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AP President Donald Trump held discussions Monday with his fellow Group of Seven member leaders and U.S. governors, pledging to work together on a coronavirus response but also asking for individual steps to be taken.
President Donald Trump held separate discussions Monday with his fellow Group of Seven member leaders and U.S. governors, pledging to work together on a coronavirus response but also asking for individual steps to be taken.
A joint G7 statement said leaders would use all fiscal and monetary-policy tools to support workers and companies most affected by the pandemic. The leaders said their countries would cooperate on developing a vaccine for the deadly virus.
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Trump told the governors during the conference call, according to the New York Times. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself,” Trump said.
Larry Kudlow, the top White House economist, told reporters Trump was “very calm” about the stock market after the president held the G7 call. Sunday, Trump praised the Federal Reserve after it moved to cut a key interest rate to near zero and buy billions of dollars in bonds.
On Monday, however, stocks dropped further, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -9.29% plummeting 9% as state governments ordered closures of businesses including restaurants and limited the sizes of gatherings.
