Trump pledges to replenish national stockpile after whistleblower exposes lack for preparedness

President Donald Trump said Thursday he intends to prepare the country for future pandemics by restocking the national stockpile and bringing critical manufacturing back to the U.S. His comments came the same day a whistleblower testified that the Trump administration had failed to properly prepare for the current pandemic.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Trump said during a visit to a Pennsylvania distributor of medical equipment. "My goal is to produce everything America needs for ourselves and then export to the world, including medicines."

It was Trump's second trip outside Washington in as many weeks as tries to convince the public that it's time for states to begin to open up again, even with the virus continuing to spread.

Trump's remarks came as federal whistleblower Rick Bright testified before a House panel on Thursday about his repeated efforts to jump-start U.S. production of respirator masks that he says went nowhere.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is under mounting pressure to roll back coronavirus restrictions after effectively containing the state's outbreak early on, battling a Republican revolt over his stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns. Counties have threatened to defy his orders while at least a few business owners have reopened their doors despite his warnings.

Trump added to the pressure by saying during his remarks: "We have to get your governor of Pennsylvania to start opening things up a bit." Trump claims some places in the state had been "barely affected."

The president arrived in Allentown on a campaign-like visit to highlight a U.S. medical equipment distributor that is helping make and ship gowns, gloves and other personal protective gear across the country to help with the coronavirus response.

Trump did not wear a face covering as he stepped off Air Force One. During the flight, chief of staff Mark Meadows wore a navy blue face mask embossed with the presidential seal in gold. Officials wipe down the handrails on the staircase before Trump arrived.

After a tour, during which Trump also did not wear a mask, he addressed several dozen employees clad in matching neon yellow company T-shirts, all wearing face masks and sitting with appropriate distance between them.

Trump said that he wants to ensure that the next president doesn't inherit an empty stockpile and that he would build up a three-month supply of items like ventilators and N95 respirator masks that have been in short supply. He said he'd like many of these items to be American-made.

The president said he wants to bring "critical" manufacturing back to America and announced that he'd signed an executive order during the relatively short flight to Pennsylvania to require an obscure federal agency that invests in other countries to begin investing in the U.S.

"I'm determined that America will be prepared for any of the future outbreaks," Trump said.

While health and safety precautions around the president have increased in recent days, Trump has yet to be seen in public wearing a mask. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Americans should wear cloth face coverings in public in situations where social distancing is difficult to prevent unknowingly spreading the virus. Trump is tested daily for the virus; the White House says he is negative.