Yesterday it was being reported that the coronavirus task force would be wound down around Memorial Day. But today Trump is suggesting that’s not the case:
The White House CoronaVirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future. Ventilators, which were few & in bad shape, are now being….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020
….produced in the thousands, and we have many to spare. We are helping other countries which are desperate for them. Likewise, after having been left little, we are now doing more testing than all other countries combined, and with superior tests. Face masks & shields,….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020
….gloves, gowns etc. are now plentiful. The last four Governors teleconference calls have been conclusively strong. Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people ….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020
….to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020
The important part here is “Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Thank you!”
I guess this is Trump’s way of splitting the baby down the middle, keeping the task force together but refocusing it on reopening America.
NBC News claims this morning that Trump is surrendering to the virus (written by Chuck Todd and a few other people):
Let’s be blunt about it: President Trump signaled Tuesday that he’s surrendering in the country’s fight against the coronavirus.
He did that by announcing his administration has begun to wind down its coronavirus taskforce.
“We have flattened the curve and countless American lives have been saved,” Trump said yesterday in Arizona as the U.S. death toll surpassed 70,000. “Our country is now in the next stage of the battle, a safe and gradual reopening of our country.”
He also did it by conceding there will be more death as a result of the reopening.
“It’s possible there will be some [more lives lost], because you won’t be locked into an apartment or a house or whatever it is. But at the same time, we’re going to practice social distancing, we’re going to be washing hands, we’re going to be doing a lot of the things that we’ve learned to do over the last period of time. And we have to get our country back,” Trump told ABC News.
This white flag from Trump comes as the United States is only treading water when it comes to beating back the virus. While the curve of new coronavirus cases has declined in the New York area, it hasn’t elsewhere.
What garbage. Of course there’s going to be more death as long as the coronavirus is infecting people. That simply cannot be stopped without a vaccine or cure. We can’t keep the economy closed down forever.
And what NBC News doesn’t mention and apparently doesn’t care about is the lives being lost to depression, drugs and other maladies because the economy has been shut down for almost two months. This is something Trump mentioned in his answer, yet they don’t bring it up?
What Trump is advocating here isn’t surrender in the least. It’s a transition to get people back to work so that they don’t starve to death and die. Not everyone is as well off as Chuck Todd and Nancy Pelosi. People need to work or they will die, it’s that simple.