President Donald Trump defended his administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday as he met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and promised to help states safely begin reopening their economies.
Trump, seated next to DeSantis in the Oval Office, insisted that the United States was doing enough testing to protect Americans reentering the workforce and said he would sign an executive order to address "liability problems in the nation's food supply chain.
He said the administration was talking to airlines about requiring temperature and virus checks for some travelers as they board flights. Trump has claimed for weeks now that airlines have been screening passengers, even though they're not.
And he said the idea of having passengers wear masks sounded like a good idea. The administration had been sharply criticized for not overseeing widespread testing, but Trump said no amount would ever be good enough for critics in the media.
The president dismissed suggestions that the administration was slow to respond to the threat of COVID-19, including reports that it was mentioned in his daily intelligence briefing in January and February.
He stressed his decision to restrict flights from China though more than 40,000 travelers from China still made it to the US afterward and said of the decision: Whether it was luck, talent or something else, we saved many thousands of lives."