I’m having a hard time placing the reasoning behind blue state Democrats locking down their residents. Even their steps to end the lockdown seem like an overly long process that feels less like an easing of restrictions and more like replacing one set of restrictions with another.

What’s even more noticeable is the political divide. I mentioned Democrats are doing this earlier because red states and Republican-controlled areas seem to be ready to let the people get back to their lives and fast. They do that because, as it can be seen, the virus isn’t the death bringer we were told it was going to be and many looking at the data are wondering if the lockdown was every really necessary in the first place.

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.

With all the red states effectively ending the lockdown, it seems silly for blue states to continue at this point. The virus is going to spread, it’s already spread. We had it and now the numbers are declining, even in places like Georgia where the lockdown is rapidly lightening.

Despite this, blue-state leaders are holding firm onto their draconian stances. Why?

I won’t rule out the fact that there is an authoritarian itch they really want to scratch. The COVID-19 outbreak allowed them to do things that many would-be tyrants could only dream about. They were able to issue quarantines, punish people for going to church, and even got to close businesses they didn’t like despite the fact that they would have helped the situation.

(READ: Hobby Lobby Gets Last Laugh Over Dallas Judge Who Forcibly Shut Them Down and Insulted Them On Social Media)

Maybe this is hyperbolic to say. Maybe they don’t have that desire to be rulers and despite continuous displays of Constitutional fouls, they don’t really have the urge to throw on a crown and shout edicts.

Here’s what I do know, though.

I do know that ever since reelection in 2020 became a topic of conversation, President Donald Trump’s economy has always been his strongest draw. Even people who don’t like him personally are more than willing to pull the lever for him strictly out of the fact that job numbers have never been higher, markets have never been more bullish, and life was good for more people than ever.

I also know that Democrats and their lapdog media have done their level best to downplay this fact. In 2019, major news outlets continuously reported that a recession was on the horizon. Watch this supercut from Fox News.

Trump called out the media for effectively hoping that a recession hits and hurts the people so that they’d turn against him.

The media, of course, denied that any such attempt at scaring people into believing a recession was coming to the point of hoping for it was a lie, but Bill Maher blew that out of the water when he, in a moment of blatant honesty, said that he wished for a recession to hurt Trump.

“One way you get rid of @realDonaldTrump is a crashing economy, so please bring on the recession. Sorry if that hurts people, but it’s either root for a recession or lose your democracy."
—@billmaher, June 8, 2018, estimated net worth $100million

— Larry Elder (@larryelder) June 10, 2018

Regardless, economic experts lined up to say that a recession wasn’t coming, further cementing the fact that this was a left-wing fantasy.

(READ: Trump is Right: The Media Wants a Recession that’s Not Coming According to Economic Experts)

Fast forward to today and the COVID-19 pandemic that locked down the globe has sent unemployment skyrocketing. We’re currently sitting at 36.5 million jobless claims, a stock market in the toilet, and grim economic outlooks. The left got their collective wish. The blow to Trump’s economy is here.

But now, recovery is on the lips of Americans everywhere, especially in red states.

For a party that wants Trump out of the White House more than anything in the entire universe, people getting back to work is a worst-case scenario. Money recirculating, goods and services picking back up, and economic prospects beginning to lighten would be credited toward Trump. Should the economy begin a steep economic recovery, the Democrats could not only lose all hope of winning in 2020, but their economic credibility would be damaged for years to come.

Looking at the grand scheme of things, it would appear to me that the continued lockdowns aren’t safety measures, they’re hurdles for Trump to jump over.

To be clear, I believe the Democrats are intentionally ruining our country’s economy, endangering and destroying lives, in order to get Trump out of office. Given their past behavior, I’m not sure this is a hyperbolic statement.