Trump mulls tax cut to deal with coronavirus

After the stock market plunged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank by nearly 8 percent because of fears over the coronavirus outbreak, President Donald Trump announced that the White House was considering a payroll tax cut or other relief for hourly wage earners “so they’re not going to have to miss a paycheck.”

“The main thing is we’re taking care of the American public,” Trump said in short remarks at the beginning of a briefing packed with administration officials working to contain the outbreak.

Trump said he would throw out a big number and that the White House was working with leaders in the hotel industry, the airlines and cruise ships.

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking after Trump had left the briefing, said he didn’t know whether the president had been tested for the virus. Pence said he had not been tested and promised to find out whether Trump had received a test.

Later Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham released this statement: “The President has not received COVID-19 testing because he has neither had prolonged close contact with any known confirmed COVID-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms. President Trump remains in excellent health, and his physician will continue to closely monitor him.”

The vice president, whom Trump put in charge of the coronavirus response, insisted that the risk of Americans contracting COVID-19 “remains low.” He also asked reporters to inform the public about a website with practical information for the public, coronavirus.gov, on how to keep homes and businesses safer.

It was the end of a dramatic day that began when Trump left his winter retreat Mar-a-Lago after a weekend of golf, held a campaign fundraiser near Orlando, Florida, and then took Air Force One to the White House, unaware when he took off that a Republican congressman who hitched a ride on the presidential plane had been in contact with an individual who had contracted the virus.

Just last week, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was seen on camera in a biohazard gas mask on the House floor as Congress voted to pass an $8.3 billion coronavirus emergency bill. Gaetz denied that the gesture was meant to make fun of reaction to the outbreak.

Two days later, an elderly constituent of his in Florida died from COVID-19.

After he boarded Air Force One, Gaetz learned that he had been in contact with an individual at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February who later tested positive for COVID-19. Trump, Pence and many other administration officials spoke at the conference.

Gaetz then moved to a part of the plane where he sat away from others, The New York Times reported.

Rep. Doug Collins, who visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta with Trump on Friday, also went into self-quarantine after talking with the individual at the CPAC confab.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who also attended CPAC, announced he had decided to isolate himself for 14 days after the Feb. 27 encounter.

On Twitter, the president also repeated the argument that the market’s eerie drop was a function of a dispute between oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Russia. “Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil. That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop!” Trump tweeted.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., shot back: “What was glaringly missing from President Trump’s press conference was how he is actually going to combat the spread of the coronavirus and keep the American people safe. It seems President Trump is more focused on the stock market than addressing this pandemic.”

In a show that the White House had to deal with the outbreak as both an economic and a health crisis, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Monday morning that “the fundamentals in this economy are unbelievable.”

The White House offered few details of a package of relief measures it will discuss Tuesday with members of Congress, but Trump did say there will be more information at a news conference Tuesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released statements outlining their preferred responses to the outbreak, including free COVID-19 testing and “affordable” treatment, paid sick leave for workers affected by quarantine orders, enhanced unemployment insurance, food security and protections against price gouging.

Azar reaffirmed that the federal government did not know how many Americans had been tested for the virus, because the majority of tests need not be reported on to the federal government.

While there are no Trump campaign rallies scheduled, Trump has said he believes his packed rallies are safe. The president will speak before the Republican Jewish Coalition annual meeting in Las Vegas Saturday.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com oe 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.