President Donald Trump spent Monday morning in a tweet storm of self-praise from his home of Mar-a-Lago before he headed to fundraisers for his re-election campaign.
His online onslaught came as global markets tanked and members of Congress self-quarantined amid concern of being exposed to the coronavirus.
A new oil war sparked by fears of the disease sent markets in disarray as investors signaled their alarm about economic damage expected from the virus. In the U.S. The S&P 500 and the Dow fell more than 7 percent at the start of trading.
The Coronavirus situation has left Trump dealing with an enemy he can’t break with a tweet, a chant at a campaign rally, a mocking name or a military raid.
President Trump gives a thumbs up through the window Monday morning as his motorcade heads to the West Palm Beach airport. The president will raise money in Orlando for his re-election campaign
The president’s motorcade as it leaves Mar-a-Lago Monday morning for the airport. The president has spent the weekend at his Palm Beach resort while fears of coronavirus disrupting the global economy grow
President Donald Trump spent Monday morning in a tweet storm fury from his home of Mar-a-Lago; he’s seen Saturday night with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago
The president spent Monday morning in an online Twitter fury
And the president signaled his frustration and fury with his Monday morning Tweet fest where he veered between blaming the media stoking flames of fear about the coronavirus and weighing in on the Democratic presidential nomination process.
Trump will spend the afternoon in Orlando at a pair of closed-door fundraisers after spending the weekend holding multiple fundraising events at his Mar-a-Lago estate and playing golf with members of the World Series Champion Washington Nationals. He also held a dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night.
The president’s re-election campaign said he is expected to raise around $10 million this weekend.
Trump shot off 10 tweets before 9:30 a.m. ahead of his departure from Mar-a-Lago.
‘The Fake News Media and their partner, the Democrat Party, is doing everything within its semi-considerable power (it used to be greater!) to inflame the CoronaVirus situation, far beyond what the facts would warrant. Surgeon General, “The risk is low to the average American,”‘ he wrote.
Trump’s administration has been criticized for its response to the epidemic, particularly over the lack of kits to test for the disease.
There have been 22 deaths in the United States from the disease and the number of infected have reached over 500.
Trump defended his administration’s work.
‘Great job being done by the @vp and the CoronaVirus Task Force. Thank you!,’ he wrote.
‘The BEST decision made was the toughest of them all – which saved many lives. Our VERY early decision to stop travel to and from certain parts of the world!,’ he added.
Meanwhile, two members of Congress announced they are self-quarantining after coming into contact with a person at CPAC who later tested positive for coronavirus.
Texas Republican Ted Cruz said he shook hands with the infected man and has put himself into 14-day quarantine.
‘Last night, I was informed that 10 days ago at CPAC I briefly interacted with an individual who is currently symptomatic and has tested positive for COVID-19,’ Cruz said in a statement Sunday. ‘That interaction consisted of a brief conversation and a handshake.’
President Trump golfed with several members of the World Series Champion Washington Nationals on Sunday
President Trump autographs a hat for Washington Nationals player Patrick Corbin
Ted Cruz said Sunday he is self-quarantingin because he ‘briefly interacted with an individual who is currently symptomatic and has tested positive for COVID-19’ at CPAC. Cruz is pictured February 28 at that conference
Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar joined Cruz by self-quarantining.
‘I am announcing that I, along with three of my senior staff, are officially under self-quarantine after sustained contact at CPAC with a person who has since been hospitalized with the Wuhan Virus,’ he said.
Trump was also at CPAC but the White House said he did not have direct contact with the person infected.
The president on Saturday down played concerns the disease was making its way closer to the White House.
‘No, I’m not concerned at all,’ he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.
The president also complained about the Democratic presidential primary, renewing his charge that Elizabeth Warren hurt Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday by staying in the race as long as she did, and reissuing his warning the party was trying to deny Sanders the nomination.
‘Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren singlehandedly destroyed the Bernie Sanders campaign by stripping voters away from his count on Super T. He lost states that he easily would have won if she had dropped out 3 days earlier. The DNC is doing it to Bernie again! Will he ever get angry?,’ he wrote.
And he also brought up Chuck Schumer’s warning to Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh that they would pay a price for their abortion rulings, a move that earned the senator a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.
‘Cryin’ Chuck Schumer said, “You will pay the price for this. You won’t know what HIT YOU.” That is far beyond simple rhetoric. That is a physical threat, or at least a threat that you better vote for us.”‘
Trump ended that tweet with the warning: ‘Trouble ahead!’