President Donald Trump told the nation on Monday that he looked forward to a “big celebration” when the fight against the coronavirus outbreak ended in victory — even if it took until July, or August, or perhaps longer.
In a briefing at the White House on the administration’s latest steps — including 15-day guidelines advising people to restrict gatherings to no more than ten — the president said:
We’d much rather be ahead of the curve than behind it, and that’s what we are. Therefore, my administration is recommending that all Americans, including the young and healthy, work to engage in schooling from home when possible. Avoid gathering in groups of more than 10 people. Avoid discretionary travel. And avoid eating and drinking at bars, restaurants, and public food courts.
If everyone makes this change or these critical changes and sacrifices now, we will rally together as one nation and we will defeat the virus. And we’re going to have a big celebration all together.
The president also announced promising news in the development of a vaccine against coronavirus:
With several weeks of focused action, we can turn the corner and turn it quickly. A lot of progress has been made. I’m also pleased to report today that a vaccine candidate has begun the phase one clinical trial. This is one of the fastest vaccine development launches in history. Not even close. We’re also racing to develop antiviral therapies and other treatments. And we’ve had some promising results — early results, but promising — to reduce the severity and the duration of the synd- — of the symptoms.
As the nation hunkers down for the next several weeks — or months — without extensive contact with one another, the prospect of a celebration may become more enticing over time.
Last summer, President Trump held a celebration called “A Salute to America” on the National Mall on July 4. In it, he celebrated many of the nation’s heroes in past fights, from World War II to the civil rights struggle and beyond.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He earned an A.B. in Social Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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