I told Barron it’s BAD but we can be a ‘best case scenario’ says Donald Trump

President Donald Trump invoked his 13-year-old son at the White House Monday and spoke in sober tones about the threat and disruption posed by the coronavirus.   

‘I’ve spoken actually with my son, he says, ‘How bad is this?” Trump told reporters as he released new government recommendations that people stay home when possible, avoid large gatherings, and avoid restaurants and bars.

‘It’s bad, it’s bad,’ Trump said he told his son. ‘But we’re going to be hopefully, a best case, not a worst case, and that’s what we’re working for,’ he said.

Public schools in the District of Columbia and Maryland are closed due to the outbreak, as is the private school in Maryland that Barron attends. 

The comments were part of a sober press briefing where Trump released expansive recommendations that Americans limit social activity, avoided some of his typical swipes at political opponents, and faced questions about a 3,000 point drop in the Dow.

Just a day earlier Trump said the virus is ‘something we have tremendous control of.’ He said February 28th one coronavirus ‘like a miracle, it will disappear.’ A day later he said it ‘will go away.’

‘How bad is this?’ President Trump said his son Barron asked him

Trump’s comments come as parents across the country must contend with school closures

Barron’s school has closed as have others in D.C. and Maryland. Here Trump is seen together with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump, arrive at the White House, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Washington from a weekend trip at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

He said Monday he was focusing on the virus, and although he said the U.S. ‘may be’ in a recession, predicted the economy would improve once the situation rebounded. 

‘This is a bad one. This is a very bad one,’ said Trump.

‘This is bad in that it’s so contagious … t’s sort of a record-setting type contagion.’

‘My focus is really on getting rid of this problem. This virus problem. Once we do that, everything else is going to fall into place,’ he said. 

Trump spoke as he released a plan to try to reduce the spread of the disease over the next 15 days. 

The two-page list, called ’15 Days to Slow the Spread,’ advises avoiding ‘eating or drinking in bars, restaurants, and food courts – use drive through, pickup, and delivery options.’

It also calls on governors that have states with ‘evidence of community transmission’ to close schools in the affected areas.’ And it asks those states to address childcare issues as well as nutritional needs of children who use schools for their meals. 

‘Each and every one of us has a critical role to play in stopping the spread,’ Trump said.