Trump Urges Calm, Vows To Help Cruise, Airline Industries Amid Coronavirus Concerns
Updated at 2:51 p.m.
President Trump said Tuesday his administration was working with the cruise and airline industries that have been battered by the coronavirus outbreak as he traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans to talk about plans to stimulate the economy in the midst of the health crisis.
"It will go away," Trump said of the coronavirus after meeting with GOP senators. "Stay calm."
Trump again compared the coronavirus to the flu, which he said has killed 8,000 Americans compared with 26 deaths attributed to the coronavirus.
"So you have 8,000 versus 26 deaths at this time — with all of that being said, we're taking this unbelievably seriously and I think were doing a very good job," Trump said.
The latest figures indicate 28 Americans and 4,000 people worldwide have died in the outbreak.
Trump did not announce any economic proposals on Capitol Hill, but said "a lot of good things are going to happen."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would represent the White House and Senate Republicans and handle negotiations over a final stimulus plan with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"We're hoping that he (Mnuchin) and the speaker can pull this together so that we end up not playing partisan games at a time, which seems to me to cry out for bipartisan, bicameral agreement," McConnell said shortly after the meeting with Trump.
Responding to a question about whether the President would be amenable to steps backed by Pelosi, including an extension of unemployment insurance, McConnell said: "I think the package needs to be negotiated. I think the speaker is obviously the most prominent Democrat here on Capitol Hill, and anything to get on the president's desk has to be agreed to between the administration and the speaker of the House."
Earlier, at a White House meeting with hospital CEOs and executives from the insurance industry, Trump said "We are working very, very closely with the cruise industry." He added of the airline industry: "We'll be helping them through this patch."
Travel stocks have been hit hard by the uncertainty over the coronavirus, which has led conferences to be canceled, universities to close and travel to some nations restricted or barred.
On Monday, the president said he'd unveil unspecified "dramatic" policies to counter the economic effects of the outbreak that has sent shivers through the global economy as entire national regions and nations have enforced lockdowns to stem the spread of the disease.
"We are going to take care of and have been taking care of the American public and the American economy," Trump said Monday.
Among the steps he's expected to call for is a cut in the payroll taxes American workers have deducted from their paychecks to pay for Social Security and Medicare. Trump also called on the Federal Reserve Board to further cut interest rates. In a tweet, he said the "pathetic, slow moving" Federal Reserve "should get our Fed Rate down to the levels of our competitor nations. They now have as much as a two point advantage, with even bigger currency help. Also, stimulate!"
The Fed cut interest rates by half a percentage point last week in an emergency. At the time, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the coronavirus "and the measures that are being taken to contain it will surely weigh on economic activity, both here and abroad, for some time." The Fed, he said, is "prepared to use our tools and act appropriately, depending on the flow of events."
The action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue comes a day after the stock market dropped precipitously. The S&P 500 was down nearly 8%. Markets bounced back somewhat on Tuesday as expectations for a payroll tax cut rose. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
