The reviews on Wall Street to President Donald Trump’s prime-time Oval Office address on the response to the coronavirus were not kind.
From Trump’s misstatements of White House policy to his lack of clarity on the funding he wanted, analysts said the speech ended up being more harm than help in his apparent desire to calm financial markets. The speech included him saying that cargo from Europe would be blocked, which the White House clarified was not accurate and that the ban was limited to passengers.
“President Trump in an extraordinary Oval Office address didn’t offer up major new ideas on stimulus and only said he’d propose a vague payroll tax holiday to Congress without strongly standing up for any firm size/magnitude. This effectively kicks the issue to Congress which is still planning to go on recess next week.” — Ernie Tedeschi, Evercore ISI
• “President Trump’s address to the nation was symptomatic of the lack of policy coordination in the face of a global coronavirus pandemic. Amidst rapidly rising domestic COVID-19 infections, the president blamed Europe for mismanaging the crisis, and imposed a 30-day ban of foreigners travelling from the region.” — Gregory Daco, Oxford Economics
• “In our view, the failure to include announcements of stronger domestic public health responses — from expanded testing to mobilization of emergency medical capabilities — will hinder Administration efforts to build public trust in the US effort. The counter to Trump’s response is already beginning to form, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduced her opening bid for what a stimulus package will look like.” — Clayton Allen, Height Securities