Trump boosters: Don’t believe the coronavirus death toll

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/07/trump-death-toll-coronavirus-241819

 

More than 70,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus — if you believe the government.

An increasing number of conservatives are convinced the medical community and the media are inflating the coronavirus death toll for political purposes, despite nearly all evidence indicating that, if anything, the figure is an undercount. 

Young said conservatives were more likely to distrust outlets running with the death toll offered by leading researchers.

“Why would a conservative, Republican, or Trump supporter, after seeing those consistent left-leaning commentary decisions, continue to view that source as unbiased and trustworthy?” he said.

Politics aside, Lobelo said the factor driving people’s suspicion of the models “all boils down to uncertainty.”

“The scientists are used to uncertainty because that's how we operate. That's part of the scientific premise of trial and error until you have a better understanding of the complex issue,” he said. “But for regular day-to-day people, uncertainty is more difficult to tolerate.”