WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s enlisting advisers from nearly all sectors of American commerce, the medical field, elected office and the sports world to help shape his plans to reopen the coronavirus-battered economy.
The panel of advisers, whom Trump said he will consult with by phone — some in groups, some one-on-one — will operate separately from the White House task force that’s leading the administration’s public health strategy to contain and mitigate the pandemic, though there is expected to be some overlap.
Included in the list of more than 200 advisers with whom the president will be consulting are numerous sports executives, including NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
He also listed the heads of virtually every major professional sports group in the country, including the MLB’s Rob Manfred, NHL’s Gary Bettman, NFL’s Roger Goodell, UFC’s Dana White, PGA’s Jay Monahan and NASCAR’s Lesa Kennedy.
The advisory panel, which the White House has dubbed the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, also includes executives and leaders from agricultural, defense and financial service industries, as well as leaders from unions, think tanks and more.
Among the executives with whom Trump said he will consult are representatives from Cisco Systems, Tyson Foods, Archer Daniels Midland, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Morgan Stanley, Grand Rapids State Bank and Southern Bank Corp.
“We have to get our sports back. I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old,” Trump said during his Tuesday briefing. “But I haven’t actually had too much time to watch. I would say maybe I watch one batter then I get back to work.”
Trump had held a conference call with pro commissioners earlier this month in which he expressed his hope that fans would be back in stadiums by late summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.