Watch the President’s address under “Resources” below.

1. President Trump said, “From the beginning of time, nations and people have faced unforeseen challenges, including large-scale and very dangerous health threats…” What is important in situations like this, according to the president?

2. a) What early actions did the president take at the start of the coronavirus outbreak?
b) What was the result?

3. What inaction on the part of Europe’s leaders caused a large number of new clusters of coronavirus in the U.S. to be spread from travelers from Europe?

4. The president “decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well-being of all Americans” “after consulting with our top government health professionals.”

Bloomberg news reports these officials include Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, Director of the CDC Robert Redfield, Dr. Deborah Birx, who is an AIDS expert and the coronavirus response coordinator in the White House, as well as other experts on the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force.

What unprecedented step regarding travel did the president take after consulting with these experts?

5. What did health insurance industry leaders agree to do after meeting with the president this week?

6. Define red tape. - What step is the Trump administration taking in this regard?

7. What will the funding bill passed by Congress and signed by Trump do?

8. What unprecedented emergency action will the president take and ask Congress to take to help working Americans impacted by the virus? Who will this help specifically?

9. What action is the president taking to help small businesses (which will also help American workers)?

10. The purpose of the President’s speech was to inform the American people:

• of steps the government has taken so far and the results they have had
• of the actions the government is taking to try to curb the spread of the virus
• of the help he is providing for those affected
• to try to reassure people that we can get through this serious crisis

The president said throughout history there have been widespread health threats like this, but he was “confident…we will defeat this virus” and spoke of the U.S. health experts as “the best anywhere in the world.”

He said, “this is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world.” He also exhorted the nation, “We are all in this together.  We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family.”

Many in the media have criticized the president’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, as have Democratic lawmakers.

What do you think of the president’s address, and the actions being taken to combat the coronavirus?