COVID-19

Trump administration declares COVID-19 a public health emergency and announces travel restrictions effective February 2, barring entry to foreign nationals who had traveled to China within the previous 14 days. U.S. citizens returning from China are funneled through 11 designated airports for screening. The travel ban comes after the WHO declared a global health emergency the previous day. Trump claims …

At a campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump tells supporters that Democrats are 'politicizing the coronavirus' and calls it their 'new hoax.' The remark comes the same day the CDC confirms the first US death from COVID-19 in Washington state -- later determined to be two deaths from early and mid-February. Trump's characterization of the pandemic as a …

The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. That evening, Trump delivers a rare Oval Office address to the nation, announcing a travel ban from 26 European Schengen Area countries (excluding the UK and Ireland). Trump blames the European Union for failing to act quickly enough and claims the US outbreak is 'contained.' The address is critiqued for factual …

Trump declares a national emergency under the Stafford Act, freeing up $50 billion in federal disaster relief funds for states and territories. The declaration allows the Department of Health and Human Services to waive certain laws and regulations to provide emergency medical care. Trump announces a new public-private partnership to establish drive-through testing sites, though widespread testing remains elusive for …

Over the course of two months, Trump repeatedly promotes hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine -- anti-malarial drugs -- as a 'game changer' cure for COVID-19 despite zero clinical evidence and warnings from FDA scientists. He claims on Twitter to have a 'good feeling' about the drug and pressures the FDA to authorize its emergency use. The FDA issues an Emergency Use Authorization …

Trump announces Operation Warp Speed, a $10 billion public-private partnership to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The program aims to deliver 300 million doses by January 2021 by investing in multiple vaccine candidates simultaneously and pre-positioning manufacturing capacity before clinical trials complete. The program ultimately delivers two highly effective mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) in under …

Trump first used the racial term kung flu to describe COVID-19 during his first campaign rally since the pandemic began on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Speaking to a crowd with no social distancing or mask mandates, Trump complained about the many names for the virus and said I can name Kung flu to audience laughter and applause. Three …

President Trump returned to the White House while still infected with COVID-19, removing his mask and telling Americans not to be afraid. Over 70 White House staff subsequently contracted the virus.

Trump announces via Twitter that he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 after senior aide Hope Hicks tests positive. Trump is flown to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment, receiving supplemental oxygen, the antiviral remdesivir, and the experimental antibody cocktail REGN-COV2. The hospitalization reveals the extent of White House security failures: the Rose Garden …

Trump returns to the White House from Walter Reed after three days of treatment. In a staged photo-op, he removes his mask on the White House balcony and enters the residence without it. He posts a video declaring 'Don't be afraid of COVID' and 'I feel better than I did 20 years ago,' contradicting his own doctors who had described …

The FDA issues an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first authorized vaccine in US history for the disease. The authorization follows a 17-4 vote by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee recommending approval, citing 95% efficacy in clinical trials. The first doses are administered to healthcare workers within days. Moderna's vaccine follows a week …

President Biden visits a Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan and reiterates his goal of administering 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days -- a goal the administration ultimately surpasses on day 58. The contrast with Trump's approach is stark: Trump downplayed the virus, refused to encourage vaccination, and left no formal vaccine distribution plan. Biden's …

President Biden signs the American Rescue Plan Act into law, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package providing direct $1,400 payments to most Americans, extended unemployment benefits, expanded child tax credit, funding for state and local governments, vaccine distribution, and school reopening. The bill passes with zero Republican votes in the House or Senate, using budget reconciliation. The child tax credit expansion …