Trump declares the United States will 'soon be open for business'
President Trump on Monday evening said while the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is "going to be bad," his administration is "trying to make it much less bad" and the United States "cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself."
Businesses deemed non-essential are closed across the country, leading to increased unemployment numbers, and that can't continue, Trump said. "Our country was not built to be shut down," he declared. "This is not a country that was built for this. It was not built to be shut down."
The United States will "soon be open for business, very soon, a lot sooner than the three or four months that somebody was suggesting," Trump continued. He called COVID-19 the "invisible enemy," and later warned that if the economy doesn't rebound, more people will die. "People get tremendous anxiety and depression and you have suicide over things like this, when you have a terrible economy you have death, definitely would be in far greater numbers than we're talking about with regard to the virus. We have a double obligation."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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 for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why are global stock markets plunging?
Today's Big Question Europe, Asia and Wall Street have all suffered big falls after US economy data spooked investors
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why are dollar stores a microcosm for America's shrinkflation problem?
Today's Big Question Recent reports have tapped dollar stores as the top offenders of shrinkflation — even beyond grocery stores
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published