Analysis: Briefing makes it clear Trump doesn't feel bound by medical advice

Over the past 24 hours or so, President Donald Trump has signalled a desire to reopen the American economy despite the accelerating spread of coronavirus.

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He's suggested that he might reverse strict measures instituted over the past week - plus sooner rather than later.

And today, he indicated that he won't necessarily be dissuaded from that course by doctors.

At the daily White House press briefing, Trump repeatedly alluded to the idea that the United States needs to avoid letting the coronavirus destroy the economy and suggested that the virus could be dealt with at the same time that certain parts of the economy are restarted.

Trump's most illustrative comments came when he was asked whether this was something that the medical professional around him had signed off on.

Trump said he consults those experts, including Dr Anthony Fauci - the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the President's coronavirus task force - who was absent from the briefing after offering comments somewhat critical of Trump in an interview, and Dr Deborah Birx, a member of the task force who was at the briefing.

But he suggested that what the doctors want might be too onerous.

"If it were up to the doctors, they may say: 'Let's keep it shut down. Let's shut down the entire world' - because, again, you're up to almost 150 countries [with coronavirus cases] - 'so let's shut down the entire world. And when we shut it down, that would be wonderful. And let's keep it shut for a couple of years,' " Trump said, adding: "You know, you can't do that. And you can't do that with a country - especially the No. 1 economy in the world, by far."

Pressed on why, Trump said because "it causes bigger problems than the original."

Trump was asked again whether any of the doctors on his team had endorsed this approach, and he said they hadn't.

"Not endorsed. We talked together, and I think they're okay with it, and I'm okay with it," Trump said. "But this could be a much bigger problem. This could create a much bigger problem than the problem that you start off with."

Another revealing exchange on this point came when Birx was asked about Trump's claim that he thought the doctors "were okay with it." Birx declined to directly respond.

"What the President has asked to do is to assemble all the data and give him our best medical recommendation based on all the data," Birx said. "That's what he's asked us to do."

When Birx was pressed on whether she'd be okay with reopening business as usual after the current 15-day period ends a week from now, she said, "I don't like to - I will never speculate on data. I will have to see the data to really understand."

Pressed on whether he'll take Fauci's recommendation on continuing restrictions, Trump was again noncommittal: "I would certainly - he's very important to me, and we'll be listening to him. I'll be listening to Deborah, who you just spoke to. I'll be listening to other experts. We have a lot of people that are very good at this. And ultimately, it's a balancing act."

To a large extent, Trump is right. Every president has to take the advice of the experts around him and make his own decisions about areas in which he may not be an expert.

But Trump has consistently offered a much more optimistic tone on the coronavirus than those same experts. And the strict measures used to contain coronavirus have been hailed - including by Trump - as necessary to prevent a public health crisis in which hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and the system breaks down.

In other words, there is significant reason to believe Trump may not fully appreciate the scope of the potential fallout, especially given his repeated comments downplaying the threat before that posture was abandoned a week ago.

Trump from the start has signalled that he's as much or more concerned about the stock market and the economy, and the economy is a legitimate concern.

What today's briefing drove home, though, is that Trump won't necessarily be deferring to his medical professionals when he makes that life-or-death decision.

And to hear the lack of expressed support from Birx and Trump's carefully worded comments about how Fauci feels really says it all when it comes to who's backing this move.

Trump's comments about how doctors would want to "shut down the entire world" also suggest Trump's long-standing scepticism of experts certainly applies here.