journalists who asked him tough questions.
He
also bizarrely appeared to accuse health workers of stealing surgical
masks amid huge shortages brought on by terrible conditions in hospitals
and accused states of "hoarding" ventilators. Trump also boasted about
his own TV ratings.
