Trump wants cruise ship passengers to stay at sea, but leaves decision up to Pence
President Trump visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters Friday and expressed confidence in the public health response to the new coronavirus while airing a disagreement he has with the vice president on whether to bring the Grand Princess cruise ship passengers onshore in California.
"I have great experts, including the vice president … they would like to have the people come off," Trump said, saying he wants the passengers to stay idling off the coast of California. "I would rather have the people stay. But I'd go with them. I told them to make the final decision."
"I don't need the numbers to double because of one ship," Trump said, noting the U.S. numbers currently of 11 deaths and 240 infected.
"Frankly, if it were up to me, I would be inclined to say leave everybody on the ship for a period of time and use the ship as your base," Trump said, noting he'd leave the final decision up to Pence and his team.
The Grand Princess lay at anchor near San Francisco after a traveler from a previous voyage died of the disease and at least four others became infected. While the more than 3,500 aboard the 951-foot (290-meter) vessel were ordered to stay at sea, officials scrambled to keep the virus at bay. Pence revealed that 21 people had tested positive.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-visits-cdc-coronavirus