MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.

Some encouraging news was reported on Wednesday about how the IHME model being used by the Trump administration to make projections about Wuhan coronavirus deaths was revised downward, showing death projections going from 93,531 to 60,415.

You’d think that information would bring about some bipartisan agreement that, while every loss of life suffered is a tragedy, maybe the country is going to make it through this thing without seeing deaths in the hundreds of thousands as originally projected, right?

Wrong.

It started after Vox.com’s Aaron Rupar posted a video of remarks President Trump made during yesterday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefing in which the President talked about the revised projections and the decisions the task force made on urging social distancing, which he credited for the death projection numbers being revised downward.

“If we can stay substantially under the [100,000], which was the original projection, I think we all did a very good job. Even though it’s a lot of people,” Trump stated.

Watch:

TRUMP: "If we can stay substantially under 100,000 [American deaths] — which was the original projection — I think we did a very good job." pic.twitter.com/ZgyP1E139f

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 8, 2020

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, who like so many other Democrats is not one to let a crisis go to waste, saw the video – and then proceeded to speculate as to whether or not those original higher numbers had been purposely rolled out in order for Trump to be able to “take a victory lap” later in the event the actual death numbers came in under projections:

The most cynical interpretation of all this, one I can't quite bring myself to accept, is they rolled out the model showing 100k deaths after they knew it would be less than that so they could anchor everyone to that # and take a vicotry lap when "only" tens of thousands died. https://t.co/hYiUCHhO5g

— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 8, 2020

Hayes was called out by a number of people. some of who noted Trump didn’t come up with these numbers himself, that it was Drs. Fauci and Birx who presented the original numbers to the President:

*Fauci* announced it. Birx echoed it. Experts.

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) April 8, 2020

This is an outrageous take. Every bit of reporting from the time suggested Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci had to talk the President in to accepting that number.

Now you’re attacking their credibility to try and get Trump? https://t.co/cjOYyibSe4

— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) April 8, 2020

"The most cynical take" that "I can't quite bring myself to accept" is one he'll share anyway because, hey, what harm is a conspiracy theory or do gonna cause on a website where he has a massive following? https://t.co/hgNXiGQKmj

— Joe Cunningham (@JoePCunningham) April 9, 2020

This is a variation on "other people are saying" and it's just as transparent. https://t.co/pupSyDaQxU

— Mo Mo (@molratty) April 8, 2020

To say Hayes’ disgusting reaction was not surprising would be a major understatement. My RedState colleague Bonchie predicted this very thing would happen in his reporting on the revised numbers yesterday:

Because it appears the death totals are going to come in far lower than the originally stated 100,000-240,000 deaths, look for Democrats and the media to begin accusing the Trump administration of purposely releasing high numbers so they could look good when they come in under. They won’t be able to admit that the White House has actually done a good job here and has turned this situation around in a way no one thought possible just two weeks ago. Politics will, as always, become the center point.

Was he on the money or what?

Hayes might be the only prominent Democratic figure at this time ghoulishly speculating about the alleged strategy to purposely “roll out” higher numbers, but there will be others who do so in the very near future. Because Democrats simply cannot help themselves.