Trump caught on hot mic whining about ink stain on his shirt moments before coronavirus speech: 'I got a pen mark'
On the night of March 11, President Donald Trump addressed the nation over the growing threat of novel coronavirus. Though he went live to address something as serious as COVID-19, the situation got a bit embarrassing as a live microphone captured POTUS’ unscripted comments. He was caught swearing on the live mic.
The conference was live-streamed on C-SPAN attracting millions of viewers and whoever tuned in early to listen to Trump, they surely caught him losing his cool while being live on the mic. It seemed that the team handling the online stream turned on Trump’s microphone before the video went live and the President was found checking out his appearance before being broadcast to the country. He can be heard saying: “Oh, f***! Uh oh, I got a pen mark. Anybody have the white stuff … Do you see it? Which side is it on?”
Just after Trump finished his speech, the C-SPAN camera — that was still rolling — captured him sitting quietly before he let out a long “OK” and exhalation as the camera zoomed out to show his staff waiting at the sides of the frame to remove the microphone from inside his blazer.
Trump held the press conference at the Oval Office, where he announced a 30-day travel ban to and from Europe. During the announcement, he also said that he would ask Congress to offer payroll tax relief and waivers for small businesses in the wake of the pandemic.
During the address, he mentioned cargo would be banned. However, he took to Twitter to clarify that he was only restricting travel and not trans-Atlantic trade. The banning also only applies to countries belonging to the 26-member Schengen passport-free zone, which does not include Britain and Ireland.
However, the POTUS’ address has been criticized widely. Though he said that the ban would come into effect on March 13 'midnight', he did not mention how it would be implemented given the different time zones across the nation. Also, it was not clear which routes Americans would be allowed to use to return home and whether travelers returning from Europe would face screening or quarantine.