Trump glad to be a 'wartime president' amid coronavirus crisis despite spending billions to enter White House
President Donald Trump, on Sunday, said that he is glad to be the president of the country during the coronavirus crisis, despite it costing him billions of dollars to enter the White House. Trump, during a press briefing on the pandemic, was asked if he had sold stocks during the ongoing crisis.
"No, I don’t have stock," Trump replied. "I own things," adding that he did "not even think about" alternating any investments. The Republican also branded the question asked by the reporter as "nasty," and noted that it cost him billions of dollars to run for the White House and he is really happy with the job he is doing.
"It cost me billions of dollars to be president, and I am so happy I did it because who cares?" he said. "I am really happy with the job that we’re doing, and I’m really glad that this team and me are here.”
Trump, during the briefing, also recalled attending a charity event for the Robin Hood Foundation after announcing his run for the presidency, where he was booed by many after his arrival. The Republican said that his wife, Melania, recalled that she had never heard him being booed before the incident. The Republican suggested that after he became the president, multiple people began filing lawsuits against him, which cost him a lot of money.
"Everybody is suing me … I’m being sued all over the place," Trump told the reporters. “And doing very well, but it’s unfair." He continued, saying that it was difficult for a wealthy person to run for the American presidency.
“I think it’s very hard for rich people to run for office," he said. "It’s far more costly; it’s just a very tough thing. With all of that being said, I’m so glad I did it." Trump then pointed out that he is assisting the country as president at a time when coronavirus is spreading at a rapid rate, equating the battle against the virus to a war.
"I’m a wartime president,” Trump said. “This is a war, it’s a different kind of war that we’ve ever had."
Leaders in the US, at the moment, are debating how and when the armed forces and its reserves would be allowed to exercise "emergency authority," particularly if violence breaks out across the country due to food shortages, financial troubles, and other chaos caused by widespread infections.
Trump, last week, declared New York State as a major disaster area, while NYC mayor Bill de Blasio declared the city as the epicenter of the US outbreak. The US military will now be called in the city with the US Army Corps of Engineers saying that they plan to take over hotels, sports arenas, college dorms, and other buildings in an attempt to bolster the number of available hospital rooms.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken over 400 lives and has infected over 35,000 people in the United States within days, with most cases being reported in New York. The deadly viral infection, Covid-19, has claimed over 14,000 lives across the world, with a total infection of over 340,000 cases and increasing.