Trump is willing to weaken public health measures in order to try to prevent further economic damage. To put it crassly, he seems to care more about economic metrics than preventing the death of Americans.

Why would that be? It was no secret that until the coronavirus crisis hit, Trump’s primary argument for reelection was based on the economy, which at that point, according to conventional measurements (the stock market, the unemployment rate), was performing well. The pandemic has blasted away this reason for reelection. The current forecasts—up to 30 percent unemployment, GDP contraction by 20 percent—are a nightmare for the nation and for a president facing voters in several months. (And the ongoing economic calamity has had a devastating impact on Trump’s own businesses.)

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/donald-trump-signals-he-might-sacrifice-thousands-of-americans-to-restart-the-economy/