The US President’s Oval Office address on Wednesday night US time was supposed to reassure the American public that he and his administration are doing everything they can to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
But his speech seemed to ignore the fact that the virus is already in the US now – which has over 1,300 known cases.
Criticising the European Union for failing to “take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hotspots”, Trump announced the US will be banning travellers from Europe to the US for the next 30 days with exemptions for Americans, permanent residents and family of US citizens who have undergone screenings and, strangely, the UK – despite it having around 460 cases.
The President also stated that “these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval” – triggering global concern that he was suspending trade.
Trump quickly issued a statement on Twitter (pictured), but the damage was done.
On social media, many were concerned by the speech – and in some cases, downright disturbed.
David Litt, who wrote speeches for former President Barack Obama, posted: “As a former presidential speechwriter, my careful rhetorical analysis is that he’s gonna get us all killed.”
Given the US has a huge backlog in testing for the virus – with its own Health Chief unaware of how many people have been tested – he may not be far off.
