March 2020 Oval Office Address

The March 2020 Oval Office Address, officially titled On the Coronavirus Pandemic, was the second Oval Office address delivered during the presidency of Donald Trump. It was released during the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 stock market crash.[1]

On the Coronavirus Pandemic
DateMarch 11, 2020 (2020-03-11)
Duration~10 minutes
VenueOval Office, White House
LocationWashington, D.C., United States
Coordinates38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W
ThemeCOVID-19 pandemic

Background

COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019.

2020 stock market crash

Black Monday was a global stock market crash on March 9, 2020 that occurred during the 2020 stock market crash.

Response from the Presidency of the United States

United States President Donald Trump initially reacted mildly to the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to minimize public panic. Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the White House Coronavirus Task Force, urged Trump to deliver a more serious public statement about the pandemic. Eventually a speech was drafted for Trump with the assistance of Stephen Miller, his chief speechwriter, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law. To make time for the delivery of the address, Trump cancelled a scheduled private dinner at Pence's residence and Pence cancelled a press conference with the White House Coronavirus Task Force.[2]

Contents

President Trump announced that most travel from Europe to the United States would be suspended for a period of 30 days.[3] The speech lasted about 10 minutes.[2]

Initial confusion and technical difficulties

Multiple typos within the speech led to temporary widespread confusion.[4]

Many Americans in Europe, thinking that they would be abruptly cut off from travelling to the United States, purchased airline tickets for significant sums of money.[5]

Trump later released a statement on Twitter saying: "… Very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods."[4]

Reception

Reception to the speech was generally negative.[5] The American Conservative writer Daniel Larison described the speech as going over "like a lead balloon."[5] Trump received substantial criticism over his choice of wording in the speech, which seemed to imply a total ban on trade with Europe was being implemented,[6][7] as well as making the speech without first consulting with EU leaders.[8] Trump's speech did not have a positive effect on the stock market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures trading 600 points lower as he was concluding his speech, though this was partly influenced by other factors.[9] Trump also drew criticism for perceived racist and nativist themes present within his speech.[10]

Several commentators and analysts, albeit almost exclusively those strongly affiliated with the right-wing, viewed the speech in a more positive manner.[11] Generally, those with more positive viewpoints of Trump's speech focused on the themes of victory included within it.[12]

See also

References
  1. Orr, Gabby. "Trump ratchets up coronavirus battle with European travel ban". Politico.
  2. Karni, Annie; Haberman, Maggie (March 12, 2020). "In Rare Oval Office Speech, Trump Voices New Concerns and Old Themes". The New York Times.
  3. Orr, Gabby (March 11, 2020). "Trump ratchets up coronavirus battle with European travel ban". Politico. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. Lipson, David (March 12, 2020). "Donald Trump's address was meant to lay out US plans to tackle coronavirus. Instead it sparked confusion". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  5. Larison, Daniel (March 12, 2020). "Trump's Botched Coronavirus Speech". The American Conservative. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  6. Mackey, Robert (March 12, 2020). "Trump Mistakenly Announces Ban on All Travel and Imports From Europe, Then Backtracks". The Intercept. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  7. Sandler, Rachel (March 11, 2020). "Trump Announces Broad Travel Ban On Europe—But Restrictions Target 'Foreign Nationals'". Forbes. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  8. Chappell, Bill (March 12, 2020). "Coronavirus: Chaos Follows Trump's European Travel Ban; EU Says It Wasn't Warned". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  9. Wilkie, Christina (March 11, 2020). "Trump suspends travel from Europe for 30 days as part of response to 'foreign' coronavirus". NBC News. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  10. LeBlanc, Paul (March 12, 2020). "Trump calls coronavirus a 'foreign virus' in Oval Office address". CNN. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  11. Lowry, Rich (March 11, 2020). "Trump Strikes the Right Tone". National Review. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  12. Goodwin, Michael (March 12, 2020). "Trump passes coronavirus test with flying colors: Goodwin". New York Post. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
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