Anxious to spur an economic recovery without risking lives, President Donald Trump insists that you can satisfy both" see states gradually lift lockdowns while also protecting people from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 67,000 Americans.
The president, fielding questions from Americans Sunday night in a virtual town hall from the Lincoln Memorial, acknowledged valid fears on both sides of the issue. Some people are worried about getting sick; others are reeling from lost jobs and livelihoods.
Trump increased his projection for the total U.S. death toll to as many as 100,000 up by as much as 40,000 from what he had suggested just a few weeks ago.
Look, we're going to lose anywhere from 75,000, 80,000 to 100,000 people, Trump said. That's a horrible thing. We shouldn't lose one person out of this. This should have been stopped in China. But he struck a note of urgency to restart the nation's economy, declaring, We have to get it back open safely but as quickly as possible.
After more than a month of being cooped up at the White House, Trump returned from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland for the virtual town hall hosted by Fox News Channel.
The president said of his monumental backdrop: "We never had a more beautiful set than this. As concerns mount about his reelection bid, Trump stuck to his relentlessly optimistic view of the nation's ability to rebound soon.
It is all working out, Trump said. It is horrible to go through, but it is working out. Many public health experts believe the nation cannot safely reopen fully until a vaccine is developed. Trump declared Sunday that he believed one could be available by year's end.
Also Read
U.S. public health officials have said a vaccine is probably a year to 18 months away. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases and member of the White House coronavirus task force, said in late April that it is conceivable, if a vaccine is soon developed, that it could be in wide distribution as early as January.
Though the administration's handling of the pandemic, particularly its ability to conduct widespread testing, has come under fierce scrutiny, the president tried to shift the blame to China and said the U.S. was ready to begin reopening.
I'll tell you one thing. We did the right thing and I really believe we saved a million and a half lives, the president said. But he also broke with the assessment of his senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, saying it was too soon to say" the federal government had overseen a success story."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content