Trump declares victory over virus, economic collapse after jobs report
President pitches U.S. on 2nd term
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump effectively claimed victory over the economic crisis and COVID-19 on Friday as well as major progress against racial inequality, heartily embracing a better-than-expected jobs report in hopes of convincing a discouraged nation he deserves another four years in office.
In lengthy White House remarks amid sweeping social unrest, a still-rising virus death toll and Depression-level unemployment, the Republican president focused on what he said was improvement in all areas.
Mr. Trump was quick to seize upon the positive jobs report at a time when his political standing is at one of the weakest points of his presidency less than five months before the general election. Just 2 in 10 voters believe the country is headed in the right direction, a Monmouth University poll found earlier in the week.
The president also addressed the protests, which have calmed in recent days, that followed the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last week when a white police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.
Claiming improvements everywhere, Mr. Trump said, “Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this is a great thing that’s happening for our country . ... This is a great, great day in terms of equality.”
Mr. Trump condemned “what happened last week,” claimed no other president has done as much for black Americans, and declared that an economic rebound was “the greatest thing that can happen for race relations.”
Putting words in the dead man’s mouth drew quick criticism, including from presidential foe Joe Biden, who said it was “despicable.” The Trump campaign said any reports saying Mr. Trump was contending Floyd would be praising the economic news were “wrong, purposefully misrepresented, and maliciously crafted.”
Later Friday, Mr. Trump visited Maine and castigated Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, calling her a “dictator” and criticizing her for not moving quickly enough to reopen the state’s economy. He urged his supporters to help him win the rest of the state in November if they want to see the country rebound from the coronavirus shutdown.
At stops in Guilford and Bangor, Mr. Trump used his first visit to the state as president to lob jabs at Ms. Mills for not reopening businesses more quickly. Mr. Trump won just one of Maine’s three electoral votes in 2016.
“When are you going to open the state up?” Mr. Trump demanded as he spoke at Puritan Medical Products. “What’s she doing?”
Ms. Mills responded. “Yesterday, I asked the president to check his rhetoric at the door and to lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time,” she said. “Sadly, but unsurprisingly, he continues to prove himself incapable of doing so.”
Politically, few things matter more to Mr. Trump’s future than the state of the economy, which was all but shut down by state governments this spring to prevent greater spread of the coronavirus. Defying health experts, the president has aggressively encouraged states to reopen and has assailed state leaders who resist.
At the same time, he’s taken an uneven approach to explosive racial tensions in the wake of Floyd’s death. As he has in recent days, Mr. Trump on Friday offered a sympathetic message to Floyd in one breath and lashed out at protests in his name the next.
The president spoke in the Rose Garden after the Labor Department said U.S. employers added 2.5 million workers to their payrolls last month. Economists had been expecting them instead to slash 8 million jobs in continuing fallout from the pandemic.
The jobless rate, at 13.3%, is still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression. And for the second straight month, the Labor Department acknowledged making errors in counting the unemployed during the virus outbreak, saying the real figure is worse than the numbers indicate.
Friday’s report made for some tricky reaction gymnastics for Mr. Trump’s Democratic election opponent, Mr. Biden, who sought to contrast the improving figures with the fact that millions of Americans are still out of work. The high jobless rate, he said, is due to the Trump administration mishandling the response to the pandemic.
The Democratic nominee said in a Delaware speech that Mr. Trump was patting himself on the back as America faces some of its sternest challenges ever.
“It’s time for him to step out of his own bunker, take a look around at the consequences,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Trump on Friday defended his handling of the pandemic, contending that more than 1 million Americans would have died had he not acted. More than 108,000 people are confirmed to have lost their lives due to the coronavirus, according to a count from Johns Hopkins University.
Now, though, Mr. Trump said states and cities should be lifting remaining restrictions. “I don’t know why they continue to lock down,” he said of some jurisdictions that have maintained closings.