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Trump's Remarks in Meeting with Governor Edwards of Louisiana; April 29, 2020
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Governor Edwards of Louisiana
Issued on: April 29, 2020
Oval Office
11:41 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Before we get to a very good governor and somebody that we’ve worked with very, very well, incredibly well — the great state of Louisiana — I wanted to introduce Dr. Blythe Adamson. She’s been with us for a few months to help us with the ventilator situation, because we took over a government where everything was missing. It was all missing in action. And she and a group of super geniuses straightened it out to a point we’re now helping other countries with ventilators — France, Italy, Spain, Nigeria. Yesterday, I spoke to the President of Nigeria. Many countries are calling us for help with ventilators because they are not easy to build. They’re — I always say it’s like building a car — highly sophisticated, especially what we’re doing. We’re doing a very high-quality ventilator.
So, Blythe, if you could say a few words please. And we appreciate what you’ve done very much.
DR. ADAMSON: Thank you, Mr. President. It’s been an honor to serve here. I’ve worked with a strong team from FEMA, CDC, Dr. Birx, the military, and it’s been wonderful to see the evidence generation in real time — you know, learning as fast as we can from what’s happening with the epidemic to create mathematical models of these infectious diseases to understand the demand for these hospital resources and to do forecasting of states like yours to understand how we can be prepared for what’s coming.
So thank you for the opportunity to serve.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we just think you were fantastic. And I met with Blythe and about 20 young people. They were all young and they’re all brilliant. I think the IQ in that room — the average IQ was about 192. And it was an incredible meeting, actually. And many of them had been — had made a lot of money on Silicon Valley. They sold a company. I wouldn’t say they were dressed like I dress. They dress a little bit less — like in a t-shirt, right? And they had very thick glasses, for the most part. But they were super-brilliant people.
Jared really led that charge. Incredible. Brilliantly. He may be my son-in-law, but he is a brilliant person, as they all understand. And they took that and they also — now they’re working on testing, and testing is coming along at a level that nobody thought even possible. We’ve now done more tests than anybody in the world by far.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what are you hoping to learn about China and the World Health Organization with this investigation you’ve commissioned with the intelligence agencies?
THE PRESIDENT: Right. It’s coming in and I’m getting pieces already. And we’re not happy about it. And we are, by far, the largest contributor to WHO — World Health. And they misled us. I don’t know. They must’ve known more than they knew because they came after what other people knew that weren’t even involved. We knew things that they didn’t know. And either they didn’t know or they didn’t tell us, or — you know, right now they’re literally a pipe organ for China. That’s the way I view it.
So I’m — we’re seeing and we’re looking and we’re watching. And again, we give $500 million — and we have over the years — from 400 to 500 for a long time, for many years. And China is giving $38 million. And yet, they seem to work for China. And they should’ve been in there early. They should’ve known what was going on. And they should’ve been able to stop it at the — you talk about the spread or stopping the embers; that could’ve — that could’ve been stopped there.
And then, why did China allow planes to fly out but not into China, but they allow planes to come out? And planes are coming out of Wuhan, and they’re coming out; they’re going all over the world. They’re going to Italy, very — very big time to Italy. But they’re going all over the world. But they’re not going into China. What was that all about?
So we had a —
Q But what specifically do you want to know?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no — well, you’ll hear. We’re coming up with a very distinct recommendation. But we’re not happy with it. We’re not happy with it. Even today I’ve heard some statements that are very positive. There’s nothing positive about what happened in China having to do with this subject. Nothing positive at all.
And I finished, a number of months ago, with a trade deal, and you would’ve thought it would’ve been like somebody would’ve said, “Hey…” They could’ve stopped that at the source. They didn’t have to let airplanes fly out and loads of people come out.
And we’re lucky. As Tony said, we’re lucky that we stopped it in January com- — flowing into our country from China, outside of our citizens. You know, people now say, “Oh, well, you shouldn’t have let our citizens back in.” Let’s — let’s forget about that one. We’re lucky we stopped in January.
A lot of people — long after that date, as you know — thought that the measure that I took was much too strong. John Bel, we’re lucky we stopped it then. You know, we put a — we put a border; we put a ban on people coming in from China.
So we’ll have a recommendation pretty soon. But we are not happy with the World Health Organization — that, I can tell you.
Q But just to clarify: A recommendation on what? On the World Health organization or a recommendation on China? What do you mean?
THE PRESIDENT: On World Health, with China to follow.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what can you do to help businesses with liability issues, as workers come back in states that have opened up?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, as you know, we just worked with the meat processors, and if you think about it, a form of delivery. We have tremendous product. We have ample supply. But there was a bottleneck caused by this whole pandemic, and it was pretty — it was potentially pretty serious.
And I just got off the phone with the biggest in the world. I mean, the biggest distributors there are. And the big companies that you’ve been reading about, they are so thrilled, they’re so happy. They’re all gung-ho, and we solved their problems. We unblocked some of the bottlenecks.
And I’m sure you’ve seen it. I’m sure you’ve heard. I spoke to them about two hours ago, signed something very important last night, in terms of Defense Production Act. And it was very important. They were so happy. They’re — they’re like — it’s like a new business for them. They were being very unfairly treated. Very unfairly treated.
So, the farmers are very happy and the ranchers, and they — the companies that we’re talking about — you know the ones I’m talking about because they’re all — they’ve all become very well known. They were well known anyway. They’re big companies. But they’re not being treated fairly. They’re thrilled. And that whole bottleneck is broken up.
Q So the Defense Production Act protects them from liability?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we used it. That’s what we did: We used it. And it helps them greatly — greatly — to do what they have to do. Because they’re ready to do it, but they — they needed some help.
Q How do you protect the workers, though, in those plants? What are you doing to protect them?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re doing that. We’re going to have a report on that probably this afternoon. We’re going to have a good form of protection. And through quarantine, when we find somebody that’s not — we’re going to be very — they’re going to be very careful — they are — as to who is going into the plant. And the quarantine is going to be very strong, and we’re going to make people better when they have a problem. We’re going to get them better. Hopefully they’re going to get better.
You know, we have a very good record of having people getting better. A lot of people don’t talk about that, John Bel, where people go in, statistically, but you don’t read about the tremendous success we’ve had. We’ve had — we’re just about number one in the world, in terms of success. Germany is doing well. We’re doing well. A couple of countries are doing okay. But we’re doing very well.
So the statistics are very good on that, so we’re going to — we’re going to get them better.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, fiscally speaking, GDP shrinks 4.8 percent. I was curious your reaction on that, and what, if anything, you want to see out of another possible stimulus package.
THE PRESIDENT: So, if you look at what’s going on in the market, where the market is at 24,000, and this came from us blind; we never knew. We had the greatest economy ever in the world, in the history of the world. We had the best economy. I say it openly. Nobody even challenges it. And they would if they thought I was wrong. We had the best economy ever. And we’re going to have it again.
What happened is — look at the market today: 24,000 — above 24,000, I think, Kevin. In fact, I’ll ask you to say a couple of things about that.
But if you would have said that we would have had the worst pandemic since 1917, over 100 years ago, with the disturbance — to 184 countries at least, because that was as of last week — and that a market would be — we’re at 29,000 and now we’re going to be at 24,000. And we were at a low — I think we’re having one of the best weeks. We’re having one of the best periods in terms of stock market, which to me is jobs and future. I don’t view it as the stock market, I view it as jobs and future.
If you would have said to me that we’d be at 24,000 and we — you know, it’s — we started off at a — when I was elected, the number was much lower. Much, much lower, as you know. It’s called “in the teens.” But if you would have said we would have been at 24,000 with what we’ve gone through as a country, John Bel, it’s pretty amazing.
And I think I read where this is one of the best weeks in the stock market, this last short period of time, that we’ve had in — since the 1950s or 1940s. So I think there’s a tremendous feeling of optimism in this country. I can only say that. There’s going to be a tremendous feeling of optimism.
I think the third quarter is transitional. It’s a — we’re transiting into, but it’s a very transitional period. I think it’s going to do good, but I think the fourth quarter is going to be fantastic.
I think, next year, all of the fruits of what we’ve all done together, between the doctors and the business people and yourself — thank you very much. Of course, you’re a doctor. But all of the work from the task force, all of the people that have worked so hard, we’re going to have a tremendous year next year. And you’re going to start to see that, I think, in the fourth quarter. Maybe even in pieces of the third quarter. But that’s, again, very transitional.
Q Mr. President, the spending though — is there, like, a day of reckoning coming with over $2 trillion spending? Do you see —
THE PRESIDENT: No, it’s about growth. It’s about growth. We’re going to be in great shape because we’re growing. And we could have done it the other way: You don’t spend anything and you’re flat for years. You know, there are ways of looking at it.
We — you have to throw money at it, but we’re throwing money at the people that lost their job unfairly. You saw some of the people yesterday in the White House, where they were — they were down and out, and we came along and helped them.
So we could have been flat for a long time as a country, or we could grow. I think you’re going to see tremendous growth. It’s a stimulus. And it’s a — it’s a — it’s a great stimulus. Now they want more stimulus and they’re pushing for things, though. But I don’t know that we should be working with states that have been suffering for — through bad leadership or bad management for 25 years and we’re supposed to fix that. So we’re going to have to talk about that.
Q Mr. President, if I could ask —
THE PRESIDENT: Maybe they should have brought that up sooner.
Q On Captain Crozier: Would you like to see him returned as (inaudible)?
THE PRESIDENT: I think he’s a — I don’t know him. I’ve never spoken to him. I think he’s a very, very good man who had a very bad day. And then he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway. You know, he starts writing long memos. You can’t do that when you’re a captain of a ship. Especially that ship. That’s the — that’s the ultimate: nuclear aircraft carrier, the best in the world; 5,000 crewmembers. And he decides to become Ernest Hemingway. You can’t do that. You can’t do that.
With that being said, I said, “He just had — he had a bad day.” We all have bad days.
Q Has Secretary Esper asked for your advice on how to proceed with —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t want to — I don’t want to comment, but I have my feelings on it. And I just think he’s a very good man who had a bad day. And I think the Acting Secretary is a very good man also, and he had a bad day. They both had bad days, if you want to know the truth. They both had bad days, and that can happen. They were under a lot of pressure because it went very public and so they’ll be seeing me at a certain point, but I think he’s a very a good man. I think they’re both very good men.
But, you know, when you talk about spreading: So it started with 2 people, then it went to 12 people, then it went to — I got a report yesterday it was 851 people. Now they have 5,000 people. So it starts with a little group and then a few — a few weeks later — how long is that? Four weeks. Eight hundred and some-odd people. And they’re sailors; they’re young. There is one death, as you know. There is one death. There’s about 10 people in the hospital right now, but they’ll be — we expect all to get better. But there is one death out of it.
But that spread like wildfire. Right? Think of that. You know, it was 2 and 12, but then you — we thought it ended at 41. You didn’t think so. I don’t think you thought so, right?
DR. FAUCI: No. No.
THE PRESIDENT: It was a —
DR. FAUCI: Just the right environment for spread like that.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. It was a — it was a tough environment.
Q Mr. President, on testing: Yesterday, you said that we will very soon be testing 5 million people or —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t know where it came up.
Q — doing 5 million. Well, you said that.
THE PRESIDENT: I’d like to refer to these two people, because I don’t know where it came up. Everyone kept saying, “You said there’d be five.” That was a study that came out. Somebody came out with a study of 5 million people.
Q Harvard.
THE PRESIDENT: Do I think we will? I think we will, but I never said it. We’re testing millions of people. We’re testing more people than anyone — any country in the world by far — by double, by much more than double. More than everybody else in combined, we’re testing.
But somebody started throwing around 5 million. I didn’t say 5 million. Somebody said 5 million. I think it might have been the Harvard report. There was a report from Harvard and they said 5 million.
Q You were asked about it and you said, “We will be there very soon.”
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we will be there. But I didn’t say it. I mean, I’m — I didn’t say it. But somebody came out with a report saying 5 million. It sounds like a lot.
Yesterday, I looked at Deborah, I said, “What’s with the 5 million?” I think that was from the Harvard report. But we are going to be there at a certain point. We’ll be there. But we’re — we’re more advanced than any country in the world on testing.
And not only that, the testing is the best test. Not only the most — we’ve not only done the most — even when you look at so many people, they love the Abbott Laboratories test.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, concerning WHO, do you think that China is playing a better game in terms of soft power?
THE PRESIDENT: Say it again?
Q Do you think that China is playing a better game in terms influence, soft power in the WHO?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they’ve been doing it for years and they play the game, and I guess we’ve had people over the years that never really focused on that game. You know, who would think you’d have to play the game?
And it’s, to a large extent, public relations. You know? Public relations or whatever. But China is not to be congratulated for what happened, just so you understand it. They’re not to be congratulated for what took place. And WHO is essentially congratulating them. And when they start doing that, we’ve got problems.
And again, the United States pays almost $500 million and they pay $38 million a year. Five hundred million versus thirty-eight million a year. So —
There are lots of different people that we can give this to. You know, we can give this money to lots of different incredible groups. There are a lot of groups out there. It doesn’t have to go to the WHO. We can give it to groups that are very worthy and get much more bang for your buck. But we’re going to make a decision in the not-too-distant future.
{snip}
One thing I think I’d like to just finish by saying: So we reached a million cases, and that’s a — that’s a tremendous amount. And the reason is because of testing, because other countries don’t test. So you — if you don’t test, you’re not going to find cases. The reason we have a million — take a look at number two. Number two is a fraction of that because they don’t test. They don’t have the ability to do what we’re doing. So it’s a number that, in one way, sounds bad, but in another way is really, actually, an indication that our testing is so superior.
I mean, to think that we have more people, more cases than China, does anybody really believe that? But the testing is different. And — and I think, also, the transparency is much different. Transparency is like from day and night. We are totally transparent. Whatever it is, it is.
But because of our great testing and because of what we’ve done and the amount we’ve done, we are able to point out far more cases than anybody else has. If other countries did the kind of testing that we had — now, we’re a much bigger country than most also, in terms of people — but if other countries did this kind of testing, you’d see numbers that would be much different. Okay?
Thank you all very much.
END
12:21 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Governor Edwards of Louisiana
Issued on: April 29, 2020
Oval Office
11:41 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. Before we get to a very good governor and somebody that we’ve worked with very, very well, incredibly well — the great state of Louisiana — I wanted to introduce Dr. Blythe Adamson. She’s been with us for a few months to help us with the ventilator situation, because we took over a government where everything was missing. It was all missing in action. And she and a group of super geniuses straightened it out to a point we’re now helping other countries with ventilators — France, Italy, Spain, Nigeria. Yesterday, I spoke to the President of Nigeria. Many countries are calling us for help with ventilators because they are not easy to build. They’re — I always say it’s like building a car — highly sophisticated, especially what we’re doing. We’re doing a very high-quality ventilator.
So, Blythe, if you could say a few words please. And we appreciate what you’ve done very much.
DR. ADAMSON: Thank you, Mr. President. It’s been an honor to serve here. I’ve worked with a strong team from FEMA, CDC, Dr. Birx, the military, and it’s been wonderful to see the evidence generation in real time — you know, learning as fast as we can from what’s happening with the epidemic to create mathematical models of these infectious diseases to understand the demand for these hospital resources and to do forecasting of states like yours to understand how we can be prepared for what’s coming.
So thank you for the opportunity to serve.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we just think you were fantastic. And I met with Blythe and about 20 young people. They were all young and they’re all brilliant. I think the IQ in that room — the average IQ was about 192. And it was an incredible meeting, actually. And many of them had been — had made a lot of money on Silicon Valley. They sold a company. I wouldn’t say they were dressed like I dress. They dress a little bit less — like in a t-shirt, right? And they had very thick glasses, for the most part. But they were super-brilliant people.
Jared really led that charge. Incredible. Brilliantly. He may be my son-in-law, but he is a brilliant person, as they all understand. And they took that and they also — now they’re working on testing, and testing is coming along at a level that nobody thought even possible. We’ve now done more tests than anybody in the world by far.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what are you hoping to learn about China and the World Health Organization with this investigation you’ve commissioned with the intelligence agencies?
THE PRESIDENT: Right. It’s coming in and I’m getting pieces already. And we’re not happy about it. And we are, by far, the largest contributor to WHO — World Health. And they misled us. I don’t know. They must’ve known more than they knew because they came after what other people knew that weren’t even involved. We knew things that they didn’t know. And either they didn’t know or they didn’t tell us, or — you know, right now they’re literally a pipe organ for China. That’s the way I view it.
So I’m — we’re seeing and we’re looking and we’re watching. And again, we give $500 million — and we have over the years — from 400 to 500 for a long time, for many years. And China is giving $38 million. And yet, they seem to work for China. And they should’ve been in there early. They should’ve known what was going on. And they should’ve been able to stop it at the — you talk about the spread or stopping the embers; that could’ve — that could’ve been stopped there.
And then, why did China allow planes to fly out but not into China, but they allow planes to come out? And planes are coming out of Wuhan, and they’re coming out; they’re going all over the world. They’re going to Italy, very — very big time to Italy. But they’re going all over the world. But they’re not going into China. What was that all about?
So we had a —
Q But what specifically do you want to know?
THE PRESIDENT: No, no — well, you’ll hear. We’re coming up with a very distinct recommendation. But we’re not happy with it. We’re not happy with it. Even today I’ve heard some statements that are very positive. There’s nothing positive about what happened in China having to do with this subject. Nothing positive at all.
And I finished, a number of months ago, with a trade deal, and you would’ve thought it would’ve been like somebody would’ve said, “Hey…” They could’ve stopped that at the source. They didn’t have to let airplanes fly out and loads of people come out.
And we’re lucky. As Tony said, we’re lucky that we stopped it in January com- — flowing into our country from China, outside of our citizens. You know, people now say, “Oh, well, you shouldn’t have let our citizens back in.” Let’s — let’s forget about that one. We’re lucky we stopped in January.
A lot of people — long after that date, as you know — thought that the measure that I took was much too strong. John Bel, we’re lucky we stopped it then. You know, we put a — we put a border; we put a ban on people coming in from China.
So we’ll have a recommendation pretty soon. But we are not happy with the World Health Organization — that, I can tell you.
Q But just to clarify: A recommendation on what? On the World Health organization or a recommendation on China? What do you mean?
THE PRESIDENT: On World Health, with China to follow.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what can you do to help businesses with liability issues, as workers come back in states that have opened up?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, as you know, we just worked with the meat processors, and if you think about it, a form of delivery. We have tremendous product. We have ample supply. But there was a bottleneck caused by this whole pandemic, and it was pretty — it was potentially pretty serious.
And I just got off the phone with the biggest in the world. I mean, the biggest distributors there are. And the big companies that you’ve been reading about, they are so thrilled, they’re so happy. They’re all gung-ho, and we solved their problems. We unblocked some of the bottlenecks.
And I’m sure you’ve seen it. I’m sure you’ve heard. I spoke to them about two hours ago, signed something very important last night, in terms of Defense Production Act. And it was very important. They were so happy. They’re — they’re like — it’s like a new business for them. They were being very unfairly treated. Very unfairly treated.
So, the farmers are very happy and the ranchers, and they — the companies that we’re talking about — you know the ones I’m talking about because they’re all — they’ve all become very well known. They were well known anyway. They’re big companies. But they’re not being treated fairly. They’re thrilled. And that whole bottleneck is broken up.
Q So the Defense Production Act protects them from liability?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we used it. That’s what we did: We used it. And it helps them greatly — greatly — to do what they have to do. Because they’re ready to do it, but they — they needed some help.
Q How do you protect the workers, though, in those plants? What are you doing to protect them?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’re doing that. We’re going to have a report on that probably this afternoon. We’re going to have a good form of protection. And through quarantine, when we find somebody that’s not — we’re going to be very — they’re going to be very careful — they are — as to who is going into the plant. And the quarantine is going to be very strong, and we’re going to make people better when they have a problem. We’re going to get them better. Hopefully they’re going to get better.
You know, we have a very good record of having people getting better. A lot of people don’t talk about that, John Bel, where people go in, statistically, but you don’t read about the tremendous success we’ve had. We’ve had — we’re just about number one in the world, in terms of success. Germany is doing well. We’re doing well. A couple of countries are doing okay. But we’re doing very well.
So the statistics are very good on that, so we’re going to — we’re going to get them better.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, fiscally speaking, GDP shrinks 4.8 percent. I was curious your reaction on that, and what, if anything, you want to see out of another possible stimulus package.
THE PRESIDENT: So, if you look at what’s going on in the market, where the market is at 24,000, and this came from us blind; we never knew. We had the greatest economy ever in the world, in the history of the world. We had the best economy. I say it openly. Nobody even challenges it. And they would if they thought I was wrong. We had the best economy ever. And we’re going to have it again.
What happened is — look at the market today: 24,000 — above 24,000, I think, Kevin. In fact, I’ll ask you to say a couple of things about that.
But if you would have said that we would have had the worst pandemic since 1917, over 100 years ago, with the disturbance — to 184 countries at least, because that was as of last week — and that a market would be — we’re at 29,000 and now we’re going to be at 24,000. And we were at a low — I think we’re having one of the best weeks. We’re having one of the best periods in terms of stock market, which to me is jobs and future. I don’t view it as the stock market, I view it as jobs and future.
If you would have said to me that we’d be at 24,000 and we — you know, it’s — we started off at a — when I was elected, the number was much lower. Much, much lower, as you know. It’s called “in the teens.” But if you would have said we would have been at 24,000 with what we’ve gone through as a country, John Bel, it’s pretty amazing.
And I think I read where this is one of the best weeks in the stock market, this last short period of time, that we’ve had in — since the 1950s or 1940s. So I think there’s a tremendous feeling of optimism in this country. I can only say that. There’s going to be a tremendous feeling of optimism.
I think the third quarter is transitional. It’s a — we’re transiting into, but it’s a very transitional period. I think it’s going to do good, but I think the fourth quarter is going to be fantastic.
I think, next year, all of the fruits of what we’ve all done together, between the doctors and the business people and yourself — thank you very much. Of course, you’re a doctor. But all of the work from the task force, all of the people that have worked so hard, we’re going to have a tremendous year next year. And you’re going to start to see that, I think, in the fourth quarter. Maybe even in pieces of the third quarter. But that’s, again, very transitional.
Q Mr. President, the spending though — is there, like, a day of reckoning coming with over $2 trillion spending? Do you see —
THE PRESIDENT: No, it’s about growth. It’s about growth. We’re going to be in great shape because we’re growing. And we could have done it the other way: You don’t spend anything and you’re flat for years. You know, there are ways of looking at it.
We — you have to throw money at it, but we’re throwing money at the people that lost their job unfairly. You saw some of the people yesterday in the White House, where they were — they were down and out, and we came along and helped them.
So we could have been flat for a long time as a country, or we could grow. I think you’re going to see tremendous growth. It’s a stimulus. And it’s a — it’s a — it’s a great stimulus. Now they want more stimulus and they’re pushing for things, though. But I don’t know that we should be working with states that have been suffering for — through bad leadership or bad management for 25 years and we’re supposed to fix that. So we’re going to have to talk about that.
Q Mr. President, if I could ask —
THE PRESIDENT: Maybe they should have brought that up sooner.
Q On Captain Crozier: Would you like to see him returned as (inaudible)?
THE PRESIDENT: I think he’s a — I don’t know him. I’ve never spoken to him. I think he’s a very, very good man who had a very bad day. And then he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway. You know, he starts writing long memos. You can’t do that when you’re a captain of a ship. Especially that ship. That’s the — that’s the ultimate: nuclear aircraft carrier, the best in the world; 5,000 crewmembers. And he decides to become Ernest Hemingway. You can’t do that. You can’t do that.
With that being said, I said, “He just had — he had a bad day.” We all have bad days.
Q Has Secretary Esper asked for your advice on how to proceed with —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t want to — I don’t want to comment, but I have my feelings on it. And I just think he’s a very good man who had a bad day. And I think the Acting Secretary is a very good man also, and he had a bad day. They both had bad days, if you want to know the truth. They both had bad days, and that can happen. They were under a lot of pressure because it went very public and so they’ll be seeing me at a certain point, but I think he’s a very a good man. I think they’re both very good men.
But, you know, when you talk about spreading: So it started with 2 people, then it went to 12 people, then it went to — I got a report yesterday it was 851 people. Now they have 5,000 people. So it starts with a little group and then a few — a few weeks later — how long is that? Four weeks. Eight hundred and some-odd people. And they’re sailors; they’re young. There is one death, as you know. There is one death. There’s about 10 people in the hospital right now, but they’ll be — we expect all to get better. But there is one death out of it.
But that spread like wildfire. Right? Think of that. You know, it was 2 and 12, but then you — we thought it ended at 41. You didn’t think so. I don’t think you thought so, right?
DR. FAUCI: No. No.
THE PRESIDENT: It was a —
DR. FAUCI: Just the right environment for spread like that.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. It was a — it was a tough environment.
Q Mr. President, on testing: Yesterday, you said that we will very soon be testing 5 million people or —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I don’t know where it came up.
Q — doing 5 million. Well, you said that.
THE PRESIDENT: I’d like to refer to these two people, because I don’t know where it came up. Everyone kept saying, “You said there’d be five.” That was a study that came out. Somebody came out with a study of 5 million people.
Q Harvard.
THE PRESIDENT: Do I think we will? I think we will, but I never said it. We’re testing millions of people. We’re testing more people than anyone — any country in the world by far — by double, by much more than double. More than everybody else in combined, we’re testing.
But somebody started throwing around 5 million. I didn’t say 5 million. Somebody said 5 million. I think it might have been the Harvard report. There was a report from Harvard and they said 5 million.
Q You were asked about it and you said, “We will be there very soon.”
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we will be there. But I didn’t say it. I mean, I’m — I didn’t say it. But somebody came out with a report saying 5 million. It sounds like a lot.
Yesterday, I looked at Deborah, I said, “What’s with the 5 million?” I think that was from the Harvard report. But we are going to be there at a certain point. We’ll be there. But we’re — we’re more advanced than any country in the world on testing.
And not only that, the testing is the best test. Not only the most — we’ve not only done the most — even when you look at so many people, they love the Abbott Laboratories test.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, concerning WHO, do you think that China is playing a better game in terms of soft power?
THE PRESIDENT: Say it again?
Q Do you think that China is playing a better game in terms influence, soft power in the WHO?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they’ve been doing it for years and they play the game, and I guess we’ve had people over the years that never really focused on that game. You know, who would think you’d have to play the game?
And it’s, to a large extent, public relations. You know? Public relations or whatever. But China is not to be congratulated for what happened, just so you understand it. They’re not to be congratulated for what took place. And WHO is essentially congratulating them. And when they start doing that, we’ve got problems.
And again, the United States pays almost $500 million and they pay $38 million a year. Five hundred million versus thirty-eight million a year. So —
There are lots of different people that we can give this to. You know, we can give this money to lots of different incredible groups. There are a lot of groups out there. It doesn’t have to go to the WHO. We can give it to groups that are very worthy and get much more bang for your buck. But we’re going to make a decision in the not-too-distant future.
{snip}
One thing I think I’d like to just finish by saying: So we reached a million cases, and that’s a — that’s a tremendous amount. And the reason is because of testing, because other countries don’t test. So you — if you don’t test, you’re not going to find cases. The reason we have a million — take a look at number two. Number two is a fraction of that because they don’t test. They don’t have the ability to do what we’re doing. So it’s a number that, in one way, sounds bad, but in another way is really, actually, an indication that our testing is so superior.
I mean, to think that we have more people, more cases than China, does anybody really believe that? But the testing is different. And — and I think, also, the transparency is much different. Transparency is like from day and night. We are totally transparent. Whatever it is, it is.
But because of our great testing and because of what we’ve done and the amount we’ve done, we are able to point out far more cases than anybody else has. If other countries did the kind of testing that we had — now, we’re a much bigger country than most also, in terms of people — but if other countries did this kind of testing, you’d see numbers that would be much different. Okay?
Thank you all very much.
END
12:21 P.M. EDT
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