Amidst the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 130,000 victims – the highest by country — and more than 2,200 deaths, President Donald Trump declared himself as “wartime president” and vowed the U.S. will achieve “total victory” over the coronavirus (a.k.a. COVID-19) threat.
He sought $2.2 trillion stimulus bill, which Congress approved overwhelmingly. But as he basked in the passage of the biggest legislation in U.S. history, Trump went on a self-gratifying victory lap, calling his presidency as the most successful in the nation’s history in economic terms. Yes, he began seeing his re-election prospect becoming a reality.
But this is not a reality show. It’s a matter of life and death to thousands – nay, millions – of Americans. And the new numbers of casualty are staggering. Within two days of signing the stimulus package, the death rate increased 100% from 1,000 to over 2,000 Americans.
But prior to his declaration of war against the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump was seemingly lost on how to proceed in the war against the virus. He was at times unsure of what to do next. Short of admitting the failure of his administration in addressing the critical issues in an attempt to downplay the seriousness of the problem, he said that there was no need to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would empower him to direct civilian businesses to help meet orders for products necessary for national emergency such as ventilators, which is in short supply.
But as the numbers of victims and deaths increased exponentially, he finally admitted that the country is faced with the greatest threat to its national security and economy. The stock markets are in free fall and unemployment rising to 3.3 million Americans. Businesses are going out of business.
Deadly denial
However, as soon as the stimulus package was passed, Trump’s tone changed from passivity and inaction to hawkish aggressiveness. “It’s a war,” he said. He enjoined the American people to join the fight. “We must sacrifice together, because we are all in this together, and we will come through together. It’s the invisible enemy. That’s always the toughest enemy,” he said.
But his actions speak louder than his words. He continues to vacillate and wobble as the stock market becomes volatile and poll numbers dip as unemployment claims increase. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told the CNN, “The president’s denial at the beginning was deadly. His delay in getting equipment to where it’s needed is deadly. As the president fiddles, people are dying.”
Trump had to do something to arrest the downward slide of his popularity … and save his presidency. He opened another front in the war on coronavirus – he attacked the media and his critics.
He called Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee a “snake” because Inslee was not being “appreciative” of his coronavirus efforts. During a White House briefing, Trump directed Vice President Mike Pence not to call him.
He then went on to target Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “Don’t call the woman in Michigan,” he instructed Pence. What did Whitmer do to deserve an attack from Trump? Well, she criticized the federal government, saying: “We’re still not getting what we need from the federal government.” That ticked off Trump who later called her in a tweet, “Gretchen ‘Half’ Whitmer,” and said she is “way in over her head” and “doesn’t have a clue.”
The third governor Trump crossed swords with was Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. In response to Trump’s talk about the possibility of a federal quarantine in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut because of the massive spread of coronavirus, Cuomo said, “A federal quarantine would be a declaration of war.” Later that day, Trump retracted. “I don’t think the President is looking to start a lot of wars with a lot of states,” Cuomo said. Finally, Trump found his match in Cuomo.
Trump, who had been grappling with the notion of opening the U.S. again for “business as usual,” toyed with lifting travel restrictions, lockdowns, and school closures, and others by Easter, which falls on April 12. During a White House briefing, Trump said: “We cannot have the cure be worse than the problem itself.” That caused immediate reaction from the press as well as public officials and health experts, who made it clear that unless Americans continue to dramatically limit social interaction — staying home from work and isolating themselves — the number of infections will overwhelm the health care system.
Since then the numbers have increased exponentially, so any attempt by Trump to reopen the U.S. for business would be dangerously deadly. Although he seemed to have toned down his plan lately, he is still open to the idea of reopening the U.S. for business. He claimed that, if closures stretch on for months, there would be “probably more death from that than anything that we’re talking about with respect to the virus.” Now, he has interjected FEAR into the calculus.
Political storm
Meanwhile, a political storm is gathering on the horizon after Trump signed the stimulus package into law. Trump said that he will not adhere to a portion of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, a relief package aimed at mitigating some of the economic fallout caused by efforts to allay the spread of COVID-19. CARES would authorize an inspector general to oversee how $500 billion in business loans will be spent, which many Democrats call a “slash fund” for Trump’s business allies.
CARES also establishes a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) within the Treasury Department to audit and investigate half a trillion dollars in loans for large businesses.
In his signing statement, Trump raised the issue of “constitutional concerns,” and said his administration would not comply with such an official’s request for documents.
“I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the SIGPR to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision required by the Take Care Clause,” which is part of Article II Section 3 of the Constitution that states a sitting president “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” This seems to suggest that it is the president’s duty and not that of an SIGPR to ensure the funds are distributed as the law intends.
The SIGPR would then be able to request information from government agencies and report on failures to comply with those information requests. Trump has essentially stated that he will not let such reports reach Congress without his approval, which many fear would directly undermine the provision’s goal of maintaining transparency in how that fund is handled.
Slush Fund
Democrats contended that this “slush fund” would give Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin broad authority in disbursing the money as he saw fit. The SIGPR provision was intended as an accountability effort to alert Congress if the Trump administration was complying with auditing measures. It was also meant to ensure that Trump and his family did not directly benefit from the emergency funds through their businesses.
It is anticipated that the SIGPR provision will be challenged in court, which could delay the implementation of the $500-billion “slush fund.” Needless to say, Trump and his family would like to avail of a portion of the “slush fund,” which could total at least $3 billion to cover the losses of the seven Trump hotels, five of which have closed — his resorts in Las Vegas, Miami, Ireland, and Turnberry, Scotland. His hotels in Washington and New York are still open but a lot of employees have been laid off.
While Trump is currently at war with the media, public officials, and his many critics on the coronavirus pandemic, he’s on the warpath on his attempt to get money from the CARES “slush fund” to recover his losses in the hotel and resort businesses. But time is of the essence. With only 10 months left in his presidency, he might run out of time to get it through the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court. And by the time it reaches the Supreme Court, his presidency would be over unless he wins in his re-election bid.
