That day there were 62,000 reported deaths and yet:
Trump Says The U.S. Is Past Its Peak On New Coronavirus Cases
President Trump on Wednesday said that recent data suggest that the United States has made it through the worst of new coronavirus cases, as he seeks to reopen the pandemic-beaten national economy.
“The data suggests that nationwide, we have passed the peak of new cases. Hopefully that will continue, and we will continue to make great progress,” Trump said in the White House Rose Garden at the daily coronavirus task force briefing. The task force did not share the data they used to reach that assessment.
Trump said that more than 3 million tests for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, had been completed and that researchers were on the verge of delivering an antibody test to determine whether a person has previously been infected with the virus.
He also said he would announce his path to reopening some states ahead of May 1. “These developments have put us in a strong position to finalize guidelines for states reopening,” he said.
Trump’s optimistic remarks come on the heels of a contentious week between the president and state governors, following an erroneous declaration earlier this week that he had ability to unilaterally decide when states would ease coronavirus restrictions.
“When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total,” Trump said Monday. By Tuesday, he had reversed, saying he would guide the governors but allow them to decide when and how to re-open.
Wednesday’s briefing comes after an Easter weekend of COVID-19 fatalities that launched the U.S. death toll to the highest in the world.
Speaking of putting his name on fat, beautiful checks, here’s Trump today:
Aaaaaand:
He has to be there. He can’t speak. A lot of it is boring. Nobody’s licking his boots and telling him how great he is.
It hadn’t occurred to me before today but I wonder how he’s going to be able to sit through this five days a week for possibly two months. Can he do it?