Trump news – live: Mnuchin calls record high unemployment ‘irrelevant’ as coronavirus death toll passes 1,000
A record 3.3m Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the US economy - a fact dismissed as “not relevant” by treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin - as the country’s death toll passes the 1,000 mark, with more than 70,000 infections diagnosed.
In better news, the Senate has unanimously voted in favour of a $2.2trn (£1.85trn) rescue package to bailout those hardest hit by the global catastrophe. The House of Representatives will vote on it on Friday, where it is widely expected to pass and be signed off by the president.
At the White House, Donald Trump has rowed back on his plan to “reopen” the country for business by Easter and has otherwise been busy attacking the “LameStream Media” for its coverage of his response to the crisis, accusing the press of “fake news” and conspiring against him to tank the markets and sabotage his re-election hopes in November.
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