Trump Promises to ‘Crush’ Coronavirus, Double Down on First-Term Priorities

If re-elected to a second term, President Trump pledged to defeat the novel coronavirus that has killed 180,000 Americans over the last five months and build on his administration’s priorities of tightening border security and building a strong economy. 

“We will have a safe and effective vaccine this year, and together we will crush the virus,” Trump said during his Republican National Convention speech from the White House South Lawn Thursday night. Trump also vowed to continue cracking down on illegal immigration and use the levers of the executive branch to bring more jobs back to America. 

“In a new term as president, we will again build the greatest economy in history – quickly returning to full employment, soaring incomes, and record prosperity,” he said. “We will lead America into new frontiers of ambition and discovery, and we will reach for new heights of national achievement.”

Trump refuted critics who say he mismanaged and bungled the pandemic response. On Thursday alone, there were 44,264 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and 1,129 new deaths, according to The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer organization from The Atlantic. 

"We are marshaling America's scientific genius to produce a vaccine in record time” he said. “Under ‘Operation Warp Speed,’ we have three different vaccines in the final stage of trials right now, years ahead of what has been achieved before. We are producing them in advance, so that hundreds of millions of doses will be quickly available."

Although the president didn’t mention it in his speech, a few hours earlier the White House announced it struck a $750 million deal with Abbott Laboratories to secure 150 million rapid coronavirus tests to distribute across the country. The company just received emergency use authorization for the tests from the Food and Drug administration on Wednesday. 

Trump also touted the administration's accomplishments with regard to border security over the last three and a half years and gave a shout out to the Border Patrol union, which has supported the president and apparently had members in attendance. 

“We ended catch-and-release, stopped asylum fraud, took down human traffickers who prey on women and children, and we have deported 20,000 gang members and 500,000 criminal aliens,” he said. “We have already built 300 miles of border wall – and we are adding 10 new miles every single week.” 

Trump reiterated his strong support for the military and law enforcement. He noted that the administration launched Space Force—a new military branch—and said “will always stand with the men and women of law enforcement.”

Trump also mentioned his recent removal of the chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal corporation established in 1933 for flood management and electricity generation, after he learned that TVA laid off hundreds of workers and outsourced the jobs. “Now, those talented American workers have been re-hired and are back providing power to Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia,” he said, noting that some of those workers were in attendance.

In a related measure, Trump signed an executive order earlier this month that requires agencies to review their procurement practices to ensure that only U.S. citizens and nationals are working on federal contracts.

Throughout the speech, the president took sharp aim at his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. “At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies or two agendas.” 

As the convention’s final day coincided with Hurricane Laura making landfall on the Gulf Coast, Trump thanked the Federal Emergency Management Agency, law enforcement and state partners for their service to Americans in need.