President Trump Decides against Shutting Down Coronavirus Task Force

May 6, 2020 (EIRNS)—After Vice-President Mike Pence, the head of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force, told press yesterday that the task force would be phased out and what the proper time line for that would be, President Donald Trump got quite a different reaction in Arizona, which caused him to come back to Washington today and announce that the Coronavirus Task Force would keep working “indefinitely,” and that “We’ll be adding two or three members” to the group by next week.

Asked about the reversal, the President said, “I thought we could wind it down sooner. But I had no idea how popular the task force is until actually yesterday, when I started talking about winding it down.” The President tweeted this morning:

“The White House CoronaVirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future. Ventilators, which were few & in bad shape, are now being produced in the thousands, and we have many to spare. We are helping other countries which are desperate for them. Likewise, after having been left little, we are now doing more testing than all other countries combined, and with superior tests. Face masks & shields, gloves, gowns etc. are now plentiful. The last four Governors teleconference calls have been conclusively strong. Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Thank you!”