As cases of the coronavirus increase in the United States, President Trump delivered a speech to the nation, and stocks entered a bear market. Meanwhile, the president canceled several trips around the country to avoid the outbreak. Here’s everything that happened this week for the Trump White House.
In an Oval Office address to the nation, Trump announced new travel restrictions to and from Europe to contain the spread of the coronavirus after the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, a “global pandemic.”
“To keep new cases from entering our shores,” Trump said in his address, “we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.”
However, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the travel restriction does not apply to U.S. citizens, residents, or immediate family members of citizens.
Meanwhile, the stock market plunged into bear market territory for the first time in more than a decade.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq composite, and Dow Jones saw an approximate 20% decline from their peaks over coronavirus fears and the oil price war. OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, slashed its oil prices and announced plans to increase production, causing a massive oil sell-off, putting pressure on Trump to consider a federal bailout of the U.S. oil industry.
Finally, Trump canceled trips to Nevada, Colorado, and Wisconsin over coronavirus concerns.
Trump was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s conference in Las Vegas, attend a roundtable discussion on conservation in Denver, and launch a “Catholics for Trump” coalition in Milwaukee. Several members of Congress have isolated themselves in self-quarantine after coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for the coronavirus at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February.
