President Trump speaks during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House on April 18, 2020. White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, stands at left. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption
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Patrick Semansky/AP
President Trump is set to hold a briefing at the White House on Saturday, as the country continues to wrestle with the far-reaching impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump said on Twitter that he planned to speak at 5 p.m.
The briefing comes as activists are holding protests over social-distancing restrictions in states across the country with stay-at-home orders, calling for a reopening of the economy. Protests were held in cities, including Salt Lake City, and Annapolis, Md. Trump on Friday seemed to openly encourage these types of protests in a series of tweets mentioning Michigan and Minnesota, two states led by Democratic governors who have imposed social-distancing restrictions.
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Asked on NPR about the stay-at-home protests, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said: “People have every right to demonstrate, this is what I’ve said to people who were protesting against me … It is what it is.”
“We were very early in taking some very dramatic steps to protect Ohioans, and I’m going to continue to do that,” he said. “But at the same time, I understand the demonstrators, they want to get the economy moving again.”
On Thursday, Trump issued a set of guidelines for reopening the country, a plan that includes three phases for states to reopen, with progressively relaxed levels of social distancing. It remains unclear how long it could take to put those measures in place across the U.S. Those guidelines though, are broad, and leave specific plans up to governors.
Ahead of Saturday’s briefing, Trump was on Twitter, weighing in on a variety of topics, including the November election.
Vice President Mike Pence, who is leading the administration’s task force in charge of responding to the coronavirus, traveled to Colorado on Saturday to deliver an in-person speech at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s commencement ceremony.
It was a rare outing for Pence. Both he and Trump have skipped most travel, including campaign events, as health experts recommend that Americans avoid travel and gatherings to stem the virus’ spread.
Trump said Friday he planned to deliver a commencement speech to the graduating class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, saying that he assumed there would be social distancing. It is unclear when and whether that ceremony will take place amid the pandemic.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday that the border with the United States would remain closed for nonessential travel for another 30 days.
“This is an important decision and one that will keep people on both sides of the border safe,” Trudeau said.
The restrictions took effect March 21.
On Friday, Trump spoke by phone with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and, according to a White House statement, “discussed the need to maintain restrictions on travelers crossing their land borders for non-essential purposes, while ensuring cross-border activities that are critical to commerce, health security, supply security, and other essential industries remain unimpeded.
