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The Situation Room

Trump, Obama Spar Over Coronavirus Response; White House Advisers Says CDC Let Country Down on Testing; Interview with Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on Fighting Coronavirus Outbreak in Nursing Homes; Trump Vows Fully Approved Vaccine for the Public by Year's End; Navajo Nation Faces Deepening Coronavirus Crisis. Aired 7- 8p ET

Aired May 17, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:29]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of the SITUATION ROOM.

Right now nearly 90,000 Americans have lost their battle with coronavirus. That grim figure accounting for nearly one-third of the confirmed global death toll now above 314,000 people. And while the country faces -- continues to face this national emergency on so many fronts, the president is attacking his predecessor, President Barack Obama, calling him grossly incompetent.

This after President Obama sharply criticized the current administration's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is again slamming the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: Early on in this crisis, the CDC, which really had the most trusted brand around the world in this space, really let the country down with the testing because not only did they keep the testing within the bureaucracy, they had a bad test. And that did set us back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's go to our White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.

Jeremy, certainly this is not the first time in recent days the White House has expressed frustration with the CDC. Still, it's pretty extraordinary.

Is this normal tension between the government agencies or is there something a lot more significant unfolding right now? JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Wolf, there's no

question that it's remarkable to hear a senior White House official criticized the CDC in the middle of a pandemic. But that is exactly what he heard Peter Navarro, one of the president's top trade advisers do as he talked about the CDC's early testing failures.

Now make no mistake Peter Navarro is actually hitting the mark on some of the failures of the CDC that cause the delay for several weeks, three weeks of delays in terms of getting those testing kits across the country early in this pandemic. But of course that was just one point of several early missteps in this administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

So why is Peter Navarro singling out the CDC at this point? And what we do know, Wolf, from talking with administration officials is that there have been rising tensions between the White House and the Centers for Disease Control. Part of that, we're told, is over some criticisms from the White House end about how the CDC has been gathering and tracking data about this coronavirus, saying that it's an antiquated system.

Some of that criticism even coming from White House's coronavirus coordinator Dr. Debra Birx, and then on the CDC side, Wolf, there's been frustration with the fact that the White House last week shelved those 68-pages of detailed deadlines on how businesses and states can begin to reopen. The White House just a few days ago, Wolf, instead released just a six-page decision tree offering very few of those details that CDC officials had worked for weeks on.

BLITZER: The president was asked earlier today also, Jeremy, to respond to President Obama's criticism over how he's handled the pandemic. Update our viewers on this escalating, shall we say, war of words between the president and his predecessor?

DIAMOND: Yes, Wolf, well, it was just over a week ago that we heard former President Obama on a call with Obama administration officials calling the Trump administration's response to this coronavirus anemic and spot cry. Calling it an absolute chaotic disaster. Since then, Wolf, we have heard President Trump attacking former President Obama on a number of front including leveling some pretty baseless conspiracy theories his way.

But earlier today, Wolf, President Trump did respond to President Obama's most recent criticism. Listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, he was an incompetent president. That's all I can say. Grossly incompetent. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Now, Wolf, of course we are used to hearing President Trump go after President Obama. It's been a hallmark not only of his campaign in 2016, and of his three-plus years in office, but it is far more rare to hear the former president Barack Obama criticizing President Trump but that appears to be something that President Obama is growing more and more willing to do. And I expect we'll see much more of that as he goes on to campaign for his former VP Joe Biden -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And the -- and then President Trump also tweeted earlier on the day this, "The Obama administration is turning out to be one of the most corrupt and incompetent in U.S. history. Remember, he and Sleepy Joe are the reasons I am in the White House."

[19:05:08]

BLITZER: So the president even on a -- you know, obviously, and so much is going on he's spending quite a bit of time on Twitter going after his predecessor.

DIAMOND: Yes, he is. And again that is kind of a typical part of President Trump's playbook is that when he is facing criticism himself or an uncertain political future as he is now with this 2020 -- his reelection prospects in question amid this pandemic, he reverts not only to attacking others but specifically to attacking former President Obama who has really been a foil for President Trump again throughout the campaign and also during his time in office.

BLITZER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, at the White House, you get some news over there, we'll get back to you. Of course there's stuff unfolding. Appreciate it very, very much.

Meanwhile, nursing home patients around the United States remained among the most vulnerable during this coronavirus pandemic. In New Jersey, for example, more than 500 nursing homes are currently experiencing outbreaks with more than 27,000 people in long-term care facilities, testing positive. More than half of all deaths in New Jersey are connected to nursing homes.

Joining us on the phone right now, the New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who's spending a lot of time working on this critically important issue.

Congressman, what are you doing to make sure this really high risk population in nursing homes not only in New Jersey but around the country -- what are you doing to try to make sure these people could stay safe?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Hi, Wolf. Well, thank you for putting a spotlight on this because in New Jersey it's just devastating. You know, of the 10,000 deaths in New Jersey, more than half are in nursing homes long-term care facilities. The good news is we've all worked together and the governor announced last week that by the end of May, we have to have plans in place, testing in all the facilities, long-term care facilities for all the employees there are coming in every day, all the caregivers, and of course all the patients, and the residents who are there. But the numbers just keep adding up and it's -- you know, it's just devastating.

BLITZER: It's so sad to think about these elderly people, they're in nursing homes and they're so, so vulnerable. A lot of these nursing homes like Petri dishes out there.

Congressman, let me also show you and our viewers the 14-day trend in new cases in New Jersey. And it does look like New Jersey, at least right now, seems to be on the right track. Are you optimistic that you might soon be able to ease a lot of those serious restrictions?

GOTTHEIMER: I am. You know, the good news is while we still have cases increasing, the number of people on ventilators and in the ICU beds are about under a thousand which is, you know, frankly a great benchmark, you know, that we've achieved, and so I see the curve is -- because people have taken many tough choices, the curve is bent and we're really headed in the right direction now.

But we've got to stick with it, and that's what I'm concerned about. We've eased up on non-essential businesses are now allowed for curbside, but that's happening this week. The curbside pickup. I hope that helps a lot of our businesses especially our small businesses that are hurting. So we've got to get people, you know, back to work and safety. But, you know, it's going to take a lot of work to just make sure we keep those numbers down.

BLITZER: You know, Congressman, I want to show our viewers some of the video from Motion City Beach yesterday in New Jersey. There are a lot of people out, although it does look like groups are trying to keep their distance which is so smart.

What are you doing to ensure there isn't a second wave as restrictions clearly begin to ease in New Jersey?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, you know, Wolf, it's tough. You want to make sure we get people outside and, you know, I couldn't be happier to have people be able to go to beaches and lakes and to parks. That's great news. We just have to really be careful in how we do this. And I know all of our communities are taking steps to make sure that when we open and how we open is smart and safe.

But it's tough. You know, and we want people -- people have to be responsible and socially distance. That's going to be key, or otherwise, I know we'll have to take additional measures. But I'll tell you, it's great to have everybody outside. Now we just got to keep it safe.

BLITZER: That's critically important.

What do you say your constituents who are hurting financially with the stay-at-home order that is still in effect in New Jersey, and who desperately want to get back to work and make some money, put food on the table?

GOTTHEIMER: You know, I talk to our small businesses every day and of course people who want to get back to work and it's heartbreaking. You know, they just want to go feed their families. And you know, tough making ends meet. You know, the conversation I have is the same. That we all want to get back to work. You know, I just feel for so many people who are losing their businesses and losing their jobs. So we've really got to do this but we've got to get back to work in a

smart and safe way, you know, and make sure that we've got all the protective gears in place and the protective measures.

[19:10:01]

And if we do that, I think we can get there. And to me we've got to get our economy stood back up and moving. But we want to make sure we take every measure because the worst thing that will happen is actually having another outbreak and go right back inside. And I know people couldn't handle that. So to me let's just make sure we take every measure possible. And it's not just in New Jersey, it's around the country.

But, you know, New Jersey and New York half the cases so that's why it's important that we get resources back here because we've been hurting for our local communities, for our cops, our firefighters. There's a lot of opportunity here to get growth but it's going to have to be done in a safe and smart way.

BLITZER: I know you voted in favor of the Democrats' $3 trillion aid package that passed the House of Representatives on Friday. But clearly Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, says it's not going anywhere in the Senate unless there's some major, major changes unfolding.

If he's watching tonight, what's your message to the Senate majority leader?

GOTTHEIMER: Let's sit down and talk. I mean, there's plenty in there we can agree on. And please, we've got to make sure we take care of the areas in the country that have been hardest hit in the eye of the COVID storm. You don't walk away, and our country never does from the areas that have been hit, whether it's a tornado or a hurricane, any kind of natural disaster. We've got each other's back.

You know, this package had tax cuts, was reinstating SALTs which are great for my district to get dollars in people's pocket to spend in our businesses. It helps our local (INAUDIBLE) communities to the smallest levels which I think Mr. McConnell would appreciate. But, you know, we've got to sit down and talk to one another. It's how we did these first packages. Bipartisan work, bipartisan cooperation. Country ahead of party. And that to me is the message I'd like to communicate. I'm really hoping in this coming week we can do that.

BLITZER: Let's see if we can get some negotiations going on the front.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thanks so much for joining us.

GOTTHEIMER: Thanks so much, Wolf. Stay safe.

BLITZER: All right. Thank you.

Right now there are over 100 vaccine trials underway around the world. President Trump says one will be available to the public by year's end. But what if a vaccine for COVID-19 can't be found? We'll discuss that and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:16:07]

BLITZER: President Trump says the U.S. will rebound with or without a coronavirus vaccine. Nevertheless, he's launched a major campaign he's calling Operation Warp Speed. The goal, a coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Typically pharmaceutical companies wait to manufacture a vaccine until it has received all of the regulatory approvals necessary, and this can delay vaccines availability to the public as much as a year and even more than that. However, our task is so our gent that under Operation Warp Speed, the federal government will invest in manufacturing all of the top vaccine candidates before they are approved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. Let's discuss this and more with Kathleen Sebelius, the former secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama and the former governor of Kansas for that matter as well. Also joining us Dr. Patrice Harris, the president of the American Medical Association.

Secretary Sebelius, thanks so much for joining us. Most experts have always said you need at least 12 to 18 months to develop a vaccine. Dr. Fauci says if they started in January, maybe 12 to 18 months end of this year, early next year. The president has already said they'll start manufacturing possible vaccines even before they've been fully approved.

What do you make of this approach? Are you optimistic that they can get the job done?

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, FORMER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Well, there's no question everybody wants a vaccine as soon as possible across America and across the globe, Wolf. The time is not about delay. It's not about regulatory barriers. It is about testing. And the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States is the gold standard of testing.

And what happens is you do a three-level test, one is to make sure that the medicine or the vaccine or the device, the medical device doesn't kill you. It's not toxic, it doesn't hurt you. Do no harm as Dr. Harris knows as rule number one. But then the next two stages are about who is positively impacted. Does the vaccine work? Does it work for only a small portion of the population? Does it work for everybody? How well does it work?

That's what takes some time. You have to run clinical trials. You have to look at a big population. The worse of our worlds is like we have now with tests to have a bunch of stuff on the market many of them don't work. Many of the tests are flawed faulty. Many of them are giving wrong positive or negative results. So that isn't very helpful.

We don't want that with the vaccine. So in all due deference to the president, this isn't about him picking a date. It isn't about the election. It is about how long it's going to take to ramp up clinical trials. You want a lot of candidates out there being tried simultaneously, and the science will determine which one of those targets actually hits the broadest spectrum of the population without causing harm. What is the most helpful?

You can't just pick a date and manufacture everything and push everything out. That's really fraudulent medicine. That's what some countries do when they sell products that they know don't kill you. But they don't work the way they're advertised working. We want a vaccine as fast as possible but we want a vaccine that works and actually cures this -- I mean, this coronavirus for the rest of the generations.

BLITZER: Yes. It's got to be safe. And people have to want to take it and there can't be negative side effects and all that --

SEBELIUS: Safe and -- safe and effective.

BLITZER: Safe and effective obviously.

Dr. Harris, there is a possibility, and the U.K.'s Business secretary warned today that it's possible we may never find a successful coronavirus vaccine.

[19:20:05]

I've spoken to a lot of experts who are pretty positive that eventually they will discover one. But what are your thoughts?

DR. PATRICE HARRIS, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Well, Wolf, that is correct. We still don't have a vaccine for HIV. And so certainly all of us as the secretary said want a vaccine and it's appropriate to have an all-hands on deck approach, with over I think about 90 molecules being studied. But certainly we want to make sure that the vaccine works, number one, but also that it is safe.

And certainly even at the very beginning Dr. Fauci said a 12 to 18- month timeline is ambitious. So certainly a six-month timeline is very ambitious. But certainly we cannot sacrifice safety for speed. And so the data and the studies will have to continue and we will have to wait to see the results of those studies.

And then of course beyond just the development of the vaccine, we have to make sure -- we have to take into account the time to manufacture and that appears to be going on a parallel process. That's fine. Again as long as the vaccines are safe and then we have to make sure that the vaccine is equitably distributed.

BLITZER: Yes. That's critically important.

SEBELIUS: You bet. BLITZER: And Secretary Sebelius, put on your hat as a former Health

and Human Services secretary, it's one thing to develop a safe and effective vaccine, it's another thing to have enough of it to deal with not just the United States but basically the entire world.

If there is a vaccine, how do you make there's enough of it to go around, that it's distributed fairly? Who gets it first?

SEBELIUS: Well, again, that's a great question, Wolf. We face some of that with the H1N1 vaccine, ANAWA vaccine, and it was not available in full dosage for the United States as it first came off the line and we also had difficulty with what they call fill and finish so you had lots of vaccines but they have to be put in syringes in the proper dosage and finish all those pieces of the puzzle are very important.

We had a process in the United States that followed CDC guidance about who was most vulnerable, where the vaccine went first. We knew the tracking of the disease. The president made it clear what that equitable distribution was like. It was very transparent.

I worry what we've seen with protective equipment with this administration, with the distribution of Remdesivir, we've seen things go very wrong where people are left to their own devices. That's the last thing we want with vaccine and the United States to date unfortunately has not participated in the global discussions about both vaccine production and manufacturing and distribution to developing countries.

If this disease is breaking out anywhere, Americans are still vulnerable. We are not protected until the entire world has access to this but for the United States not to be at the table with the G-20, with developing world, talking about how this is going to be distributed is a real mistake. And we are not at the meeting in May and we were not at the meeting two weeks ago. And that's a very dangerous place to be. We're not part of that global discussion.

BLITZER: What do you think about that, Dr. Harris?

HARRIS: This is a global pandemic, global cooperation is required. And so we should endeavor to have conversations across the globe. And I certainly agree that an outbreak anywhere puts us at risk here in the United States. So hopefully we move forward with global cooperation on all levels regarding the development, the manufacture and the distribution of a vaccine once we get a successful candidate.

BLITZER: Yes. You heard the president announced he doesn't want any U.S. money going into the World Health Organization so that potentially could be a problem as well.

Dr. Harris, thanks as usual for joining us. Secretary Sebelius, always great to have you here in THE SITUATION ROOM as well. Thanks to both of you very, very much.

The Navajo Nation has one of the highest rates of coronavirus infections in the United States right now. And it's not the only challenge facing families there. We'll speak to the Navajo Nation president when we come back.

[19:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: One of the highest infection rates in the country right now is happening in Navajo Nation. Earlier this month the Native American tribe received desperately needed federal relief funds but the economic devastation continues. A total lockdown this weekend has closed all businesses.

CNN's Sara Sidner is joining us now from the capital of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona. She's with the president of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez.

Sara, update our viewers.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We should say that they have probably one of the strictest stay-at-home orders in the entire country. This weekend there's been a 57-hour lockdown. That means people are not supposed to be going out of their house, stores are closed, gas stations closed. This is because the virus has taken hold here. And now per capita, they have one of the highest rates in the nation.

I have with me, as you mentioned, the president of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez.

I wanted to ask you about this per capita rate because everyone is hearing that and at this point with almost 4,000 people that have tested positive for COVID-19, you are now at a per capita rate that is above New York? Is that correct?

[19:30:00]

JONATHAN NEZ, PRESIDENT, NAVAJO NATION: Yes, Sara, and thank you, Wolf, for having us on THE SITUATION ROOM.

Let me just give you a little in depth perspective of what we're talking about. We have tested over 23,000 individuals, 23,791 to be precise. Of those, 3,912 have tested positive; 17,409 have tested negative.

So, based on the charts that were given by Governor Cuomo this morning about how aggressively they're testing in New York State. He said 7.1 percent.

So, compare that to here on the Navajo Nation, we have tested 11.6 percent of our total population. So, we are testing very aggressively and the Navajo Nation has tested more of their population than any other state throughout the United States of America.

SIDNER: And President, that explains why your per capita rate of this virus is higher than New York or New Jersey because you have been also aggressively testing, but the virus is here, it is rampant in some places.

Can you explain to me when people consider how vast this area is -- 27,000 square miles is where the Navajo Nation exists.

People are out in very remote places. How is it possible this virus is spreading when it doesn't seem that it would be too hard to self- distance here?

NEZ: Well, Sara, we are a food desert here on the Navajo Nation. Most of our food and supplies have to come from the 13 shopping centers, convenience stores, and gas stations throughout the Navajo Nation.

There's a little bit more stores and gas stations here and also the border towns. So, when we run out of food or supplies, we have to go to the stores and there's a lot of people there.

And I believe -- we believe that the spread is happening there, as well as at home because they'll bring the virus back. We have multiple generations of family members living under one roof.

And so when one person gets COVID, goes home, they tend to infect the rest of the family, and you see those high numbers for the data that we have on the Navajo Nation.

SIDNER: So, it's very hard to self-isolate, because you have generations of families, even if they're living in an isolated place, they all have to go to the same stores and you think that is where that the virus is being picked up and sort of brought home.

I want to talk to you about one more thing, and that is the lack of resources and a lack of infrastructure here. Tell me what's happening in some of these families. Not everyone has running water, correct?

NEZ: Well, 30 to 40 percent of our Navajo people do not have running water here on the Navajo Nation. So, you get C.D.C. and all these scientists and experts telling everyone to wash their hands with soap and water.

Here on the Navajo Nation, you know, our Navajo citizens do not have the luxury of turning on a faucet here in their homes.

And so a lot of the times when they're hauling water, it is for their drinking and also drinking water and also for their livestock here.

And so it's very difficult, especially when you have a curfew in place and a shelter-in-place order. You know, we try to let everybody know, the safest place to be is at home and I appreciate the Navajo citizens right now about 80 percent of our Navajo citizens are staying at home. And of course 20 percent out there is challenging authority.

But as you see states opening up around us, it's very concerning because if you saw, Texas has a one-day jump increase in COVID-19 positive cases. I fear that if we don't work together with their surrounding border towns and the surrounding states, there may be a second spike here on the Navajo Nation. SIDNER: Thank you so much President Jonathan Nez of the Navajo

Nation. You hear him worrying about the opening up of the states around him and we should also mention that the tribal community, they have been getting distributions from the government throughout these many days of water and healthy foods because there's also an epidemic of things, diseases like diabetes which can exacerbate COVID-19 if they get it.

A lot of work to be done here, Wolf, but the tribal community is resilient and they are fighting back against this, but again, those rates are very high here -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, Sara Sidner, thanks very much. Please thank President Nez for us as well. Good luck to everyone out there as well.

Meanwhile, a new study finds the Abbott rapid coronavirus tests being used across the country including over at the White House may actually miss many positive cases. A representative from the company is standing by to join us. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:07]

BLITZER: Right now, as 48 states in the United States that begin to reopen for business, so much depends on testing.

Today, New York's governor encouraged people to get a test and took the extraordinary step of getting the test live. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): You make that gown look good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Head up a little.

CUOMO: Head up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: close your eyes.

CUOMO: Close my eyes. Why do I need to close my eyes? Okay. Question the doctor. That's okay. Why do I need to close my eyes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For comfort? It might make you tear a little bit.

CUOMO: Okay, I fall asleep. That's it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CUOMO: That's it. Nothing else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's all.

CUOMO: Told you. Thank you very much, Doctor. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Still at the same time, serious questions are being raised over the accuracy of some of these diagnostic testing, including a test used at the White House and touted by President Trump himself.

[19:40:12]

BLITZER: In a new NYU study, the authors flag the Abbott ID Now test at its frequency in missing cases. They added that the test is so inaccurate in their words, they deem it unacceptable to use on their patients.

John Hackett is the Vice President of Applied Research and Technology for Abbott's Diagnostic Business. He is joining us now live, Dr. Hackett. Thanks so much for joining us.

So what's your response to the study's findings at NYU?

JOHN HACKETT, VICE PRESIDENT OF APPLIED RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, ABBOTT DIAGNOSTIC BUSINESS: Well, Wolf, thank you for providing the opportunity to speak to you and your viewers.

First, let me provide some perspective. As a scientist, I can tell you that ID Now is a remarkable diagnostic tool that is helping to limit the spread of SARS-COV-2 virus.

There's been more than 1.5 million tests performed on that platform and thus far, there's been 15 results reported to Abbott and the F.D.A. has potential false negatives.

I can tell you that the New York study, and this is not a peer reviewed publication at this point, they've posted their study, so there hasn't been a quality review on the study itself and it is really an outlier relative to other studies that have been published, as well as the feedback that we're getting from the real world.

And when I talk about real world, this is the hundreds of testing sites that are in hospitals, mobile units, municipalities, urgent care clinics, variety of different settings, that are utilizing this test on a regular basis and their feedback as long as the test is run properly, that the results are very effective, and they see tremendous value in this.

BLITZER: But as you know, Dr. Hackett, Abbott itself said the test might produce false negatives if a special solution is used to store patient swabs, for example.

Researchers at the NYU study didn't use that solution, still found a huge number of inaccurate results. As you point out, the study isn't peer reviewed. But what could explain their results? If someone gets a false negative, but still has coronavirus, that person is going to go potentially and spread that coronavirus that's very, very dangerous.

HACKETT: So, colleagues at Abbott actually called the researchers at NYU and had a discussion with them because frankly, any report like this, obviously we're concerned about because we want to provide the best possible diagnostics we can.

Now these researchers acknowledged that their study had significant limitations. Part of the study did actually include the use of the virus transport medium.

They acknowledge also that this was not a well-controlled clinical trial by any means. And I will say that analysis of the data is very interesting when one looks at the CT counts that relate to the amount of virus present.

There's a disproportionate number of specimens that have extremely low levels of virus in them. So, and when questions were asked, there was no real answer provided by these researchers as to how this would be the case. It's certainly not the norm that's been seen.

And I guess, you know, in the same week, Dr. Po Tu from the Everett Clinic in Washington, he presented data on a study that he has going in there he had 91 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity.

This is far more in line with the other published studies, and so again, you know, it indicates that there is something going on with this NYU study. It is clearly an outlier from data that's been seen in general.

BLITZER: Well, we'll continue to watch it. I'm sure you will as well. Dr. Hackett, good luck to you. Good luck to everybody at Abbott, the 15-minute test is great, provided it's a 99 or 100 percent accurate. That would be a really, really significant.

We'll continue our conversations with you down the road. Thank you so much for joining us.

HACKETT: Absolutely. Thank you for the time.

BLITZER: All right, thank you. Meanwhile, stadiums, fields, parks or arenas, they sit empty right now in their own quarantine of sorts.

So, what are the chances we will see sports return here in the United States at some point this year? My next guest may have an idea. He owns an NBA, NHL and WNBA team.

Ted Leonsis is standing by live. We'll get his thoughts when we come back.

And later tonight from Oprah to OJ to Donald Trump, the "National Enquirer" got the scoop on scandal. Now, a brand new CNN film uncovers the dirty truth on America's largest tabloid.

"Scandalous," a new CNN film premieres later tonight. 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:49:33]

BLITZER: I want to get back to our White House correspondent, Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, I understand you have some news about the President's travel plans this week.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump is expected to travel to Michigan later this week on Thursday. Three sources familiar with his travel plans tell us, Wolf, that the President will be visiting a Ford manufacturing facility.

Ford is one of those car companies that has been working to produce ventilators during this coronavirus pandemic, but of course, the State of Michigan is a critical battleground state in the 2020 election. So, that is certainly appears to be one motivation for the President's travels there.

[19:50:09]

DIAMOND: We know that in recent weeks, he has been traveling to several battleground states making official White House visits.

Last week, he was in this battleground state of Pennsylvania. The week before that he was in Arizona.

All of these visits, of course theme to the coronavirus response. But Wolf, there's no question that there are also political implications for this.

The President won Michigan very narrowly in 2016 by less than 11,000 votes, and he has currently been lagging the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden there, so certainly a crucial visit for the President -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, thanks very much for that update. Jeremy Diamond over at the White House.

Other news. This time last year, the conference finals were underway in the NBA and NHL. Basketball and hockey fans were watching the Toronto Raptors and the St. Louis Blues inch closer to their team's first titles.

But today, those sports are indefinitely shut down and it is anyone's guess when or how they will return.

Ted Leonsis has a stake in both those leagues. He owns Washington's NBA, NHL and WNBA teams, the Wizards, the Capitals, and the Mystics. Ted is a good friend. He's joining us right now.

So, what do you think, Ted? What are the chances that we're going to see play resume this year for your teams?

TED LEONSIS, OWNER, WASHINGTON CAPITALS, WIZARDS AND MYSTICS: Oh, I believe all three teams will play. We will let the NBA and NHL try to finish some or all of the regular season then go into playoffs, we just won't be doing it with fans.

We are focused on the health and safety for our fans and also our players. And we need to be very, very cognizant of helping our partners like your parent company, like Disney-ESPN that rely on us for programming. And so the focus right now is how do we finish the regular season then

you go into the playoffs? And we have a lot of time to do it. There really isn't the stress of when would a next season start, and so we get a chance to do our planning and create the protocols that really will maximize the safety for the players.

BLITZER: So, am I hearing it correctly, Ted, that the Washington Wizards, the Washington Capitals, they'll play at the Capital One Arena, but the arena will be empty?

LEONSIS: Oh, no, no. I believe that for the remainder of this season, we will try to create a safe haven, a bubble where the players in the NHL would pick a couple of arenas in North America and maybe a couple in Canada, and just really put kind of 40/50 people in each organization in a hotel and then shuttle them to the arena, test them very often and just make sure that we can play the games and then get to the playoffs.

Because not only do we owe the programming to the networks, but we owe it to our fans and you'd like to be able to compete like for the Stanley Cup and not have an asterisk.

You'd like to be able to give the championship and I think that'll happen also in the NBA. It's sad right now, but you know we'll get through it.

Last night would have been opening night for the Washington Mystics. We won the WNBA championship last year. We had to have a virtual celebration with our fans on some of the social media channels.

Mark Lerner, a very good friend (AUDIO GAP) champs and we all want to say thank you to our fans, and we want to make sure that we can play in a safe way.

BLITZER: It looks like you're breaking up a little bit. But Ted, we will continue this. I'm looking forward to watching some of those games on television even if there are no fans in the stadium.

Ted Leonsis is the owner of the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics. Good luck to all the players out there as well. I'm sure there will be very safe procedures underway.

Thanks, Ted. Sorry, that technical issue developed.

I'm Wolf Blitzer, here in Washington. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back in THE SITUATION ROOM tomorrow at usual, 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

But before I go, I'd like to congratulate everyone in the class of 2020.

This is truly a special time in your lives and a very unprecedented graduation ceremony for all of you.

Who would have thought you would have to celebrate this moment virtually? I know all of you worked so hard to reach the celebration, and you deserve special praise.

Good work.

On a personal note, I'd also like to offer a special congratulations to the graduates of my schools. I feel a special pride of the graduates for example of Kenmore West High School alongside Buffalo where I was blessed with a great education, the State University of New York at Buffalo where I began to love American history. The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where I truly learned about the world.

And two special universities, where I had been invited to give this year's commencement address, though the on-ground ceremonies of course had to be canceled.

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BLITZER: The University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service and the University of New Hampshire.

We also want to congratulate the parents, some of whom have found themselves teaching their own children over these past two months as they've returned home.

I hope these graduates, indeed all of the graduates of the Class of 2020 around the country, meet the new challenge, and get ready for their next adventure.

Good work. Good luck to all of you. Thanks very much for watching.

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