4 takeaways from Trump virtual town hall: more economic aid, defending gov’t response

Defending the federal response

At multiple points during the town hall, Trump defended his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that they have offered a great deal of help to the states.

Trump said that the federal government has already given states “a lot of assistance” and plans to provide more, claiming that “we would have lost a lot more people” if they acted differently.

He championed the work he has done with state governors, then calling his administration “the king of ventilators” and boasting of extensive testing for COVID-19.

“South Korea thinks we’ve done an incredible job,” added Trump. “President Moon, he said the job you’ve done on testing and the job we’ve done on ventilators … It is one of the greatest buildups we have had in this country, since certainly the Second World War.”

MacCallum pointed out that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently denounced the presidential response, arguing that the administration was failing to provide necessary supplies.

In response, Trump claimed that Whitmer did not bring these complaints up in a conference call with governors and chastised her, saying she “ought to get back to running her state properly.”

“She should have brought it up on the phone call,” he said. “I was on that phone call for an hour and a half. I stayed right until the end.”