President Donald Trump will remain at the White House through April, and possibly longer, amid the coronavirus pandemic. After extending social distancing guidelines through April 30, the president announced during his Tuesday briefing that he has canceled or postponed many of his scheduled outings and will join his fellow Americans by remaining home, stating that he will “be in the White House” for the next month.
“I doubt I’ll leave,” he told reporters. “I wanted to go to the opening of the — of the hospital in New York. And my people couldn’t even believe it, that I said it. But I did. I wanted to go. They didn’t want me to do it. The Secret Service didn’t want me to do it for — you know, for reasons. I wanted to go to the boat sailing into New York Harbor, but the governor did a good job of that, and the mayor of New York.”
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Admitting that he’d “love to go out,” the president cited concerns over the number of other leaders who have tested positive for the virus.
“I’ll be in the White House. And it’s sort of like nerve center, control center,” he said. “And I think it’s important — you know, look, you see what happened with Boris Johnson, you see what happened with others. I think it’s important that I remain healthy. I really do. So, for the most part, we’re staying here. I’ve cancelled many different events, and we’ll be staying here, for the most part.”
The president’s decision comes as cases across the country continue to soar to new levels. As of Thursday morning, a Johns Hopkins database reported that confirmed cases in the United States had surpassed 216,000 with more than 5,100 fatalities, the country confirming more cases than any other.
As a result, and in the continued effort to flatten the curve, the president extended his coronavirus social distancing guidelines and has told Americans to brace for the “hard days” ahead.
“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” he said. “We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks. And then, hopefully, as the experts are predicting, as I think a lot of us are predicting, after having studied it so hard, you’re going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel. But this is going to be a very painful — a very, very painful two weeks.”
“Our strength will be tested and our endurance will be tried, but America will answer with love and courage and ironclad resolve,” he added in part. “This is the time for all Americans to come together and do our part.”
