A confluence of events made March 11 a significant day in the progression ofCOVID-19 in the United States:
Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, testifying before congress, said the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States would get significantly worse, saying “the number could go way up and be involved in many, many millions.”[2]
The World Health Organization announced COVID-19 was officially a pandemic.[3]
TheDow Jones stock market, which had dropped more than 2000 points onMonday, March 9, dropped another 1400 points on Wednesday.[4][5]
The actorTom Hanks announced he and his wife, the actressRita Wilson, had both contracted COVID-19 and were quarantined inAustralia.[6]
United States PresidentDonald Trump initially reacted mildly to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to minimize public panic. Vice PresidentMike Pence, who chaired theWhite House Coronavirus Task Force, urged Trump to deliver a more serious public statement about the pandemic. Eventually a speech was drafted for Trump with the assistance ofStephen Miller, his chief speechwriter, andJared Kushner, his son-in-law. To make time for the delivery of the address, Trump cancelled a scheduled private dinner at Pence's residence and Pence cancelled a press conference with the White House Coronavirus Task Force.[7]
In the address, which lasted about 10 minutes,[8] President Trump announced several initiatives directly related to combating the Covid crises:[9]
“(A)ll travel from Europe,” excepting the United Kingdom, would be suspended for 30 days. Travel from Europe by U.S. Citizens would be allowed after “appropriate screenings.”
The travel ban would include the “tremendous amount of trade and cargo” coming from Europe.
The Health Insurance Industry would waive all co-payments for Coronavirus treatments, and insurance coverage would be extended to include treatments for COVID-19
Trump also announced several financial initiatives tied to the pandemic:[9]
Tax payments to certain affected individuals and businesses would be deferred.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) would provide low-interest loans to businesses in “affected states and territories.”
The President asked Congress to increase funding to the SBA for these loans by $50 billion.
He also asked Congress to consider "immediate payroll tax relief."
The health insurance industry was only waiving copayments for COVID-19 testing, not for treatments.[14]
Many Americans in Europe, thinking that they would be abruptly cut off from travelling to the United States, purchased airline tickets for significant sums of money.[15]
Trump later released a statement onTwitter saying, "...Very important for all countries and businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods."[16]
Reception to the speech was generally negative.[15]The American Conservative writer Daniel Larison described the speech as going over "like a lead balloon."[15] Trump received substantial criticism over his choice of wording in the speech, which seemed to imply a total ban on trade with Europe was being implemented,[17][18] as well as making the speech without first consulting withEuropean Union leaders.[19] Trump's speech did not have a positive effect on the stock market, with theDow Jones Industrial Average futures trading 600 points lower as he was concluding his speech, though this was partly influenced by other factors.[20] Trump also drew criticism for perceived racist and nativist themes present within his speech.[21]
Several commentators and analysts, albeit almost exclusively those strongly affiliated with the right-wing, viewed the speech in a more positive manner.[22] Generally, those with more positive viewpoints of Trump's speech focused on the themes of victory included within it.[23]
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