BRIAN WILLIAMS, MSNBC HOST: Empty streets again tonight in a city that`s in
big trouble. Times Square, of course, normally the beating heart of New
York City.
Good evening once again. Day 1,163 of this Trump administration. 221 days
to go until our next Presidential election. And it`s been 16 days since the
World Health Organization declared coronavirus a global pandemic.
If you didn`t see today`s White House briefing, mostly good news from the
President. Just some random quotes here, and they are, "Ventilators are a
big deal. We`re going to have plenty of ventilators. I think we`re very
close on the vaccine thing. What we`ve done, nobody can even imagine. We`re
very strong on quarantine. The federal government`s done a hell of a job. A
lot of incredible things are happening." Finally these two quotes. "We`re
beating it." And "We`re winning the battle."
Now, back in the real world. It`s been a hell of a 24 hours. The U.S. went
over 100,000 cases. We lead the world tonight and then some. Eight days ago
we reported 18,000 at this time of night.
Today the President signed that $2 trillion rescue bill, and he is now
officially using that defense production act allowing him to basically take
over supply lines and force companies like General Motors to make
ventilators.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Ventilators are a big deal. And we`ve delivered thousands of them
and oftentimes you don`t need ventilators very much. Hospitals don`t have
very many, and now we`re turning out that we have to produce large numbers.
We thought that we had a deal with, as an example, General Motors, and I
guess they thought otherwise. They didn`t agree. And now they do. They do
agree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night you told Sean Hannity you didn`t think there
was a need for 30,000 or 40,000 ventilators, yet today you basically
federalized general motors to produce tens of thousands. What changed?
TRUMP: Well, I think there`s a very good chance we won`t need that many. I
think frankly there`s a great chance we`re not going to need that many. But
you know what? There are a lot of other people that are going to need them.
We have countries all over the world that are friends of ours, and we will
help those countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: For days this President has resisted using that defense
production act to mobilize private industry. This morning he attacked GM
over a supposed deal to make ventilators and suggested he`d be taking
action. There have been days of reporting from across the nation about
growing and severe shortages of critical medical supplies.
Images like this, a New York neurologist wearing makeshift personal
protective equipment while trying to save as many lives as possible.
Governors have been begging Washington for help. We`re told by Trump, do
what you can on your own. Here now a sampling of the problems they are
facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Yes, states are competing against one another when
we`re purchasing things. There`s no question that`s happening.
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): It would be better if we weren`t living at a time
when we were competing with other states and in fact the federal
government, which often buys it out from under us. But that`s our reality.
GOV. ANDREW COUMO (D-NY): But this is not the way to do it. This is ad hoc,
I`m competing with other states, I`m bidding up other states on the prices.
GOV. J.B. PRITZER (D-IL): When I called these ventilator manufacturers, in
one case, they told me I was competing with FEMA to acquire ventilators.
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (D-MA): I stand here as someone who has had confirmed
orders for millions of pieces of gear evaporate in front of us, and I can`t
tell you how frustrating it is.
GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): That allotment of PPE didn`t cover one shift.
We as Americans shouldn`t be bidding against one other. We should be able
to harness the federal power to ensure that everyone`s got what they need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: It goes without saying these governors aren`t making stuff up.
This afternoon the President complained about the governors who are not
showing enough appreciation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I want them to be appreciative. I don`t want them to say things that
aren`t true. I want them to be appreciative. We have done a job the likes
of which nobody`s seen. When they`re not appreciative to me, they`re not
appreciative to the army corps, they`re not appreciative to FEMA. It`s not
right. These people are -- they`re working 24 hours a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: NBC News reporting Trump`s push to reopen our country by Easter
Sunday getting resistance from within. Aides are worried that giving
specific timelines or dates could backfire. There was some evidence
watching that briefing today he might be dialing back a bit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Monday will be the end of the 15 days to slow the
spread of the virus. Do you expect that you will simply renew the
guidelines, or do you expect that there could be some modifications?
TRUMP: We`ll be sitting down on Monday or maybe Tuesday, depending on which
is the best for everybody, and we`ll be making that determination, OK?
We`ll be making it. And by the way, obviously we`re not doing it for New
York. We are talking about possibly other parts of the country which really
aren`t affected to any major degree, or maybe we won`t do that because
maybe at the advice of a lot of very talented people that do this for a
living, they won`t want to do that. They won`t want to expose anything.
They want to do it all at one time. These are the kind of things we`ll be
talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Today on the day House members had to rush back to Washington on
virtually empty aircraft to vote on that emergency relief package in a
socially distanced House chamber. We learned that a fourth House member has
indeed tested positive. The reason for the House members` hasty return at a
time when travel is strongly discouraged, one guy, one Republican member of
Congress from Kentucky, Thomas Massie -- there he is -- he failed in his
attempts to force a recorded, not voice vote, and the bill was passed. Most
of his colleagues are furious at him. Some said so out loud on the house
floor.
Tonight the White House released this photo from the President`s bill-
signing a few hours later. A couple things here. The lack of social
distancing. The lack of even a single democrat. At least the President
handed out pens to everybody standing behind him shoulder to shoulder, so
now they have this keepsake. Let`s hope that`s all they have. Speaker
Pelosi was not invited to the event, not even as a courtesy. It was a
straight party-line gathering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We saw the President signed the bill, and he was
a dangerous President. It was so sad to hear him say as he signed the bill,
just think back 20 days. 20 days ago, everything was great. Everything was
great. And now 20 days later, we have this challenge. No, 20 days ago, we
had nearly 500 cases, 17 deaths. We had a threat that he chose to ignore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Meanwhile, as New York remains the center of the outbreak with
the most cases, New Orleans, Chicago, Philly, and Detroit are also seeing a
surge in cases. The numbers are on the rise in Florida, where Governor Ron
DeSantis has decided to issue a full stay-at-home order. He`s focusing on
keeping visitors out of the state. There are now even checkpoints into the
Florida Keys to keep tourists away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (D-FL): I will be adding to my New York executive order.
We will be requiring the same for travelers from New Orleans, Louisiana,
and other parts of Louisiana, to self-isolate for 14 days. So the vacation
rentals will be suspended for two weeks. If you`re in one now, then finish
and go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Forgive me, I couldn`t read my own writing. I said DeSantis had
decided to in force a stay-at-home order. The word was "declined." He is
not telling Floridians to stay in their houses. A word about what you`re
seeing right here. The cities of L.A. And New York are now getting help
from the U.S. navy.
The hospital ship Mercy docked in the port of L.A. today. It`s there to
relieve the pressure on hospitals by taking non-corona patients on deck.
The hospital ship Comfort leaves Norfolk, Virginia tomorrow. It`s expected
to dock in New York on Monday. President Trump says he wants to travel to
Virginia to see it off.
Around the world tonight the number of confirmed coronavirus cases is
approaching 600,000. And among them, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
He has tested positive. He posted this on social media today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to bring you up to speed with
something that`s happening today, which is that I`ve developed mild
symptoms of the coronavirus. That`s to say a temperature and a persistent
cough. And on the advice of the chief medical officer, I`ve taken a test.
That has come out positive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Johnson, who acted late but finally acted, imposed strict stay-
at-home rules for the U.K. earlier this week, a move that emptied out much
of the City of London, leaving iconic spaces strangely vacant. France also
under a strict lockdown extended until at least April 15th. And starting
tonight, Paris is paying tribute to all those who cannot stay at home
during the crisis -- first responders, medical personnel -- with a message
of thanks displayed in lights on the Eiffel Tower.
Here for our leadoff discussion on a Friday night after a full week, Susan
Page, Washington Bureau Chief, USA Today, best-selling author now at work
on a biography of one Nancy Pelosi. Jonathan Lemire, White House reporter
for the Associated Press. And Dr. Anne Rimoin back with us, Professor of
Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Infectious
Disease Division of the Geffen School of Medicine. She runs the UCLA Center
for Global and Immigrant Health where she specializes in emerging
infectious diseases
But, Susan, I have to begin with you. Let`s talk about the norms being
rewritten in real time. The standards of decorum and behavior. Tonight the
President savaged the Governor of Michigan on Twitter. He admitted today in
front of cameras he tells Mike Pence not to call back certain governors,
but Mike`s too nice and does it anyway. Here we are at the end of this
week. We have a pandemic. You and I are now part owners of a $2 trillion
rescue bill, and the financial markets are upside down. If you could, sum
it up for us.
SUSAN PAGE, USA TODAY WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah. It`s really
remarkable. The biggest crisis our country has faced, certainly since 9/11,
maybe well before that. And at a time where, you know, Americans I think
want to come together, we see enormous acts of grace around the country.
But they`re hungry for leadership too. I mean I think that`s one reason
people tune in to the President`s news conference every day to hear what he
has to say.
You know, it`s interesting the role of a President, right? He has
submissive role to make sure there are enough masks for hospitals. He
hasn`t -- This is kind of an emotional bully pulpit role here as well. And
I think when we don`t hear that from the President, I think it leaves a
kind of void in a time of great crisis for our nation.
WILLIAMS: Hey, Doctor, how far are we from the kind of national effort you
would have us embarking on if you were in charge?
DR. ANNE RIMOIN, UCLA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY PROFESSOR: I
think we are very far from having a national strategy, from having a
unified approach. And I think the thing that everybody has to remember is
that government, businesses, communities, everybody is going to be judged
by history, how they rose to the occasion to be able to fight this war
against a virus. And I think that people are still trying to sort out what
they think is the right thing to do. But we need to come together right
now. We can`t be worrying about partisanship. We can`t be worrying about
politics. We have to worry about a virus. And to be able to stop it, we
need PPE. We need ventilators. We need all of these. We need a national
strategy. We have none of these things right now.
WILLIAMS: Jonathan Lemire, the President said today more than once, he
talked about seeing the first signs of trouble 22 days ago. I`m going to
play for you part of the problem with that. Here is the President 29 days
ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have done an incredible job. We`re going to continue. It`s going
to disappear. One day, it`s like a miracle, it will disappear. And from our
shores, we`ve -- you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It
could maybe go away. We`ll see what happens. Nobody really knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Jonathan, again today he said the quiet part out loud. If you`re
one of these governors facing a pandemic, needing help, you have to show
appreciation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN LEMIRE, ASSOCIATED PRESS WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, first of all,
he`s practicing some revisionist history with the time line here. The
President in this situation was very slow to move on this virus. There were
table top exercises that he largely ignored last year. There was reports
early this winter about the outbreak in China. He chose not to upset China
and President Xi Jinping, and the key trading partner, by publicly
criticizing China`s lack of transparency. And put the American response
behind the eight ball in many ways.
And what we`ve seen now is, today was a very revealing moment because it
sort of outlined where we are. There`s a real tension here because the
federal government and the states. The governors who are on the front
lines, and my colleagues and I at the A.P. have been writing about this all
week before the President said it out loud today. The idea that they are
trying to navigate this sort of unprecedented global health crisis while
also navigating an unprecedented President, one who is consumed with the
cable news coverage of how this is going. And how the federal government`s
response to the pandemic is being perceived. And he`s particularly watching
how he`s appreciated or praised.
He has been very critical of Jay Inslee. Yesterday there was a conference
call the President had with governors. Inslee pleaded with him to lead
here, to be the Tom Brady, the soon to be hall of fame quarterback, Brian,
of this response as opposed to being the backup, because that`s what the
President has said, that he feels like the states should have the onus here
and the federal government should sort of be backing them up.
We know Governor Cuomo and he has gone back and forth. Cuomo has praised
him at times, criticized him at others and Trump has returned that in kind.
And we are seeing here that there`s a real uncertainty in statehouses
across the country like the if -- like what the upright approach is? Do any
get on TV and criticize the President and get his attention. Maybe that
will spur him to act. Or if they do that, will they engender his wrath and
perhaps not get these vital pieces of medical equipment they so desperately
need.
WILLIAMS: And, Susan, I`m going to play you what the President said about
Nancy Pelosi. The date on this is February 26.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your response to Speaker Pelosi, who said
earlier today you don`t know what you`re talking about, about the
coronavirus?
TRUMP: I think Speaker Pelosi is incompetent. She`s trying to create a
panic, and there`s no reason to panic because we have done so good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Susan, what do you know about the relationship between these two?
Is there one as we speak tonight?
PAGE: Well, the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House
have not spoken to one another since last October on the day that he called
her a third-rate politician and she stood up and walked out of a White
House meeting. So I think it`s safe to say that they have either no
relationship or a really hostile one.
And the fact that you could negotiate the largest relief package in
American history, have it go through the House, the Senate, have the
President sign it, and have the President not speak to the Speaker of the
House and then not invite any Democrats to attend the signing ceremony for
an historic bill that they had all voted for, I think, is really quite
remarkable. And enormously alarming. We`ve just seen our government work in
passing this relief package. Everyone agreed it needed to be done. On the
other hand, we continue to see our government is dysfunctional and the fact
that the President has not spoken to the Speaker of the House in months is
a sign of that.
WILLIAMS: As our commercials are fond of saying, sadly in this case this is
who we are. Hey, Doctor, New York Governor Cuomo says we`re looking at a
peak in this area, 21 days perhaps from now. While I remind our viewers
that just L.A. County alone is home to 10 million people, does this line up
with your projections out there? And I guess if so, god help us.
RIMOIN: Absolutely. I think we are on the same path as New York, and it
makes sense. We are late to the game. We do not have the PPE we need. We do
not have the equipment we need, and the restrictions that we`ve had in
place are late. But I think the thing is we have to think about is what we
can do now. We are late to the game. But as we`ve learned, when every
single epidemic that I`ve been a part of, all the Ebola outbreaks that I`ve
seen, what it`s going to come down is what the communities can do right
now. And what communities can do right now is to follow the social
distancing orders that have been put in place and to make sure that
everybody does their part. It is going to come down to that. We cannot be
just waiting for the government to do something.
And that is my biggest concern is that everybody is just waiting for the
government to do something. We have to do what we can now. PPE, keeping
everybody in place, and supporting our health system so it doesn`t
collapse.
WILLIAMS: Jonathan Lemire, those who cover this President paying very close
attention to the wording he chooses on floating out Easter Sunday as
getting sections of the nation back out there and back to work. He appeared
today, if you take his words apart carefully, to be ready to attribute his
decision to the experts and the data, which he reminded us today, we call
it data.
LEMIRE: We do call it data. He did seem to ease up off of the Easter Sunday
time line just a little. At the very least, gave himself a little more
wiggle room. He did say today that he would be more deferential to the
health experts, to the professionals around him when making a decision to
allow parts of this country to reopen. Again, of course, some of these
decisions were made by the states, not the federal government. But the
White House has certainly set the tone.
There`s a tension inside the building on this. Very briefly, there are
certainly some senior administration officials as well as some governors in
states that have not been that impacted by the pandemic who want to see the
country come back to life sooner than later, get the economy going again.
Others, of course, in New York, California, other places, are saying very
much no, we`re not ready. We`re not even close. It`s only going to get
worse. And there`s a gamble here. The President knows it.
His re-election may hang in the balance. If he doesn`t open it and the
economy really collapses, some aides think that could be the death knell
for his re-election chances. Conversely if he reopens it too soon and the
pandemic spreads to other states that are not equipped to deal with this
that of course will also be devastating for the President, it`s politics,
but of course more than anything, for the country itself.
WILLIAMS: I can`t thank the three of you enough. It`s been a long week for
all of us. We appreciate you staying up with us. To Susan Page, to Dr. Anne
Rimoin, and longtime Tampa Bay buccaneers fan Jonathan Lemire, our thanks.
Coming up for us after a break, perspective on this pandemic from a top
adviser to the President`s democratic rival, who just happens to be an
infectious disease expert.
And later, the harsh reality now gripping New York City beginning to emerge
in other places. The 11th Hour just getting started on a Friday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: More than 1,000 families in the United States
have had to plan funerals that almost no one can attend for the same
reasons. I`m wondering what, as we close tonight, what your message is to
those families.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My message is God love you. It is
incredibly difficult to go through, and it`s harder to go through when you
haven`t had an opportunity to be with the person while they`re dying. My
mom, my dad I was able to be with them and lie in bed with them as they
took their last breaths. My son I was able to do that. My deceased wife, I
was not able to do that. I was not able to -- I was not able to be there.
And it makes a gigantic difference for people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Today we learned that longtime Joe Biden Adviser Larry Rasky
tested positive for coronavirus after he passed away this past Sunday at
the age of 69. He had worked on a number of campaigns including Biden`s
Presidential runs in `88 and `08.
Back with us tonight, Ron Klain, a political veteran, now informally
advising the Biden campaign. But among his many roles in the White House
over the years, most importantly he oversaw the response to the Ebola
outbreak during the Obama presidency. Also important, he`s the co-host of a
new must-listen-to podcast about this coronavirus called Epidemic.
And, Ron, I`ve got to ask you about Larry. Joe Biden is a guy who gets
emotional hearing stories of strangers to him who have been lost, from
people he just met. How is he taking this guy he`s hung out with and worked
with for so long?
RON KLAIN, OVERSAW EBOLA RESPONSE UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah, I mean it`s
a devastating blow to vice President Biden, to all of us who know Larry, I
actually worked with Larry on a campaign before, my first Biden campaign.
So I`ve known Larry for 35 years. And here`s someone who was active and
seemed healthy on a Friday and died in his sleep on a Saturday. And it`s
just a reminder of how quickly this virus can take a very, very, very
serious turn on people.
And I hope everyone listening tonight, if you think you are sick, if you
have a little fever, if you have even some of the symptoms and you say, oh,
I`m not really that sick, that`s what Larry Rasky thought. And very shortly
after that, he passed away from it. And so I hope people will seek medical
care quickly if they have any signs of this because we were all shocked by
the news of Larry`s death, of course, and also shocked at how quickly this
came to Larry.
WILLIAMS: Ron, I`m looking at my notes here. The President said today he
took over an empty box. No one envisioned this. He found a mess and a
broken country when he was elected. What`s the truth there?
KLAIN: Well, false, false, and false. I mean the President took over a
country that has the most robust and well-staffed medical system in the
world. Before he took office, the outgoing Obama administration ran an
exercise, a planning exercise to lay out this scenario, this very scenario.
As for no one seeing it coming, I wrote an article in 2016 that laid all
this out, and many people who know much more about it than I have warned
about a figures. Bill Gates gave a very famous Ted Talk in 2017 about it.
So there`s no surprise this was coming. We knew this was coming. And the
problem is that when the word was given, that it was here, that in fact it
was in China and likely to spread around the world, the President just
downplayed it repeatedly. He didn`t activate testing, didn`t activate
hospital beds, didn`t activate the gear. And he had a chance to prevent
this. And look the evidence speaks for itself, Brian.
I understand people think I`m a political figure or whatever. The fact of
the matter is that this country, the richest country in the world with the
best health care system in the world is now the country that has the most
coronavirus cases in the world. And that is not about medicine. It`s not
about a virus. That`s about a failure of leadership.
WILLIAMS: Ron, tomorrow it`s going to be one month since Mick Mulvaney said
the following.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MULVANEY, OUTGOING ACTING WHITE HOUSE OF STAFF: The reason you`re
seeing thing, so you`re seeing so much attention to it, today is that they
think this is going to be what brings down the President. That`s what this
is all about. I got a note today from a reporter saying, what are you going
to do today to calm the markets? I`m like really what I do today to calm
the markets is tell the people to turn their televisions off for 24 hours.
You are going to see some schools shut down? Probably. May you see impacts
on public transportation, sure but we do this. We know how to handle this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Of course, Ron Klain, there`s no joy in saying this. We learned
afterward that someone sick was at CPAC, that it was something of a
potential petri dish of gatherings in Washington, D.C., and Mulvaney was
later tested for it. I believe he`s been tested twice for it. Same question
to you that I asked the doctor. What we`re doing now? How far short does it
fall from what would be your national prescription?
KLAIN: It falls very short. And again, it`s one of the reason why the U.S.
sadly is the country with the worst coronavirus problem. If at the time
that Mick Mulvaney was standing at CPAC kind of saying this wasn`t a
problem, and it was roughly the same day where the President said we only
have 15 cases, we`re headed down to five. If then we had been accelerating
testing, if then we had been accelerating the production of ventilators, if
then we had been accelerating the production of protective gear, if we had
been doing all the things we needed to do, then we would be in much better
shape now.
We`d have this disease more isolated. We`d know who had it more and be able
to identify where it was more and we`d be able to more successfully treat
more people. The virus is a naturally occurring disaster. But our response
to it was a series of choices made by the Trump administration. And no one
want -- I mean, look, I want to beat Donald Trump in 2020. Of course, I do.
Everyone knows that. But not because of this, not with my friends and my
family and the people I know at risk of this virus. There`s no Democrat in
America who wants to see people get sick and die and see our friends and
family be at risk and see doctors and nurses who we love and care about be
at risk. That`s a series of bad decisions Donald Trump made, and he needs
to take accountability for that.
WILLIAMS: Ron Klain, our thanks as always for coming on.
Coming up for us on this Friday night, New York and the surrounding area in
the thick of it right now. And now the grim guessing game, armed with data,
wondering what cities are next. One of the experts tracking it all is
standing by to talk with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DON YOUNG (R-AK): Weeks ago, I did not fully grasp the severity of
this crisis, but clearly we are in the midst of an urgent public health
emergency. This pandemic is dangerous, and it`s threatening -- especially
threatening our senior citizens, which I am one, and those with underlying
conditions. I very strongly urge you to follow the CDC`s recommendations.
Avoid large groups and continue to practice social distancing and proper
hygiene protocols.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: That right there is a huge turnaround for Congressman Don Young
of Alaska. Let me tell you about him. He came to Congress when Nixon was
president. He`s the dean of the House, longest serving member, and at four
years short of 90, he`s the oldest member. The problem is two weeks ago, he
downplayed the crisis at a senior center, calling this highly contagious
disease a beer virus, whatever that means. He then told the seniors in the
room that Alaska should, quote, go forth with our everyday activities.
The realities of this crisis are now grim. According to Axios, a second
wave of cities are on their way to becoming their own epicenters.
For more, we are happy to welcome to our broadcast Ashish Jha, Professor of
Global Health at Harvard University and the Director of the Harvard Global
Health Institute. Thank you so much for coming on. And my first question to
you is, which mayors in which cities should be preparing the most tonight.
DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: So good evening,
Brian, and thanks for having me on. You know, you`re absolutely right.
Axios is right. There is a new wave that is about to come. There are a
whole set of cities that we`re tracking that I think we`re worried about.
Obviously, everybody has paid in attention in New York, Los Angeles and
Seattle or Washington State. But I think the next cities, New Orleans,
Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit is one that I`m getting very concerned about.
Miami, Dallas, this really is all parts of the country, cities in every
corner of the country. This is a truly national problem that we have.
WILLIAMS: The President at his briefing posed kind of a backwards question,
Doctor. I`m going to play it for us both. We`ll talk about it on the other
side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whatever they want to call
it. You call it a germ, you can call it a flu, you can call it a virus. You
know, you can call it many different names. I`m not sure anybody even knows
what it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Doctor, what do you call it?
JHA: I call it a virus. It`s a coronavirus. Look, we do know what it is.
It`s a coronavirus. And you can`t call it the flu, or if you did, you`d be
wrong. But it`s all right.
Look, it doesn`t -- in some ways at the end of the day -- matter what you
call it. It`s a virus. It`s an infection. It`s very serious, and it is
hurting Americans tonight and will for the weeks and months ahead.
WILLIAMS: And the truth as I read it, Doctor, is we have no clue exactly
how many Americans have it because we lost so much time on testing. People
keep sending me items about Abbott Labs, a new five-minute test for
coronavirus, Bosch in Germany, a new 90-minute test for coronavirus. Are
you confident all of this will enter into our supply chain and we can start
to get testing online?
JHA: Yes. Look, Brian, the good news here is we`re making progress.
Obviously we wasted a lot of time, but we are making progress. And we`re up
to about 100,000 tests today. Still not as many tests as we need to be
doing for a country our size, but progress (ph). And I`m hopeful these new
tests will become part of our tools, and I`m hopeful that in the weeks
ahead, they will become regularly used. But, boy, we lost a lot of time
getting ready for this pandemic, and we really are suffering for that lost
time.
WILLIAMS: Doctor, finally, a consumer question that`s probably beneath the
pay grade of a Harvard physician. For Americans who need to go out this
weekend, who need to be out with other people, who have got to go shopping
for food because there`s no other way it`s going to get into the house, are
they going to be OK if they follow what we`ve now learned are the social
distancing rules and all shoppers give each other leeway?
JHA: Yes. So, Brian, look, I think they are. And I think if people just
exercise caution, give people space, if you want to be extra cautious, wipe
down the cart a bit with a disinfectant wipe. Wash your hands as soon as
you get home, as soon as you put the food away. Those are, I think, good
things that are going to keep people safe.
The stuff we worry more about is socializing in restaurants and bars, going
out to large gatherings. Those are where people are going to get into a lot
more trouble. So avoid those things. We have to get our groceries. We have
to go to the pharmacy. Do those things because they`re part of living our
lives.
WILLIAMS: Dr. Ashish Jha, I know it`s late on a Friday night after the week
we`ve had. It`s an honor to have you on. Thank you very much for being free
to talk with us and join us here tonight, Doctor.
JHA: Thank you, Brian.
WILLIAMS: Coming up for us, our next guest says we are witnessing a clash
between politics and straight-up expertise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would you describe the job President Trump is
doing behind the scenes and in front of the cameras during these daily
briefings that we`re seeing? What`s been your perspective, Dr. Birx?
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: He`s been so
attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data. And I
think his ability to analyze and integrate data that comes out of his long
history in business is really been a real benefit during these discussions
about medical issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: That was translated from the original North Korean. Back in the
real world, here`s a reminder. Over a month ago on February 25th, the CDC
warned coronavirus spread was inevitable here in our country. Later that
week, "The Washington Post" reported the President was furious over what he
considered an alarmist response from his administration. And just two days
after the CDC warning, here`s what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It`s going to disappear one day. It`s like a miracle. It will
disappear. And from our shores, we`ve -- you know, it could get worse
before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We`ll see what happens.
Nobody really knows. The fact is the greatest experts -- I`ve spoken to
them all. Nobody really knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Here for more is Tom Nichols, Professor of National Security
Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, the Author of over half a dozen
books, and the usual reminder when Tom joins us. Professor Nichols
expresses opinions that are his own. So, Professor, when job one at that
podium is to praise the dear leader, what do we as citizens and consumers
do when we have even a whiff of doubt about anyone not named Fauci on that
stage?
TOM NICHOLS, NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS PROFESSOR, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE:
Well, I think we have to have a certain amount of sympathy for the experts
on that stage because they`re trying to manage a pandemic and manage the
President at the same time. This is a really difficult situation for an
expert because the first job of an expert is to speak truth to power. It`s
to tell the boss, it`s to tell society, it`s to tell your client the truth
no matter what it is. But of course the President has a long history of
firing people who tell him things he doesn`t want to hear. So I think the
first thing we have to do is just kind of discount some of that ritualistic
can`t (ph), and then listen to what they say in their professional
capacity.
WILLIAMS: Tom, I know there you are at the War College, my heart skipped a
beat when I heard the first cases onboard, the big stick, the USS Theodore
Roosevelt, a carrier which when you think about it, might as well be a
virus carrier, a city -- a floating city of 5,000. And I note, of course,
that the 1918 Spanish flu, the military sadly was a force multiplier for
that illness.
NICHOLS: Yes. Although the 1918 flu was unique because it began where a
group of people were being trained, and then they were sent all over the
country and then to Europe to fight a war. I think this is a somewhat
different situation. The hot spot is in New York in part because of all of
the travel
And so, you know, the Defense Department, which of course as you said I
don`t represent, but they`re definitely -- certainly here in Newport, we`ve
been taking really stringent measures not being at the base, things like
that. So, you know, I think that they`re facing the same problem that
everybody else is. But I think the one difference with the 1918 flu is that
it started here, and then we cast all of these men all over the country and
then all over the European continent, which made it a lot worse.
WILLIAMS: Still I worry about on vessels, submarines, social distancing is
not an option. I worry about barracks and the like. How far are we from
leadership as taught at a place like your institution?
NICHOLS: Well, anybody who has ever been on a submarine can tell you social
distancing, you know, is a matter of inches rather than feet. I think as a
general rule about leadership, one of the things we`re seeing here is the
President as a leader is simply incapable of putting the needs of others
before himself. Whatever he may have -- whatever problems he may have with
Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, or Andrew Cuomo, the Governor
of New York, leadership is about doing the job and biting your tongue at
moments like that to get things done.
I think what we`re seeing is a real-time laboratory in all of the wrong
lessons of leadership. What we`re seeing is somebody who simply cannot put
the people that he is sworn to protect ahead of himself and ahead of his
feelings. And I think that that`s having an -- it`s having an effect on the
way we`re able to respond to this.
WILLIAMS: Tom Nichols, thank you for having us into your home. Tom, by the
way, is a dandy follow on social media, always a great guest. We appreciate
your time.
And coming up for us, the good news, some Americans are finding in their
mailboxes. Depends on where you live and thankfully has nothing to do with
either House of Congress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIAMS: As we continue to look for interesting local news reporting from
around our country, while we always endeavor to bring you good news when
possible, it doesn`t always work out that way, but it does tonight. Here`s
the story. Someone in Minnesota is sending money in the mail anonymously,
and we get the story from reporter Boyd Huppert from our NBC station in the
Twin Cities, K-A-R-E, KARE 11.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOYD HUPPERT, NBC CORRESPONDENT: Well, there`s nothing like a good
surprise, and several people we spoke with today got one on their trips to
the mailbox.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Drip, drip, drowning in bad news. Skyler Johnson
opened her mailbox and found sunshine.
SKYLER JOHNSON, GLENCOE, MINNESOTA RESIDENT: I cried.
HUPPERT (voice-over): The envelope post marked Saint Paul contained a $50
bill.
JOHNSON: It says, sorry things suck right now, and I`m sorry the government
has terrible pandemic response plan. Here`s a little something to make up
for your losses. Love, a friend.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Skyler`s life in Glencoe has turned upside down. Laid
off from her nanny job, her in-home baking business dried up.
JOHNSON: All of my orders have canceled. Nobody is having birthday parties.
Nobody is having weddings. It`s just $50, but next week it could be putting
food on our table for my kids. Who did it? Who was kind enough to just do
something like this?
No idea.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Arielle and Jeremy Brandenburg are wondering the same
in Norwood-Young America.
ARIELLE BRANDENBURG, NORWOOD-YOUNG AMERICA, MINNESOTA: So it was bills,
bills, bills and then this.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Same card, same anonymous note, and $50.
JEREMY BRANDENBURG, NORWOOD YOUNG AMERICA, MINNESOTA: And that will
definitely help with some groceries.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Jeremy`s tile setting business now dead in the water.
A. BRANDENBURG: When you hear about people at the grocery store are
fighting over toilet paper and then you get a card like this in the mail.
HUPPERT (voice-over): The same card that arrived in Bloomington at the home
of Rana Leonhardi.
RANA LEONHARDI, BLOOMINGTON: They actually sent us $100.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Rana, who doesn`t know the other women, is married to
an executive chef just laid off from his job.
(on-camera): Who`s behind this?
LEONHARDI: I don`t know. A little miracle worker, I guess.
HUPPERT (voice-over): Just $50 or $100, but no mere drop in the bucket.
JOHNSON: It`s just fricking cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAMS: Boyd Huppert, KARE 11 in the Twin Cities. Let`s hope folks pay
that thought forward.
Coming up for us, there`s a new curfew in Miami as Florida now gets serious
about the virus. But during spring break, not so much. Tonight, a look at
where all those spring breakers went when they made a break for it when we
come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIAMS: A few last things before we go off tonight. First off, some truly
scary graphics compiled by the folks at Tectonics. They`re tracking, and
they don`t gather. They visualize electronic evidence. Their tracking shows
cell phones being used by spring breakers in Florida.
They chose to zero in on one beach in Lauderdale and they kept tracking all
of those bright cell phone dots as all of those spring breakers broke up
after vacation and then as they all went home. Look at that, bringing with
them, of course, the risk of unknowingly spreading the virus.
Some more graphics here. The folks at flight aware -- Flightradar24 show us
what this virus has done to travel. These are the air routes across the
North Atlantic between the U.S. and Europe. March of 2019, contrast that
with this. Same date and time, March of 2020. And you can see how the skies
are clearing out of aircraft. These photos from Hartsfield, Atlanta, show
portions of the Delta fleet parked on their way toward grounding two-thirds
of all their aircraft.
And while it`s not quite the same as a great Italian tenor singing "Nessun
Dorma" on a balcony in Italy, we are happy to report that especially for
apartment dwellers in quarantine these days, from Europe to America, it`s
become a thing to go outside and say something, sing something, do
something to boost morale. And a social media movement to express our
thanks outdoors to medical staff, first responders, grocers, all the
absolutely essential people in our lives has now taken off.
The instructions are to go to a window or door, express your thanks at 7:00
p.m. local time. We can already hear tonight`s results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: Petty incredible stuff. And on that note of great thanks, that is
our broadcast for this Friday night and for this week. On behalf of all of
my colleagues here at the networks of NBC News, good night. Have a good
weekend. We`ll see you back here before long from our temporary field
headquarters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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