Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump on Tuesday predicted the coronavirus is “going to go away” despite warnings from Democrats that his White House is asleep amid cresting fears in Washington that the outbreak could spark a pandemic. The President maintained his sunny optimism about the virus that is showing signs of spreading around the world from its Chinese epicenter and is already having a huge impact on global commerce. “I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away,” Trump said during a trip to India, expressing confidence that the epidemic will not seriously harm the global economy. But behind the scenes the President is less calm, and he is expressing frustration at some of the ways his administration is responding to the outbreak, sources familiar with the conversations told CNN. His mood reflects a growing realization among Trump’s staff that the coronavirus is going to pose a greater challenge than previously understood.
Trump claims coronavirus is ‘going to go away’ despite mounting concerns
After weeks of telling Americans that China has a lid on the situation, the President will return from India amid growing concern in Washington over the virus and partisan criticism of his attitude.
A panicked 1,000-point Wall Street sell-off, a building world supply-chain crunch and a looming hit to global growth together could pose peril for Trump by slowing the strong economy he plans to ride to reelection. But even more worryingly, the virus is spreading to Europe and the Middle East in a way that has experts warning it could soon become a full-blown pandemic. In such a scenario, the US could not expect to escape from a wave of infections and Trump would face a test of his leadership and capacity to bring a jumpy nation together. Trump acknowledged Monday’s Wall Street plunge, but noted futures were higher ahead of Tuesday’s market open in the United States and he said that his administration was putting “a lot of talent, brainpower” behind tackling the virus.
The President ticked though administration efforts to contain the virus, claiming the US had “essentially closed the borders.” “We’re watching very carefully,” Trump said. “We’re fortunate so far and we think it’s going to remain that way.”
But Democrats are now sounding the alarm, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer charging Monday that the President is “asleep at the wheel” as the threat builds. A serious outbreak in the US could put a health system already facing a tough flu season under severe pressure, posing an organizational challenge for an administration that habitually stokes chaos and sends mixed messages.
Even if worst-case scenarios don’t come to pass, Trump’s so far blasé approach to the virus, assuring Americans that Chinese President Xi Jinping is on top of the epidemic, does not seem sustainable for much longer.
The President has also confidently predicted that warming spring weather could snuff out coronavirus, despite no evidence that is the case. Yet as disquiet mounted by the hour in Washington, Trump was still not showing much concern late Monday about a virus that has infected more than 80,000 people and killed at least 2,704 worldwide and has now popped up in South Korea, Iran, Italy, Afghanistan, Kuwait and elsewhere. During a visit to India, the President sent a tweet suggesting all was well, and predicted the stock market would bounce back.
“The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” Trump tweeted. In a sign of increasing urgency, the administration gave senators a classified briefing on Tuesday morning about coronavirus contingency plans. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the State Department took part. Lawmakers leaving the briefing Tuesday said that officials told them that a vaccine is at least one year to 18 months away.
“The vaccine for the Coronavirus is moving more rapidly than any vaccine we have already tried to approve — but it will take a year or 18 months,” said retiring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Schumer had slammed Trump earlier Monday, saying the President was not taking the situation sufficiently seriously.
“All of the warning lights are flashing bright red. We are staring down a potential pandemic and the administration has no plan,” the New York Democrat warned.
“The Trump administration has been asleep at the wheel. President Trump, good morning, there is a pandemic of coronavirus. Where are you?”