For a president that has touted the stock market’s highs as a sign of his own success, the selloff over fears of COVID-19, the disease caused by a member of the coronavirus family, may not be the greatest news.

“That leaves [President Donald Trump] more vulnerable than most presidents would be if we see a continued sell-off,” said Neil Irwin, a senior economics correspondent for the New York Times, in an interview with “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal.

In a recent column, Irwin noted that this focus on Wall Street could lead to issues with the president’s leadership when it comes to dealing with a possible pandemic. He compared the administration to a private company.

“Imagine a company. They have a product that gets people sick, and they have to recall it,” Irwin said. “The question is, what do you want the executive team to be spending their time doing? You don’t want them going on TV and yelling about the stock price. What you want is for them to deal with the problem. … That’s what you want with a private company. The same is true with the government.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full interview.