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Don Lemon Tonight
President Trump Berates A Reporter Over HHS Report; Slight Drop In New York COVID's Death Rate; Prime Minister Boris Johnson Brought In ICU; HHS Watchdog Report, Hospitals Facing Widespread And Severe Shortages Of Medical Supplies; CNN Obtains Audio Of Navy Secretary Blasting Ousted Captain As Stupid In Address To Crew; More Than 368,000 Coronavirus Cases In United States, More Than 10,900 Deaths. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired April 06, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: That's why to come at the government specifically in the prism of this president when he says things that play to our weaknesses. It's not his job, you know, to not to test. That really, he doesn't want the federal government to test? What the hell is his job if it's not to do
everything that he can?
This has to be desperation on all fronts. Personally, as a function of community and in terms of our leadership, we have to be desperate to beat this. That is the way we will all get better, OK?
It's time for a lot of news, and that means "CNN TONIGHT" with D. Lemon.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Hello. How are you doing?
CUOMO: Better than I deserve.
LEMON: Your stock answer. So, let's have a -- let's talk like we talk to each other rather than on TV, which we always do. And you know how -- so, first of all, I think you're absolutely right that that works for you. But you know I'm going to say everyone -- I'm sure Dr. Gupta said this, check with your own doctor. Because what may --
CUOMO: Of course.
LEMON: What may work for Chris Cuomo may not work for Mary Smith in New York or Mississippi or Louisiana. Her doctor may be telling her what's best. So, I know you know that.
And so, but if you can get up, yes, I'm sure that helps because then you get it out of your lungs. And you know that I've been telling you this, Chris, rest. I want to see you rest. I want to see you get better.
People -- I've told you I've become the de facto Cuomo brother. Everyone who can't get directly to Chris or to Andrew, they text me or they call me and they say, what about this, what about that? I'm like, I don't know, I am not Don Cuomo, I'm Don Lemon. Why don't you reach out to the governor's office or you know, call Chris or Christina or what have you. But then I get the message to you. You have so many people coming in.
But I just want you to rest and I want people to know at home because many people are asking me, you know, Chris is up and he's doing things. How sick is he? Chris is sick and he's doing this because he wants to show people how it is to have this particular ailment.
But I do want you to just rest and just get better, and the best thing that you can do, I feel, is to come back 150 OP, instead of one hand OP. You know what I'm saying?
CUOMO: Let's -- that's absolutely my goal and there's no question that you have to rest. You have a virus, that's your body's main catalyst for your immune system is resting. That's what creates the most hormonal secretions for your body to fight the way it needs to.
However, however, this particular virus really does prey on passivity.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: And we're seeing that in the hospitals. You know, they're now starting to flip people over on to their stomachs even when they intubate them with the ventilator because most of your lung tissue is on your back.
And if you want it out of there, you got to keep it out of there. You got to stay mobile. I'm not saying do exercise. I can't do exercise. I can't even do pushups, but I can do these breathing exercises. So that's what I'm saying. I'm doing everything that I can. Now what you may be able to do may be more than I can or less.
LEMON: Or less, right.
CUOMO: But that's what you have to do. You have to give yourself the best chance, that's all I'm saying.
LEMON: So, I'm not going to keep you long. I'm just going to say, good night, my brother. Get some rest. Do what you have to do, your breathing exercises, but just chill. Just chill. We love you. We want you to get better. We know that you -- you like -- you love working, but we want you to take a breath. Take a rest. All right? Be there for your fam.
CUOMO: I'll do -- I'll do it all. Remember, I'm doing -- I'm working -- I'm working all day to do one hour of television.
LEMON: I know. I know.
CUOMO: I literally do nothing else all day long just convalescent.
LEMON: I know. Trust me, I know. I'm getting your groceries all the time. I know. I'm like your damn delivery service. Every day you get the text, hey, I'm at the supermarket, what do you need? What do you want? I'm wearing the gloves. I'm wearing the -- hey, listen, I should have put that -- I should send you the picture I'm at the grocery store.
I was actually getting stuff for my family, but I just happened to pick up stuff for your family. But I got the gloves. I got the mask. I'm wearing my mask. I'm wearing my mask. I got the mask on.
But you know there are lines to get in the grocery store with people six feet apart --
CUOMO: Yes.
LEMON: -- like the gas lines in the 1980s and they're let --
CUOMO: Yes.
LEMON: It's amazing to experience what's going on in this world right now. But you get better. I love you --
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: We'll never forget this.
LEMON: -- I love you so much.
CUOMO: We'll never forget this period.
LEMON: I'm here for you.
CUOMO: I love you.
LEMON: Family takes care of family. You know that. All right, brother.
CUOMO: Absolutely.
LEMON: See you soon.
CUOMO: You are the family I choose, brother. I love you and thank you.
LEMON: All right. See you. Have a good night.
This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks so much for watching.
Of course, we have some breaking news. There is another grim milestone tonight. More than 10,000 people in this country have died from the coronavirus. That number right now is 10,900. More than 367,000 people, it's not just a number, people who are sick all across this country.
New York remains the epicenter right now with well over 130,000 cases, 130,000 people. But there may be hopeful signs, OK? There is some hope.
[22:05:04] Signs that the curve may possibly be flattening in New York. Possibly. Caution here. The governor of New York, who is Andrew Cuomo, Chris' brother, says that the death rate in his state has been effectively flat now for two days.
But it's going to take longer than that to see whether that will hold. That is happening as the president hijacks tonight's coronavirus briefing, surprise, taking time when the experts could have been answering America's questions, questions that are on everyone's mind.
He's taking time to argue with reporters and air his grievances. And nothing set him off more than questions about the report by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services. The report that finds that hospitals are dealing with severe and widespread shortages.
And let's all be crystal clear about this. Without a report we have all heard from hospitals over and over and over and over begging for masks. For PPE. And for testing. So, none of this should be a surprise to the president. Why should he be shocked by it? It's a matter of facts. It's the truth.
But this is a president who just cannot handle the truth. A president who has to make everything about him. He needs to be praised at every second. He is so thin-skinned, a president who just loses it whenever he hears someone or something that he perceives as criticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite the nearly 1.8 million tests that you say the United States has done, the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services released a report today, a survey, of more than 300 hospitals across the country, and the number one complaint from those hospitals were severe shortages of testing supplies and a really long wait time, I mean a week or longer.
(CROSSTALK)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That's just wrong. That's just wrong. Did I hear the word inspector general? Really? It's wrong. And they'll talk to you about it. It's wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But this is your own government.
TRUMP: Well, it's -- where did it come from, the inspector general. What's his name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It came from the inspector general report.
TRUMP: No, what's his name?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Did you hear that? Did you hear his sneering tone about the inspector general whose a woman, by the way, not a man. Do you remember just a few days ago the president fired a different inspector general, Michael Atkinson, who forwarded the Ukraine whistleblower complaint to Congress. So, I guess the words inspector general are triggering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I can follow up on this question of the HHS inspector general, by the way, her name is Christi Grimm, it wasn't so much her opinion, but they interviewed 323 different hospitals --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Well, it still could be her opinion. When was she appointed? When was she appointed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not sure when she was appointed.
TRUMP: Do me a favor and let me know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll check.
TRUMP: No, no, let me know now. I have to know now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I don't know what that has to do with anything, but -- and there you go. That's the point of all of this. When was she appointed? You know where this is going, right? This president never misses a chance to blame anyone, but especially his predecessor, president -- the former President Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: How long has that person been in government?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did serve in the previous administration.
TRUMP: You didn't tell me that. I see. You didn't tell me that, Jon. You didn't tell me that. Did serve in the previous -- you mean the Obama administration? Thank you for telling me that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Didn't he go on to say, you'll never make it or something? Jonathan Karl is one of the top reporters in the country. He's at the top of his craft. I think he's already made it. Excellent reporter.
But here's the thing, the fact is that Christi Grimm was appointed to her post in January of this year. Who's the president this year? This year, this year, the president this year? That's President Trump.
So, even this fact challenged president should be able to remember who was president a few months ago. It was him. Spoiler alert, the president is Trump. It was you.
She served in both a Republican and a Democratic administration. Or administrations, I should say. For 20 years. But like I said, this president cannot handle the truth, attacking ABC's Jon Karl who is not only a widely respected journalist, he's also the president of the White House Correspondents Association.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KARL, CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: You ask me when she was appointed. I told you when she was appointed.
TRUMP: Look, you're a third-rate reporter. And what you just said is a disgrace, OK? You said, sir, just got appointed. Take a look at what you said. Now, I said when did they -- when did this person, how long in government?
Well, it was appointed in the Obama administration. Thank you very much, Jon. Thank you very much. You will never make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[22:10:02]
LEMON: That is your president. Did you ever think you'd hear the President of the United States react that way? Ever? I know some of you think it's cute. It's not. It's sad. It's sad. What is that? Anyway, just listen to when the president says -- and what he says in response to a perfectly legitimate question about testing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When can hospitals expect to receive a quick turnaround of these test results--
TRUMP: Are you ready? Are you ready? Hospitals can do their own testing also. States can do their own testing. States are supposed to be doing testing. Hospitals are supposed to be doing testing, do you understand that? We're the federal government. Listen, we're the federal government. We're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Again, the President of the United States. We're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing? One month ago today, one month ago the president said this -- listen closely -- at the CDC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Anybody that needs a test gets a test. We -- they're there. They have the tests, and the tests are beautiful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The tests were beautiful. Well, then it was anybody that needs a test gets a test. Now when a Fox News reporter asks, by the way, a Fox News reporter, asks when testing will be prevalent, the president points a finger at the states. And calls the reporter who dared to ask him the question horrid. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Initially speaking, the tests were old, obsolete and not really prepared. We have a brand-new testing system that we developed very quickly, and that's your result. And you should say congratulations, great job, instead of being so horrid in the way you ask a question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Horrid. And then there's what the president says tonight about his calls with governors. Calls he says are great, perfect. Perfect. Where have we heard that before about a perfect call?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you look at what's happening, that -- and I'm even surprised. The governors are saying all good things, but the Democrat governors and a couple of rhinos, frankly, they're rhinos, that's all they are, one rhino in particular, but the governors are saying great things. He had a call that lasted two hours today. I heard about that call, not just from Mike, it was a perfect call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, so listen to what the president said about calls with the governors just a week and a half ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm a different type of person. I say, Mike, don't call the governor of Washington. You're wasting your time with him. Don't call the woman in Michigan. It doesn't make any difference what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't want to call the governor of Washington?
TRUMP: No, you know what they say? If they don't treat you right, I don't call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Maybe, just maybe, they've figured it out, that if they want to save their citizens' lives that they need to say great things. Maybe they figured it out, in order to get the help that they need to save lives, that they have figured it out. Which is sad, frankly.
You'd like to think that the president of the United States would want to do that anyway. But like I said, it's all about him. The president turning the coronavirus task force briefings, briefings that Americans are counting on to get the facts that could save our lives, turning those briefings into his own personal airing of grievances.
All of this with more than 10,000 Americans dead. More than 360,000 sick around the world. More than 1.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus.
I have to -- I'd be honest with you. For the last couple of weeks when I walk into this building I get in front of this camera, I swear I feel like I'm in the movie network. I feel like Howard Beale. Americans are mad as hell. What are you going to -- how much more can Americans take? Every single day berating people, lying.
[22:14:55]
First, it's a hoax. And then all along I knew it was serious, I knew it was a pandemic. How much more -- how many people have to die?
The number of people who are sick includes the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now in intensive care tonight and has turned over power to his foreign secretary.
I've said this before. This virus doesn't care who you are. It doesn't care if you are a world leader. It doesn't care about your politics. It doesn't care what you believe in. But let's not forget it was just one month ago today that Kellyanne Conway said this about testing and whether the coronavirus was being contained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: The HHS secretary said this morning that we're ramping up, we're ramping up with the commercial labs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why now? Why didn't they do it when it was contained, get ahead of it?
CONWAY: It is being contained. And -- do you not think it's being contained?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's not being contained. Wasn't then. It isn't now. On March 6th, that very day that Kellyanne Conway said the virus is being contained, there were fewer than 20 deaths in this country. And now more than 10,000 Americans are dead. That is a fact. A terrible fact. Not an alternative fact.
Americans, are you mad as hell? How much more are you going to take?
CNN's White House Correspondent is Kaitlan Collins and she joins us now from the White House. Good evening, Kaitlan. Are you at the White House or are you in the bureau? I'm sorry.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, I'm close to the White House. I'm, like, two blocks from the White House --
LEMON: All right.
COLLINS: -- but that is actually the White House behind me.
LEMON: That's the White House behind you. Good evening to you. Thank you for joining us.
The president was extremely combative today, even by his standards. I mean, he is getting ticked off about being asked about testing or just for whatever reason, if he doesn't like the question. But he tries to spin the truth when the truth is deadly clear.
COLLINS: Yes, and, Don, these are pretty simple questions that he's being asked about, and when you see him lashing out, those clips that you played today, they were simple questions about testing and about that HHS report where when the president was asked about the HHS report, he didn't address any of the substance in it.
And of course, that's a report where they interviewed hundreds of hospitals across 46 states just about a week and a half ago and it found some pretty devastating things, like some hospitals are going to nail salons to get masks because they do not have enough on their own. Things of that nature.
But instead of the president addressing that which HHS said at the beginning of that report that the inspector general didn't mean it as a criticism or a critique of the response so far, but it was just a tool to help them moving forward, the president then asked who the inspector general was. He didn't address any of that.
And that was something the president focused on throughout the rest of the briefing every time it came back to that report, asking who the inspector general was when, of course, it's the substance of the report and how the administration is going to respond to that that's really what's critical here.
LEMON: We are in the middle of a public health crisis, no doubt. And people want to hear every single day. They're counting on every word from the medical experts. Why have these briefings become all about Trump and his politics?
COLLINS: Well, it's also really notable if you watch how they're structured, where lately the president has been coming out. He makes remarks for quite some time and then he takes questions, but then the president leaves the room and the vice president and the experts remain in there to answer more questions from reporters.
So, it's pretty notable how it's structured because remember in the beginning the president was not coming out there, and now he comes out, too many of them.
And, Don, he often talks about the ratings he's gets from these briefings because he knows people are tuning in. He's pushed other briefings because he wants them to be in prime time. Push them -- pushed one once from 4.30 in the afternoon to about 6 p.m. or so.
So, the president knows people are watching. He knows this could be a very important avenue to dispense information, but instead you've seen like things the president did this weekend where he's promoting this drug that has still not been proven to treat coronavirus yet, of course, and the president himself is saying things like maybe I'll take it after consulting with my doctors, while people like Dr. Fauci are still saying it's still undergoing testing, we are not ready to endorse anything of this nature yet. Though you are seeing the president do so repeatedly at these
briefings, often times with the experts standing right next to him on stage.
LEMON: Kaitlan, why does he expect reporters to praise him? That is not a reporter's job. What is that?
COLLINS: Yes. And the president says he doesn't like the tone of the questions. He doesn't like that they're not praising other people up there. It's really similar to how he also treats the governors. As you were just noting there in the beginning, that has been his response so far.
[22:20:01]
If governors praise him more, they're more likely to get better access to the president and whatnot. Of course, we've seen the vice president break with that several times and still call these governors regardless, but the president made similar comments to reporters. Asking why their tone is a certain way, why a question is a concern say, why they never say anything nice.
And, of course, it's not the reporters' jobs to say that. They are not supposed to congratulate this administration on anything that they are doing or any administration, for that matter, anyone you're covering.
Instead it's just to cover fairly what's happening in the country, press the leaders in charge of the federal government on what's going on and why things have been so slow when it comes to things like testing of that matter and the president just has been very sensitive to any kind of criticism or anything he perceives as criticism throughout the coverage in recent weeks.
LEMON: To hold leaders accountable. To ask tough questions without fear or favor. Thank you, Kaitlan. I appreciate it.
So, Boris Johnson in intensive care. An update on his condition when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:24:59]
LEMON: So, President Trump contradicting the findings of a report from the Health and Human Services inspector general that says hospitals are facing widespread shortages as they treat coronavirus patients. The president going after the inspector general in tonight's briefing, even though she was appointed by his own administration.
Joining me now the former Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. And she coordinated the response to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak under President Barack Obama.
Secretary, thank you so much. It is very important that you have been here -- that you are here because you have been through a similar situation and so your guidance and your words and your thought -- thoughts and your expertise are very important. So, good evening to you.
The president said that the HHS watchdog report is wrong, but it surveyed more than 300 hospitals from 46 different states, found severe and widespread shortages. Is that woeful ignorance? What is this?
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Well, I just think HHS did what they call the I.G. department, the inspector general did what they call a pulse report, called hospitals all over the country to give a snapshot, to give feedback to policymakers and HHS leaders and the administration about what actually was going on in the country.
Rather than saying, thank you, we will work on this, this is really helpful. As you saw, the president attacked the inspector general. HHS has the largest inspector general office in the entire federal government, 1,600 professional people who look out for fraud and waste and abuse in the big health programs and they want to make sure that policies are being enacted that help the American public.
What the report says is pretty terrifying. Hospitals don't have the equipment, don't have the testing, are scrambling and competing with one another to try and figure out what the supply chain is and are begging the federal government for additional assistance and help.
LEMON: So, my -- then why not speak to the findings and the facts and the figures in the report? Because as you said, it was an attack, it was an outrageous personal attack against the inspector general who was appointed by his administration, I'll say it again, has served in government since 1999. He is constantly looking to point the fingers at the Obama administration and away from his own. Why is that?
SEBELIUS: Well, unfortunately, I've never seen a leader who is incapable of admitting a mistake. And this president has done that from the very beginning. Unfortunately, right now that refusal is costing lives, so you appropriately played his quote at the CDC that anybody who wants a test can get a test. The tests are perfect.
That could not have been farther from the truth. We still don't have the testing capacity that we need. Hospitals describe situations where people are waiting seven days for a test result, taking up a very important limited bed, taking staff time and they may not even be positive, but hospitals can't make that judgement call.
They don't have the protective equipment that personnel needs, and now only the federal government can work with the supply chain. Only the federal government can provide the logistics to distribute this equitably and carefully across the country. Not to have governors try to compete with one another and compete with their own hospital systems. That's the craziest system I've ever heard in my life.
LEMON: Well, I mentioned your role in H1N1. And President Trump taking a swipe at the Obama administration for how it handled H1N1 and claiming no one saw this coming. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We took over a stockpile where the cupboard was bare and where the testing system was broken and old. We got artificially stopped by a virus that nobody ever thought possible.
Take a look at the swine flu. It was a disaster. Seventeen thousand people died. The other administration, they didn't even know -- it was like they didn't even know it was here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Yes, again, I'll remind people, you led the H1N1 response. What really happened?
SEBELIUS: Well, it was a very different story. Again, nobody predicted this particular virus at this particular time. But the -- President Trump in the transition book got a briefing that a virus was likely to occur in the next administration. It was likely to come from a populated country.
It was likely to travel like this and, again, SARS and MERS have evolved in the last several years, so this is not a surprise.
[22:29:57]
H1N1 was a strain of the swine flu not seen since 1918. And it emerged in Mexico. Within two weeks of identifying it, CDC in our day was able to produce a test that was produced by the millions, not only every state in the country had testing. So we were able to track the flu virus, but also we shared it globally across the world. We did lose almost 13,000 lives overall in the United States out of what was estimated to be 61 million people infected.
Those came before we got the vaccine, but the vaccine came quickly. We set up a national vaccination program and distributed vaccine and vaccinated people across the country and shared it again with the world, so there was a period pre-vaccine where, unfortunately, lives were lost, but it's about .02 percent fatality rate. Too many lives, no question about it, but way lower than the common flu for a disease that hadn't been seen since 1918.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: And isn't it up to him to restock the shelves, as he said? You know, we got in the cupboards were bare. Shouldn't he restock the cupboards? I mean, he's been the president for almost four years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's correct, and HHS runs the national stockpile. Part of what happens, Don, is that the national stockpile, the federal government actually buys equipment, buys medicines that may never be used.
We are the only purchaser because scientists are looking out over the horizon and looking at what may or may not come down the road, so there are always drugs in the stockpile that are going to need to be tossed away because they actually have over lived their shelf life.
There is equipment that needs to be updated and replaced. That's the job of the federal government to look at the stockpile, to figure out what's needed, what's missing, and even if we didn't have ample supplies to start with, from the moment in early January that this virus was spotted, stocking up, making orders, using the muscle and leverage of the federal government to make sure that we have the equipment once we dealt with this disease was the important thing to do.
What we did is have an administration that denied anything was happening, that denied that there was a problem and that did not test or restock the stockpile, so now we are in a situation where hospitals very accurately report they don't have the equipment they need.
LEMON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're putting lives at risk at their health care providers and of patients every day.
LEMON: Secretary, thank you so much so much. I appreciate your time. Be safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet.
LEMON: Thank you.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the ICU with coronavirus. We're live in London for the latest next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:35:00]
LEMON: Well, tonight British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care in a London hospital battling coronavirus. CNN's Bianca Nobilo is in London for us this evening. Bianca, good to see you, thank you so much for no joining us. So Johnson's condition has deteriorated. What do you know?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN PRODUCER: Deteriorated rapidly over the last 24 to 48 hours. Boris Johnson was admitted into the intensive care unit late on Monday night. Now, that is a very grave step, indeed. This is a Prime Minister who has now been suffering from coronavirus symptoms for 11 days. Apparently his fever and his cough were persisting, so late on Sunday night his doctors advised that he went into hospital for what they called routine tests.
Then there was a press conference held inside Downing Street on Monday where we were assured as journalists that the Prime Minister was still very much in charge, still governing the country, and then we heard just three hours after that that the Prime Minister had been taken to intensive care, obviously where the sickest patients are taken.
Now, we understand about 2/3 of patients taken into intensive care with covid-19 are put on ventilators. We don't know at this point what the Prime Minister's condition is right now. We know that four or five hours ago he wasn't on a ventilator and we were told that he was conscious. And Don, at that point when he was going into intensive care, still
conscious, he then delegated his authority to our essentially designated survivor here, the first Secretary of State, Dominic Raab, so he will now be in charge making those key, essential decisions to chart Britain's course to deal with this outbreak.
I should also say that the Prime Minister's pregnant fiance, who is expecting a baby in early summer, has also been suffering from the symptoms of coronavirus.
LEMON: Wow.
NOBILO: She says that she is stronger and she's on the mend, but they've been separated now for about a week and a half. So, an even more anxious time for them. And the people in Britain obviously shock by this news that the Prime Minister, a buoyant, effervescent character, to see him taken down and suffering so hard from this virus is definitely a shock to the nation overall.
LEMON: I'll bet. And Bianca, we're going to check back with you at the top of the next hour. Thank you for that report, we appreciate it.
The acting Navy secretary slamming the ousted captain as stupid in comments today to sailors. CNN has obtained the tape and you'll hear it next.
Plus, what's the secretary saying about it? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:40:00]
LEMON: Tonight, the acting secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, is apologizing for blasting the now ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as stupid in an address to the ship's crew this morning. That commander now has coronavirus himself. CNN's Barbara Starr has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING CAPTAIN CROZIER)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Days after acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly fired Captain Brett Crozier from command of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, Modly went to the ship and unleashed his fury on the captain, hundreds of crew members cheered when he left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was my opinion that if you didn't think that information was going to get out into the public in this information age that we live in then he was a, too naive or too studio to be the commanding officer of a ship like this.
STARR: Modly had fired the captain after he emailed more than 20 military officials expressing worry that sick crew members were not being evacuated off the ship fast enough. Tonight suddenly President Trump says he will get involved.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His career prior to that was very good. So, I'm going to get involved and see exactly what's going on there, because I don't want to destroy somebody for having a bad day.
[22:45:03]
STARR: The top civilian leader defended his move to remove Crozier because he went outside the chain of command and created a frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was betrayal. He put it in the public's forum and it's now become a big controversy in Washington, D.C. and across the country. About a martyr C.O. who wasn't getting the help he needed.
STARR: Even senior Navy officials who thought Crozier should have kept the bad news inside channels were dismayed at the personal attacks from a political appointee. It got so ugly the Navy secretary's remarks included profanity and so did some crew members who took the extraordinary step of yelling back at him. One crew member yelling, the captain was simply trying to help them. Trump said the captain should not have publicized his views.
TRUMP: It's unfair to the families of the people on the ship because they get nervous, and it shows weakness, and there's nothing weak about us now.
STARR: As the more than 4,000-person crew continues to be tested for coronavirus, Crozier has also tested positive. So far, 173 of the ship's crew have tested positive and 2,000 have been moved ashore, some for treatment, some for isolation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And Barbara Starr joins me now. Barbara, good evening to you. Modly now apologizing for calling Crozier naive and stupid. He outraged a lot of people with those comments.
STARR: Well, he did apologize tonight, but it was some kind of apology, Don. You know, he said, OK, he's not naive and stupid, but, therefore, he added, paraphrasing him, that the action must have been deliberate. If he's not naive and stupid then he must have deliberately put this information out in the public arena.
He apologized to Crozier and his family, but he didn't directly apologize to them. He apologized if his words caused them pain. So not entirely clear if this is all over and done with yet. This is an acting Navy secretary. He is not up for the job permanently. There is -- somebody else has been nominated for it. We'll have to see how this progresses. It's going to be a while, maybe, before all of this calms down. Don?
LEMON: Barbara Starr, thank you so much.
After weeks under stay-at-home orders, there are signs that the curve may be flattening in the New York area. Governor Cuomo is warning the state is still in dire situation.
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[22:50:00]
LEMON: When New York the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. with well over 130,000 cases, but tonight there is a glimmer of hope. A sign social distancing maybe working. The Governor Andrew Cuomo said, death rate in New York has been effectively flat for two days. He cautions though it will take longer to see if this whole.
So, lets' discuss now. Dr. Harvey Fineberg, he is the chair of the standing committee on Emerging Infectious Disease and has advice the White House on the spread of coronavirus. Dr. Fineberg, thank you so much for joining us. So, you heard what the governor said today. The number of deaths in New York effectively flat two days. Does that mean all these efforts are working?
DR. HARVEY FINEBERG, CHAIR, EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASE COMMITTEE: It's a great sign. Most experience in other parts of the world, Don, say that the kind of distancing that we're experiencing physically separate from one another helps to slow the spread. But won't get us down to zero. It's like moving from a pot instead of rolling boil down to a simmer. But you are still generating steam. We are going to have to do more.
LEMON: And be cautious about it. Because if people become lax, that number can start to rise again. Correct?
FINEBERG: Absolutely. We don't even know yet with any great certainty that the numbers are flat. Looking at a day-to-day is really tough. You need to have at least a few day of experience even to be able to discern a trend. The key here is doing more to stop the virus from spreading in the first place. The better we are at stopping it at the beginning, the more likely we will be then to succeed altogether.
LEMON: So, you know, I did having knowing that the crucial period the peak would be next week, which was this week. And the week after this week, or next week. So, I did more grocery shopping, because they said stay at home. So, that's what Dr. Birx is saying, the White House coronavirus response coordinator stressing right now it's essential to avoid the grocery stores, even the pharmacies if you can. What make this is this two-week period so crucial in this fight against this outbreak?
FINEBERG: This two week period is going to reveal the depth and breadth of this epidemic in places like New York and in the number of other cities around the country. But remember that this is only in part of the country. Other parts of the country may start to see spread coming up a little bit later.
So, it's not a matter only of looking at the places that are hardest hit today. It's being able to monitor what's happening all over the country to know what we have to do. These two weeks are the result of interaction and spread of the virus from many weeks ago. And what we're doing today will effect what we see two and four weeks from now. LEMON: I want to talk to you about this. Because this is important,
Dr. Fineberg. The president continues to promote the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine for testing coronavirus. For treating coronavirus I should say coronavirus. Saying what do you have to lose? Give me a response to that question.
[22:55:00]
FINEBERG: I hope the people listening to you will listen to Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx and other health professionals. There are a lot of treatments that have some reason for hope. There's a laboratory effect. Or there are some experience with other viruses that gives us reason to believe they could be successful.
The only way to know is to test each treatment with a randomized trial in the clinic and see what happens. Then we'll know should we use it or should we try something else. The only way to know is to test and look at the evidence. It's not by speculating or wishing that treatments work.
LEMON: Dr. Fineberg, thank you so much. We will see you soon.
FINEBERG: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: The U.S. officially surpassing 10,000 deaths from coronavirus. And the CDC is warning that that number may actually be higher. We have the latest information. That's next.
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