COVID19 Update - Day 287

US Tests: 201,340,324*

US Cases: 18,016,698*

US Deaths: 314,099*

Worldwide Cases: 77,925,298*

Worldwide Deaths: 1,714,649*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

After nine months of fucking around --- Trump has decided that Americans desperately need more stimulus:

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he is asking for changes to the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress, leaving the future of the $900 billion stimulus in doubt.

"I'm asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2000 or $4000 per couple," Trump said in a video released on Twitter. "I'm also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation or to send me a suitable bill."

The extraordinary message came after he largely left negotiations over the measure to lawmakers and his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump did not explicitly threaten to veto the bill, but said he was dissatisfied with its final state.

The President's position could threaten to torpedo the carefully drafted bill, which his own administration helped negotiate -- a move that could lead to a government shutdown and send the economy into a tailspin if he carried through with a veto.

Still, Trump's message appeared to be greeted favorably by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who tweeted: "Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks."

"At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 — Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent," she said. "Let's do it!"

Trump's statement was filmed by the White House and was not open to the press. Reporters did not have a chance to ask the President questions. It's unclear when the message was recorded.

The President has in the past said he would sign the bill, and earlier Tuesday the White House publicly defended the bill. But many of his allies have spoken out against the agreement passed.

This is probably just Trump's usual bluster.  But Democrats passed a bill with basically twice as much money 7 months ago, and it's taken Senate Republicans this long to even agree to this much.  Trump himself has completely ignored the process, instead preferring to hold one superspreader rally after another and swing a sledgehammer at the base of our democracy by refusing to accept his election loss.

But now that we're on the brink of actually passing more stimulus, Trump is speaking out against it.  My guess is that he'll cave (he usually does) and sign the bill in its current state.

But it wouldn't be completely surprising for him to refuse to sign any stimulus bill, preferring instead to create as much chaos as possible for his successor.