The White House scrambles to clarify key details from Trump's speech announcing his coronavirus response

Grace Panetta

  • The Trump administration and other officials scrambled to walk back three crucial components of President Donald Trump's nationally-televised address on the US' response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

  • After Trump announced a 30-day ban on travel from most of Europe to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security clarified that it would exclude US citizens and permanent residents.

  • Trump also issued a tweet stating that trade of goods between the US and Europe would not be halted after saying the exact opposite in his speech, when he said the ban "will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo but various other things."

  • A major US health insurance industry group contradicted Trumps' claim that major health insurers would waive co-payments on coronavirus treatments, clarifying the waivers would apply to testing.

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Minutes after President Donald Trump delivered a major address on the administration's response to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, his own administration and other US officials publicly contradicted three important claims from his speech.

Trump and the officials quickly walked back his nationally-televised statements that 1) the administration would ban all travel from Europe to the United States, 2) the ban would also apply to trade and cargo between the US and Europe, and 3) major health insurers would waive co-pays on coronavirus treatment.

The outbreak of the new coronavirus, first identified in China, has now spread to 118 countries and regions, infecting an estimated 126,000 people and causing over 4,600 deaths reported worldwide. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic.

There are now over 1,300 reported cases and 38 deaths from the coronavirus reported in the United States. Teh cases are spread throughout Washington, DC and 38 states, many of which have declared a state of emergency.

The US has been relatively slow to respond to the coronavirus compared to other nations, testing far fewer people per capita for the coronavirus and dispatching fewer coordinated resources to combat its spread as President Donald Trump has publicly downplayed its severity.

Here are the important claims about the US' coronavirus response from Trump's speech that were later clarified or walked back:

The Department of Homeland Security issued a major clarification to Trump's travel ban announcement

In his speech, Trump announced that the United States would take the drastic step of banning all travel from most of Europe (excluding the United Kingdom) for 30 days in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus from abroad.

What Trump said:

"I have decided to take several strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well-being of all Americans to keep new cases from entering our shores. We will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight. These restrictions will be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground. There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings, and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing. These restrictions will also not apply to the United Kingdom."

Shortly after Trump's speech, however, the Department of Homeland Security issued major clarifications to Trump's remarks, announcing that the travel ban will not apply to United States citizens or permanent residents currently abroad.

Trump himself walked back his remarks on halting trade moments after his speech

About an hour after his speech ended, Trump sent out a tweet announcing that "trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe," a significant departure from what Trump said in his own speech.

It's unclear if the incorrect details about the trade halt were written into the speech, or if Trump misread his teleprompter and misspoke.

A powerful insurance lobby contradicted Trump's comments on insurance waivers

In his speech, Trump made another major announcement, telling Americans that major health insurers would not only cover the costs of coronavirus treatment in insurance plans but also waive co-payments for all coronavirus treatments.

What Trump said:

"Earlier this week, I met with the leaders of health insurance industry who have agreed to waive all co-payments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to these treatments and to prevent surprise medical billing."

Not long after his speech, however, a representative for insurance industry group America's Health Insurance Plans told Politico that major health insurers had only agreed to waive co-pays for coronavirus testing, not the far more costly coronavirus treatments.

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