De Blasio calls on Trump to deploy military to set up hospitals in New York

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is calling on President Trump to deploy the U.S. military to New York in an effort to fight the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak. 

“President Trump has to mobilize the United States military to fully act in the coronavirus situation,” de Blasio said Wednesday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” 

“I want their medical teams, which are first-rate, I want their logistical support, I want their ability to get stuff from factories all over the country where they’re needed most,” he added. “The only force in America that can do it effectively and quickly is the United States military, and they are being sidelined right now by Donald Trump when he should be calling them to the front. This is the front right now.”

“I am trying to help New Yorkers recognize that it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” says New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, calling on Pres. Trump to deploy the US military to set up hospitals in New York City. https://t.co/XyQLEGi8oN pic.twitter.com/eWxanEx9D2

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 18, 2020

De Blasio said the military should be sent to New York, Seattle and California, the areas hit hardest by the pandemic. 

The mayor said it’s necessary for the military deployment to aid the city as its hospitals are depleted of basic and necessary equipment, including ventilators, medical masks and surgical gowns. 

“We’re deeply concerned about where we’re going to be in a few weeks, and there’s the problem: the federal government is absent in this discussion right now,” de Blasio said. “President Trump at this point is the Herbert Hoover of his generation. There’s a massive national crisis going on and he is consistently late and very marginal in what he does. He’s taking actions that are far, far behind the curve and aren’t addressing the core concerns.” 

Hospitals may run out of equipment in weeks, de Blasio said, noting the surge in cases in the city. The number of cases nearly doubled overnight and is approaching 2,000 cases in New York City alone, he added. 

A spokesperson for the White House was not immediately available in response to the mayor’s comments.