Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended President Donald Trump on Sunday amid ongoing criticism over the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“People misinterpreted his comments,” Mnuchin told ABC’s “This Week” after the president during an Oval Office speech misstated several elements of a new policy restricting travel from Europe to combat the spread of the virus. “And we immediately put out a statement to clarify that.”
“As is relates to the Oval Office address, the president was very clear,” Mnuchin said. “He wanted to address a very important point, which was he made the move to shut down travel to that, shut down more cases coming in. He wanted to reassure the American public. I don’t think, in an Oval Office address, you’re going to address every single issue as you’re discussing it.”
Mnuchin also said he does not believe a recession will take place. Already, widespread closures and cancelations have taken a toll on the economy. Meanwhile, the stock market entered bear territory amid the pandemic fears. Mnuchin said Trump has “instructed” him to do whatever necessary to combat the outbreak and deal with the economic impact of it.
The United States just surpassed 3,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, though the actual number of those infected could be much larger because testing isn’t yet widespread. At least 60 people have died in the U.S. due to complications from the virus.
Trump’s travel ban on European visitors led to mass amounts of Americans returning in short order from the continent, leading to scenes of tightly packed airports as officials slowly processed people to re-enter the country.
Amid viral photos of the logjam at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tweeted that the lines were “unacceptable.”
“The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. NOW,” Pritzker wrote.
Speaking with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Pritzker said such a backup was predictable and that the federal government should have increased the number of Customs and Border Protection and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers staffed to the airports.
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Pritzker said the “problem” of people being tightly packed together in airports will only get worse Sunday, saying the federal government seems “completely unprepared.”
In response to his tweet, Pritzker said he got a call around 11 p.m. Saturday from a White House staffer “who yelled at me about the” post.
Later Sunday, Trump tweeted: “We are doing very precise Medical Screenings at our airports.”
“Pardon the interruptions and delays, we are moving as quickly as possible, but it is very important that we be vigilant and careful,” he continued. “We must get it right. Safety first!”
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the federal government will need to respond to the crisis as if this is a war. State leaders in New York have already barred large gatherings and asked that restaurants and bars operate at a limited capacity. Public schools in New York City remained open as of Sunday though some universities, private schools and charter schools shut their doors.
“Let me say it very bluntly,” de Blasio said. “Federal government, at least the last few days, has started to come alive and do something, but we are so far behind. … If the federal government doesn’t realize this is the equivalent of a war already, there is no way that states and localities can make all the adjustments we need to.”
“The only hope is that the federal government actually wakes up and realizes we’re in a war and takes over the situation and determines how we can actually get through this,” he continued, saying that “we have never seen anything like this.”
He predicted it would take “at least six months” to get through the outbreak.
Elsewhere on that program, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said it’s possible his state may close schools for the rest of the year.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Look, the projections … This may not peak until the latter part of April or May. So, we have informed the superintendents, while we have closed schools for three weeks, that the odds are that this is going to go on a lot longer. And it would not surprise me at all if schools did not open again this year.”
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” DeWine said he was “certainly” considering the widespread closure of bars and restaurants after having already shuttered schools. He mentioned the contrasting responses of Philadelphia and St. Louis during the 1918 outbreak of Spanish Flu as a guideline. Through its response, St. Louis was able to level the curve of new infections, while Philadelphia’s spiked because of a weaker response.
“Every day counts so much,” DeWine said. “You cannot wait. You have to move very very quickly. These are tough decisions.”
“Everything we’re going is to save lives,” he added.
Pritzker, meanwhile, said his state may “need to go on lockdown.”
On Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., expressed a much different sentiment, pushing for people to go out to local establishments to curb the economic hit that is likely to take place. His advice countered that of medical experts, who are suggesting people must stay at home as much as possible to contain the spread of the virus.
“There’s a lot of concerns with the economy here because people are afraid to go out,” he said. “But I will just say, one of the things you can do, if you’re healthy, you and your family, it’s a great time to go out and go to a local restaurant, likely you can get in easy. Let’s not hurt the working people in this country that are reliant on wages and tips to keep their small business going so don’t run to the grocery store and buy $4,000 of food. Go to your local pub.”