Trump won’t extend virus guidelines
Measures end Thursday; president plans to travel
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be “really rocking again.”
Meanwhile, Trump said he plans to resume official travel with a trip to Arizona next week. And he said he’s hoping to hold mass campaign rallies in the coming months with thousands of supporters.
Trump delivered his daily upbeat update and Kushner described the administration’s response to the pandemic as “a great success story.”
Trump also talked up the good news the day provided: hopeful results for a possible COVID-19 treatment.
“We’re heartened that the worst of the pain and suffering is going to be behind us,” Trump said as he led a roundtable with executives from companies such as Hilton and Toyota.
Trump laid out a vision of a return to pre-coronavirus normalcy — “with or without” a vaccine — with packed restaurants and filled stadiums.
“I don’t want people to get used to this,” Trump told reporters. “I see the new normal being what it was three months ago.”
To underscore his confidence, Trump announced that he plans to resume out-of-state travel after spending more than a month mostly cooped up in the White House.
He said he’s planning a trip to Arizona next week, followed by a possible trip to Ohio, even as much of the country remains under effective lockdown with all but essential travel banned.
“We’re going to start to move around and hopefully in the nottoo-distant future, we’ll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other,” he said, adding that having people spaced out in accordance with social distancing guidelines “wouldn’t look too good.”
He didn’t say exactly when he envisioned such rallies returning, but said the timing would depend, in part, on the states, since some have had far fewer cases than others.
The federal government and most states have urged residents to avoid mass gatherings and to remain at least six feet apart.
The announcement came after Trump said he will not be extending the White House’s “30 Days to Slow the Spread” guidelines when they expire Thursday.
“They’ll be fading out because now the governors are doing it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he met with John Bel Edwards, the Democratic governor of Louisiana.