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Don Lemon Tonight

Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) Is Interviewed Why He Just Implemented The Stay-At-Home Order; New York City Overwhelmed With COVID-19 Casualties; President Trump Eager To Get The Country Back On Its Feet; Awaiting Vote On Coronavirus Relief Bill; Coronavirus Pandemic; U.S. Orders A 60-Day Freeze On Overseas Troop Movements Due To Coronavirus Pandemic; Latest U.S. Coronavirus Toll, 65,200-Plus Cases, More Than 220 Deaths Reported Today; National Cathedral Finds 5,000 Respirator Masks In Its Crypt And Donate Them To Local Hospitals. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired March 25, 2020 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: But together as ever as one, we will see our way through. Strong head, strong heart all day. We'll get through it.

Thank you for watching. "CNN TONIGHT" with D. Lemon right now.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: You got to spend more time with the people you love, right? And this is forcing us to do that. Sometimes it causes fights. Right? You spend way too much time cooped up with it. But I think it shows people what is important.

I know that we have to do the news and that we have to give people the numbers which is really about people, right? There are people, their lives are behind the numbers and, sadly, people do die.

But I got to tell you, in all of this, when people tell me sometimes their favorite moment in this is at the end of the show, your show in the beginning of my show when you say I love you. I know it's corny. But people actually really like that. They say that is the best bromance on television.

Because, I mean, this is some really heavy stuff, Chris. It's really heavy stuff that we are giving and people tell me all the time can you just do some feel good? Please do some feel good. It was great to see Christian Siriano. Zach Posen and where are you, Zach Posen. And I know Zach. I know Christian. Christian is a great guy. Where is Zach Posen and where are the other designers? They could -- you know, I'm not calling anybody out, but you know what I'm saying?

CUOMO: You did just call him out, by the way. Look. I think what this is reminding all of us and I think one of the things that took you and I by surprise and we say this to people all the time, Don and I. One of the regrets right now is I'm not seeing don as often as I normally would. We spend a lot of time together and people see us together all the time and they say you're really friends.

LEMON: Yes. CUOMO: We all have to care about one another. I love Don Lemon. He is

the family I choose and there is a lot of love that goes into doing the job because it's not easy right now. It's scary for us too. We got families too, we're traveling around but the commitment is real because we'll get through it together. And that's why people watch your show because the fact that you care comes pouring out everything about you.

LEMON: Everything -- what you see on TV is same thing on person. I may give -- Chris and I, so you'll see -- you'll see Chris and I will disagree on camera and you'll see Governor Kasich and I were getting in a heated argument.

The thing is that people think that it's persona. It's not. Chris and I fight the same way in person and then we'll say, all right. What do you want to do? You go like take a walk on main street? What do you want to do? The same think, like after the show the governor will call me and we'll have it out.

Like we -- the governor and I were having it out as I was walking my dogs. And I'm like, I can't believe you said that. What is wrong with you? And then you know, and then we're like, it's over. That's how -- that's how real people do it. It's not fake and that's how real people who actually respect each other relate. That's real life.

CUOMO: And we are living through something real right now and it's making everybody remember that --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- you got to be real. You got to tell the truth and you got to be honest.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And you saw -- you saw how I'm keeping in touch with my friends. I have this app, right, that's called Houseparty where everybody just sort of, dials in and, you know, there was somebody on there having dinner, and other friends are in --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Very cool.

LEMON: -- Florida. Yes.

CUOMO: I don't have that many friends but if I did, I would use it.

LEMON: Can I show you real quick? I know that's a -- this is a little bit about family. I know your mom is staying with you and that Fauci and your brother took her away. I show how I got bamboozled. We're talking about spending time with family.

I thought it was just a foster but apparently, I have a new member of my family. Right in the middle there, that's Gus. Gus was supposed to be a foster. South Hampton animal shelter called us and said nobody is -- we are having trouble with fostering and adopting because of the coronavirus. People are afraid to come in they're just not doing it.

So, some shelters are like, everybody is coming in, they want to spend time, they want to get animals, they, you know, because they want to be with their families and they are nesting. And then other places are being shut down and they're not, they're hurting.

And so, we went in we said, OK, great. We'll foster the dog until this is over. And then next thing I know I look on social media and Tim is like, new member of our family, Gus! And I'm like, Tim, it's a foster. So, I guess it's a new member. So now we got, I've been calling him Angelina by the way, and you know what that means.

CUOMO: Sure. I got it. But he is looking -- he is looking like he doesn't like you that much. Maybe I'm misreading it.

LEMON: He is looking like he what?

CUOMO: He doesn't like you that much.

LEMON: Yes, he doesn't. He growls at me and bites me.

CUOMO: Smart dog.

LEMON: Yes, I know. I got to run. The producers are like --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Congratulations. I can't wait to meet him.

LEMON: Little poopy dog. Thank you. I love you, brother.

CUOMO: I love you, brother.

LEMON: You take care of your family and yourself. All right. I'll see you soon.

This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

So here is what we're doing right now at this moment. I hope you're taking care of your family as well. I hope you enjoyed that conversation and tell your loved ones how much you love them, OK? And spend time with them. I know it's tough but we'll get through this.

So, we are waiting for a vote tonight on the largest stimulus bill in U.S. history. Two trillion dollars of coronavirus relief. Two trillion dollars and we are expecting two votes. One on an amendment by Republicans who take issue with additional unemployment benefits in the stimulus bill that will fail after that. OK?

[22:04:56]

Senators will vote on final passage of the bill. The vote will take 30 minutes each to allow for social distancing. And then we're going to bring you those votes when they happen. So, make sure you stay tuned because we're going to bring all of that to you as it happens and it should happen within the hour as we are on the air live here. OK. And then our breaking news now. The new numbers. As the coronavirus spreads, there are more than 65,200 cases tonight and that means 65,200 people and many more families involved in that tonight. It's the deadliest day of the virus in this country. More than 220 deaths reported just today. And hospitals are in dire straits.

At New York City's Belleview Hospital, listen to these stories. A makeshift morgue is being set up. That's Belleview Hospital here in New York. Thirteen people dead and 24 others at another hospital in Queens, New York.

The Washington Post is reporting that Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, they are discussing a universal do not resuscitate policy for infected patients. A universal DNR.

One doctor at New York City, at New York City hospital who wanted to be anonymous for fear that he could lose his job, telling CNN all hell broke loose when his hospital got its first coronavirus patients two weeks ago. Not enough ventilators, not enough beds for the critically ill people.

The New York Jacob Javits Center, the convention center not far from where I'm sitting right now being turned into a thousand-bed hospital. The president of New York's Nurses Association saying that they don't have the personal protective equipment they need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY SHERIDAN-GONZALEZ, PRESIDENT, NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION: We are terrified. Everybody is terrified. We feel an obligation to take care of our patients. Everybody does. But we don't want to become sick and we also don't want to become carriers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Over 175 million people under stay-at-home orders across this country and that number is growing. There is absolutely no evidence that America will be back to business as usual by Easter, despite the president's claim tonight that it is time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's time. They want -- people want to get back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, the president made the pandemic about himself saying, falsely suggesting that his perceive political enemies are just trying to defeat him in November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lawmakers and economists on both sides of the aisle have said that reopening the country by Easter is not a good idea. What is that plan base on? TRUMP: Just so you understand, are you ready? I think there are

certain people that would not like it to open so quickly, I think there are certain people that would like it to do financially poorly because they think that would be very good as far as defeating me at the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That as Congress is pushing late into the night tonight to try to get the stimulus bill passed, 500 billion and loans to businesses, states and municipalities. And extra $600 billion -- $600 -- excuse me -- a week on unemployment benefits for four months and sending checks directly to Americans. Twelve hundred dollars for individual adults and $500 per child though that's phased out for individuals with a just gross income of more than 75,000.

And experts say that it could take at least until May to get those checks. That's a long time away when you're not -- you don't have any money coming in. People who have been living paycheck-to-paycheck may not be able to wait that long.

That bill amounts to a bridge loan to tide over the economy for a few months. And the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is saying that we are going to need another massive relief package. The fact is the coronavirus is not under control. It is spreading. And blind optimism won't stop it.

Calling for this country to be back in business by Easter is dangerous. It's putting Americans' health at risk and putting the economy at risk of repeated shutdowns that would create chaos and confusion. Exactly when that's most dangerous.

Doctors and researchers are desperately working to find new ways to stop this virus. To heal those who are already sick. But there is at least one thing we know that we can do to help. One thing that can help and we have seen it and that is social distancing. Staying at home. It is the best weapon we have so far to slow this deadly virus. Your life, your loved ones' lives could depend on it.

So, let's bring in now CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash and our White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Good to see both of you. Thank you so much for joining us this evening.

Man, we are living in some very strange times, aren't we? So, Kaitlan, I'm going to start with you first. Today is the deadliest day that we have reported in these coronavirus cases. But the president is saying large sections of the U.S. can go back to normal much sooner than others. Where does he -- where he is getting this information?

[22:10:03]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the president has continued to push this assessment that he is hoping the country can reopen with this Easter deadline that he has given himself. And the question is, you know, what are the health experts telling him behind the scenes? Because so far, no one has endorsed that idea. There were questions

whether or not he informed his task force that he had actually selected that date before he announced it.

And earlier the press secretary said she wasn't sure how informed they were of that date before the president said it yesterday. But he is continuing to push this idea.

The question if you talk to people inside the White House is what's going to happen over the next several days. Because they say that if things continue to get worse not only in New York as you've seen just how devastating that has been but in other places throughout the country that could change the president's mind.

And one thing they are looking at is pulling the data to try to, you know, show the president how effective this past week of social distancing has been in hopes of getting him to continue it.

Now, whether that will work is an open question. The president, you know, makes the decisions here. He could make the decision to ease those guidelines that they put in place. But right now, some aides say they still got a few days left to assess this and they are essentially trying to gather all of the data that they can in that time frame.

LEMON: So, Dana, let me bring you in. We are also waiting on the Senate to pass that $2 trillion dollar stimulus package that I mentioned a couple times at the beginning of the show. They reached a deal. So, what is the holdup right now, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, just big picture. This is the biggest bill of this kind ever in U.S. history. Call it stimulus, call it disaster relief, you know, it's all of the above really.

And $2 trillion is just enormous. So, they're just writing the legislation to get there in the first place. Then there is, and you mentioned this. There has been a dispute over the past, you know, six, seven hours or so.

Even though this was an agreement among Republicans, Democrats in Congress and the White House, there was a dispute, and there are four Republicans now who are insisting that the unemployment insurance that is going to go out be it four months extra, $600 a week is too much.

Because in some states, this is a statewide thing. In some states, that will be more than the people who would be eligible for unemployment would get in the regular paycheck and they are arguing it's a disincentive for work, which most Republicans and even the president at the podium today said that that makes no sense because the whole point of social distancing is a disincentive for work.

So, that's why it's taking some time to negotiate this. They are going to have a vote on that first before the big bill. The expectation is that that amendment will be defeated and then they will finally go on for the bill. There have been a couple of other hitches in terms of how this is

written because it is so big and that all of those things are the reason it is taking so long, given the fact that we thought maybe this big vote would happen earlier today.

LEMON: All right. Kaitlan, thank you. Dana, don't go too far, because we are awaiting that vote and we're going to need you a little bit later on in the show. Kaitlan, we may need you as well so we'll call up on you if we need you both. So, thank you both. We'll see you a little bit later.

Now I want to turn to Governor Jared Polis of Colorado who is ordering the majority of his state's 5.8 million to stay home starting in just a matter of hours. Governor, it's so good to see you.

We spoke I think it was last week, right? I mean, you know, it seems like it's all running together here. Thank you so much.

You know, we announced a statewide stay-at-home order for Colorado. You did. It goes into effect tomorrow morning, right? Why now? What's going on?

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Thanks, Don. You know, every day seems like a week. Every week, seems like a year in this. It's only been just over a week since we closed our bars and restaurants here in Colorado. We have been at half work force now for two days.

And we -- what all -- what all that we are doing is not decreasing the spread enough so we are taking additional steps. We are over a thousand cases in Colorado, over a hundred in the hospital. So, we want to do what we can now to prevent a longer-term disruption not only to threat the people's health but also to our economy.

LEMON: Yes. Governor, the Colorado Hospital Association is warning that current ICU bed capacity that it's not going to be enough. Can you get more beds?

POLIS: Well, so by taking these actions that we have been taking the last week that we are taking the next few days we are slowing down the spread. There's no question it's already happening. We are getting a lot of data in from mobility and how people are moving around but we need to take that additional step to buy the time we need.

We have the army corps of engineers in here helping to expand our hospital capacity and like a lot of other governors we are navigating the waters to either manufacture or require more ventilators.

LEMON: You have over a thousand cases in your state. I mean, how quickly is that number rising?

[22:15:03]

POLIS: You know, think about this, Don, you know this. A thousand diagnosed cases, there's probably 5,000, 8,000 and even 10,000 cases in Colorado. Some are mildly asymptomatic, some have tests pending, and some haven't been tested. So, it's a lot more serious than that. And we have community spread not only in our high country, in the Denver area, in Colorado Springs area. So, we need to do what we can as a state to slow this down so we can build the health care response that we need.

LEMON: And you probably had some people who had it and have gotten over it, right, and powered through it not knowing that they've had it because the health professionals say that does, indeed, happen and they just did not get the test.

So, are you getting the medical equipment and supplies you need, governor?

POLIS: Well, we are on our own to get them and we've been doing that. We are looking at additional testing that we are bringing in. We already placed orders for large amount of personal protection equipment. We did our own dry ups here. We have several pallets that Coloradoans had brought in.

We've cancelled elective procedures and moved some of the equipment and supplies from the (Inaudible) sick care centers to the hospitals to meet that need. So, it's about getting the equipment we need and reducing the spread.

We've also talked to the grocers today in Colorado, we have been firm with them. They need better spacing in their lines outside their stores and have a lot more protection for their employees as well. So, it's not spread.

LEMON: I told you about Chicago. They've got that, you now, do not resuscitate, they're working on possibly doing that. And right now, you know, one New York City hospital, I said, setting up make-shift morgues and tents outside for coronavirus deaths. New Yorkers can see and feel the reality on the ground, governor. Has the seriousness of this crisis set in for folks in your state?

POLIS: I think everybody is watching what's going on across the world, Don. New York is only a week behind Italy and the rest of the country is only a week behind New York. So, we're all sounding the alarms doing everything we can to slow that down and give us more time for hospital beds capacity and equipment that we know can save lives for maybe one out of 10 people that have it and need that medical intervention to save their lives.

LEMON: Governor Polis, best of luck to you. We appreciate your time. We know it's a tough and busy time and so we appreciate you coming on. Thanks so much.

POLIS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thank you. President Trump wants people back to work. What does his own medical experts say? I'm going to talk to a doctor about that. That's next.

[22:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Trump tonight not backing off from his suggestion that states could go back to work in stages some places sooner than others. That as the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Fauci says the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in the United States.

Here to discuss, CNN medical analyst Dr. Kent Sepkowitz. Doctor, I appreciate you joining us. Thanks so much.

So, Dr. Fauci last hour is talking to Chris talking about the timeline about opening the country up. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You got to be realistic and you've got to understand that you don't make the timeline. The virus makes the time line. So, you've got to respond in what you see happen and if you keep seeing this acceleration, it doesn't matter what you say one week, two weeks, three weeks, you've to go with what the situation on the ground is.

So, when people say it may take months, I think what people are talking about is how long it takes to go all the way down. But you may see in a relatively shorter period of time when you're seeing the inkling of the flattening and coming down. But, you know, you can't make an arbitrary decision until you see what you're dealing with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, in contrast, it appears to be a direct contrast of what the president is saying. Do you think it's a good idea to open parts of the country back up when the virus is accelerating?

KENT SEPKOWITZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Absolutely not. I think that Dr. Fauci has ever nailed it. The virus is going to set the conditions of when we can move. We can't. And it's foolhardy to think otherwise.

I think doctors, you know, are used to giving bad news or used to giving difficult news. This is routine for us, we tell people, you know, you've had a heart attack, you have cancer. Delivering bad news is what adults do. And we have to do it honestly.

And so from a medical perspective, I think there absolute consensus that we can't guess like this. We don't know what's going to happen --

LEMON: Yes.

SEPKOWITZ: -- so we've got to see what the virus is going to tell us and I hope it won't be horrible but it might be.

LEMON: And here is Dr. Fauci on testing. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We can go to certain states right now that have virtually no problem or a very small problem. We don't have to test the entire state in the middle west or wherever they may be.

FAUCI: There are other parts of the country which we need to get a better feel for what is going on. And the way we do that is by increasing testing and identifying people who are infected, isolating them, getting out of the circulation and then do contact tracing. That's what we call containment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So that appears to be another contra -- in contradiction to what the president is saying. You say testing is an ongoing failure. How far behind are we in these areas that Dr. Fauci is talking about?

SEPKOWITZ: We're way behind. It's too late for New York City to use it as a containment measure. It's not too late for Oklahoma City or Omaha or places that it's just starting to happen just start to use it.

So, these are actually -- the recommendations are not test where we haven't seen cases is exactly contrary to best practice. We want to go where there is a little hint and that's where you can make testing useful to contain the infection. It's a whole lot easier to contain than what we are seeing in New York City now which is -- which is managing thousands, 30,000 cases.

[22:25:06]

LEMON: So exactly in the places -- some of the places that may be the most adverse -- adverse to it saying well, it's not happening here, it's happening in the bigger cities, they are the people, the places that need it the most?

SEPKOWITZ: You know, it's like saying we haven't had a fire here let's get rid of the fire trucks.

LEMON: Got it.

SEPKOWITZ: I mean, you just, you have to be ready. You have to be ready. There might be some cities that never see this. So what? Most cities will see this. Most towns will see this. And if we overshoot a little bit, it's way better than undershooting. There is no -- there is no question about that.

LEMON: Right. So doctor, the governor here, Governor Cuomo giving a little cautious optimism today saying that social distancing --

SEPKOWITZ: Yes.

LEMON: -- efforts could be working with the hospitalization rates going down. Could the curve be flattening?

SEPKOWITZ: I think it's a little early to get too excited. I'm hardened by the fact that Governor Cuomo has been right on throughout. He certainly is not an optimist. But he is a realist. For him to say that knowing that we would be talking about it tonight and that it would spread all around makes me think that it's possible that what he is saying is that, yes, we are seeing the first moment of slowing down. The curve is not going down yet --

LEMON: Yes.

SEPKOWITZ: -- but the rate of rise of the curve is starting to slow and that's wonderful.

LEMON: Yes. Because he did say that the peak is two to three weeks away.

SEPKOWITZ: Yes.

LEMON: So that means we haven't seen the worst of it yet. Thank you, Dr. Sepkowitz. We appreciate it.

SEPKOWITZ: Sure.

LEMON: Yes. The Senate tonight trying to hammer out the final details of the stimulus bill before voting and that could happen any minute now. So, we are going live to the Hill next.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, here is our breaking news right now. The Senate, we are looking at the Senate floor. The Senate is voting any minute now on economic stimulus bill, the largest in U.S. history that will put money in Americans' pocket. Our senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju, joins us now from Washington.

Also, our business editor at large, Richard Quest. Good evening to both of you. Again, we are awaiting this. So, the first vote, Manu, I think is going to be on an amendment and then we'll get the vote that should happen at any moment. So, it took days to get to this point, Manu, but the Senate has a deal in place. Break it down for us. What's in it?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: It's a massive deal. It's roughly $2 trillion and it affects so many industries and companies and workers who have been displaced and Americans as well. They will be impacted who make a certain amount of money. They would get direct payment. Essentially there are big bucket items here including $500 billion fund that would go to provide loans for bigger companies that need it. There will be additional $350 billion in loans for small companies that need it.

There would also be $250 billion to expand jobless benefits in this country. And, in addition to that, another $250 billion for those direct payments that I'm referring to, people who individuals who make $75,000 a year or less and roughly would get about $1,200 in this proposal and people who -- family members -- couples who file -- married couples filed jointly would get $150,000 in addition to $500 per dependent child.

Now, that would decrease the (inaudible), you make and it would phase out for individuals who make more than $99,000. They wouldn't get anything, but that is essentially how this is broken down. This whole sweep of money set aside for everything from hospitals, which would get more than $100 billion dollars in this proposal, states that are cash strapped are also getting more than $100 billion.

And the federal government itself, agency after agency would get a total of roughly $200 billion in emergency spending. So, all told this massive proposal, the biggest rescue package in American history, meant to provide a jolt to the economy, meant to deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The question is how much of an impact will it ultimately have, Don.

LEMON: Yes, biggest and according to the House Speaker and others, there's going to be more to come. Right? So, it's going to get even bigger. Richard Quest, the Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, said earlier this evening that he expects this deal to keep the economy afloat for three months. That's three months meaning there's more to come. So, give me your assessment here, what do you think?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: I think it's a balance, a very balanced bill in the sense that it does give money to the workers who need it most. And it does that through to the extension of the unemployment benefit. But also those -- that 500 billion going to large corporations. Well, that would keep them going and that, of course, is more jobs. But will it be enough? No, it won't. Everybody knows that. It's just a question of when they have to come back to do it.

It won't keep the economy afloat for three months. It will just sort of keep it trucking and it will give the ability for others to play their role. Now, the core to this, Don, and the core to the success of this is how quickly the virus is brought under control. Because what everybody says, everybody I speak to in the economics fields say, is yet we like all of this and it will keep everything going nicely, but it's meaningless if the virus lasts longer and/or it gets further out of control.

Which goes back to what your last speaker was saying and it goes back to what Dr. Fauci was saying. The core of the solution is the amount of money going into health care and how long it lasts. The rest will merely support people until the virus is done.

LEMON: Right on. Manu, what's the political part of this? A lot of folks on both sides of the aisle, in the House who are not happy with the aspects of this this bill threatening to vote against it. How is that going to play out? I mean, will they get in line? And then try to figure this thing out later? Because a lot of people are hurting and many of them won't get this money until May, right? Are they getting in line on this?

[22:35:16]

RAJU: Well, the speaker, Nancy Pelosi has been having a series of conference calls with her members over the past -- today to tell them essentially, look. This is the best we can get. We fought for what we wanted and what she essentially saying to them is that if you don't get what you want in this proposal, there is going to be a phase four proposal, the fourth effort by Congress to deal with the fallout of this pandemic and she is saying, look, you can try to get your provision into that.

What she is trying to say is approve this quickly, allow it to get approved quickly and then let's focus on the next fight. Some Democrats are not totally there yet. The question is will they allow this to pass quickly by a voice vote? It could happen as soon as tomorrow, but any one member could request a full in person recorded vote. Members to come back and cast their vote.

The House is out of session now. So it would require how House members to come back if one membership wants to do that and one member today Don, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who believes that it is too tilted to its corporations, told me that she might request that recorded vote. So, there are some members who are uncertain about whether how to register their concerns here, Don.

LEMON: Go ahead, Richard.

QUEST: Don, they are playing with nitroglycerin here. If for any reason this bill stumbles, all there is the whiff of problems, the last two days of gains of the stock exchange could disappear and more. Is there is any (inaudible) of feeling that's somehow this will be more difficult. Look, we got away with it in the Senate, when the Democrats seemingly while we are waiting to do more for their side.

But now when it goes to the House, they really can't mess around with this because the market is expecting it, investors are expecting it, people in America are expecting it, and need it. If they mess around with these votes, over the next 48 hours, the reaction from the markets could be brutal.

LEMON: Richard, thank you. Manu, we may be getting back to you again. We are awaiting that vote. Thank you both. Thanks so much.

The Pentagon ordering a 60-day freeze on all troops overseas or about to deploy, 90,000 troops will be affected and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:40:00]

LEMON: The defense secretary today ordering a 60-day freeze on the movement of all U.S. troops overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic. The freeze in place order will affect some 90,000 troops that were scheduled to deploy abroad or return to the states. Let's discuss now with a former NATO supreme ally Commander General Wesley Clark. General, good to have you, how are you holding up?

RET. GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Thank you, Don. Good. Everything is good. We are in social distance down here in Arkansas and the state is doing very well. Got a good governor.

LEMON: Good. We'll talk a little bit more. Let's get to the freezing of the troops, OK. So, how does the freezing of the troops and I'm glad you OK. Freezing of the troops keep the virus from spreading among the ranks?

CLARK: We still got a problem with the virus spreading among the ranks, honestly. But the less movement, the more controllable it is. So in theory at least. So, the problem is you've got to handle the logistics of this and you've got to handle the expectations. So the logistics are that people were leaving. Their equipment is packed up and the mess halls, may be, in some cases, relocated. People are leaving in a temporary areas, waiting to get on airplanes, all of that is going to stop out of Kuwait and out of the Middle East.

In the Far East, individuals who were coming home have been frozen on their PCS orders. That happened a couple of weeks ago. So, you got family members waiting for the service member to come home. There is a lot of anxiety and confusion about this. But it does, in theory, give the commanders in place a better chance to get a grip on the social isolation and the right mission oriented policies for each unit.

LEMON: OK. So then I think what everyone is concerned, if you have a concern about this, it's the readiness, right, of our military. What about the military's readiness? Is there a danger, a national security danger here if the virus hits the military hard?

CLARK: Oh, yes, there would be a national security impact if the military was hit hard by the virus. There are already members in the military with the virus and there's a testing problem in some military locations just as there is in the United States with the availability of the testing kits. And it has been the flu season in Europe and people have had head colds and other things so there is some confusion about what disease people have.

But, right now, we are OK. The question is can we keep it OK? It certainly hasn't peaked in the military and if it were to do that on a unit-by-unit basis that could be harmful to those units. But service wide, so far, all indications are that our readiness is upheld and we are solid.

LEMON: So, general, this means that soldiers in places like Iraq or Afghanistan could have their deployments extended by two months. I mean, what kind of a toll does that move -- does a move like that take on service members and their families, of course?

[22:45:00]

CLARK: Well, it does take a toll. I mean, people have expectations built in and the logistics consideration on people in Europe for example, who may have shipped their cars and household goods and suddenly the families told you're not moving. So, where are they going to live? So, there are all these considerations underway. The services are doing what they can to help these families. There is extra pay available in most cases.

Now, for the order that just occurred with the units being frozen, that also has to be unpacked and sorted out. It will be done on a case-by-case, unit-by-unit basis. Because every unit is in a little bit different situation, both in terms of possible members who are infected and also in terms of the logistics situations they are in. This is a case were top-down policies have to be implemented with judgment and good leadership all the way down the chain of command.

LEMON: I want to ask you about the Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Because just a week ago, he offered to have military labs test civilians for coronavirus but CNN is reporting that health and human services hasn't asked. Is this a mistake when there has been such a problem with testing?

CLARK: I think is there a problem with testing because you can't, according to the epidemiologists, you have to be able to measure the extent of the infections and the infection rate in order to know whether you've got it contained adequately or not.

So, in order to implement the kind of face-out of social distancing that the president wants, we need more testing and we need it not only among those who are infected but also in the periphery areas where the infections may be looming or beginning to build. And so far, the availability of test kits is not sufficient to allow that widespread testing to take place.

LEMON: Yes. You're down in Arkansas right now. Has the gravity of this pandemic hit home to folks there? Like folks in Louisiana, we like to call you all Arkansas.

CLARK: Yes, well, Arkansians consider themselves fortunate right now, because we are a lot better off than Louisianans.

LEMON: Yes, you certainly are, that's true.

CLARK: In Arkansas, we always say, thank heaven for Mississippi. But they are about like we are, and so thus far, we've been spared the worse of it. We've got some isolated pockets of infection, but people here are really faithfully following the social distancing. The traffic is down. People are working from home as much as possible. Utilities are on half shift so people are cognitive of the problem.

LEMON: Wow. So, you guys are doing your social distancing and taking a precaution?

CLARK: We are doing the best we can down here.

LEMON: Yes. Good luck. This is crazy, general. This is nothing like we have seen before.

CLARK: Don, we need a strategy, a national strategy that is logical and makes sense that comes from the top that reallocates scarce medical resources, that focuses on where the need is and anticipates it. It has to be done from the top. Then the execution, just as we were saying about the military, has to occur at the state and local level.

But you got to have resource allocation and resource organization from the top, and it just breaks my heart to see the struggle that we are going through and here in our state, you know, people are scrambling, looking for gloves and masks and the suits and people are calling back and forth. There is a wild scramble in the private sector for these things. It could be better, Don. This may work. I hope it does. And I hope we are all going to be OK, soon.

LEMON: Lets' hope so. Thank you, general. Let's hope from your mouth to god's ears and our leaders' ears as well. Thank you so much, I appreciate your time and your words as well and your advice.

Hospitals are desperate for medical supplies, but wait until you hear how the National Cathedral in Washington found thousands of masks in their crypt.

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[22:50:00]

LEMON: A coronavirus surges across the country, governors and hospitals desperately trying to get medical supplies, California's governor saying today his state has distributed 24 million masks, but it's not enough. He's placed orders for 100 million more. But incredibly the National Cathedral in Washington discovered 5,000 masks stored away in the cathedral's crypt.

So, it's helping out local hospitals. Joining me now, the very Reverend Randy Hollerith, Dean of the cathedral. What a find, reverend. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us. Tell us the story of finding these respiratory masks. It was a stone mason who remembered that they were stowed away in the crypt in the National Cathedral?

REVEREND RANDY HOLLERITH, DEAN, WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL: Yes, sir, God is good. Our headstone mason Joe Alonso, has been at the cathedral about 35 years. He remembered that in 2006 or 2005, somewhere in there, that the cathedral purchased about 5,000, 6,000 masks when the avian flu was kicking up in this country.

And they never became necessary. So, they were down in the crypt of the cathedral. And Joe was the one who knew where they were and called them to our attention. And so we wanted to do some God's work with these wonderful gifts. You know, it's really a bit of grace. And so got in contact with a couple of hospitals and had a chance to drop them off today.

LEMON: Ah, the bird flu. All right. What else is stored down there in the crypt at the cathedral that could help? Anything else?

HOLLERITH: Well, we'll keep looking. There are a lot of souls down there. But I think that's the only thing that can help on this occasion.

[22:55:08]

LEMON: But you knew immediately how badly these respirator masks were needed. But they were purchased over a decade ago. How do you know they're still going to hold up? If they are still going to work. HOLLERITH: Well, they're in completely in sealed boxes and we were

very clear with the hospitals that we gave them to exactly what their age was. And I think from the research that we saw online, they're still considered good. So, god bless them. I hope they are. And we're happy to have them.

LEMON: Yeah. So, what are you going to do for Easter? Are you going to continue the social distancing? What are you going to do for services?

HOLLERITH: The bishop of the diocese of Washington has closed all the parishes through May 16th. So, I would like to say while the cathedral may be empty, you can still celebrate the empty tomb. We're going to have virtual services and have a wonderful holy weekend Easter.

LEMON: Yes, the very Reverend Randy Hollerith. What a find in the crypt. Thank you so much. Really doing the lord's work in Washington.

HOLLERITH: Thank you for having me on.

LEMON: Thank you. Absolutely. You be safe. Thank you so much.

We're minutes away from the Senate voting on their $2 trillion stimulus plan. We're live on Capitol Hill, that's next.

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