[OutsiderFan]

I have ZERO doubt the White House used a higher death projection than it thought would happen, so it could declare victory and say "see what a great job we did." Many Governors likely did the same thing.  

One thing you really can't do is say only x will die, and then have 2x or more of projected deaths occur. 

Still, it's pretty remarkable to see that even with the actual numbers not being as high as those initial projections, so many people still support the drastic NPIs. It would appear most Americans do understand the numbers and toll would be much higher without them.

[OutsiderFan]

I have ZERO doubt the White House used a higher death projection than it thought would happen, so it could declare victory and say "see what a great job we did." Many Governors likely did the same thing.  

One thing you really can't do is say only x will die, and then have 2x or more of projected deaths occur. 

Still, it's pretty remarkable to see that even with the actual numbers not being as high as those initial projections, so many people still support the drastic NPIs. It would appear most Americans do understand the numbers and toll would be much higher without them.