WASHINGTON — President Trump is desperate to get back on the road as soon as possible after being cooped up in the White House for nearly two months amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Post has learned.
With his campaign rallies called off and weekends at his Florida compound Mar-a-Lago cancelled, Trump and his advisors are brainstorming events in coming weeks modeled on day trips currently being taken by Vice President Mike Pence, sources familiar with the plans said.
As the daily coronavirus task force briefings bring a wave of negative press and hostile exchanges with reporters, confidants close to Trump are urging him to tour facilities manufacturing personal protective equipment or visit hard-hit states which are now beginning to reopen.
Like the rest of the nation, the president has been confined to the four walls of his residence during the COVID-19 outbreak — leaving the White House only once in the past seven weeks, to send-off the USNS Comfort in Virginia on March 28.
Trump is eager to reconnect with everyday Americans affected by the outbreak and wants to travel as soon as possible, but with conditions on the ground in various states so unstable, White House aides are reluctant to announce any definite plans.
The president announced earlier this month that he would deliver the commencement address at the West Point military academy’s 2020 graduation ceremony in New York on June 13.
But travel could be in the cards sometime in the next couple of weeks, with Trump reportedly growing restless and frustrated with those around him and is eager to get out of Washington.
Donald TrumpAP/Evan Vucci
Vice President Mike Pence’s recent trips, including a visit to staff and infected patients at the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis on Tuesday, are being treated as a test for similar travel by the president, a source familiar with the plans said.
Trump has hosted various governors at the White House this week, including Ron DeSantis of Florida on Tuesday and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana on Wednesday, but may start meeting them on their own turf early next month.
The president’s schedule is currently being arranged by the White House, not the campaign, with no rallies scheduled for the foreseeable future, a senior Trump campaign official told The Post on Tuesday.
Trump’s last major trip outside of Washington included a dinner party at Mar-a-Lago on March 8 which was attended by a number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus — including multiple Brazilian officials who came in close contact with the president.
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