President Donald Trump has said he will likely take a test for the coronavirus after all.
Trump over the weekend was near Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications director, Fábio Wajngarten, who tested positive for the virus just days later.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement Thursday that “both the President and Vice President had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time.”
Trump was asked at a press conference Friday if he was being selfish by not undergoing testing, prompting Trump to reply: “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to be tested.”
“Most likely, yeah,” Trump added while downplaying his interaction with the Brazilian official at this resort in Florida. “Not for that reason, but because I think I will do it anyway. Fairly soon, we’re working out a schedule.”
Trump's response came after he declared a national emergency to bolster funding for fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
Trump says the emergency will open up nearly $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak. Additionally, the president said they would be waiving interest on federally owned student loans in effort to ease financial impact of the virus outbreak.
The president has faced growing criticism about his mixed messages on the severity of the outbreak and over the administration's scattershot response.
But the president is defending the administration’s response, particularly its temporary ban on travel from Europe, saying it will save lives. He says of the virus that “this will pass” and the nation will emerge stronger.
In addition to declaring a national emergency, Trump announced a public-private partnership to increase national coronavirus testing capabilities.