Trump answers states’ pleas
AFTER days of desperate pleas from the nation’s governors, US President Donald Trump took steps yesterday to expand the federal government’s role in helping to produce critically needed supplies to fight the coronavirus pandemic – even as he warned the leaders of hard-hit states not to cross him.
‘‘I want them to be appreciative,’’ Trump said after the White House announced that he would be using the powers granted to him under the Korean War-era Defence Production Act to try to compel auto giant General Motors to produce ventilators.
Yet Trump – who hours earlier had suggested that the need for the devices was being overblown – rejected any criticism of the federal government’s response to a ballooning public health crisis that a month ago he predicted would be over by now.
‘‘We have done a hell of a job,’’ he said, as he sent an ominous message to state and local leaders who have been urging the federal government to do more to help them save lives.
Trump said he had instructed Vice-President Mike Pence not to call the governors of Washington or Michigan – two coronavirus hotspots – because of their public criticism.
‘‘If they don’t treat you right, I don’t call,’’ he said.
The comments came after Trump unveiled a slew of executive actions to bolster states’ capacities to respond to the pandemic, including authorising Defence Secretary Mark Esper to call up an unspecified number of federal reservists to help with the coronavirus response.
Trump had been saying for more than a week that he was reluctant to use the act because companies were already doing what he wanted and he didn’t need arm-twisting to make them comply.
Governors from New York to Washington have pleaded with the president to use the act to force companies to manufacture critical equipment. They have also begged for help in obtaining supplies like masks and testing agents, saying that states have been forced to compete against one another as well as the federal government on the open market, driving up prices, even as federal officials have pledged their help if states fail.
Trump has lashed out at the governors and continued to diminish the risk posed by the virus.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said yesterday the surge of coronavirus cases in his state that health officials had warned was coming had arrived and would worsen, while the mayor of Los Angeles warned that by early next week his city could see the kind of crush that has crippled New York.
Newsom said California’s case count rose 26 per cent in one day, even with the results of 65,000 tests still pending. Johns Hopkins University tallied nearly 4700 cases in California, with at least 94 deaths.
New York City has more than 26,000 cases and at least 366 deaths.
Newsom has said California could need 50,000 additional hospital beds. The massive Los Angeles Convention Centre is being readied to serve as a location for patients.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city was prepared to step up its enforcement of closure orders, including cutting power to non-essential businesses that refused to close.
In San Francisco, where nearly 300 people have tested positive and at least three have died, Mayor London Breed yesterday pleaded with people to stay inside.