WASHINGTON (Kayhan Intl.) -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus took an even sharper political turn on Tuesday after he seized upon the crisis in a controversial move to suspend immigration, and as he planned to meet with the governor of New York, the hardest hit state.
Trump is also seizing the moment to launch a sweeping effort to repeal or suspend federal business regulations in a separate executive action, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed people familiar with the planning.
The developments came as Trump planned to meet on Tuesday with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has clashed with the administration over its response to the crisis, emerging as a foil to the president with a calm and fact-based approach.
New York is at the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for nearly half of the deaths across the country, and has taken a cautious stance on reopening businesses and schools. On Monday, New York City said that concerts and other large events would be cancelled through June, a contrast with some southern states like Georgia and South Carolina which are taking steps this week to relax their lockdowns.
On Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Trump that he could "kiss his re-election goodbye” if he did not address the shortage of testing supplies and provide more federal assistance to cities and states with battered finances.
"These are the two things he has dropped the ball on,” de Blasio said on CNN, describing Trump’s comments on immigration as a diversion. "You are not going to have a restart and economic recovery if cities and states are back on their heels.”
Trump announced his move on immigration on Twitter late on Monday, suggesting it would prevent further contagion from outsiders while saving American jobs.
"In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” he said in a tweet.
Trump has for weeks asserted the U.S. outbreak would have been much worse had it not been for his earlier efforts to "ban” air travel from China - the origin of the pandemic - even though thousands of people, according to the New York Times, continued to arrive from China after restrictions took effect.
Congressional Democrats slammed Trump, arguing that his decision to suspend immigration to the United States does nothing to protect Americans from the coronavirus and deflects attention away from his handling of the outbreak.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., tweeted that Trump is the "xenophobe. In. chief.”
"This action is not only an attempt to divert attention away from Trump’s failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, but an authoritarian-like move to take advantage of a crisis and advance his anti-immigrant agenda. We must come together to reject his division,” tweeted Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Trump’s tweet came as the death toll in the U.S. from COVID-19 topped 42,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins’ Coronavirus Resource Center.
Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrats’ 2016 vice presidential nominee, called it a "pathetic attempt to shift blame from his Visible Incompetence to an Invisible Enemy.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, a possible vice presidential pick for Joe Biden in his 2020 White House race, said Trump has "failed to take this crisis seriously from day 1. His abandonment of his role as president has cost lives.”
"Tonight we have crossed 790,000 infections and 42,000 dead. This corrupt buffoon will try any poisonous distraction and blame anyone to deflect from his failures that are killing our fellow Americans,” tweeted Rep. Bill Pascrell.
A co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, tweeted that the president was "giving into racism & xenophobia.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, who played a key role in Trump’s impeachment, said in a pair of tweets that Trump is seeking to distract people from his "fumbled” response to the coronavirus and is showing himself as "small and ineffective.”
Trump’s announcement comes after he decided in January to restrict travel by foreigners from China and similarly decided in March to restrict all travel by foreigners from Europe.
Trump is also seizing the moment to launch a sweeping effort to repeal or suspend federal business regulations in a separate executive action, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed people familiar with the planning.
The developments came as Trump planned to meet on Tuesday with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has clashed with the administration over its response to the crisis, emerging as a foil to the president with a calm and fact-based approach.
New York is at the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for nearly half of the deaths across the country, and has taken a cautious stance on reopening businesses and schools. On Monday, New York City said that concerts and other large events would be cancelled through June, a contrast with some southern states like Georgia and South Carolina which are taking steps this week to relax their lockdowns.
On Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Trump that he could "kiss his re-election goodbye” if he did not address the shortage of testing supplies and provide more federal assistance to cities and states with battered finances.
"These are the two things he has dropped the ball on,” de Blasio said on CNN, describing Trump’s comments on immigration as a diversion. "You are not going to have a restart and economic recovery if cities and states are back on their heels.”
Trump announced his move on immigration on Twitter late on Monday, suggesting it would prevent further contagion from outsiders while saving American jobs.
"In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” he said in a tweet.
Trump has for weeks asserted the U.S. outbreak would have been much worse had it not been for his earlier efforts to "ban” air travel from China - the origin of the pandemic - even though thousands of people, according to the New York Times, continued to arrive from China after restrictions took effect.
Congressional Democrats slammed Trump, arguing that his decision to suspend immigration to the United States does nothing to protect Americans from the coronavirus and deflects attention away from his handling of the outbreak.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., tweeted that Trump is the "xenophobe. In. chief.”
"This action is not only an attempt to divert attention away from Trump’s failure to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, but an authoritarian-like move to take advantage of a crisis and advance his anti-immigrant agenda. We must come together to reject his division,” tweeted Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Trump’s tweet came as the death toll in the U.S. from COVID-19 topped 42,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins’ Coronavirus Resource Center.
Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrats’ 2016 vice presidential nominee, called it a "pathetic attempt to shift blame from his Visible Incompetence to an Invisible Enemy.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, a possible vice presidential pick for Joe Biden in his 2020 White House race, said Trump has "failed to take this crisis seriously from day 1. His abandonment of his role as president has cost lives.”
"Tonight we have crossed 790,000 infections and 42,000 dead. This corrupt buffoon will try any poisonous distraction and blame anyone to deflect from his failures that are killing our fellow Americans,” tweeted Rep. Bill Pascrell.
A co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, tweeted that the president was "giving into racism & xenophobia.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, who played a key role in Trump’s impeachment, said in a pair of tweets that Trump is seeking to distract people from his "fumbled” response to the coronavirus and is showing himself as "small and ineffective.”
Trump’s announcement comes after he decided in January to restrict travel by foreigners from China and similarly decided in March to restrict all travel by foreigners from Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment