President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, announces a national emergency to further combat the Coronavirus outbreak, at a news conference Friday, March 13, 2020, in the Rose Garden of the White House. (Official White House Photo by D.Myles Cullen)
Can we all take a moment to appreciate the irony of our would-be Dictator-in-Chief being urged by Democrats to employ extraordinary powers in tackling coronavirus?
Send in the Army?
In the U.S., we don’t live in a tyranny where citizens are forced to shut down our sprawling, massive society, notes NRO. Some lament that President Trump hasn’t taken dictatorial federal powers to stop coronavirus. But that’s not how it’s done in the USA. The President instead is invoking emergency powers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took a shot at President Trump in a duplicitous statement “even as he applauded the emergency declaration on Friday,” reports the WSJ:
“As other steps are considered, the president must not overstep his authority or indulge his autocratic tendencies for purposes not truly related to this public health crisis.”
Fighting the Pandemic Will Be a Long Haul
Social distancing by individuals and businesses may have to persist for weeks or even months. On Friday the federal government and private economy seemed at last to be manning the health barricades.
Equity Markets Rose during White House Event
All of this is good news, and investors must have liked it because the equity markets rose while the rollout was taking place. Stocks rose by more than 9% on the day, much of it during the White House event, reversing most of Thursday’s 10% plunge. This shows how much near-term U.S. economic prospects are tied to progress against the spread of the virus.
This marks a welcome White House shift from travel bans against foreign countries to the greater threat of rising infections among Americans. On that note Mr. Trump also waived rules that will let the Department of Health and Human Services limit visits to nursing homes to protect the elderly most vulnerable to the virus. Anxiety over aging parents is acute across the U.S. after the deaths in Washington state.
From a WSJ Reader:
Genuinely Amazing
A grand total of three weeks has passed since the virus hit in full force in the U.S. On 19 February the stock market hit an all-time high …
Trump’s 3-Week Accomplishments
Along with fiscal and monetary stimulus:
- practiced social distancing
- instituted a travel bans
- cancelled sporting events nationwide
- formed a corona virus task force
- lowered interest rates
- assembled a government and business cooperative to fight the virus
But somehow Mr. Trump and the federal government have not done enough and not acted fast enough. Ridiculous. This is not a defense of Mr. Trump. This is criticism of the armchair quarterbacking that goes on with everything in our country these days…
Maybe once, just once, we could all work together and lean into this to solve a problem.
How about saying a prayer for the country, healthcare workers, and the President? Not long ago this would have been our first response.
P.S. In the Age of Coronavirus: a Homemade Throat Sanitizer.
P.P.S. If you can’t find hand-sanitizer, you can make your own.
