Trump, CDC Seem to Have Different Takes on Coronavirus

On Tuesday, CDC officials warned of the likely inevitable spread of COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) in the US, and that "disruptions to everyday life may be severe." On Wednesday, President Trump took issue with the gravity of the situation, saying that the country is in "great shape"—and blaming two news networks and Democrats for overhyping the dangers, per the Hill. "Low Ratings Fake News MSDNC (Comcast) & @CNN are doing everything possible to make the Caronavirus look as bad as possible, including panicking markets, if possible," Trump tweeted, misspelling the name of the illness that's infected 80,000 or so people and killed nearly 3,000 worldwide. "Likewise their incompetent Do Nothing Democrat comrades are all talk, no action."

Trump added that he'll hold a press conference at the White House on Wednesday at 6pm ET, with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and "others" in attendance, to brief the nation on the matter. The president's reference to the "panicking markets" touched on an abysmal Monday in the stock world, which saw the biggest dip in the Dow in two years; Tuesday didn't fare well, either. As of Tuesday, there were 57 reported cases of COVID-19 in the US, per CNN. "We've ... enacted the first quarantine of this scale in the US, and are supporting the State Department and [Department of Health and Human Services] in repatriating citizens from high-risk areas," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters. (More coronavirus stories.)