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Trump: Not Currently Considering A Nationwide Lockdown. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired March 20, 2020 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- prescribed for many years for people to combat malaria, which was a big problem, and it's very effective. It's a strong, it's a strong drug. So we'll see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's also fairly effective against SARS.

TRUMP: It was very -- it was, as I understand that I -- is that a correct statement. It was fairly effective on SARS.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: John, you've got to be careful when you say fairly effective. It was never done in a clinical trial. They compared it to anything. It was given to individuals and felt that maybe it works. So you --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there anything to compare it to?

FAUCI: Well, that's the point. Whenever you do a clinical trial, you do standard of care versus standard of care plus the agent you're evaluating. That's the reason why we showed back in Ebola, why particular interventions worked.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About the possible therapies yesterday, Mr. President, you said that they were for quote, immediate delivery, immediate, we heard --

TRUMP: We're ordering. Yes. We have millions of units ordered. Bayer is one of the companies as you know, big company, very big, very great company. Millions of units are ordered. And we're going to see what happens.

We're going to be talking to the governors about it. And the FDA is working on it right now. The advantage is that it has been prescribed for a totally different problem. But it has been described for many years. And everybody knows the levels of the negatives and the positives. But I will say that I am a man that comes from a very positive school when it comes to in particular one of these drugs. And we'll see how it works out, Peter. I'm not I'm not saying it will. But I think that people may be surprised. By the way there'll be a game changer. But we'll get to know very soon. But we have ordered millions of units. It's being ordered from Bayer and there is another a couple of companies also that do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For clarity, Dr. Fauci said, there is no magic drug for coronavirus right now, which you would agree. I guess on this issue --

TRUMP: Well, so I think we only have --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry.

TRUMP: Maybe and maybe not, maybe there is, maybe there isn't. We have to see. We're going to know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it possible that your impulse to put a positive spin on things, maybe giving Americans a false sense of hope --

TRUMP: No. I don't think so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- if there's any preparedness right now?

TRUMP: No. I don't think so. I think that -- I think it's got --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- you know, the not yet approved drug --

TRUMP: -- such a lovely question. Look, it may work and it may not work. And I agree with the doctor, what he said. It may work, it may not work. I feel good about it. It's all it is, it's just a feeling. You know, I'm a smart guy. I feel good about it. And we're going to see. You're going to see soon enough.

And we have certainly some very big samples of people who have you looked at the people, we have a lot of people that are in big trouble. And this is not a drug that obviously I think I can speak for a lot of -- from a lot of experience because it's been out there for over 20 years.

So it's not a drug that you have a huge amount of danger with. It's not like a brand new drug that's been just created that may have an unbelievable monumental effect, like kill you. We're going to know very soon. And I can tell you the FDA is working very hard to get it out.

Right now, in terms of malaria, if you want it, you can have a prescription. You get a prescription. And by the way, and it's very effective, it works. I have a feeling you may -- and I'm not being overly optimistic or pessimistic. I sure as hell think we ought to give it a try. I mean, there's been some interesting things happened and some good, very good things. Let's see what happens.

We have nothing to lose. You know the expression. What the hell, do you have to lose, OK?

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: John, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say the Americans were scared though? I guess, nearly 200 dead, 14,000 who are sick, millions, as you witnessed, who are scared right now. What do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?

TRUMP: I say that you're a terrible reporter. That's what I say.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I think it's a very nasty question. And I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people. The American people are looking for answers and they're looking for hope. And you're doing sensationalism and the same with NBC and Concast. I don't call -- I don't call it Comcast, I called Concast.

Let me just add for who work, let me just say something. That's really bad reporting. And you want to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism. Let's see if it works. It might and it might not. I happen to feel good about it. But who knows? I've been right a lot. Let's see what happens, John.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get back to the science and the logistics.

TRUMP: You have to be ashamed of what you do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The units that were ordered, are they for clinical trials, are they for distribution to the general patient population?

TRUMP: We are going to as I understand that, we are going to be taking samples in New York. Governor Cuomo very much is interested in this drug. And they are going to work on it also, after they get a certain approval. We're waiting for one final approval from the FDA. We'll see what happens. But we'll use it people that are not doing great or even at the beginning of not feeling loved.

[12:35:06]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- fallen under the --

TRUMP: And John, what do I have to lose? It's boy, John. It's been out there for so long. We hear good things. Let's see, maybe it works and maybe it doesn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand all that. I'm just thinking the application here. So that would be under sort of a modified compassionate access.

TRUMP: We're doing that, I guess. And that's what it's called. Yes. Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like Dr. Fauci, if you don't mind to follow up on what the President is saying. Should Americans have hope in this drug right now? And, Sir, I would like to follow up on Peter's question here. Could you please issue -- address Americans in this country who are scared right now? This is a very valid concern that people have.

FAUCI: No, there really isn't that much of a difference in many respects with what we're saying. The President feels optimistic about something, his feeling about it. What I'm saying is that it might, it might be effective. I'm not saying that it isn't. It might be effective.

But as a scientist, as we're getting it out there, we need to do it in a way as while we are making it available for people who might want the hope that it might work, you're also collecting data that will ultimately show that it is truly effective and safe under the conditions of COVID-19. So there really isn't different. It's just a question of how one feels about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any reason to believe it's not safe?

FAUCI: Well, certainly as a drug, any drug John has some toxicities. The decades of experience that we have with this drug indicate that the toxicities are rare and they are in many respects reversible. What we don't know is when you put it in the context of another disease, whether it's safe.

Fundamentally, I think it probably is going to be safe. But I like to prove things first. So it really is a question of not a lot of difference. It's the hope that it will work versus proving that it will work. So I don't see big differences here.

TRUMP: I agree. I agree.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Americans who are working at home who have their children in their homes right now, who are home schooling --

TRUMP: Here we go. Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- doctors who say they don't have the masks they need to do their jobs, your message to them.

TRUMP: My message to the American people is that there is a very low incidence of death, you understand that. And we're going to come through this stronger than ever before. If you get it, if you happen to get it, it is highly unlikely, it's looking like it's getting to a number that's much smaller than people originally thought, in terms of the ultimate problem, which would be death.

My message to the American people is, number one, you've done an incredible job. Incredible what you've gone through. It's been incredible. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't their fault. It wasn't the fault of 140 other countries where this has happened. And there is tremendous hope. And I think we're going to come out stronger, better, bigger in every way. I think we're going to be a better country than we were before.

And we learned a lot. And we learned on reliance, who to rely on, who not to rely on. But our country, our country has been incredible the way they pulled together, including the fact that I just spoke to Senator Schumer, we had a wonderful conversation. We both want to get to a good solution. But it's been really for me, watching and seeing people that weren't speaking getting along well because we all have one common aim, and that's to get rid of this invisible enemy, get rid of it fast, and then go back to the kind of economy that we had, and maybe even better.

Yes, please, in the back.

TRUMP: No, the back please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, I have two questions. The first question is meant small business are concerned that they have weeks, not months, and I'm worried about how long it'll take them.

TRUMP: We're going to be helping them a lot. We're going to be focused a big focus and including my conversation with both Mitch and with Chuck. A big focus of that conversation with small businesses because they are really the engine behind our country, more so than the big ones. They are the engine behind our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second, if I may start. Are you concerned about members of Congress that may have used information they learned on updates to sell stocks and profit off of this?

TRUMP: I'm not aware of it. I saw some names. I'm not. I know all of them. I know everyone mentioned Dianne Feinstein, I guess and a couple of others. I don't know too much about what it's about. But I find them to all be very honorable people. That's all I know. And they said they did nothing wrong. I -- very honorable people.

Yes, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, so the whole group -- when the Intelligence Committee and it also would include Senator Kelly Loeffler. And so the question is whether or not they should be investigated for that behavior.

TRUMP: Well, it also includes Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, you didn't mention her name. Why didn't you mention her name? And I think she's a very honorable person, by the way. So I'm not saying. But you know, it's interesting that you mentioned two people but you don't mention one that happens to be a Democrat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any senator, should they be --

TRUMP: I don't know, because I'd have to look at it. Possibly, but I find them to be honorable people. Yes?

[12:40:02]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You said the other day you compare yourself -- you see yourself as a Wartime President right now leading the country through this pandemic that we're experiencing, do you really think, you know, going off on Peter, going off on a network is appropriate when the country is going through something like this?

TRUMP: I do because I think Peter is, you know, I've dealt with Peter for a long time. And I think Peter is not a good journal --

COLLINS: He's just asking for your message to the country --

TRUMP: I think it's a good message, because I think that the country has to understand that there is indeed whether we like it or not, and some of the people in this room would like it. There's a lot of really great news and great journalism, and there's a lot of fake news out there. And I hear it all. And I see it all. And I understand it all because I'm in the midst of it.

So when somebody writes a story or does a story on television and I know it's false. I know it's fake. And when they say they have 15 sources have said, and I know there's no sources, there's no sources, they just make it up. I know that and I call Peter, I call Peter out, but I call other people out too. And you know, this is time to come together. But coming together is much harder when we have dishonest journalists.

It's a very important profession that you're in. It's a profession that I think is incredible. I cherish it. But when people are dishonest, they truly do hurt our country. Yes, in the back. Please go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, China has been in communication with the United States and also WHO about coronavirus.

TRUMP: Right. That's true. That's true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the U.S. shut its border to travelers from China on February the 2nd also has been in lockdown since January the 24th. And this all happened almost two months ago. Why did you say if you could have known earlier and also you have been calling coronavirus --

TRUMP: Well, I have to say this, we have and I can speak for myself. But I have a very good relationship with China and with President Xi. I have great respect for President Xi. I consider him to be a friend of mine. It's unfortunate that this got out of control. It came from China. It got out of control. Some people are upset.

I know President Xi. He loves China. He respects the United States. And I have to say, I respect China greatly and I respect President Xi. OK.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- more about stock buybacks, maybe airlines when Boeing did stock buybacks, is this a deal breaker for you and this -- TRUMP: No. But I never liked stock buybacks from their standpoint, when we did a big tax cut. And when they took the money and did buybacks, that's not building a hangar, that's not buying aircraft, that's not doing the kind of things that I want them to do. And we're now talking about buybacks. We didn't think we would have had to restrict it because we thought they would have known better. But they didn't know better, in some cases, not in all cases, obviously.

Some people did an incredible job. They built plants all over the country. I mean, you'd see what's happened. I mean, we were doing until this invisible enemy appeared. We were, I mean, we never had an economy like this. But there were some companies that used that money to buy back stock, driving up the price of the stock artificially, in many cases. I don't like that. I don't like it.

And as far as whether or not we'll have that allow them when we give them money, because we have to keep these great companies in business because of the workers, frankly, for the most part, because of the workers. The workers are my number one concern. But the way we take care of the workers is we have to keep the companies going.

I am fine with restricting buybacks. In fact, I would demand that there be no stock buybacks. I don't want them taking hundreds of millions of dollars and buying back their stock because that does nothing. Yes, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One for Dr. Fauci and then hopefully one for you.

TRUMP: Yes. Sure. And one thing, Secretary of State Pompeo is extremely busy. So if you have any question for him right now, could you do that because, you know what I'd like to do? I'd like to him to go back to the State Department or as they call it, the Deep State Department, if you don't mind. I'd like to have him go back and do his job. So does anybody have any question? Please.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes. How about you please, only for the secretary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The exemptions on work travel, can you define that is all worked with anyone with a work visa can still cross the border? Can you define what those -- the measures that you're taking?

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's a great question. We're working with -- we're concern about H-2A visas, particularly agricultural worker that need to get across. We're going to make sure that we do everything we can to keep that part of our economic lifeblood working between our two countries.

DHS and the State Department will work together. We want to make sure and keep commerce between Canada, the United States, and Mexico alive, functional and prepared for the day that this economy bounces back like we expected it will.

(CROSSTALK)

[12:45:01]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, the Mexican government has not announced any travel ban on Europe. Where -- have you been in touch with them as to when they're going to do this and what it is that they're telling you?

And then a second question, they also are telling us and said in a press conference this morning that they will not take back any non- Mexican citizen, any other third parties who have to, we don't know what will happen to them. So can you address what will happen to those third country immigrants that you are saying that will not be allowed to enter the U.S. And Mexico is saying that they will not be allowed to stay in Mexico either or sent back from the U.S.

POMPEO: For now -- I'll take the first one and Chad I'll give you the second one. With respect to travel into Mexico from outside. I spoke with Foreign Minister Ebrard a couple of times about this. I'm very confident we're going to get to a really good place to protect the Mexican people and the American people from those who might be traveling into places where we've got designations, the Schengen zone from China, so that they're not coming into Mexico and then coming into the United States. I'm very confident we'll do that. We'll make that announcement shortly together.

(CROSSTALK)

CHAD WOLF, ACTING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Again, as we implement the CDC's order, again, we're going to take a number of individuals across the border illegally and repatriate them or remove them quickly back to Mexico, back to the northern triangle and back to any other country. So we're going to do that in a rapid fashion. We'll continue to work with Mexico to make sure that Mexican nationals go back as well as other populations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, you're sending Guatemalans back to Guatemala, Cubans back to Cuba. What would you do with those third countries that are non-Mexicans?

WOLF: So we're doing all of the above. We're going to be sending, again, individuals back to Mexico, individuals back to the northern triangle countries, Cuba, Haiti, all of the -- again, 122 different nations, that we see nationalities that come across that border. We'll be sending them back individually to their countries, but also we're working with Mexico to send additional populations back there as well.

TRUMP: And just to put it, you know, when you said, before you said that non-Mexicans going to Mexico, we're not sending them to Mexico, we're sending them back to their own countries, not to Mexico. Why would Mexico take people that aren't from Mexico? We're sending them back in the case of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, a lot of other countries, they go back to the country from where they came. OK. And, Mike, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Pompeo, on the issue of disinformation, is there any particular locus for this disinformation or is it diffused? POMPEO: It's pretty diffused, unfortunately. But we've certainly seen it come from places like China and Russia and Iran, where there are coordinated efforts to disparage what America is doing in an activity to do all the things that President Trump has set in motion here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other than what you're doing this morning, what are you doing to fight back?

POMPEO: Lots of things, lots of work. One of the things we want to make sure is the American people go to trusted sources for that information. And but we've made clear, we've spoken to these countries directly that we don't -- that they need to knock it off that we don't approve of it. And then there are a handful of other things we're engaged in to make sure that the right information is out there and accurate information is given.

This idea of transparency and accurate information is very important. It's how we protect American people from something like this ever happening again.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you want the American people to becoming to trusted sources of information. Does it undermine you at all when the President stands up here and he attacks news outlets calling us untrustworthy?

POMPEO: Can we ask other question?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peace Corps Volunteers have all -- had the sort of the Peace Corps Volunteers --

TRUMP: We're doing another one. Please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In terms of Americans who find themselves stranded in places where they are no longer flights to get back to the United States, what efforts are being made to help them?

POMPEO: I appreciate that question. So we're doing lots of things. We've had a couple places in particular, Peru and Morocco, I think we've had the first two, maybe three now flights out of Morocco. We're going to work to get people back.

We're urging individuals when they can get back on their own. They traveled there on their own when they can get back there on their own. They ought to try to do that. But we are -- we have a team stood up at the State Department, the Repatriation Task Force that is working each of these instances. So we've heard from individuals, members of Congress, we're trying to get Americans back from these places where air travel has been disrupted. And we will get that done over time. We'll get it done successfully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any sense at all --

TRUMP: Yes, you, go ahead --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any sense of just how big that problem is? How many people --

POMPEO: No, no, we don't know the full scale of it yet. But we think we have the largest number identified and we're working if there are -- those who are watching that are someplace and you can get up and go on the State Department website, you can log into again, step.gov and go step and login. And we'll track in and we'll try to get everybody back.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, how long are these border restrictions likely to last along the south and north borders?

POMPEO: Well, that last as long as we need to do it to protect the American people from the virus. I couldn't tell you how long it's going to last.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And since we have you, have you determined whether Iran is responsible for that rocket attack last week?

TRUMP: Maybe we shouldn't say anything.

POMPEO: So, let me just get back to you on the answer to that. And what we can -- what --

TRUMP: We know plenty.

POMPEO: What we can say -- what we can say with certainty is, as we've made clear all along, that the Iraqi Shia militias are fun to trained equipped by the Iranians and we've urged the Iranians not to do that. And we've the Iranians that they will be held responsible for those attacks when they threaten American lives.

[12:50:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Pompeo --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the Peace Corps Volunteer. The Peace Corps Volunteer that are in 60 plus countries did they all been returned?

POMPEO: You know, I don't know if they're all back or not yet. But I know that they were directed to come back. I know that most of them, Rebecca, couldn't tell you if we have all of them back yet. I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then Secretary Esper is not here. But to get test to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, are you able to give us a progress report on the status of that if they're already able to get tests?

POMPEO: I don't know the answer to that. I know we have State Department officials too who are concerned. I want to make sure we get them tests our team as well. We're working on that. We've had significant success on that to date. There are a few places we've not been able to get them. But we will, we'll get them there.

COLLINS: Secretary Pompeo, how exactly are you going to get those Americans back? And do you have any plans to get the military involved in that?

POMPEO: We're going to use all the tools we can. These first efforts are combined commercial-private flights that will fly and bring them back, bring them back to a destination here in the United States. I will do that. There are some little travel back other ways as well. And we've worked with the Department of Defense to say, where there are space available, we'll be able to bring them back on those flights as well. It's all government effort to make sure we get him back. They're going to help us every place they can. Secretary Esper and I have talked about a couple times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Secretary, question on Iran again. Is there any consideration to relaxing sanctions on Iran during the coronavirus crisis --

POMPEO: That's an important question. The whole world should know that humanitarian assistance into Iran is wide open. It's not sanctioned. We've offered to provide assistance to the Iranians as well. I talked with Dr. Ted Rose from the World Health Organization about this. We're doing everything we can to facilitate both the humanitarian assistance moving in and to make sure that financial transactions connected that can take place as well.

There is no sanction on medicines going to Iran. There is no sanctions on humanitarian assistance going into the country. They've got a terrible problem there. And we want that humanitarian medical healthcare assistance to get to the people of Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the sanctions themselves, no --

POMPEO: We are working to do all the things we've had in place for the first three years here to deliver security for the American people.

TRUMP: They know the answer. All right, they know the answer, Iran, the leaders. They know the answer to your question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, was it appropriate for the President to call your department, a deep state department at a time when thousands of diplomats are working very hard around the world to combat this pandemic?

POMPEO: We work for the President for three years now. I know how much he values the people that work on my team. I know when I was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, how much he valued the work we did. I know that he watches our team, Dr. Birx, all the team that's working to push back against this virus, to keep America safe. I know how much he values them.

TRUMP: What a good answer. Yes. Go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Go ahead. No, behind you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I apologize.

TRUMP: Please, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These -- I have two questions. The first, this is to Secretary Pompeo. These news hours learned that the CDC picked up that there was some sort of virus happening in Rwanda, coronavirus happening in Wuhan as early as December. When did the CDC start letting other agencies know that there was something in China happening that this coronavirus was happening? And then when did the whole government approach start to happen?

POMPEO: So I'll let the CDC or Dr. Fauci do you want to talk about that? Secretary Azar please.

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Yes. So we were alerted by some discussions that Dr. Redfield, the director of the CDC, had with Chinese colleagues on January 3rd. It's since been known that there may have been cases in December, not that we were alerted in December.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then Mr. President, the other question I have for you, when --

TRUMP: Excuse me, we'll do it. Secretary Mike, yes, with that.

POMPEO: May I just add one more thing. There's been some discussion about China and what they knew and when they knew it. And I've been very critical. We need to know immediately. The world is entitled to know. The Chinese government was the first to know of this risk to the world. And that puts a special obligation to make sure that data, that data gets our scientists, our professionals.

This is not about retribution. This matters going forward. We're not live exercise here to get this right. We need to make sure that even today, the datasets that are available to every country, including datasets that are available to the Chinese Communist Party are made available to the whole world.

It's an imperative to keep people safe. We talked about the absence of datasets not being able to make judgments about what to do. This is absolutely -- this transparency, this real time information sharing isn't about political games or retribution. It's about keeping people safe. And so when you see a delay in information flowing from the Chinese Communist Party to the technical people who we wanted to get into China immediately to assist in this, every moment of delay connected to being able to identify this risk -- the risk vectors, creates risks to the people all around the world.

And so this is why it's not about blaming someone for this. This is about moving forward to make sure that we continue to have the information we need to do our jobs. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Secretary, what message do you think it sends to other countries when you have the President of the United States lashing out reporters?

[12:55:03]

POMPEO: I've had my frustration with reporters too. All I asked when I talked to the media is that you listen to what we say and report it accurately. And it's frustrating. It's frustrating when you sit -- when you sit -- when you see that that doesn't happen. It's enormously frustrating.

We have a responsibility to tell the American people the truth. And those who are reporting on what it is we're doing and saying, have an equal responsibility to report accurately.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What messages you send to countries when you're lashing out reporters?

(CROSSTALK)

POMPEO: I've seen many things that the State Department reported wildly inaccurately on multiple occasions. And I have spoken to those reporters about it each and every time. And I will continue to do so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, Senator Johnson has suggested --

TRUMP: Well, I'd rather have if you could finish up with the Secretary.

POMPEO: I think I've worn them out, Mr. President.

TRUMP: Is everybody finished with the Secretary of State?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let me ask you both if that's all right. Mr. Secretary, Senator Johnson has suggested that you and the administration may be overreacting. He said, if we don't shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways, if we don't shut down our economies, because tens of thousands of people die from the common flu. At worst 3.4 percent of Americans will die from this virus, he said. What do you say to people that have that view? That's 11 million --

TRUMP: -- can just say, the entire world is agreeing with us. Because they're all -- they all have their buddies doing the exact same thing. We want to shut it out. And we can do that. And we'll see what happens in two weeks, in three weeks.

But if we can save thousands of lives and even millions of lives, potentially, you don't know where it goes, but you could be talking about millions of lives. So if you look at the world, I mean, you have some very smart people in the world, you have some smart leaders in the world. And everybody is doing it the way we're doing it. I think we're doing a better job than hopefully most if not all. We're doing a very effective job. But we'll know better in 14 or 15 days. But, you know, you're talking about hundreds of thousands and maybe more than that numbers of people. And, you know, we can bring our finances back very quickly. We can't bring the people back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, to follow up on that, there are millions of people out there that share that view that say, I don't really need to stay away from the stores, I don't -- I can go to the beach. And those people making multiple actions exponentially, it's the difference between life and death isn't it?

TRUMP: Yes. I agree with that. But I think I'd like to have Anthony answer that because to be honest, that's what he does. And he -- we had a lot of very talented people telling us what they think we should do.

FAUCI: Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I think that's a false equivalency to compare traffic accidents with I mean, that's totally way out. That's really a false equivalency.

When you have something that is new, and it's emerging, and you really can't predict totally the impact it's going to have and you take a look at what's going on in China. And you see what's going on right now, right now, in Italy and what's happening in New York City, I don't think with any moral conscience, you could say, why don't we just let it rip and happen and let X percent of the people die? I don't understand that reasoning at all.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: OK, so Secretary of State will be leaving, any other questions for him? Go ahead in the back please, in the back for Mike.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you Mr. President.

TRUMP: Excuse me, I didn't call on you. Go ahead please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. President. Two things, in New York where cases are doubling every day. They fear that supplies are going to run out in a matter of weeks. Yesterday, Mayor Bill de Blasio called on you to mobilize the military to deliver urgent supplies. Yesterday he said, quote, the fate of New York City rests in the hands of one man. He is a New Yorker and right now he is betraying the city he comes from.

I've personally spoken to emergency department nurses who say that they're being told not to wear N95 masks because supplies are so low. So how do you respond to those remarks by Mayor de Blasio --

TRUMP: Well, I just think there's -- I'm not dealing with him. I'm dealing with the governor. And the governor agrees with me and I agree with him. So far, we've been very much in sync. I guess they're not agreeing with each other necessarily. But the relationship with New York, I love New York, I grew up in New York, as you probably have heard. And the relationships been very good. And I think government and the governor have been getting along incredibly well with the federal government. OK.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Question for Secretary Wolf if I could. Just on illegal entries of people who are OTM, how will the turn back process work? Will they be taken to a common area and then put on a plane and sit back to northern triangle countries or others? I mean, how would that process work?

[13:00:01]

WOLF: Again, it's a public health crisis. So what trying to do is limit the amount of contact that we have with these individuals not --