President Donald Trump on Monday said the United States “may be” headed for a recession as the economy slows to a crawl amid the coronavirus epidemic.

“Is the U.S. economy heading into a recession?” a reporter asked Trump at a coronavirus task force briefing at the White House.

“Well, it may be,” Trump said, adding: “We’re not thinking in terms of recession. We’re thinking in terms of the virus.”

Economists have increasingly predicted a global recession. Goldman Sachs issued a forecast Sunday that the U.S. economy will shrink by 5% in the second quarter.

Trump predicted a robust recovery later in 2020.

“I think there’s a tremendous pent up demand, both in terms of the stock market and in terms of the economy,” he said.

“Once this goes away, once this goes through and we’re done with it, I think we’re going to see a tremendous surge.”