Trump admits coronavirus is looking 'very bad,' economy may be headed toward recession

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump is starting to sound worried about the coronavirus.

During a White House press briefing on the pandemic, the president — who has faced criticism over what many believe to be his casual response to COVID-19said "this is a very bad one" because of its "sort of record-setting type contagion," and he's even discussed the severity of it with one of his sons.

He also sounded more pessimistic about the economy than usual, acknowledging that "it may be" heading toward a recession.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trump also addressed a few other key questions during the briefing — such as why the House coronavirus bill exempts companies with 500 employees or more from the paid sick leave requirement, to which he replied the Senate may address changing that when they vote on the bill.

He also said he expects restrictions on daily life, like the government's recommendation people limit gatherings to no more than 10 people, to be the "new normal" until July or August or even later, but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stepped in to provide a little clarity that those specific guidelines will be reviewed after a 15 day trial. The July or August timeframe, he said, applies to the effects the virus may have on Americans more generally.

Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.