President Trump said Wednesday that he fashions himself a ‘wartime president’ as he goes into battle against the ‘unseen enemy,’ the coronavirus.
Trump was asked by Fox News Channel’s John Roberts if he considers the country to be on a ‘wartime footing’ to combat the pandemic.
‘I do. I actually do,’ the president answered from behind the podium in the White House briefing room. ‘I’m looking at it that way.’
He also said Wednesday he’d use the powers outlined in the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of medical equipment to treat Americans sickened by the virus.
‘There’s never been an instance like this where no matter what you have, it’s not enough,’ Trump said. ‘If we need to use it, we’ll be using it full speed ahead.’
Just a day before, Trump said he wasn’t ready to put the Defense Production Act – a Korean War-era law – into use.
But on Wednesday, the president leaned fully in to the idea that he was leading Americans into battle.
- It was one of a series of measures Trump unveiled to grapple with a crisis which he met initially by claiming it was ‘under control’ and complaining was overblown by his Democratic enemies and the media he attacks. Those measures included:
- Mobilizing two hospital ships, one to New York and one on the west coast, although the Pentagon said it will reach Manhattan in weeks not days;
- Ordering more masks and ventilators as Mike Pence admitted to a desperate shortage;
- Tackling the cratering economy with a $1 trillion bailout plan, $500million of which will go in $2,000 checks to every American;
- Getting ready to sign the second emergency coronavirus bill which will give paid sick leave and free testing to sufferers;
- Saying that a prediction of 20 per cent unemployment, last seen in 1935, was an ‘absolute, total worst case scenario’ while his Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin pledged it would not happen.
But his press conference and show of leadership did nothing to arrest a market in freefall with the Dow falling below the level it was when he entered office – meaning the 401k gains he boasted about for three years have now been entirely wiped out.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday that he considered himself a ‘wartime president’ going against an ‘unseen enemy’ – the coronavirus
President Trump continued to use battle-tinged rhetoric throughout the day Wednesday, as he called the coronavirus an ‘invisible enemy’
Trump used twitter after his briefing to talk up his leadership credentials.
‘I want all Americans to understand: we are at war with an invisible enemy, but that enemy is no match for the spirit and resolve of the American people,’ Trump tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
‘It cannot overcome the dedication of our doctors, nurses, and scientists — and it cannot beat the LOVE, PATRIOTISM, and DETERMINATION of our citizens. Strong and United, WE WILL PREVAIL!’
Discussing his evolution into being a war president Trump, again, gave himself credit for restricting travel from China, a decision he made in January, telling reporters the situation on the ground now in the United States would have been a lot worse.
‘That really saved a lot of lives,’ he said.
‘I view it as a – in a sense, a wartime president, that’s what we’ve been fighting,’ he continued. ‘It’s a very tough situation here. We have to do things. We have to close parts of an economy that six weeks ago were the best they’ve ever been.’
‘And then one day you have to close it down in order to defeat this enemy,’ Trump said.
With Americans across the nation instructed to practice ‘social distancing’ and told not to engage in non-essential travel, the hospitality industry – including the airlines, cruise ships, hotels, along with bars and restaurants – are being crushed.
President Trump ordered the USNS Comfort to New York City to provide 1,000 additional hospital beds to sick New Yorkers sickened by the coronavirus
‘The American people have been incredible,’ the president added.
Even before Trump made his ‘wartime president’ declaration, he’s been speaking about the coronavirus as if it was a foil.
‘I call it the unseen enemy,’ he also said at Wednesday’s press briefing. ‘It snuck up on us,’ he claimed.
The president has also used the United States’ military might to provide resources to those suffering from the virus.
For example, he deployed the the Navy hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, to New York City to provide additional 1,000 additional beds for sick New Yorkers.
‘It will be in New York City Harbor. This will be, it’s an extraordinary step obviously, it’s literally a floating hospital which will add capacity, and the president said he would dispatch that immediately,’ said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo early Wednesday.