Trump Spends First Half Of Coronavirus Briefing Discussing War On Drugs

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-coronavirus-drug-cartels_n_5e851871c5b6927805071358

President Donald Trump spent nearly an hour speaking about drug cartels and military efforts to rein in smuggling operations on Wednesday as many Americans are desperately worried about the spread of COVID-19, the illness killing thousands of people around the country.

“There’s a growing threat that cartels, criminals and other malign actors will try to exploit the crisis for their own gain,” the president declared from the White House during his daily briefing on the coronavirus. “We must not let the drug cartels exploit the pandemic to threaten American lives.”

The president did speak about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic during the last half of the briefing, regularly calling the virus a “scourge” and saying America was waging an “all-out war” to defeat it.

Those assurances came amid reports the federal stockpile of emergency medical supplies — masks, face shields, gowns and ventilators ― was nearly empty. Governors around the nation have been pleading for more protective equipment to supply hospitals already facing an onslaught of infected patients, but the New York, Illinois and California governors have said they’ve received far less than what they need.