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'This Is War,' Trump Activates National Guard In Three Worst Coronavirus Hit States

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President Donald Trump announced that he had activated the National Guard for three states in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on Sunday, according to CNBC.

"I'm a wartime president," Trump said, according to CNBC. "This is a war — a different kind of war than we've ever had." The states New York, Washington, and California, are worst affected by the deadly virus in the United States, accounting for more than 58% of all 33,276 confirmed cases in the country, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University.

The National Guard's response would be coordinated under the command of state governors, Trump said, CNBC reports, with the federal government acting as a "backup" to state leaders.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will bear the entire burden of the costs involved. "We'll be following them and we hope they can do the job and I think they will. I spoke with all three of the governors today, just a little while ago and they're very happy with what we're going to be doing," Trump added, according to CNN. The move comes at a time when the president's planned $2 trillion economic stimulus package has failed to pass through the senate with democrats arguing that it prioritizes corporate workers over American workers.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia.

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