Trump Coronavirus Actions: President Orders Buildup Of National Stockpile

President Trump moved Thursday to bring more production of essential goods back to the United States as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that left the country flat-footed on supplies of critical medical gear.

“President Trump is signing an executive order providing the authority to ensure America is producing critical goods necessary to build up our strategic stockpiles,” the White House said in a fact sheet outlining actions to be taken to build up the national stockpile.

Trump has repeatedly berated the Obama administration for leaving “our cupboards … bare,” ignoring the fact he had been in office for three years before the coronavirus pandemic began ravaging the United States. To date, the pandemic has killed more than 85,000 Americans.

The fact sheet came out as Dr. Richard Bright, former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, testified before a House committee the administration ignored his early warnings about the pandemic that has forced the virtual shutdown of the U.S. economy and prompted more than 36 million Americans to seek unemployment benefits.

The order comes as Trump and Republicans have been pushing for an end to stay-at-home orders and the reopening of the economy despite warnings from health officials an easing of mitigation efforts will produce a surge in COVID-19 cases and what Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, has predicted will be “needless deaths.”

Trump traveled to a factory in Pennsylvania Thursday that produces personal protective equipment where he went maskless. Everyone else was wearing masks.

In remarks at the Owens & Minor Inc. Distribution Center in Allentown, Trump slammed global supply chains, saying the U.S. is too reliant on other countries.

"You know what a globalist is? They want the globe to do well but they don't care about us,” Trump said.

"Under the previous administration, the stockpile was depleted and never fully refilled. … Never again will another president inherit empty shelves or expired products."

The White House fact sheet noted the national stockpile previously stocked only 28% of needed pandemic supplies, a deficiency that will be addressed by changes being adopted. It also noted less than half of personal protective equipment currently is made in North America, making the supply chain vulnerable to foreign production interruptions.

“The coronavirus pandemic exposed the need to increase domestic production and reduce foreign dependence on items critical to our Nation’s health and national security,” the fact sheet said.

"Under the previous administration, the stockpile was depleted and never fully refilled,” Trump said, adding, “Never again will another president inherit empty shelves or expired products.”