In Navarro’s second memo, dated 23 February, he urged for immediate funding to “minimize economic and social disruption”.
“Any member of the Task Force who wants to be cautious about appropriating funds for a crisis that could inflict trillions of dollars in economic damage and take millions of lives has come to the wrong administration,” Navarro wrote.
But at a press gaggle on 24 February, Navarro assured that coronavirus was “nothing to worry about for the American people” under Trump’s leadership.
“Since the day that President Trump pulled down the flights from China to the US, he has been actively leading the situation in terms of this crisis with the task force. Nothing to worry about for the American people.
“This country’s done a beautiful job under [the] president’s leadership [sic] in terms of managing this situation. He’s working on a daily basis with the task force and we’re taking steps to anticipate … where the puck’s gonna be. We’re skating there in defense of the American people and the American economy. So you can be sure you’re that in great hands with the Trump administration.”