One person close to Trump expressed concern about market reaction the day after Easter, if the president allows that to be set up too rigidly as Open Day.

If the reality is worse than Trump hopes — and large numbers of Americans have to stay isolated — some close to Trump think a false Easter expectation could send markets downward…

Behind the scenes: Advisers have tried to encourage Trump to offer hope without dates or deadlines — to get him away from offering dates and to find new ways to be optimistic without giving the public a false expectation that an end to the crisis is near.

Aides have discussed using other benchmarks to give the public a sense that the coronavirus shut-in won’t go on forever.

They’ve talked about getting past the peak of transmissions, then gradually loosening restrictions as cases trend downward.