President Trump announced he was closing the Mexican border to most travel as he warned that the passage of migrants during the coronavirus pandemic risked unleashing “a perfect storm” that would cripple the American healthcare system.
He also said he had activated the wartime Defense Production Act, which officials say they will use to speed production of masks, respirators, ventilators, and other vital equipment.
But for the second day running, he used the regular briefing to clash with reporters over his handling of a crisis that has now killed 210 Americans, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
“The American people are looking for answers, and they are looking for hope,” he said after berating a reporter for asking, “What do you say to Americans that are scared?”
The spat threatened to overshadow a day of carefully choreographed messaging on border security.
Trump was joined on the podium by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to address the issue of migrants bringing the coronavirus.
“This is now at a level that nobody’s ever approached in normal times,” Trump said. “These massive flows place a vast burden on our healthcare system, but during a global pandemic, they threaten to create a perfect storm that would spread the infection to our border agents, migrants, and to the public at large.
“Left unchecked, this would cripple our immigration system, overwhelm our healthcare system, and severely damage our national security. We’re not going to let that happen,” he said.
Wolf unveiled the details, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directive suspending entry of all individuals without proper travel documentation across both the northern and southern borders. All nonessential travel will stop, according to the agreement between the three nations.
“We want to make sure that cargo continues, trade continues, healthcare workers continue to be able to traverse that border,” he said. “But tourism, some recreational activities, and other things need to stop during this crisis.”
While several officials quoted CDC directives, there was no sign of the agency’s chief Robert Redfield, who has not attended a briefing for more than a week amid reports he has been sidelined. Instead, Ivanka Trump appeared in the briefing room to watch proceedings for the first time.
The border announcement came on another day of intense action to stem the spread of the virus across the United States and mitigate the economic impact.
All nonessential workers were ordered to stay home in New York state, which has become the center of America’s crisis, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said more than 4,000 National Guard reservists were being deployed in 31 states.
Meanwhile, the Treasury announced a three-month delay to the tax filing deadline, giving Americans until July 15 to pay. “Hopefully, by that time, we’ll have people getting back to their lives,” Trump said during the briefing.
The rest of the world continued to ratchet up responses as the global death toll passed 10,000.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered British pubs and restaurants to close at midnight, while his government’s scientific advisers said social distancing restrictions might need to stay in place for a year.
In Spain, the army is setting up a field hospital of 5,500 at a Madrid convention center.
Once again, Trump tried to deliver a message of optimism that was sometimes a step ahead of the analysis offered by the public health officials alongside him.
“Americans from every walk of life are coming together,” Trump said. “We are winning, and we are going to win this war.”
It was left to task force coordinator Deborah Birx to deliver the most sobering numbers of the day as she reminded the public to keep following advice on social distancing even if they were in apparently low-risk groups.
“From Italy, we’re seeing another concerning trend, that the mortality in males seems to be twice in every age group of females,” she said.
“This should alert all of us to continue our vigilance to protect our Americans that are in nursing homes.”
