President Donald Trump reversed course and said the White House coronavirus task force will continue to meet a day after saying he would wind it down.
Trump on Wednesday praised the task force for doing a “fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources.”
“The last four Governors teleconferences calls have been conclusively strong,” he tweeted. “Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN.”
He added that he may “add or subtract people” on the task force “as appropriate.”
Change came abruptly:
Trump’s comments came one day after Trump said the task force would be disbanded.
"I think we're looking at phase two and we're looking at other phases ... the task force has done a phenomenal job," he said. "Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job, but we're now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening. And we'll have a different group probably set up for that.”
Pence similarly said that there were conversations about the proper time to end the task force.
Trump changed mind after pressure:
“When I started talking about winding it down, I’d get calls from very respected people saying, ‘I think it would be better to keep it going,’” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s done such a good job. It’s a respected task force. I knew it myself. I didn’t know whether or not it was appreciated by the public. But it is appreciated by the public.”
