The American President is one person who is never short of controversy. From the fire brand that is his Twitter account to even words from his own mouth, the man has seemed to have the world to like and dislike him in equal measure. In the recent light of a global pandemic, the President was about to issue a national address to issue a way forward when he was caught on the microphone cursing. As heard across newscasts which were livestreaming the address, the President said the the F* word and was lamenting that he had gotten a pen mark on his lapel. In the sound bite, he says “A what? Ah, F**k! Uh-oh, I got a pen mark. Anybody have any white-do you have any white stuff?” During the address, the President set an unexpected ban on ‘most foreign nationals’ from Europe. The ban exempted the American citizens who live in the United Kingdom and also Green Card holders who have gone through all the right legal steps and screenings.
The move was one of the measures set to curb the number of corona virus patients which was and still is growing in the US. The President went ahead to compare the move similar to one that China, one of the earliest epicenters of the corona virus, had taken with other countries. Their moved seemed to work as a it saw a reduction and almost complete decimation of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. The travel ban, which also affected other major countries and cities was to last 30 days, beginning on 14th March.
The address came after a declaration by World Health Organization (WHO), of the corona virus, COVID-19 reaching a global pandemic status through the director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. In their brief, the virus has a high infection rate which can be controlled by self-quarantine, early diagnosis and keeping a high level of hygiene. The President was hence providing the citizens with the governmental moves and policies in place to cushion its citizens from the virus. So far, the US has continued to witness high infection rates with more than 2000 people succumbing to the pandemic. Europe is also home to Italy, one of the countries which has been worst hit by COVID-19.
In the same address, President Donald Trump also asked congress to provide waivers and tax relief to individuals and to small scale enterprises too, as the business environment is not conducive. As the much-awaited public address was expected by all of the United States, many were caught by surprise that it was opened by some profanity. However, the media team was quick to notice the mistake and informed him. The President took the mic off and the camera continued to roll for about ten more minutes before the feed was cut short. The white stuff seemed to have done its job since he is heard saying “let me see how the look is…’. The President had no pen marks on him when the stream returned.
