(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s coronavirus turnaround was swift, sudden -- and behind the times.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed virus legislation early Saturday. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell slashed interest rates close to zero Sunday. And on Monday, a subdued Trump took to the White House podium to say of the coronavirus: “It’s bad.”
He endorsed “social distancing” -- the stay-at-home behaviors that many Americans, their employers, state leaders and mayors had been promoting and practicing for days.
On Sunday, he told people to go to grocery stores, but to refrain from buying so much. By Monday, he was telling them to stay out of restaurants and educate their children at home.
Trump had taken some steps before Monday. He created a White House coronavirus task force, gave a prime-time speech where he announced sweeping new restrictions on travel from Europe and said he had changed federal rules to make more virus tests available -- amid complaints of a shortage.
It’s just that many other countries and some American governors moved faster than the president.
Only on Monday, after the number of U.S. cases exceeded 4,000 and the stock market plunged another 12.9 percentage points, did Trump suddenly execute a heel-turn, acknowledging that the outbreak is so severe it may even drive the economy into recession.
Trump has spent weeks minimizing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and urging Americans to stay calm, while state and local leaders who regard the disease as a dire threat have taken the initiative in the nation’s response.
Some states shuttered bars, theaters and restaurants and banned large gatherings before Trump reversed his tone on Monday -- after complaining about a lack of federal direction.
Governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said in a joint statement that they were imposing restrictions “amid a lack of federal direction and nationwide standards.”
“If the federal government doesn’t step up quickly, states are going to be forced to do stuff on their own,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence held a call with governors on Monday in which they talked about ways to “flatten the curve” of new cases.
Trump has approached the virus like many other crises during his presidency: By saying he’s done a perfect job and blaming Democrats for any failings. Trump even faulted former President Barack Obama for the lack of available tests.
Trump’s actions on the virus so far haven’t calmed markets or satisfied governors struggling to contain the largest outbreaks. Stocks plunged while Trump was addressing reporters at the White House on Monday, and ultimately dropped the most since 1987.
“This is bad in the sense that it’s so contagious,” the president told reporters on Monday, “It’s just so contagious, sort of record-setting type contagion.”
The U.S. may still be fighting the outbreak until August or later, he added.
Asked why the U.S. sharply cut its recommended maximum size for gathering on Monday from a day earlier, Trump’s virus response coordinator, Deborah Birx, said it was because government modeling changed and stressed the need for social distancing.
“We had new information coming out from a model, and what had the biggest impact in the model is social distancing,” including families self-quarantining for 14 days if a single family member has the virus, she said.
The administration has been examining options to help businesses affected by the virus. In particular, Trump said he’s looking at ways to help U.S. airlines as demand has dropped sharply. A final proposal hasn’t been drafted, people familiar with the matter said. The industry wants as much as $58 billion in grants and loans.
The White House is also considering how to help hotels, restaurants and businesses focused on recreational activities, two people familiar with the matter said.
“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” Trump said in a tweet.
On Monday, Trump hosted a call with fellow Group of Seven leaders -- at the insistence of France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Angela Merkel, who had been blindsided last week when the U.S. president closed his country to most European travelers.
Leaders of the G-7 said they will do “whatever is necessary” to ensure a globally coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. The leaders said they would marshal the full power of their governments to coordinate public health measures, restore confidence in the economy, support global trade and investment, and encourage cooperation in scientific research.
Trump hailed the cooperation of the G-7, comprised of leaders who have issued more dire warnings than Trump. Merkel’s government shuttered a range of businesses across Germany. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged British citizens to end all non-essential contact. Italy is on lockdown to cope with a surging outbreak.
Medical specialists said the U.S. should have taken similar steps weeks ago to prevent the outbreak from worsening.