What's behind Trump's striking reversal on the coronavirus timeline?
President Donald Trump on Monday optimistically declared that “it’s going to be a month of achievement” for the country even as he asked the extended strict social distancing guidelines for another month as the nation stares down the sober reality that 100-200 thousand Americans could die from the virus.
“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won. That would be the greatest loss of all,” Trump told reporters Sunday in the Rose Garden.
The president’s decision amounted to a striking reversal from his rosy projection last week that parts of the country could be allowed to “reopen” by Easter Day on April 12. His shift was accompanied by a figurative sigh of relief from the nation’s top public health experts who had warned of the potential for the death toll to soar if restrictions were loosened too soon.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s foremost infectious disease expert, said the president’s decision came about after he had “intensive conversations” with members of the coronavirus task force.
“We convinced him. He listened,” Dr. Fauci told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in a Monday interview on “Good Morning America.”
"If we can hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000 -- that's a horrible number -- maybe even less, but to 100,000; so we have between 100- and 200,000 -- we all, together, have done a very good job.
President Donald Trump on Monday optimistically declared that “it’s going to be a month of achievement” for the country even as he asked the extended strict social distancing guidelines for another month as the nation stares down the sober reality that 100-200 thousand Americans could die from the virus.
“Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won. That would be the greatest loss of all,” Trump told reporters Sunday in the Rose Garden.
The president’s decision amounted to a striking reversal from his rosy projection last week that parts of the country could be allowed to “reopen” by Easter Day on April 12. His shift was accompanied by a figurative sigh of relief from the nation’s top public health experts who had warned of the potential for the death toll to soar if restrictions were loosened too soon.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s foremost infectious disease expert, said the president’s decision came about after he had “intensive conversations” with members of the coronavirus task force.
“We convinced him. He listened,” Dr. Fauci told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in a Monday interview on “Good Morning America.”
"If we can hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000 -- that's a horrible number -- maybe even less, but to 100,000; so we have between 100- and 200,000 -- we all, together, have done a very good job.
