It’s like a Dow 36,000 when all you need is a relief bill

Trump’s last interview with Bob Woodward serves as a reminder of why Senate Republicans decided to head into an election doing nothing to help what remains an awful economy:

CNN has obtained excerpts of the 10-minute conversation, which show Trump was more focused on the economy than the public health crisis. As the two debated Trump’s response to the pandemic, Trump finally asked: “So you think the virus totally supersedes the economy?” “Oh sure. But they’re related, as you know,” Woodward responded. “A little bit, yeah,” Trump replied. “Oh, a little bit?” Woodward asked. “I mean, more than a little bit. But the economy is doing — look, we’re close to a new stock market record,” Trump said.

What happened here is that all the advisors that financial types read just assumed that Republicans couldn’t possibly have enough of a political death wish not to make a stimulus deal with House Dems, and this was reflected in the quick recovery of the stonk market. But because elite Republicans almost uniformly equate “equity markets” with “the economy” –are people without extensive portfolios even human really? — this pretty much guaranteed that Republicans would not, in fact, pass a relief bill. The Aristocrats!