Trump says he’s ‘OK’ with Sisolak’s shutdown order for Nevada

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended Gov. Steve Sisolak’s shutdown order for Nevada on Sunday, even as he voiced sympathy for Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman’s complaint that it was “total insanity” to close the state’s businesses.

During a briefing of the president’s Coronavirus Task Force, the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked Trump his view of Goodman’s assertion that it was “total insanity” to shut down nonessential businesses in Nevada for the rest of April, as Sisolak ordered.

“Well, they shut one of my hotels down, too,” Trump replied, which he added is “a very big hotel.”

Trump described Sisolak’s shutdown order, aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus, as “a very severe step” but also said, “I’m OK with it.”

“I know the mayor is very upset with it,” he said. “Some owners are very upset with it. Some of the developers out there are very upset. Others, they say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get rid of it.’ I can see both sides.”

Asked about a rule that denies Payroll Protection Program loans to many small casinos and gambling operations, Trump said “they’re looking at that” and added that the government would make a ruling next week.

That’s basically the same answer Trump gave on April 8 when the Review-Journal asked him about a Small Business Administration decision that denied coronavirus relief loans to small casinos and gambling operations that make more than one-third of their revenue from gambling.

Afterward, the SBA revised its policy upward to disqualify small casinos that make more than half their revenue from gaming — up to $1 million in 2019 — for PPP loans.

“They’re continuing to look at that,” Trump said on Sunday, calling it “a big topic.”

Further review could mean more relief for smaller casinos. Big casinos already are eligible for aid available to other large businesses that employ 500 or more.

Trump also mentioned Las Vegas when he referred to the Democratic primary debate held on the Strip on Feb. 19. Trump said three words were not uttered — virus, coronavirus or COVID-19.

Accompanied by Vice President Mike Pence and members of his Coronavirus Task Force — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma and Adm. Brett Giroir of the Department of Health and Human Services — Trump used a large portion of his time to praise those who have praised White House efforts and to berate reporters who pressed him on his slowness to warn the American public about the outbreak.

The president halted his remarks to air footage of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo commending Trump and the federal response to the pandemic.

“The federal government stepped up and was a great partner,” Cuomo said at a recent briefing, during which he hailed “heroic efforts on behalf of people, as facilitated by government, federal and state.”

“But they left out the good part,” Trump said of the truncated clip, and the rest was played later. In that clip, Cuomo made clear that the federal government had come through for New York on hospital beds, staffing and more.

“Have we lost anyone because we didn’t have a bed or we didn’t have a ventilator or we didn’t have health care staff?” Cuomo asked, then answered, “No.”

Trump also read a paragraph from a Wall Street Journal opinion page article, “Trump Rewrites the Book on Emergencies,” written by Christopher DeMuth, that hailed the president for responding to a national crisis, not by power grabbing, but with deregulation and decentralization.

Later Trump admitted that he excluded Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, from his Opening Up America Again congressional group because, “I’m not really a fan of Mitt Romney. I don’t really want his advice.”

While the 2012 Republican nominee for president is the only GOP senator who is not part of the group, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is.

Verma announced that the administration would require nursing homes to inform patients and their families when they have had coronavirus cases in a facility, and to report those cases directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.