Trump halting COVID-19 relief talks until after election draws criticism
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump’s announcement on halting COVID-19 relief talks with Democrats until after the presidential election has drawn criticism from both parties.
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon, claiming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not negotiating in good faith. “Nancy Pelosi
is asking for $2.4 Trillion Dollars to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith,” he tweeted.
In a statement responding to Trump’s tweets, Pelosi said “walking away from coronavirus talks demonstrates that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus.” “Once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP
Members of Congress,” she said, adding the White House is rejecting the urgent warnings from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Speaking at a virtual annual meeting held earlier on Tuesday by the National Association for Business Economics, Powell urged policymakers to provide more relief to households and businesses hurt by the pandemic, warning a prolonged slowing economic recovery could trigger typical recessionary dynamics. “At this early stage, I would argue that the risks of policy intervention are still asymmetric. Too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses,” he said.
“Over time, household insolvencies and business bankruptcies would rise, harming the productive capacity of the economy, and holding back wage growth,” said the Fed chief. Joe Biden, 2020 Democratic nominee and former US vice president, also slammed on Tuesday Trump’s decision to suspend talks on COVID-19 relief, saying the president “never even really tried to get a deal” for the struggling Americans amid the pandemic. (Xinhua)