"Donald Trump Says He’s Not In Support Of Future Shutdowns If There’s A Second Wave Of Coronavirus"

"If Donald Trump had his way, he reiterated this week, states would not revert to widespread shutdowns if there is a future outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The president's comments, which came while speaking with reporters during a tour of a Ford factory in Michigan on Thursday, returned him to a major topic of coronavirus strategy: how and how quickly to reopen after states instituted widespread social distancing in mid March.

While the federal government supported those moves, Trump has since openly wrestled with how long shutdowns should continue — largely because of how the economy has been harmed...

On Thursday, Trump answered questions about whether he was concerned about a potential second wave of coronavirus cases, which some federal health officials have warned could be more problematic if it overlapped with flu season.

'People say that’s a very distinct possibility,' he said of a second large outbreak. 'It’s standard. And we’re going to put out the fires. We’re not going to close the country; we’re going to put out the fires.'

Earlier, Trump repeated his previous argument that the unemployment and economic slowdown from shutdowns should not become worse than the virus itself, and he called on governors to 'start opening up.'"