Karl W. Smith, Columnist

It’s No Longer Trump’s Economy, It’s Covid-19’s

Trump’s re-election chances depend on how, where and when the pandemic affects the economy.

May 29, 2020 at 10:30 AM UTC

Karl W. Smith is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Previously, he was vice president for federal policy at the Tax Foundation and assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina.

The new retail economy.
Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images North America

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For most of his presidency, Donald Trump’s hopes for re-election have depended almost entirely on the economy, particularly in the swing states that he narrowly won in 2016. They still do — but now the state of the economy depends almost entirely on the course of Covid-19.

To be clear: There is no more important task facing the U.S. than bringing the public-health crisis under control. The virus is still dangerous, and the priority should be to minimize the loss of life.