Watch live: White House plays campaign-like ad in briefing room

The White House played a campaign ad-like video in Monday’s Coronavirus Task Force Briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, criticizing the media, touting the administration’s coronavirus response, and playing clips of governors praising the Trump administration.

The testimonial came after the New York Times published a blistering story outlining early failures in the administration to get a handle on the virus, on testing, and on personal protective equipment. The story portrayed an administration, and a president, that failed to adequately grasp the seriousness of the potential crisis ahead. 

Asked about the video, Mr. Trump confirmed his own White House staff, including White House social media director Dan Scavino, compiled the video in the last two hours before the briefing. 

Members of the Coronavirus Task Force, charged with leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, are holding a briefing as the president and his allies continue to signal an eagerness to reopen the U.S. economy.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told “Face the Nation” in an interview Sunday that an economic recovery that comes before a health care recovery “could be throwing gasoline on the fire.” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said there cannot be a reboot of the economy until health care controls including widespread testing and contact tracing are in place.

“We’ve got to see not just a flattening of the curve, but a bending down,” Lightfoot said on “Face the Nation.”

How to watch the Coronavirus Task Force briefing

Mr. Trump told reporters Friday he wants to reopen the economy “as soon as we can” and during an interview with Fox News on Saturday said he would base his decision on the advice of “a lot of professionals, doctors and business leaders.”

“It’s going to be based on a lot of facts and instincts,” he said.

In the U.S., there have been more than 550,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and the death toll has surpassed 22,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

While Mr. Trump indicated he would look to the experts before deciding when life in the U.S. should return to normal, the president appears at odds with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

Fauci told CNN on Sunday that there was a “lot of pushback” to calls for the U.S. to impose strict restrictions early on in the coronavirus crisis. Later in the day, Mr. Trump defended his actions on Twitter, saying criticism of his handling of the coronavirus is “fake news” and retweeting a post that said “Time to #FireFauci.”