Listen to this article

Donald Trump has predicted the US economy will pop again soon if Americans take steps to stifle the disease and win this war. His comments came midst warnings from experts about a huge loss in jobs during the Covid-19 outburst. Trump said during a White House briefing, he said, “It’s going to pop. One day, we’re going to be standing up here, saying, we won. I think we’re going to win faster than people think, I hope”. The president added a caveat as the number of US cases has crossed 5,000. Trump stopped short of asking Americans to avoid hoarding food and critical supplies, but he said his team is trying to get people to buy less. He said, “Don’t take everything, just buy what you need”.

Trump sidestepped for the first time in his term, when asked the U.S economy, he previously has described as a reason he deserves a second term. He said, “We are looking to save the maximum number of lives. Everything else is going to come back. A life is not going to come back”. A senior State Department official, Deborah Brix is helping direct the federal response. He has confirmed less than 60,000 Americans have been tested. Brix also called on Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to finish work on a 2^nd virus aid package. He stressed to move quickly on an economic stimulus bill he is proposing worth $850 billion, including a pay roll tax cut for hourly workers and help for the U.S airline industry.

Point to be noted that the U.S Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has announced the emerging massive stimulus package couldn’t include a payroll tax holiday. All sides are looking for a provision to send checks to Americans soon. It is noteworthy the payroll cut would bring money to them months down the road. Both Mnuchin and Trump made clear the idea needs the sign off of members of both political parties. Mnuchin said this is worse than 9/11 for the U.S airline industry. He added the White House needs to push a package through both chambers rapidly and there is no plan to close the U.S markets.