We won’t ignore the horrible economic numbers

Minutes after horrible economic numbers — a 32.9 percent annualized contraction in gross domestic product and 1.43 million new jobless claims — were released, President Trump tweeted out a statement suggesting we should delay the election. Clearly, he wants us to ignore the 32.9 percent annualized contraction in gross national product and 1.43 million new jobless claims. But we won’t ignore the 32.9 percent annualized contraction in gross domestic product and 1.43 million new jobless claims.

Do not get me wrong. Trump’s suggestion is anti-democratic and emblematic of his inability to uphold his oath of office (not to mention futile, since Congress sets the date by statute). We should rebut it swiftly and definitively (something spineless Republicans will largely avoid doing), but we should not ignore the 32.9 percent annualized contraction in gross domestic product and 1.43 million new jobless claims.

The ACLU did a fine job, keeping its rebuke short and to the point: “This is America. We are a democracy, not a dictatorship. The Constitution sets the date for the election in November. Nothing President Trump says, does, or tweets can change that fact.” Kudos to the New York Times for this headline: “Trump Floats Whether to ‘Delay the Election,’ Something He Cannot Legally Do,” while keeping at the top of its home page news of the 32.9 annualized contraction in gross domestic product and 1.43 million new jobless claims.