By Luke Cooper 06 Apr 2020 13:48

As the US prepares for a harrowing week, President Donald Trump has opted for optimism to start his Monday morning.

On Sunday, the country's surgeon general warned the week would be this generation's "Pearl Harbour moment" as coronavirus threatened to overwhelm hospitals and lead to thousands of deaths.

But in early morning tweets on Monday, Trump said he could see "light at the end of the tunnel".

Trump's tone was in stark contrast to Surgeon General Jerome Adams' interview on NBC's Meet the Press when he compared this week to the Pearl Harbour attack and September 11.

"It's going to be the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives," he said.

The analogies may be apt in expressing the historic enormity of the pandemic, but they contain unflattering implications for Trump's administration.

The US was caught unaware by Japan's attack on Hawaii in 1941 and al Qaeda's strike on US soil in 2001, although in retrospect there were warning signs of both days that will live in infamy.

Pictured: President Donald Trump during a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Contrary to Trump's claims that no one saw the approach of the virus, however, its advance on the US was obvious since at least January.

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks in 1941 and 2001, Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and George W. Bush also unified the nation, whereas Trump remains as divisive a figure as he has been for his three years in power.