Trump Stuns With Tweets Saying He’s Stopping Covid Stimulus Negotiations Until After Election: ‘It’s Like He’s Trying to Lose’

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he’s stopping negotiations with Congress on covid relief “until after the election.”

In his Twitter thread, the president says he wants the Republican-led Senate to “focus full time on approving” Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court.

Reporters immediately noticed the impact on the Dow:

The Dow after the President's tweet saying no COVID relief talks until after the election pic.twitter.com/Ypnzyc52Vs

— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) October 6, 2020

And the announcement stunned a lot of people, with many wondering why Trump would do this a month before the election in the first place:

Trump is ending stimulus talks saying he'll deal with it after the election and wants McConnell to focus on SCOTUS instead, effectively handing Democrats the talking point they've been signaling for days. https://t.co/u2uevljTrk

— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 6, 2020

Call me crazy, but I think someone should tell him that he needs some of those Democratic states to vote for him or he can't win the Electoral College. https://t.co/QWCcOz9r0b

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 6, 2020

Wait, so Trump not only rejects stimulus funds that would probably have helped his re-election chances, but *also* does so in a way to make sure that he personally will take blame for it?

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 6, 2020

I truly don't understand this, and nor do a number of people who advise the president. It's like he's trying to lose. https://t.co/GNOwrZEhx9

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) October 6, 2020

I will never understand how a president who has time and time again demonstrated he acts first in his own self interest is refusing to accept an offer to spend $2.2 trillion boosting the economy weeks before facing voters in his reelection bid. It makes no sense.

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) October 6, 2020

Because this is what the working people of Ohio and Michigan wanted https://t.co/i3CVglUMPi

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 6, 2020

Honestly I don't get this from a political standpoint. Wouldn't doing something to give people $$$ and bolster the economy be about the only way to change people's minds about him ahead of the election? https://t.co/04aWf3NaVH

— Cameron Joseph (@cam_joseph) October 6, 2020

Call me crazy, but I think someone should tell him that he needs some of those Democratic states to vote for him or he can't win the Electoral College. https://t.co/QWCcOz9r0b

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 6, 2020

Still holding up: https://t.co/lVuOurEMW0

— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) October 6, 2020

It is amazing to see a president proudly turn down an offer from the opposition party to inject trillions of dollars of stimulus into his ailing economy right before an election.

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 6, 2020

Trump doesn't get enough credit for political courage. Not many incumbent presidents, facing a major deficit in the polls exactly four weeks out, would be bold and principled enough to deliberately take a step that would tank the markets https://t.co/8mdcFzxwrx

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) October 6, 2020

74% of Americans want the Senate to take up an economic
stimulus bill before SCOTUS hearings.

Just like flouting health guidelines, he's choosing extremely unpopular positions right before an election that only appeal to diehard supporters who would be voting for him anyway. https://t.co/nv6YbNKSTN

— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) October 6, 2020

Dismissing millions of Americans who need help right now doesn't seem like a winning strategy https://t.co/vx2fz18Oil

— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) October 6, 2020

Oh, COVID relief can wait til AFTER the election but a conservative Supreme Court Justice must be confirmed BEFORE Election Day https://t.co/m9et4TSUMO

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) October 6, 2020

So Trump resurrects "Just the Flu" and kills an economic stimulus package on the very same day

Literally goes all in on his two most unpopular positions with less than a month go to before the election pic.twitter.com/nMcDdEnXFm

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) October 6, 2020

You have zero compassion for working people. You refuse to help them when they are unemployed, you will not stop trying to strip them of their healthcare, and now you are spreading the virus to your entire staff. SIr, you ARE the virus. https://t.co/gzvrECWtn6

— Abigail Disney (@abigaildisney) October 6, 2020

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