Trump launched headlong into his push to reopen the country on Tuesday, saying Americans should begin returning to their everyday lives even if it leads to more sickness and death from the pandemic.

…He’s preparing for “phase two” of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. That will include disbanding the White House task force of public health experts, including Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, that have steered the government response to the outbreak so far.

Trump acknowledged that reopening the economy would likely lead to more suffering.

…“There’ll be more death,” he said. “The virus will pass, with or without a vaccine. 

…Music from his standard campaign rally soundtrack played over loudspeakers, including Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and Guns N’ Roses’s “Live and Let Die.” [emphasis: Peanut Gallery]

…He also dismissed two new projections that painted a gruesome picture of what could happen if the country lifts shutdown orders too quickly: a Johns Hopkins University model showing deaths could reach 3,000 per day by June 1 and a University of Washington analysis showing the U.S. death toll could reach 135,000 by the beginning of August.

Trump Says U.S. Must Reopen Even If More Americans Get Sick, Die – Bloomberg

Live and Let Die, indeed.