Trump Says Coronavirus Task Force ‘Will Continue On Indefinitely’ After Pence Suggested Its End

President Donald Trump announced the White House’s coronavirus task force “will continue on indefinitely,” with a focus on vaccines and re-opening the country, amid reports the group was set to close up shop.

“The White House CoronaVirus Task Force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, has done a fantastic job of bringing together vast highly complex resources that have set a high standard for others to follow in the future,” Trump proclaimed on Twitter.

“Because of this success, the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people to it, as appropriate.”

….produced in the thousands, and we have many to spare. We are helping other countries which are desperate for them. Likewise, after having been left little, we are now doing more testing than all other countries combined, and with superior tests. Face masks & shields,….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020

….to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2020

There was a great deal of outrage on Tuesday after The New York Times reported that “the White House plans to wind down the operation in coming weeks,” as the administration moved forward with Trump’s plan to restart the national economy. Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that there were conversations about ending the task force in a statement to CBS’ Paula Reid.

Those conversations came as public health experts say we are nowhere near the conclusion of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump’s claims about “plentiful” amounts of PPE comes after an interview he gave to ABC’s David Muir, where he blamed former president Barack Obama for the country’s inadequate resources for tackling the pandemic. Since Trump is three years into his presidency, he was asked what did he do to restock the national supply if the situation was as dire as he claims, to which, he deflected with “I have a lot of things going on.”

Trump also suggested the task force would wind down when he said “we can’t keep our country closed for the next five years.”