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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump, still being treated for COVID-19, broke off talks with Democrats on Tuesday (Oct. 6) about an economic aid package for his pandemic-stricken country and received reprimands from Facebook and Twitter for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.
His tweet that ended talks for a new round of stimulus spooked Wall Street, causing stocks to slide as much as 2% from their session highs, a serious blow to one of the metrics the Republican president has presented. as a sign of success.
Trump’s action drew immediate criticism from Congressional Democrats and at least one Republican, who said more was needed to help the millions who have lost their jobs in a health crisis that has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
After days of mixed messages from doctors and assistants about his condition, the 74-year-old Trump proved he still had what it takes to launch his signature tweets while being treated with powerful drugs, including steroids.
Trump returned to the White House on Monday after three nights in the hospital. Officials said he was working in a makeshift office space in the residence rather than the Oval Office, and that only a few high-level staff had face-to-face access.
Support for his Democratic rival Joe Biden has grown by about four percentage points since mid-September, according to a Reuters / Ipsos poll from Oct. 2-6, with 52 percent of likely voters backing Biden compared to 40 percent Trump.
In his first major political pronouncement since returning to the White House, Trump abruptly suspended negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on coronavirus relief legislation until after the election, even as cases of the virus are on the rise across much of the country.
READ: COVID-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of the year: WHO’s Tedros
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major stimulus bill that focuses on working Americans and small businesses,” Trump wrote on Twitter .
‘SHOWED ITS TRUE COLORS’
“Today, once again, President Trump showed his true colors: putting himself first at the expense of the country,” said House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding that “the White House is in complete chaos. “.
In a call with her fellow Democrats, Pelosi suggested that Trump’s trial had been affected by one of the drugs he was taking, the steroid dexamethasone, which is typically used in the most severe cases of COVID-19.
“There are people who thought, who think that steroids have an impact on their thinking,” Pelosi said, according to a person who had been on the call.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has tried to get Democrats and Republicans to prepare a new stimulus package. (Photo: AFP / Alex Wong)
Trump’s doctor said Tuesday that the president reported no symptoms of COVID-19 and was “extremely well.”
Republican Rep. John Katko also criticized the decision to interrupt the talks.
“With lives at stake, we cannot afford to stop negotiations on an aid package,” Katko said on Twitter. “I strongly urge the president to reconsider this measure.”
The House bipartisan problem-solving caucus issued a statement condemning the end of the talks.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said he agreed with Trump’s decision and told reporters that “his opinion was that they were not going to produce a result and we should focus on what will happen. can achieve “.
Democrats’ chances of winning a Senate majority increased in recent days when three nonpartisan U.S. election analysts added Lindsey Graham’s seat to the list of now ten Senate seats, which includes eight potentially vulnerable Republicans and two Democrats. vulnerable.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in that chamber.
READ: Rich world could be close to normal by the end of 2021 if COVID-19 vaccine works: Bill Gates
McConnell aims to stay focused on moving forward with the confirmation of Trump’s third Supreme Court candidate, Amy Coney Barrett, who would cement a 6-3 conservative majority.
That nomination gave Trump and his fellow Republicans an opportunity to divert the focus from the presidential coronavirus campaign, before Trump’s illness.
DOWNPLAYS RISK
Trump tested positive for coronavirus last week after months of downplaying the deadly infection, and he kept that message on Tuesday.
“Many people every year, sometimes more than 100,000, and despite the vaccine, die of the flu. Are we going to close our country? No, we have learned to live with it, just as we are learning to live with Covid, in the most stocks are much less lethal !!! “Trump wrote on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter responded by placing a warning tag on the post, saying it contained potentially misleading information. Facebook removed Trump’s post for violating its rules on COVID-19 misinformation, according to CNN.
Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said the threat from COVID-19 was “very, very different” from the scope of influenza.
The United States has the highest death toll in the world from the pandemic, with more than 210,000 deaths. By comparison, influenza generally kills between 22,000 and 64,000 people a year in the United States, US government statistics show.
READ: Six US States Report Record COVID Hospitalizations, New Restrictions In Effect
Trump had no public events listed for Tuesday and it was unclear when he would resume a full schedule of campaign and presidential duties before Election Day, Nov. 3. He hasn’t been seen in public since Monday night, but tweeted that he was looking forward to it. a second debate scheduled with Democratic election opponent Joe Biden on October 15.
Many Trump aides and confidants have been diagnosed with the disease since he revealed Friday that he had tested positive, intensifying scrutiny and criticism of the administration’s handling of the pandemic.
Top US military leaders are isolating themselves after Coast Guard No. 2 tested positive for the coronavirus, Pentagon officials said.
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