Trump tries to get control of widening coronavirus concerns as Democrats propose $8.5 billion in emergency funds
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump returned to the United States early Wednesday and sought to get a handle on the widening concerns over the coronavirus outbreak even as he continued to bicker with Democrats about the global epidemic.
The president, who returned to the White House after a two-day trip to India, announced he would speak to reporters about his administration’s effort to respond to the virus at 6 p.m. EST, a day after U.S. health officials warned of “severe” disruptions.
In a series of tweets, Trump said that health officials were doing a “great job” addressing to the global epidemic and said he would receive a briefing later in the day. His latest remarks come 24 hours after he downplayed the impact, expressing confidence that the “whole situation will start working out”
Trump also continued his battle with Democrats, including some who the White House may need to approve $2.5 billion in emergency funding for the virus that the White House requested earlier week. Trump appeared to be responding in part to the Democratic debate in South Carolina on Tuesday in which Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed the president for suggesting the virus could be wiped by warmer weather.
More:Top moments from Tuesday’s Democratic debate
“Democrats talking point is that we are doing badly,” Trump tweeted. “If the virus disappeared tomorrow, they would say we did a really poor, and even incompetent, job. Not fair, but it is what it is.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York responded by calling the president “incompetent and dangerous.” Schumer offered a counter proposal for an emergency spending package of $8.5 billion.
“You reduced our ability to prevent epidemics. You proposed cuts to CDC funding. You just trusted other governments (like China) to handle this,” Schumer wrote on Twitter. “You can spin this any way you want, but it’s incompetence.”
The bitter back and forth underscored the challenge Washington faces in addressing the first global health crisis since the Ebola outbreak in 2014. The World Health Organization has reported 80,239 confirmed cases of the virus, of which nearly 78,000 are in China. There were 53 confirmed cases in the United States as of Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in India, Trump noted Tuesday that few people have been diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. and claimed that the “whole situation will start working out.” Markets tumbled hours later as health officials warned of a more extensive impact in the United States.
“Disruption to everyday life may be severe,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said Tuesday. Schools could be closed, public gatherings suspended and employees forced to work remotely, she said.
