Coronavirus Update: Donald Trump Vows to ‘Use the Full Power of the Federal Government’ to Respond to Pandemic

President Donald Trump issued a new statement about the Coronavirus on Wednesday, shortly after the World Health Organization officially named it a pandemic outbreak. The president promised to use “the full power of the federal government” to fight the disease. Based on the replies, many of his followers were not convinced.

“I am fully prepared to use the full power of the Federal Government to deal with our current challenge of the CoronaVirus!” President Trump wrote.

The tweet came on the heels of the WHO’s announcement that COVID-19 is officially a pandemic illness. Many Twitter users responded with criticisms about how the president has handled the outbreak so far, and suggestions about how he should handle it going forward.

“Then declare a national emergency today and use the full resources of the federal government to address the coronavirus pandemic,” wrote doctor Eugene Gu. “Do this now at a press conference rather than just tweeting about it.”

“The stock market is collapsing because they have no confidence in your ability to guide our country through this pandemic. And you know what? They’re not wrong,” added another person. “Resign now and let someone competent take the wheel.”

“For weeks he said the media overplayed the threat from the coronavirus, and that it was contained,” observed a third. “The White House has ordered federal health officials to treat top-level coronavirus meetings as classified, an unusual step that has restricted information and hampered the U.S. government’s response to the contagion.”

Among the complaints about how President Trump has handled the crisis so far, many pointed out the early actions of other governments, such as Germany or even China, in some cases. They criticized the president for trying to downplay the severity of the outbreak, and for prioritizing the stock market over public health and safety.

The severity of Coronavirus could not be ignored on Wednesday, after World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus officially deemed it a pandemic. He said that the WHO is is “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.”

“Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death,” he continued. “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this #coronavirus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.”