Trump's coronavirus response: From his war with the press to his bizarre disinfectant advice

Ewan Somerville1 May 2020

Donald Trump has made no shortage of headlines during the coronavirus pandemic.

The US president is at the centre of the country worst-hit by the virus worldwide, with nearly 60,000 deaths and more than one million cases - but has entered a new storm with his own words.

But him and Republican supporters maintain that the US Government has been a shining example for other world leaders.

Either way, a global pandemic unfolding against the backdrop of a fierce election campaign has meant for some heated moments. Here, we take a look at the key events in Mr Trump’s controversial coronavirus response.

US President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a news conference on the novel coronavirus
AFP via Getty Images

China travel ban

Mr Trump’s first major policy move was to shut US borders to all arrivals from China, except US citizens, on February 2, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health emergency. However, Hong Kong was excluded and some flights continued for weeks.

The president has not stopped patting himself on the back since the ban, but the New York Times found at least 430,000 people landed in the US on direct flights from China - 40,000 of these after the travel ban.

Trump’s attacks on the media

Any Brit that has tuned in to the almost daily White House coronavirus press conferences, will have noticed they take quite a different course to Downing Street briefings.

They often more closely resemble a campaign rally than an information update in the midst of a virus ravaging US states. Recent briefings have lasted up to two hours, with Mr Trump frequently lashing out at his political opponents and the media.

U.S. President Donald Trump made the comment in a late night tweet
Reuters

Washington Post and New York Times analysis of 35 press briefings finding that Mr Trump spends on average just 4.5 minutes paying tribute to victims - but ten times that, 45 minutes, praising himself.

True to form, Mr Trump has had several showdowns with reporters. Earlier this month he branded a CBS reporter “disgraceful” for asking a critical question about the administration’s response during February, and told her colleague to “keep your voice down” when she waged in.

The president took the extraordinary step of playing a self-congratulatory video in a briefing earlier this month with the title “the media minimised the risk from the start”, involving a series of clips backing his version of events.

Things reached a peak last week when he stormed out of a press conference after only 22 minutes, following a reported row where a CNN reporter refused to move seats from the front to the back row - and White House officials reportedly threatened to bring in the Secret Service.

Trump has been at war with the press during the pandemic
Getty Images

War of words with Democrats

With the global pandemic unfolding during the presidential race - ahead of the candidate conventions in August and polling day on November 3 - Mr Trump’s public comments have often fallen along party lines.

In response to media accusations over him being too slow to act, Mr Trump has levelled that Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House who led the effort to impeach him, and Joe Biden, his Democrat arch rival running against him for president, of failing to support the measures he has taken.

Trump’s calls to ‘liberate’ states

Another point of controversy was Mr Trump’s apparent endorsement for anti-lockdown protests, despite cases and deaths spiralling across the country.

In a series of tweets, he called for Governors to "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE MICHIGAN" and "LIBERATE VIRGINIA" - all Democrat-led states.

He later defended the remarks, claiming the social distancing measures introduced have been “too tough”.

New ideas: Donald Trump also said he was interested in using UV light as a treatment
AFP via Getty Images

Trump halts WHO funding

Mr Trump turned heads and raised eyebrows when he moved to halt US funding to the World Health Organisation - £316 million in 2019 alone - in the middle of a pandemic.

He accused the Geneva-based body of having “failed in its basic duty” and parroting China’s “disinformation” over infection and death rates.

He was roundly condemned by opponents and experts alike, including the American Medical Association chief who branded it a “dangerous step in the wrong direction”.

Disinfectant comments

Perhaps the most controversial point in Mr Trump’s handling of the pandemic so far was when he suggested administering disinfectant by “injection...into the lungs”.

President Donald Trump listens as Dr Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House
AP

The remarks, made during a White House press briefing, left the president’s medical chiefs visibly uncomfortable and sparked outcry across the world.

Mr Trump later backtracked, insisting it was sarcasm.

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