In a conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci last month, President Trump questioned why health officials couldn't simply let the coronavirus pandemic “wash over the country,” according to The Washington Post. In his desire to reopen the country as soon as possible, Trump reportedly wanted to know why the United States could not simply decline to take countermeasures against COVID-19, with an aim of reaching a critical mass of immunity faster. Fauci, reportedly aghast, said, “Mr. president, many people will die.” Public health experts agree that if the coronavirus is not contained, hundreds of thousands will die.