O briefing daily started this Wednesday in an optimistic tone: “America continues to gain ground in the fight against the virus”. Thereafter, not many phrases were heard until Trump acknowledged that in seven U.S. states, the situation is so worrying that a decree was passed that recognizes that a disaster is imminent and that local authorities can no longer solve the problem alone. The state, however, is and will be present to support them, he said.
There were also times for guarantees: that the USA is the champion of the diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that can cause Covid-19 disease -, that a package of support for the North American economy is coming which in terms of value, it is the largest ever (and even compares to Roosevelt’s New Deal) and that the American economy will not take that long to start working again, at least in “large parts of the country”. And when he resumes, Trump believes, probably around mid-April, he will resume in force.
The proposal by the US President to get the country back up and running – workers in companies and factories, students in schools – by Easter, already in April, is viewed with skepticism by some health experts, such as those from World Health Organization, which anticipates that the United States may become the next epicenter of the outbreak after China and Italy. Trump acknowledged that the plan may not cover the entire country – in the most affected states, containment measures may be maintained, “we are thinking about it” – but he did not fail to give a pinprick to those who, understand, want the country to stand still to harm him electorally:
I think there are certain people who would like it not to reopen so quickly, I think there are certain people who would like the results to be bad financially because they think it would be good to defeat me at the polls. I think it’s very clear that there are people in your profession [jornalistas] who write fake news. You write [referiu, dirigindo-se a uma jornalista], She writes [apontando para outra]. They are lucky to have this group here to solve the problem [Administração Trump e especialistas de saúde], otherwise they wouldn’t even have a country anymore ”, he concluded.
Despite advocating that the US economy will resume strongly – and it will not take “such a long way” to overcome the crisis arising from the pandemic – Trump gave the green light to a decree of State of Great Disaster in seven northern states Americans and announced an economic stimulus plan without great precedents in the history of the US economy.
Recognizing that the situation in some states is alarming, Trump announced: “I just approved Major Disaster Declarations to the states of New York, California, Washington, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas and Florida “. These Declarations of Great Disaster, which can be enacted in the event of a disaster imminent, are the statewide maximum State of Emergency envisaged in the US – and mean that the states concerned need all possible help to prepare for an impending disaster. They are usually enacted when local and state authorities are no longer able to respond to emergencies alone. “This has great significance, as you know, and a [grande] legal meaning, ”he noted.
@ Drew Angerer / Getty Images
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In the legal inscription that provides for these decrees, it reads that they can apply when a very serious event, such as “hurricane, tornado, tsunami” or others, is seen by the President of the USA as something “that can cause damages of such severity that exceeds the combined response capacities of states and local governments ”. This decree “allows a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals or public infrastructure” in each state.
The President of the United States of America also underlined that the State of New York is “by far” the most affected and the most worries about the spread of the pandemic. “We are building numerous hospitals and health centers in certain areas of New York,” said Trump, adding:
“I want you to know that I am doing everything in my power to help the city overcome this challenge. It is by far our biggest problem ”.
Regarding the response of the health authorities in the USA, Donald Trump wanted to pull out the gallons and stress that the United States is doing “a lot of tests across the country”.
The US President revealed that he had just spoken to “President Moon”, that is, with South Korean Moon Jae-in, with whom he had “a great conversation”. This is because South Korea is seen as an international example in the capacity to track and contain the spread of the pandemic, having achieved this through large-scale tests and a thorough analysis of the movements of the infected South Koreans, in order to lock chains of contagion.
They did a great job on the tests [a Coreia do Sul] but right now we’re doing a lot more testing than any other country, ”said the US president.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Donald Trump also said that “Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are about to approve” a package of state measures to support the economy “for workers, families and businesses” in the country.
We have a lot planned for workers and families but we have [sobretudo] a tremendous provision for absence license payments [dos trabalhadores] for health reasons, at no cost to employers. In all, we have a legislative package of 2.2 billion dollars ”, that is, approximately 2 billion euros at the current exchange rate.
Trump explained that this package of economic stimulus measures “is bigger than anything else” and “is bigger, I believe, than anyone ever passed in Congress.” If we go back, for example, to the support package for the American economy “New Deal”, approved by Franklin D. Roosevelt after the “Great Depression”, we will see “something” similar, he said, but “in terms of dollars it is certainly the largest package of measures ever implemented ”. Nancy Pelosi, one of her great Democratic opponents, has also come to defend the state stimulus package, as she had already done before:
The best way to protect our economy in this crisis is to protect workers & families, who are the life-blood of it. That is why we are working to get money into the hands of workers as soon as possible. #FamiliesFirst @SquawkStreet
– Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 24, 2020
The President of the USA also guaranteed: “We are going to deal with the American worker, these companies that advance this country and make it excellent. They are not to blame for this ”. However, he pointed out: “Much of this money is going to return” and part will be transferred in “loans”. Trump is convinced that when the economy will resume, it will resume with great force.
Also in this last chapter of Donald Trump’s daily press conferences, the US president complained that the US is “treated very unfairly” by the European Union. “We make the best medical equipment in the world and we have some people, as with the European Union, who do not want it because they have specificities that do not allow the import of our equipment, because it is done differently. Despite being done in a better way … It’s a terrible thing. And you know what, some of the people who took advantage of us more are allies ”, he pointed out, giving the example of NATO.
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