President Trump said tonight his administration would restrict “all travel” to the U.S. from Europe, which is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, for the next 30 days.
In an Oval Office address, Trump added that the United Kingdom, which has not been immune from the coronavirus, will be exempt from the new limits, which will go into effect on Friday at midnight.
“These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground,” Trump said of the European Union travel curbs.
Italy has been hit the hardest, with more than 12,000 confirmed infections and more than 800 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
France, Spain and Germany each have about 2,000 confirmed cases.
The administration has already restricted travel from China and Iran.
Trump started off his remarks by trying to give a sense of historical perspective, and a sense of calm.
“From the beginning of time, nations and people have face unforeseen challenges,” Trump said. “It only matters how you respond and we are responding with great speed and professionalism.”
It was a critical speech for Trump’s presidency by any measure.
From the moment the coronavirus reached the United States, Trump seemed determined to construct an alternate reality around the outbreak.
In the information universe he has formed, COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, is no worse than the seasonal flu; criticism of his response to it is a “hoax”; and media coverage of the virus is part of a political conspiracy to destroy his presidency.
As with so much of the president’s messaging, this narrative began with tossed-off tweets and impromptu public statements.
But in recent days, as U.S. health officials have raised growing concerns about the outbreak, Trump’s efforts to play down the pandemic ran into reality.
Since Vice President Mike Pence has taken the reins of the coronavirus task force, the majority of the Trump administration’s media appearances have been granted to Fox News.
His remarks also arrive at an exceptional moment in U.S. politics, as Trump seeks to get a grip on the virus and its economic ramifications in an election year.
Top White House aides are negotiating with House Democrats over an economic stimulus that Trump has described as “dramatic.”
Details of that proposal, so far, have been very much influx.
The virus – and Trump’s sometimes wobbly response to it – is also increasingly factoring into the 2020 presidential race.
Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have cancelled large rallies because of the virus, and are raising it as an issue to question Trump’s leadership.