Amid concerns of potential food or supply shortages and as more cities and states announced restrictions to contain the coronavirus, President Trump told Americans on Sunday that “there’s no need to hoard” supplies.
“You don’t have to buy so much, take it easy, just relax,” said the president during a White House briefing while speaking with heads of food suppliers, “We’re doing great, it all will pass.”
President Trump assured Americans that grocery chains would remain open and their supplies were healthy. Also, Vice President Mike Pence urged Americans to only buy the groceries and supplies they would normally need for the week ahead.
In order to counter some of the risks, the Federal Reserve announced it would take emergency action to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and that it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. This surprise announcement came Sunday and signaled its concern that the viral outbreak would depress economic growth in the coming months.
This move was saluted by the president.
During a press conference, Trump said, “It’s a big step, I am very happy they did it. It brings us in line with other countries,” he said, in reference to the Fed cutting rates to near zero in a historic move in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
President Trump said he would now ease up on his criticism of the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell. He noted, “There are a lot of people on Wall Street that are very happy.”
