Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2020

April 6, 2020

The President. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. This week, America continues our aggressive effort to defeat the virus as we enter a crucial and difficult phase of the battle.

We continue to send our prayers to the people of New York and New Jersey, and to our whole country. But right now New York and New Jersey are very hot zones, and we're with them. We're with everybody. Your struggle is our struggle, and we will beat this virus. We will beat it together.

I also want to send best wishes to a very good friend of mine and a friend to our Nation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We're very saddened to hear that he was taken into intensive care this afternoon, a little while ago, and Americans are all praying for his recovery. He's been a really good friend. He's been really something very special. Strong, resolute, doesn't quit, doesn't give up.

We have made tremendous progress on therapeutics. I had a fantastic call today, which I'll be talking about a little bit later. And I've asked two of the leading companiesâthese are brilliant companies. Ebola, AIDS, others. They've come with the solutions and just have done incredible jobs. And I've asked them to contact London immediately. They have offices in London. They're major companies. But more than major, more than size, they're genius.

And I had a talk with four of them today. And they speak a language that most people don't even understand, but I understand something: that they've really advanced therapeutics and therapeutically, and they have arrived in London already. Their London office has whatever they need, and we'll see if we can be of help.

We've contacted all of Boris's doctors, and we'll see what is going to take place. But they are ready to go. But when you get brought into intensive care, that gets very, very serious with this particular disease.

So the two companies are there. And with what they are talking aboutâand it's rather complex and has had really incredible resultsâwe're working with the FDA and everybody else, but we are working with London, with respect to Boris Johnson.

Across the country, we're attacking the enemy on all fronts, including medical, scientific, social, logistical, and economic. We're pressing into action the full power of American Government and American enterprise. And our military has been incredible. We've just sent 3,000 public health personnel. They're now deployed in the New York area, and they'll be over at the Javits Center, over at the great ship.

And as you probably have heardâand I was informed that Governor Cuomo has already told you and announcedâhe called me up a little while ago, and he asked whether or not it would be possible to use the ship, with respect to fighting the virus. And we hadn't had that in mind at all, but we're going to let him do it, and we're also going to let New Jersey. Governor Murphyâ we spoke with him a little while ago, and New Jersey is going to use it also because New Jersey is a hotspot.

So Governor Murphy and Governor Cuomo are going to be using the ship for New York, New Jersey. And it's a big ship, and it's now COVID; it's set for COVID. And we are going toâ hopefully, that will be very helpful to both States. The Javits Center, which is 2,900 beds, just built by our military, also is going to be manned now by the military. And they should be in place

tomorrow, and they'll start sending quite a few people over to the Javits Center. It's convenient. It's right in the middle of everything. So that will be something great.

And we appreciated Governor Cuomo's niceâreally niceâstatements and, likewise, Governor Murphy. We have worked very well with both of them and with, frankly, all of the Governors. Vice President Pence had a call this morning with them that lasted for close to 2 hours. And I understand there wasn't a negative person on the call. Fifty Governorsâor just about fifty GovernorsâI think they were all on, from what I understood. And they were very positive about everything their Federal Government has been doing for them. And you'll hear what that is, and it's rather amazing, actually.

Nationwide, the Army Corps of Engineers is building 22 field hospitalsâthese are big hospitalsâand alternate care sites in 18 States. So you have a combination of 22 field hospitals. In addition to that, we're building alternate care sites, which is a little bit of a smaller version of the hospital. And we have a lot of them, and they're going up in 18 different States.

In total, we have deployed 8,450 hospital beds from Federal stockpiles. And you know, if you think, this is done over a period ofâreally, a period of weeks. It's incredible, actually. More than 8,000 ventilators have been sent from the National Stockpile to our cities and States, backed by the Defense Production Act, which we've used very strongly, very powerfully. So powerfully that we don't have to use it too much, frankly. And it's nice when you don't have to. We're getting more than we ever bargained for.

American industry is stepping up. Manufacturers are really going to town. And we have thousands of ventilators being built as we speak, and we have hundreds that are being sent to different locations, and we're ready to roll with almost 10,000 that we have in the Federal stockpile.

When I say "ready to roll," too, I mean exactly what that states: We areâwherever that monster goes, we're able to move with it. Great flexibility. We have tremendous flexibility. And we have people waiting, and they're ready, willing, and able, but waiting to bring them wherever it may be, if they need it. If they need it. It's possible that they won't be needed, that we're fully stocked, because numbers are coming in where, because of what the American people are doing, we're having fewer hospital visits. I think that could be the case in New York. It could be the case in a few other States. And fewer beds, fewer hospital visits mean fewer ventilators. So we'll see whether or not our original projections were right.

But anyway, I had a very good talk with both Governors, and I think they're very happyâ extremely happy about theâwhat we're doing for them and especially going all COVID. So that'll take place almost immediately.

FEMA and HHS have directly distributed 11.7 million N95 respirators. Think of that. Get the numberâ11.7 million N95 respiratorsâ11.7 million; 26.5 million surgical masks, 5.3 million face shields, 4.4 million surgical gowns, and 22.6 million glovesâ22.6 million gloves.

We have also arranged for vast quantities of additional materials to be allocated through donations and existing supply chains. We've also given tremendous medical material and supplies throughout the 50 States and Territories.

And through Project Airbridge, we have succeeded in bringing planeloads of vital supplies into the United States from overseas. We had an additional three. These are massive planes, by the way. The big planesâthey're very big, very powerful, and they're loaded to the gills with supplies. And rather than bringing them into our stockpile, as we've discussed, we bring them to all the different locations where they're needed so we can save a big step and a timely step.

Because of my actions, under the DPA, I can also announce today that we have reached an agreementâa very amicable agreementâwith 3M for the delivery of an additional 55.5 million high-quality face maskâface masks each month. So that we're going to be getting, over the next couple of months, 166.5 million masks for our frontline health care workers.

So the 3M saga ends very happily. We're very proud to be dealing now with 3M and its CEO, Mike Roman. I just spoke with him, and I thanked him for getting it done. And Mike was very happy to get it done. It's a great company. So we're getting 166.5 million masks, and mostly that's going to be for our frontline health care workers. Okay? That's 3M. Thank you, 3M.

I also want to thank Apple, one of the many great American companies that's taken intoâ that's really leapt into action. Today Apple announced that it is now producing plastic face shields for health care workers at the rate of 1 million per week. One million. And these are the shields that you see on television quite a bit. And they're at the highest level of quality and safety.

We're grateful, as well, to Salesforce, which has donated 48 million pieces of personal protective equipment, including masks, gowns, suits, and face shields. So thank you very much to Salesforce.

I urge all of our Nation's Governors to ensure that the massive deliveries that we've made to your States over the past few weeks are distributed as quickly as possible.

So again, we're working very well with the Governors. Now, they may see you and say, "Oh, we're not happy." But they're very happy on the phone. And Mike Pence is a straight shooter, and he had a great phone conversation to them, with all of the Governors. Teleconference. And they're very happy, every one of them.

Were there any negatives?

Vice President Michael R. Pence. No, sir.

The President. See? I told you. Mike is the greatest. Mikeâand you have done a great job, Mike, and I appreciate it. The whole country appreciates it.

Vice President Pence. Thank you, Mr. President.

The President. Anthony appreciates it, right? Don't youâsee? Everybody appreciates Mike.

A special man.

So a lot of the things that we've done, again, are going directly to the States. The States seem to be very happy. If they're not, they can call me directly, they can call Mike directly, and we'll make them happy. But tremendous progress has been made in a very short period.

And I think, very importantly, the progress has been made before the surge comes, because the next week, week and a half, is going to be a big surge, the professionals tell us. And I think we're in good shape for it, Anthony. So it's good timing. Really good timing. We can have the stuff there. It's already there, for the most part, but we're bringing a lot of different resources to the various locations, especially where the surge is looking like it's going to take place.

Resources from the National Stockpile need to reach our warriors. And they are warriors. I tell it all the time. I saw it again this morning, these young, in many casesâin many cases, olderâbut they're walking into the hospital, and they're putting onâI mean, as their doors open, they're going into this place, and you know, it's not exactly too safe. And they're going in there, and they're putting the outfits on, and they're putting their masks on, and they'reâit's incredible. It's noâit's trulyâit's like no different than you watch the war movies or you watch the old clips of war, running up hills. It'sâto me, it's the same thing.

Men and women, young and old, but a lot of young people, just going in there. They're not thinking about, "Oh, gee, this is dangerous." They're not saying, "Oh, I don't want to go in." They're warriors. They're running through those doors. It's the most incredible thing. It's a beautifulâit's an incredible, beautiful thing.

Resources from the National Stockpile need to reach these warriors in the hospitals immediately, and we're making sure they do. And again, the States have that responsibility, but we're working with the States, and we're getting the States a lot of things that they can distribute. Or when they tell us, we bring it directly to the hospital from the Federal stockpile or from the planes that land without even going to the stockpile.

If any State is having difficulty distributing supplies, we urge you to use the National Guard to assist in the delivery. And I have to say, you have done a fantastic job. Deborah, you know that you've done great. Tony, you know that you've done great. But what a job you've done. And I appreciate it. I really do. Your whole group has been incredible. That's a lot of stars you have. I'll tell you that. He's supposed to do a great job when you have four stars, right?

But the military has been incredible, and I thank them for all of us.

Conversely, if a State believes that it has surplus equipment or suppliesâvery important, because we actually have gotten so much to some of the States that they're able to nowâthey've done a fantastic job, and they've kept that line low. And we have some States that have surplus equipment and supplies, and they're working with us to rapidly redeploy those supplies to areas of greatest need. We thought that might happen. If it worked out well, that's what was going to happen, and it's happening.

And I want to thank Governor Gavin Newsom, who's doing a tremendous job, who's announced California will send 500 ventilators to be distributed to other locations. I think some are going to Arizona. Some are going to Washington, DC. We think they're going to Delaware. We're working it out. But 500 excess ventilators from the State of California. And we're going to get them taken care of wherever they have to go. Those decisions are being made right now.

The members of the White House Task Force and I are in close touch with mayors and Governors and hospital administrators across our country. And we're told that the present timeâ at the present time, most of the critical needs are being more than met. States have to continue sharing detailed information in the amount and utilization rates of medical supplies so we know what to resupply them. Or they can get it directly; that includes ventilators. They can get it directly. Ideally, if they can get it directly, but if they can't, if they're unable to do it, we have tremendous amounts of supplies. And we're building it up very fast too. And this is before the big surge.

This information is fundamental to our ability to deliver the material when and where it's most needed. Now, Mike, in his conversation today, I think got some information as to a couple of locations where we're going to be delivering large numbers of ventilators and large numbers of medical supplies. And we'll take care of that. But some of the States are very happy. Even Governor Pritzker, from Illinois, is happy. Of course, he may not be happy when he talks to the press, but he's happy. He's a very happy man.

We're increasingly hopeful that the aggressive mitigation strategy we put into place will ultimately allow our hospital system to successfully manage the major influx of cases that we have right now. Again, I say that we're finding, because of the incredible job done by the American people in conjunction with everybodyâGovernors, the military, Federal Government, State government, local governmentâhad a lot of conversations with New York City and Mayor de Blasio. I've gotten to know him. I didn't know him. Gotten to know him. And a lot of people

are working hard. Everybody is working hard. A lot of people are doing a great job, I'll tell you that. A lot of people are doing a great job.

But the goals that all Americans have been sacrificing to achieve these last few weeks are things that a lot of people thought were not possible to achieve. And I think we've more than achieved, but we have to go through.

Again, we're going to have a rough week. We're going to have maybe a rough a little more than a week. Andâbut there's tremendous light at the end of that tunnel. I said it last time. I said it last night: There's tremendous light at the end of the tunnel. There's so many things happening with therapeutics, with vaccines, with things that we really want.

Deborah, Tony, they're all working so hard on this. But those therapeuticsâI mean, look, the vaccines are going to be always a little bit later, because of that testing period, but the therapeuticsâgetting the kind of things that I heard about today, talking to these brilliant companies and brilliant people on the phone was fantastic. It was such an incredible conversation.

And I also spoke, just a few minutes ago, with Vice Presidentâformer Vice President Biden, who called. And we had a really wonderful, warm conversation. It was a very nice conversation. We talked about pretty much this. This is what we talked about. This is what everyone is talking about. This is what they want to talk about. And he gave me his point of view, and I fully understood that. And we just had a very friendly conversation. It lasted probably 15 minutes, and it was really good. It was really good. Really nice. I think it was very much so. I appreciate his calling.

As we continue our efforts to develop treatments and cures, this afternoon I spoke with leaders of the American pharmaceutical companies. And just to give you their names: Amgen, Genentech, Gilead, Regeneron. These are four the greatest in the world for doing exactly what they're doing.

And currently, 10 different therapeutic agents are in active trials, and some are looking incredibly successful, but we have to go through a process. And it's going to be a fairly quick process, I will tell you, based on what the FDA told me. And another 15 are in plans for clinical trials. So they're advancing rapidly.

And today a second company announced that the FDA has authorized its vaccine candidate to begin clinical trials. So you haveâJohnson & Johnson is already there. I believe they're the one that's first. And now we have a second company that just announced. And we were justâit was just approved. So we have two companies at that level for the vaccine itself.

We've now performed 100âwell, if you think of this: 1.79 million tests. That's 1,790,000 tests nationwide. And I think we're going to put up a screen here someplace. Good. They're on cue. They're just on cue. And here it is. This is the process starting on 5 March and ending right there. Right about now. Right? That's about it.

Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health Brett P. Giroir. Yesterday.

The President. Soâand it's going up at a rapid rate. Nobody has done more testing.

And one of the reasons why they sayâand I think I can say this, Deborah, very stronglyâ but one of the reasons that we have more cases is, we've done more testing. If I went to some of these countries that have, in my opinion, far more people than we do, that had the problem, and if we did the kind of testing proportionately that we're doing, they'd have many more cases than us. But we have more cases because we do much more testing.

So when you do the testing, you have cases. Otherwise, you wouldn't know about the cases.

People sit home; you don't know about it.

But we have now done 1,790,000 tests nationwide. That's more than any other country in the world; hence, we have more cases. And that number is growing by nearly 125,000 people per day. Think of that one. So it's growing by 125,000 people per day. I told you about South Korea. This is a, you know, vastly fasterâand we also have, they say, the most accurate of tests.

CVS is launchingâand they've been greatâtwo new drive-through testing sites in Atlanta, Georgia, and Providence, Rhode Island. And each location will be able to test up to 1,000 patients per day using the ultrafast 5-minute test developed by Abbott Labs. Now they're down to 5 minutes. They call it the "ultrafast," and it's very accurate. Abbott Labs, I want to thank them.

They've been fantastic.

We're also speeding urgent economic relief to the American worker and families and the employers. As of today, tens of thousands of small businesses have applied for more than $40 billion in relief under the Paycheck Protection Program. You've all been reading about it. And it's reallyâI mean, it's only been going for a couple of days. It's really been performing well. A couple of little glitchesâminor glitchesâthat have already been taken care of, what they say.

These funds will result in nearly 2 million jobs being preserved. So we're taking care of our workersâsmall businesses and our workers. Nearly 3,000 lenders have already made loans under the program, and we're signing up additional lenders very quicklyârapidly.

Community banks have been very responsive, and larger banks are also stepping up. If thisâif we run out of fundsâby the way, we're already preparing, because it's going so fast for the small businesses and their employeesâwe'll ask Congress to refill it immediately. But the banks have been great. The big banksâthe Bank of America was right up there at the beginning. JPMorgan Chase wasâhas been great. After the first day, they really came through, and a lot of the big banks. But the community banks have been fantastic.

As we announced last week, we are providing $100 billion in direct support for our hospitals. And the first tranche, $30 billion, will be distributed this week.

So I want to say one other thing. Our farmersâwe love our farmersâand, as you know, as of April 1, the China trade dealâ$250 billionâthey purchased $250 billion from us, if not more. And of that, approximately $50 billion is expected to be with our farmers.

So it kicked in as of April 1, and we'll see how it goes. It seems like they're buying. So we'll let you know how that's going. But they're buying anywhere from $40 to $50 billion worth of our agricultural product. That should have a huge impact on our farmers, a tremendous impact on our farmers. But we're watching it very closely.

To fight the medical war, we've mobilized the unbeatableâand it justâit is unbeatableâ strength of American determination, ingenuity, and compassion. I got to see that when I spoke to the great scienceâbecause I call them "science companies" more than drug companies. They're scientists.

We've seen businesses, charities, and private citizens making generous donations. So many people are making donations. We've seen States and cities supporting and helping each other and caring for our citizens. And we've seen Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs uniting together to answer the challenge and rise to the moment. And that's what they're doing.

Above all, we have been awe-inspired by the exceptional courage of the doctors, nurses, EMTs, and health care workers who are the soldiers of this war. No words can ever express the complete measure of our gratitude for these intrepid heroes.

One Cleveland patient credited his medical team for not only saving his life through their skill, but forever changing his life through their example of selfless devotion. Couldn't believe itâso generous he was with his statements. And he talked about their bravery in an area that was

in such troubleâan area of that hospital where people were dying. And he talked about their bravery. Another survivor in Houston said simply, "I will consider them my angels forever." "I will consider them"âthink of thatâ"my angels forever."

As our Nation endures the depths of loss and grief, we are also witness to the summit of American virtue, character, and courage. With the love and dedication of every American patriot, we will win this battle, we will defeat this enemy, and we will rise from this present crisis with new strength, unity, and resolve. And that's what's happening.

Tremendous stories are coming out of this horrible moment. A very dark moment for the world. One hundred and eighty two. I was saying 151 for a while, and then it got up to 160. And it's 182, as I announced yesterday. A hundred and eighty-two countries are being attacked by this virus.

So I just want to thank everybody, and I want to thank the American citizens for doing a great job. Stay inside. And let's win this, and let's get our country open as soon as we can. I think it's going to be sooner than people think. Things are going really well. Again, light at the end of the tunnel.

And with that, I'll take a few questions. And then Mike is going to take over and talk with the admiral and with the professionals. And we appreciate you being here.

Yes, please.

Experimental Drugs and Therapies/Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom

Q. Mr. President, you mentioned that you were asking U.S. drug companies to provide treatment to the British Prime Minister.

The President. Yes.

Q. What sort of treatment is that? Is that something that's available to the American public?

The President. Well, it's a veryâyes, it's a very complex treatment of things that they've just recently developed and that they have a lot of experience with, having to do with something else, but recent for this. And they'll beâthey've already concurred. They've already had meetings with the doctors. And we'll see whether or not they want to go that route.

But when you're in intensive care, it's a big deal. So they're there, and they're ready. I think we have three of them. We haveâI spoke with four. You know who the four would be. And you know the people within thoseâyou probablyâyou'd know the companies if I told you the companies. But the people are the greatest in the world.

So they're at the hospital, and we'll see. And they have everything with them, should it be needed. Hopefully, it won't have to be needed, but should it be needed.

I justâI've found himâI've found Boris to be a fantastic person. Just, like, a fantastic warm, strong, smart guy. He loves his country. You see that. I mean, he fought like hell for his country. And intensive care is big stuff, really big stuff.

Coronavirus Testing for the President and Vice President

Q. Yesterday, you were asked about this as well, but now that he has been moved to intensive care, does that give you and the Vice President any pause or additional concerns, steps that you're taking to preserve the continuity of government here?

The President. No, I don't think so. Mike had his test a couple of days ago. I had my test a couple of days ago. Soâand we're here, and here you are. So no, I don't think so. But I think

we'll probably, just because of questions like that, I think we'll probably have maybe quite a few tests. It's not the worst idea.

You know, the system of testing now is so quick and so easy. So I could seeââ

Vice President Pence. I was tested again today. The President. And you were tested again today? Vice President Pence. Yes, sir.

The President. You sure you're okay?

Vice President Pence. I'm okay.

The President. Good. Then, I'm staying here.

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

The President. Yes.

Coronavirus Testing Access/Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General

Q. Despite the nearly 1.8 million tests that you say the United States has done, the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services released a report todayâa surveyâof more than 300 hospitals across the country. And the number-one complaint from those hospitals were severe shortages of testing supplies and a really long wait time.

The President. Well, it's just wrong.

Q. I mean, a week or longer.

The President. It's just wrong. Did I hear the word "Inspector General"? Really? It's wrong.

And they'll talk to you about it. It's wrong.

Q. But this is your own Government.

The President. Uh, it'sâwell, where did he come fromâthe Inspector General? What's his name?

Q. It came from the Inspector General reportââ

The President. No, what's his name? What's his name?

Q. I don't know his name off of the top of my head.

The President. Well, find me his name. Let me know. Okay? If you find me his name, I'd appreciate it.

Q. But, sir, these are hospitals that do notââ

The President. All I can tell you is this: We put up on the boardââ

Q. Sir, these are hospitalsââ

The President. You're going to askâyou're going to ask the admiral. But we are doingââ

Q. Sir, these are hospitals who say that they're waiting a week or longer to get their testââ

The President. Fine.

Q. ââresults.

The President. Then speak to the admiral.

Q. Why is it still taking so long?

The President. But we've done more testing and had more results than any country, anywhere in the world. They're doing an incredible job. Now they're all calling us. They want our testing. "What are we doing?" "How do you do the 5-minute test?" "How do you do the 15- minute test?"

So, give me the name of the Inspector General. Could politics be entered into that? Go ahead, please.

Q. This is ourââ

The President. Go ahead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India/India-U.S. Trade

Q. Thank you, sir. Are you worried about retaliation to your decision to ban export of medical goods, like Indian Prime Minister Modi's decision to not export hydroxychloroquine to the United States and other countries?

The President. I don't like that decision, if that'sâI don'tâI didn't hear that that was his decision. I know that he stopped it for other countries. I spoke to him yesterday. We had a very good talk. And we'll see whether or not that is. I would be surprised if he would, you know, because India does very well with the United States. For many years, they've been taking advantage of the United States on trade. So I would be surprised if that were his decision. He'd have to tell me that.

I spoke to him Sunday morning. I called him. And I said, "We'd appreciate your allowing our supply to come out." If he doesn't allow it to come out, that would be okay, but of course, there may be retaliation. Why wouldn't there be?

Yes, please.

Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program

Q. Thank you, Mr. President. The Paycheck Protection Program has gotten off to a confusing start for small businesses becauseââ

The President. I don't think so. I think it's done very well.

Q. Well, Wells Fargo has stopped taking applications. Bank of America initiallyââ

The President. Not anymore, they haven't.

Q. ââprioritized taking applications from clients that were already borrowers.

The President. Bank of America has been the leader, taking tremendous numbers of applications, and of course, there may have beenâthey wanted to have a slightly different application, they wanted to have a little different information. But Bank of America has been a leader. They had number one in terms of applications.

I wish you'd ask the question differently. Why don't you say, "It's gotten off to a tremendous start, but there are some little glitches"âwhich, by the way, have been worked out? It would be so much nicer if you'd do that.

Q. What oversightââ

The President. But you're just incapable of asking a question in a positive way.

Oversight of Federal Aid Disbursements/News Media

Q. Sir, what oversight measures is the Federal Government putting in place toââ

The President. It's already done. It's already done.

Q. ââensure that there is fairness?

The President. It's taken the measures. It's taken the measures. And we may even do a different system. Not with this. We're going to have to probably add more money to this, to saveâand to keep our small businesses going and to keep the employees of those small businesses working.

But it's such a positive event, and you ask it in such a negative way. It's justâI wishâI wish we had a fair media in this country, and we really don't.

Speaking of unfair, go ahead.

Removal of Captain Brett E. Crozier, USN, From Command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt/The President's Mediation Skills

Q. Mr. President, the Acting Secretary of the Navy told the crew of the USS Roosevelt that Captain Crozier was either, quote, "too naive or too stupid" to be in command. Is it appropriate for the chief officer of the Navy to be speaking this way about this captain? Is this the right way toââ

The President. Well, I haven't heard it exactly. I haven't heard. I heard they had a statement that was made. If that were the statementâit's a strong statement.

Look, the letters shouldn't have been sent, and certainly, they shouldn't have been leaked.

This is a military operation.

I must tell you, I've heard very good things about the gentlemanâboth gentlemen, by the wayâI will say this. But about both gentlemen. And I may look into it only from the standpoint that something should be resolved, because I'm hearing good things about both people.

Q. What might you look into, sir?

The President. I may just get involved, if it's okay with you.

Q. What do you mean?

The President. Yes, because, you know what? You have two good people and they're arguing. And I'm good, believe it or not, at settling arguments. I'm good at settling these arguments. So I may look into it in great detailâin detail. And I'll be able to figure it out very fast.

But that was a statementâand it's a rough statement. But lookââ

Q. Might you reinstate him if you decide it wasââ

The President. Lookâlook, letters should not have been sent to many people, unclassified.

That was a mistake. It's a mistake that shouldn't have been made, because it's unfair to the families of the people on the ship, because they get nervous. And it shows weakness. And there's nothing weak about us now. Not anymore. We have the strongest military we've ever had. And we're not going to be showing weakness to anybody, because we haveâthat ship is incredibleâ nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. And we don't want to be doingâwriting letters. We don't want to have letter-writing campaigns where the fake news finds a letter or gets a leak. We don't want that.

So the letterââ

Q. Would you consider reinstating himââ

The President. Excuse me. So the letter shouldn't have been sent. With all of that said, his career prior to that was very good. So I'm going to get involved and see exactly what's going on there. Because I don't want to destroy somebody for having a bad day. Okay? Does that make sense?

Okay.

The President's Telephone Conversation With 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden

Q. Mr. President, Vice President Biden's spokesperson said that he had made some suggestions to you about actions that you can be takingââ

The President. He did.

Q. ââto deal with the pandemic.

The President. He did. We had a very good talk. We agreed that we weren't going to talk about what we said, but we had a very, very good talk. It was a warm talk. I enjoyed it. I hope he enjoyed it too. And it was short. It was 15 minutes.

Q. Did he have good suggestions? Anything that you're going to do?

The President. Well, he had suggestions. It doesn't mean that I agree with those suggestions, but certainly, he had suggestions. And I also told him some of the things we're doing. But the conversation was a friendlyâvery friendly conversation.

Yes, please. Go ahead.

State Responses to Coronavirus

Q. Thanks a lot, Mr. President. You've mentioned, other members of your Task Force have mentioned, over the course of the next 2 weeks it's going to be a very difficult time for our country in terms of fatalities. And thereââ

The President. It will be a difficult week and a halfââ

Q. Yes. And there are a number of Governors who are close allies of yours, Mr. President, who have refrained thus far to have these stay-at-home orders. And Dr. Fauci, who of course is on your Task Force, has said thatââ

The President. True.

Q.ââit wouldâthe States that don't have stay-at-home orders are putting themselves at risk and the country at risk. Do you agree with that?

The President. Well, if Dr. Fauci said that, I would be inclined to call them up. You know, we do have a constitutional problem in doing that.

Q. I do.

The President. You understand that.

Q. Absolutely. I'm a lawyer.

The President. I mean, there's a doubleâthere's a double-edged sword. You understand. I can do it, but it is a constitutionalâyou can say federalist, you can say there's lots of different reasons, where I would rather have the Governors do it, make their own determination.

They're smallerâand not in all cases, but sort of, they're smaller cases. But I'm not sure a hundred percent that Dr. Fauci said that, but you can ask him.

Tony, you want to say something? Please.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony S. Fauci. So I had good conversations with the Governor of Nebraska and the Governor of Iowa here. And it's interesting that, functionally, even though they have not given a strict stay-at-home, what they are doing is really functionally equivalent to that. And we had a really good conversation with both of the Governors.

[*Director Fauci continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And I want to make sure people understand that just because they don't have a very strict stay-at-home order, they have in place a lot of things that are totally compatible with what everyone else is doing.

Q. If I can ask a question of Dr. Fauci before heââ

The President. Go ahead.

Coronavirus Therapies and Vaccine Development/Economic Stimulus Measures

Q. About getting back to normal: You said you wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. Will we truly get back to normal in this country before there's an actual vaccine that's available to everybody? Whatâand how do you start lifting the restrictions safely?

Director Fauci. Yes. Well, Jon [Jonathan Karl, ABC News], if back to normal means acting like there never was a coronavirus problem, I don't think that's going to happen until we do have a situation where you can completely protect the population. But when we say "getting back to normal," we mean something very different from what we're going through right now, because right now we are in a very intense mitigation.

When we get back to normal, we will go back gradually to the point where we can function as a society. But you're absolutely right. I mean, if you want to get to precoronavirus, you know, that might not ever happen in the sense of the fact that the threat is there. But I believe, with the therapies that will be coming on line, and with the fact that I feel confident that over a period of time we will get a good vaccine, that we will never have to get back to where we are right back now. So if that means getting back to normal, then we'll get back to normal.

Q. Dr. Fauciââ

The President. I think that with the therapies and I think that with the vaccines, which I have total confidence are comingâand I'm dealing with the companies. I'm talking to Johnson & Johnson; I'm talking to all of them.

I think that when you add the tremendous stimulus that we're givingâlike, for instance, deductibility for restaurant expenses, for restaurants and entertainment; the money that we're talking about for small businesses and employees to keep everybody working; and other things that we're, frankly, working on right now, which are going to be great for our peopleâI think when you add that to it, I think we can get more than back to normal, from an economic standpoint. Actually, it would be better. But more than back to normal.

But I would agree that we'd love to see a vaccine, but immediately, we'd love to see a therapeutic. And I think we're getting very close.

Coronavirus Mitigation Efforts/State Responses to Coronavirus/The President's Executive Authority

Q. Do you think you'd be able to lift restrictions on April 30 right now or be extending them?

The President. I don't want to comment on that, but I can tell you that we certainly want to try. We certainly want to see what's going on. We're doing very well. Look, you look at those, you look at most places where thatâyou can call it the "bump." You could call it the "hill". You can call it the "mountain." You can call itâwhatever you want to do it. It's very flat. You take a look. And that was done through mitigation. That was done through a lot of good work.

And that far exceeded our expectations before. I mean, youâpeople can't even believe how low some of those bumps are, some of those hills are. They're very surprised. They have a couple of tough ones. New Jersey has been very tough, and New York has been very tough. They're crowded in. You know, it's tight, it's tougher. But far exceeding. California far exceeds; Washington State far exceeds.

You look at so many of these States, how well they're doing. The eight States, by the wayâ and I haven't spoken to the Governors, but Tony is so right: They may not have it from the standpoint that they're saying it, but those people are practicing it, and they're doing a fantastic job. Take a look at where they are, in terms of the levels. But take a look where they are.

Soâbut if I thought it was something thatâand I've looked at them, and I've looked at them very carefully. I looked at them today, looked at them yesterday. From a constitutional standpoint, I'd love not to get involved with that. And not from a legal standpoint, just from a moral, constitutional standpoint. Because legally, I can, but morally, Iâyou know, I believe in our Constitution, much more so than most people.

And I'd love to be able to let the Governors do what they have to do. Those States are doing a fantastic job, all eight of them. They're doing a fantastic job. So we'll see what happens.

As for your question, you fully understand what I'm saying, so thank you. Yes, please.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom/Restrictions on Foreign Travel to the U.S./Coronavirus Outbreak in the United Kingdom

Q. Hi. I have two questions, if I may. One from somebody outside the room. But first, could I ask: Do you think Boris Johnson, when he talked about shaking hands with hospital patients, did he downplay the threat of this virus too much? And do you know exactly what his current condition is?

The President. Well, I think Boris was looking at it differently. He was looking at it earlier.

He was looking at it like "ride it out." There were many people thinking about riding it out, meaning, you know, whatever it is, it is.

But then, you see what starts to happen, and the numbers become monumental, and they decide not to do that. We actually moved early. We moved early because of what we did with respect to the ban on China coming in and then Europe coming in. That was an early ban too. And then, U.K.

So no, heâhe waited a little while, and he felt that, but he gotâyou know, he made a decision very quickly thereafter to do what they did. And they they've gone to a very strict lockdown. But they're suffering greatly as a nation right now. They're going through a lot. You know, they're a nation that's having a difficult time.

But I've gotten to know him. He's just such an incredible guy. It was just so shocking to see that because you know what that means. Intensive care is a big deal with regard to what we're talking about. That's a very big deal, a very scary deal.

Yes, please.

Coronavirus Prevalence Among Health Care Workers

Q. Just, somebody who can't be in the room because of social distancing has asked me to ask a question. It's Thomas Howell of the Washington Times: How many health workers in the U.S. have become infected with COVIDâ19? And if the answer is not known, will the CDC be publishing that data?

The President. Yes, I could get you that information. I think they'd probably be willing to give that. Right?

Director Fauci. We'll have that.

The President. Yes, we could get you that information. Jeff [Jeff Mason, Reuters], please.

Global Oil Markets/Domestic Oil Industry

Q. Mr. President, OPEC is meeting on Thursdayââ

The President. Yes.

Q. ââand they have said that they are willing to make a cut in production if the U.S. chips in as well, which suggests that they want you to ask U.S. producers to do an orchestrated cut.

The President. Well, you're the first one that's told me that. I don't know. We'll have to make that decision. And maybe we will, maybe we won't. But we'll have to make that decision.

Q. But do youââ

The President. I think the cuts are automatic. If you're a believer in markets, I can guarantee you there's a cut from "pre" this condition.

You know, look, this happened because of the virus. The virus knocked out 40 percent. It wasâit went down in 1 hour. I mean, literally, when places close up, you're talking about a 40 percent cut.

No, I think it's happening automatically, but nobody has asked me that question yet, so we'll see what happens. I'llââ

Q. But you wouldââ

The President. I'll let you know Thursday evening.

Q. All right, that's a deal.

The President. Okay.

Q. But you would consider asking U.S. companies to refuseââ

The President. Well, I think it's automatic, because they're already cutting. I mean, if you look, they're cutting back.

Q. But OPEC is asking for a signalââ

The President. Because it's market, it's demand. It's supply and demand. They're already cutting back, and they're cutting back very seriously.

Q. But if OPEC is asking for a signal from the U.S.âââ

The President. Well, nobody has asked me that. So, if they ask me, I'll make a decision.

Okay? But I'llâbut again, it's happening anyway.

Yes, please.

The President's Health

Q. In light of all the discussion about Prime Minister Johnson and his health, can you update us on the status of the second half of your physical that you were going to have this year?

The President. Yes, so I had a physical. The first half was very successful. I did it on a day when I was in the White House, and we were able to do that, as the doctor reported. And I have someâthe second half of the physical different. Probably is done at Walter Reed, and I'll do that at the appropriate time, but I feel very good. And according to the doctor, very good shape.

The President's Executive Authority/State Responses to Coronavirus

Q. And can I just ask you again on the idea of a national stay-at-home recommendation? What is giving you so much pause about making this recommendation?

The President. I told you. I told you. He understood very well. I appreciate your understanding.

Q. I understand the Constitution, but it's not an order, just a recommendation.

The President. It's called the Constitution of the United States. And I'd rather have, if possible, for the Governors to make the decision. If a decision was very necessaryâand they have done a good job. And Tony said it better than anybody. They are doing what we're asking them to do without having to put the seal on it.

But I will say, if I thought it was necessary, I'll do it in a heartbeat.

Georgia

Q. Do you agree with the Georgia Governor opening the beaches?

The President. Opening what?

Q. The beaches.

The President. I haven't seenâI'm going to have to see to what extent. I'm going to have to see how many people you're talking about, are they crowded, are they packed, are they not packed? We'll have to take a look at it. Right now it's very early for beaches in Georgia. So, right now, very early. So I'll take a look at it.

He's done a very good job as the Governor. He knows what he's doing, but we'll have to take a look. It really does depend on, you know, how crowded it may be. But I will talk to him and I will ask him that question. I would ask him.

Yes, please.

Potential Domestic Travel Restrictions

Q. Mr. President, you said last week that you were considering travel restrictions around hotspots. Is that something that's still on the table? And at what pointââ

The President. We're looking at it. And the airlines have been cutting their routes. You saw that yesterday. They announced big cuts in routes. We need some flights for emergency use for military people. We need some flights for medical people. And they are very few flights, as you know. And the flights that are going out areâI think they said they're 3- to 4-percent full. You have 3 percent of the plane is occupied. So it'sâthey're very, veryâgenerally, very, very empty planes.

But it's good to haveâit's a tiny amount of flights, relative to the overall.

And we need them also for medical workers, forâotherwise, we're going to have to do a whole big thing with our own planes. So they're done for a reason. There's also testing done when people get onto those planes and also when people get off the planes.

Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General/Coronavirus Testing Access

Q. Mr. President, if I can follow up on this question of the HHS Inspector General. And by the way, her name is Christi Grimm. And it wasn't so much her opinion, but they interviewed 323 different hospitals.

The President. Well, it still could be her opinion. But when was she appointed? When was she appointed?

Q. I'm not sure when she was appointed.

The President. Would you do me a favor? Let me know.

Q. I'll check on it.

The President. No, no, let me know now. I have to know now, Jon. Let me know now.

Q. But the point isââ

The President. Because we are doing an incredible job of testing. We are doing a better job than anybody in the world right now on testing. There's nobody close. And other nations admit this. Other nations have admitted it very strongly. Other nations are calling us, wanting to know about our testing. Let me know when she was appointed, would you?

Q. But specifically, what she was sayingââ

The President. Go ahead, please.

Q. Sir, it's in the statementââ

Q. ââwas that there had been a delay in the lab results.

The President. Okay, thank you very much. Go ahead, please.

China-U.S. Trade

Q. Thank you, Mr. President. Only last week, there were multiple flights coming from China full of medical supplies.

The President. Yes.

Q. Companies like Huawei and Alibaba has been donating to the United Statesââ

The President. Right. People I know very well.

Q. ââlike 1.5 million N95 masks and also a lot of medical gloves and much more medical supplies. Soââ

The President. Sounds like a statement more than a question.

Q. And AmbassadorâChinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai last night wrote an op-ed on New York Times, calling to cooperation with the United States. So are you personally working directly with China on medical suppliesââ

The President. We just signed a trade deal.

Q. ââalso fighting with the virus?

The President. It's the biggest deal probably ever made. And I hope they're going to honor that trade deal. If they don't honor the trade deal, then I'll tell you a different answer. But I think they will. They're going to spend billions of dollars for agriculture. They're going to spend billions of dollars for many different things.

Whereas China never spent money in our countryââ

Q. Specifically on medical supplies.

The President. ââwe spent money. We had a deficitâa trade deficitâwith China for years of $500 billion, $400 billion. We had the biggest trade deficits in the history of the world with China. Now China is going to spend a lotâhas agreed to spend $250 billionâmany billions of dollars in our country, much of it going to farmers and manufacturers.

So I'll let you know. I mean, I hope they're going to honor the deal. We'll find out.

Q. [Inaudible]âwith China? Are you cooperating with China?

The President. I don't know. Who are you working for? China? You work for China or are you with a newspaper?

Q. I'mâno, I'm working for Hong Kongââ

The President. Who are you with?

Q. Hong Kong Phoenix TV.

The President. Who owns that? China? Is it owned by China?

Q. It's based in Hong Kong.

The President. No, is it owned by the state?

Q. No, it's not. It's a private-owned company.

The President. Okay, good. Okay.

Look, I'll let you know. I'll give you a good answer to that in a few months. I want to just see what they do, because it's time for them to help us. Okay? It's time right now for China to help us, and hopefully, they do. And if they don't, that's okay too.

But we signed a deal. It was signed in with great good will and spirit. And it's time that our farmers benefited, our manufacturers benefitted, and we'll see whether or not that deal is honored. And I think it will be because I know President Xi, who I like and respect. And I think he will honor the deal he made with us.

It just went into effect 4 days ago. I will see whether or not. In fact, I called up just a little while ago. I said: "How are the farmers doing with respect to China? Are they buying the product as anticipated?" And the answer was, "Yes, I think so." But it wasn't the most positive, but it was starting. It was starting. The deal just started.

So I'll let you know. But you know, for many, many years, China ate our lunch, because we had people in this position that I'm in right now that allowed China to get away with absolute murder, and it should have never happened.

Q. What about fighting the coronavirus?

The President. But we are now dealing with China. We'll see what happens. Yes. Go ahead.

Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

The President. Wait. Wait.

Q. I'll tell you when she was appointed.

The President. How many do you want to ask? How many do you want to ask?

Q. So I just wantedâI was going to answer your question you asked me. She was appointed in January of this year to her current positionââ

The President. Good.

Q. ââas the Principal Deputy Inspector General. The President. Okay. We're going to take a look at it. Go ahead.

Q. Mr. President, I know you don't want to talk aboutââ

Q. On the issue ofââ

The President. Don't interrupt. He's talking.

Federal Aid to Small Businesses

Q. On the issue of small-business loans, sir, you said that businesses have applied for $40 billion in loans. But can you tell us how much of that money has actually gone out to the small businesses?

The President. I can't tell you, but I know it goes out very quickly once the loan application is approved. And the process is very fast. And you have to understand: These are banks, and that's what they do. But they were swamped. They were actually swamped.

Okay, go ahead. Please.

Coronavirus Testing Access

Q. I know you don't want to talk about the Inspector General report, but testing is still a big issue in this country. When can hospitals expectââ

The President. Put the slide up again, please. Just put it up.

Q. When can hospitals expect to receive a quick turnaround of these test results?

The President. Are you ready? Are you ready? Hospitals can do their own testing also. States can do their own testing. States are supposed to be doing testing. Hospitals are supposed to be doing testing. Do you understand that?

Q. But it takes a while for theââ

The President. We're the Federal Government. Listenââ

Q. ââresults to come back.

The President. We're the Federal Government. We're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing. They go to doctors. They go to hospitals. They go to the State. The State is a more localized government; you have 50 of them. And they can goâ50 within here; you also have Territories, as you know. And they do the testing.

And if you look at the chart, if you take a lookâdid they put it up? Yes. Just take a look.

And these are testing, and the results are now coming in very quickly.

Initially speaking, the tests were old, obsolete, and not really prepared. We have a brandnew testing system that we developed very quickly, and that's your result. And you should say: "Congratulations. Great job"âinstead of being so horrid in the way you ask a question.

Please. Go ahead.

Q. Mr. President, todayââ

The President. Yes, I'd love to have the admiral speak to that question. Yes. That's a great

idea.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. So I can talk a little bit more about testing later on, but as the

President said, 1.79 million tests have been done. And this does not count the hundreds of thousands of tests that are done within hospitals that are now currently not reporting. So I'm sure we're well over 2 million.

That Inspector General report was done hereâ23d and 24thâduring our ramp-up period, quite a long time ago. There was clearlyâand it's hard to interpret the report, because it mixes up all kinds of thingsâbut clearly, there was complaints by some hospitals of a backlog. Probably had sent out tests. And that is true. There were several days of backlog at some of the major labs that have been taken care of. We know now that the ACLA labs now have a 24- to 48-hour turnaround.

Vice President Pence. They do.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. They're doing well over 100,000 tests a day. We now have the Abbott machine; that's point of care. That's 18,000 of those instruments throughout the country. The Cepheid machine is now all across the country with a 45-minute turnaround on.

So we have worked directly with many of the hospitals that have their own laboratory- derived tests. Some of those really, quite frankly, didn't understand the regulatory freedom they have to use other different kinds of instruments or different kinds of reagents.

Vice President Pence. They do now.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. Soâlike they do now. Like they do now. And I'm on the phone with them all the time to make sure that everything is clear. We have a 24-hour call number. But that's what it was there for.

And I don't know the Inspector General, or I don't know that person. I tell you one thing I have a problem with: If there was such a problem that she knew about or he knew about on March 23d and 24th, why did I find out about the test from them on theââ

The President. He's the one in charge.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. ââon the news media at 8 o'clock this morning? If there was a problem, I think you're ethically obliged to tell me where that is so we can interact with it like I do every single day. But that's a discussion for the future. I think testing is really in a good position right now, and I'd be happy to expand on some of the really good tests that are coming up.

The President. How long has that person been in Government? Could I ask you that?

Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General/News Media

Q. She did serve in the previous administration.

The President. Oh, you didn't tell me that. Oh, I see. You didn't tell me that, Jon.

Q. She was appointed for her current position in January of this year, by your Government.

The President. You didn't tell me that. Did serve in the previous admin-âyou mean the Obama administration. Thank you for telling me that.

Q. [Inaudible]

The President. See, there's a typical fake-news deal.

Q. Well, you asked me when she wasâyou asked me when she was appointed.

The President. No, look. Lookââ

Q. I told you when she was appointed by your administration.

The President. You're a third-rate reporter. And what you just said is a disgrace. Okay? You asked meâyou said, "Sir, just got appointed." Take a look at what you said.

Now, I said, "When did theyâwhen did this personâhow long in Government?"

Q. But, butââ

The President. "Well, it was appointed in the Obama administration."

Q. But her current job was in your administration, sir.

The President. Thank you very much, Jon. Thank you very much. You will never make it. Go ahead, please.

Availability of Medical Supplies and Equipment/Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General

Q. On the ventilatorsââ

The President. Boy, that's a terrible thing.

Q.ââand maybe this is best for Admiral Giroirâbut can you tell us today how many ventilators are in the Federal stockpile?

Assistant Secretary Giroir. I'm not going to tell you how many are in the stockpile, but I can tell you that we look at ventilator use granularly every single day, in every single State, and down to the hospital level.

[*Assistant Secretary Giroir continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

So what we have in the stockpile, I think, is not a number that we give out. But we have thousands remaining in the stockpile. And now you're seeing out of the appropriate American spirit that, when a State like Washington or California doesn't need that ventilator, they're doing the right thing by moving them around the country.

The President. It's about 9,000, just so you understand. It's about 9,000.

Vice President Pence. That's right.

The President. And by the way, you didn't tell me also that this Inspector General came out of the Obama administration. You didn't tell me that either.

Q. Sir, everybody up hereââ

The President. Okay, please go ahead.

Q. ââworked in the Obama administration except for you and Vice President Pence.

The President. Go ahead, please.

The President's Telephone Conversation With 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Q. I'm looking, sir, atâjust quickly here, I'm looking at this Inspector General's bio. She appears to have served in Government since 1999.

But I was hoping to ask you about your call with former Vice President Joe Biden. Is there something that you learned on that phone call? And has that changed your opinionââ

The President. No, I understood his views before the call.

Q. But has that changed your opinion about speaking to people likeââ

The President. I just think he's a very niceâI think he's a nice man. I've always thought he was a nice man. I'veâI don't know him. I don't know if I ever spoke to him before, other than to say hello. But I think he's a nice man. We had a very nice call.

Federal Pandemic Preparedness Efforts/Federal Coronavirus Response Efforts

Q. And do you want to seek now the counsel of some of your predecessorsâGeorge Bush, Barack Obama?

The President. No, but we mayâno. Not really. We mayâwe're doing a great job.

Hey, I inheritedâwe, this administrationâwe inherited a broken system, both militarily, but we've rebuilt our military where we now have so much ammunition, whereas you remember a very important general said, "Sir, we have no ammunition." They wanted to save money on ammunition.

They didn't want to save money, because they spent money like nobody ever spent money. But you know what? We now have a great military rebuilt. And we have so much ammunition, we don't know what to do with it. Okay? And that's a nice feeling to have.

But they also gave us empty cupboards. The cupboard was bare. You've heard the expression: "The cupboard was bare." So we took over a stockpile where the cupboard was bare and where the testing system was broken and old. And we redid it.

And frankly, it would be okay for a small event, but not for a big event. And they had a chance to do it. Somebody said that a certain personâI won't tell you, but a certain person said this will happen. And that's true. The problem is that person never did anything about itâ previous administrations. In previous administrationâthey never did anything about it.

You know, we all know all about pandemics and all of the things that we're seeing now, but nobody thought it was going to happen. And if we did think it was going to happen, the problem is nobody did anything about it.

We did. We have rebuilt the system. And now we're a fine-tuned machine. We built thousands of hotel beds for New York. We moved a ship in that now we're going to make for COVIDâCOVIDâ19. We are going to make it so that people having this horrible thing happen to them will be able to use the ship. The ship, as I said, is going to be shared with New Jerseyâ New York and New Jersey.

We've done things that are incredible. When you buildâwhat was it? Eighteen hospitals. We built 18 hospitals. We built medical centers all over the country. And when you have Gavin Newsom and other Governors who really have been very nice and generous in their statements, because they make the statements to the press, not just to my face. Others tell us how great we're doingâlike the call that Mike had today. I heard from other people that were on the call; they

said it was incredible. It was 2 hours, and it wasâeverything was positive. They were so happy with what we've done.

And we're ready to do more if they need it, because we're ready to march. The admiral can tell you: We are sitting there with 9,000 ventilators, and we're ready to march when we see that. We can move quickly. As soon as we see that need, we can move very quickly. We're ready to march. We built a great system.

The problem is, the Democratsâlike a guy like Chuck Schumer, who's a total lightweight, by the way; I've known him for a long time. He'll say, "Why don't you put a military man in charge?" A military man? I have all military men. This man is doing an incredible job. We have two admirals, numerous generals. We have the Army Corps of Engineers. We have FEMA. We have this whole force that like nobody has ever seen before. We have a great military operation, and they've done an incredible job.

And honestly, people should respectâbecause nobody has ever seen anything like what we've done. And what they end upâwhatâforget about me; don't worry about me. I getâI will only get badâif I say, "How many ventilators do you need, Governor?" "A thousand would be great." I said "Nope, I'm going to send you 10,000." And then, you'll call up from the media.

You'll say, "How did Trump do?" "We're not happy. He didn't send us enough ventilators." Because that's called politics.

But if you look at what's happening, thatâand I'm even surprised. The Governors are saying all good things. But the Democrat Governors, and a couple of RINOsâfrankly, they're RINOs.

It's all they areâone RINO, in particular. But the Governors are saying great things.

He had a call that lasted 2 hours today. I heard about the call, not just from Mike. It was a perfect call. Now I'm sure you were on the call, even though you're not supposed to be. I'm sure you were on the callâmeaning some of the media was on the call, because they're constantly reporting the call. If they're honest, they will say it was a great call.

Okay. Okay. Next question, please.

Q. Mr. President?

The President. Here we go. This one. Here we go.

Texas

Q. You didn't mention the hospitals that were built in New Orleans and Dallas today, but you have mentioned them a number of times previously. There seems to be some concern in Texas that they might lose the hospital in Dallas if it's not usedââ

The President. We're never going to do anything that hurts Texas.

Q. ââif it's not used yet.

The President. We're only helping Texas.

Q. How patients is thereââ

The President. By the way, the Governor is doing a great job over there with the situation.

And Texas is so big, you have some parts of the State that are affected, other parts that aren't affected at all. You know, it's an incredible place.

Q. But doâcan they keep this hospital, even if it's unused? Or is the Federal Government going to shift those resources elsewhere?

The President. No, we're going to use whatever we need, and we're doing it totally in conjunction with the Governor. Okay? We're doing it in conjunction with your Texas Governor, who's done a fantastic job. Great.

Border Security

Q. Can I ask whatâGovernor Abbott also has set up checkpoints at the border to check peopleââ

The President. Yes.

Q. ââcoming in from Louisiana. We've seen checkpoints in Florida, other State borders. Americans are not reallyââ

The President. Very few people are coming through our border. And you'll be happy to know we're up to mile 161 of the wall.

Q. No, no, I'm talking about internal borders between States.

The President. Oh, I see. Okay.

Q. Americans are not used to seeingââ

The President. But on the border between Mexico, we have 161 miles of wall.

Q. We're notâbut I'm talking about internal borders.

The President. Okay, good.

Interstate Travel Restrictions/Border Security

Q. Americans don'tâthey're not used to seeing border checkpoints between States. How much longerâand is that something that States have to clear with you?

The President. Well, I mean, look, youâfirst, you want us to call eight Governors and tell them to do something. And then, you're complaining that another Governor is so strict that he actually checks the borders. I understand why he's doing that: because he knows who he has, and he doesn't want people coming in if they should maybe, you know, not be to the liking of the doctors.

Q. Is the roleâis the role of the Federal Government to decide when borders are closedââ

The President. No, I think it'sâlook, he's done a great job. He's done a great job with this case, as have many other Governors. But he's done a great job.

One of the things I thought you were going to say is, we've been very tough on our southern border, as you know. Very, very tough.

Q. And another one for Dr. Fauciââ

The President. And part of that is because of the fact that we have so muchâyou know, when you talk about 160 miles of new wall, nobody is coming through that. Nobody. Not even close. And we're building it rapidly. We will haveâearly next year, we'll have close to 500 miles of wall, which is what our goal was.

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

The President, Please go ahead.

Economic Stimulus Legislation/Infrastructure/Economic Impact of the Coronavirus

Q. You mentioned Senator Schumer just a moment ago. He had a conference call today, and he said that he believes that a COVID four relief bill will be necessary. Do you share that belief? And what would be contained in such a bill?

The President. I don't know necessarily, but I certainly want to listen. And what I want to do is two things: a real infrastructure, not a Green New Deal. You know, the carbon footprint. I'm not looking for the carbon footprint. We want to put people to work.

But a realâand frankly, for so many years, we've let our infrastructure go to hell because we were wasting all our money in the Middle East and other places. Okay? I want to rebuild our country. I don't want to rebuildâwe're tired. We've builtâwe've rebuilt, if you call it thatâor destroyed, frankly. What we've done is so crazy. What we have doneâthe direction that this country has taken is so sad.

But we're in the Middle East for $8 trillion. And if you want to fix a pothole in a highway, you can't do it, because they don't want to give you the funds. So we want to have an infrastructure billâa real one, like in the vicinity of $2 trillionâto completely rebuild our roads, our bridges, our highways, our tunnels, everything. And I'm totally open to listening to that.

I'm also open to listening to and even putting forwardâbecause we are going to be putting something forwardâmore money for our citizens, because they've gone through trauma. This has been trauma. This came out of nowhere.

Q. [Inaudible]

The President. Whenâand I say it, and I'll say it again: We had the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had the most people working in the history of our country, almost 160 million people, far more than ever before.

And then, one day, our professionals correctly came to us, and they said, "Sorry, sir, we have to close down our country." And I said: "Say it again. Say it again." "We have to close down our country." And the entire world closed down because of this hidden enemy.

No, we are going to take good care of our people. It was not their fault.

Q. Follow-up on that? Follow-up on that?

Q. May I ask Dr. Birx to clarify something that she said on Saturday, sir?

The President. Go ahead. Yes, please.

Q. May I ask Dr. Birx to clarify something that she said on Saturday? If I may, Dr. Birxââ

The President. Deborah.

Coronavirus Containment Efforts/Social Distancing Guidelines

Q. ââthis is a question that comes from a radio colleague of mine, Tamara Keith. And on Saturday, it sounded like you said that for the next week people in high-risk areas should not even go to the market or the drugstore. Is that what you meant to say? Or is that accurate?

Ambassador Birx. You know, out of respect for every single health care worker that's on the frontline, whether they're a nurse, a doctor, a respiratory therapist, the phlebotomist, the persons who come in the rooms to cleanâyou know, out of respect for them, we as Americans should be doing everything possible.

[*Ambassador Birx continued her remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And I know they're tough. I know incredibly how tough they are. My grandchild of 10 months got a fever of 105 this weekend. I'm the doctor, and I couldn't get there. I mean, so I'm

trying to explain to my daughter how to listen to her lungs. How to listen to her lungs and then the baby's lungs. [*Laughter*]

The President. So you did not get there? You did not get there?

Ambassador Birx. I did not go there.

The President. Good, I'm very happy about that.

Ambassador Birx. [Laughter] Because of you two. [Laughter] I mean, when youâyou can'tââ

The President. [Inaudible]

Ambassador Birx. ââyou can't take that kind of risk with the leaders of the country.

The President. Your grandson is okay?

Ambassador Birx. Daughter. But she's coming out of it.

The President. That's a lot of temperature, 105. Ambassador Birx. Yes. But you know, we're allââ The President. That's a lot of temperature.

Ambassador Birx. ââand that's just an illustration. And I know you all are making sacrifices. And I guess I want everyone to take this seriously. So that was really a call of seriousness of how important this is and how we're starting to see the impact.

[*Ambassador Birx continued her remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And so that was really what I was saying, and I will continue to say that, because I do believe it's making a difference. You can start to see it making a difference. But we have to do even more right now, because that will predict where we are 2 or 3 weeks from now.

The President. Thank you, Deborah.

And it is making a big difference. I saw where Governor Cuomo was a little bit upset today. Over the weekend, a lot of people outside, and they wereâthey were pretty big groups of people. I saw that. I noticed that. And he wasn't happy with that. And I could understand that.

Look, we have a periodâa short period of timeâhopefully, it's a short period of time to go.

And let's get it done. Let's get it done.

Kristen [Kristen Welker, NBC News], did you have a question?

Q. Yes, I did. Thank you. Quick follow toââ

The President. You're so quiet today.

Q. Just got here. Apologies.

The President. It's because you have your own show now, right?

Economic Stimulus Payments

Q. [Laughter] No. Quick follow to the question about legislation. I know there's discussion about a phase fourââ

The President. Yes.

Q. ââbut are you also looking seriously at a second round of direct payments? And are you putting discussions on a potential phase four on hold for now while you pursue that?

The President. Well, I was opposed to the way of distributionâmoney distributionâ through, as you know, unemployment and through the State offices, because they have very oldâ not all of them, but many of themâhave 40-year-old equipment, as I've said. And it makes it very difficult.

But that's what they're lookingâthat's what they to do. That's the way it's mandated to do. I thought it would be better if we did a direct payment system, but the Democrats really wanted it. And I think they had some help from a couple of people that I would haveâhad I spoken to them, I would have convinced them otherwise, I really believe.

But soâbut it's getting out. And the Federal Government has done its job. All we can do is give this massive amount of money to the States. The States then are responsible to distribute itâ a little bit like we're talking about here. But the money will be right on time from the Federal Government; then, the States have to do their job in getting it out.

Q. Does there need to be a second round of those payments, do you think?

The President. We could very well do a second round of direct. I would do it direct.

Q. Is that under serious discussion right now?

The President. It's underâit is absolutely under serious consideration.

Federal Coronavirus Response

Q. And in terms of Chuck Schumer, he also said he spoke to your Chief of Staff about potentially appointing a czar to oversee the supply chain. Is that something that you would consider doing?

The President. Well, we have people that are so talented.

Q. Who is the point person for that?

The President. I know the people he suggested. They're wonderful people. They worked here. They're wonderful people.

He's just doing that because it's politics. Because you know what?

Q. But who's the point person right now, Mr. President?

The President. We have many. Depending on what? In terms of testing, this gentlemen right here.

Vice President Pence. I can speak to that.

The President. In termsâyou know who the point person is? This gentleman right here. He's the one in charge of the Task Force. But, Mike, you may want to tell him about theâbecause this is really a military operation.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer/Federal-State Coordination

Q. Mr. Vice President, in terms of supply chain, in terms of getting out PPEââ

Vice President Pence. Let me answer your question if I mayââ

Q. Please.

Vice President Pence. ââbecause it's a very good question. And I spoke to Senator Schumer the night before last about just that. When the President signed a declaration of national emergency, he stood up FEMA as the lead agency implementing his policy to marshal a whole- of-Government response. And, under FEMA, we provide Federal support, the State manages the

health care response, and health care providers and first responders implement that response on a local level.

[*Vice President Pence continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And it's what we're doing every single day to make sure that health care workers, to make sure that the States that are dealing with a widespread outbreak of coronavirus can be confident that we're going to spare no expense, leave no stone unturned, and use this extraordinary apparatus, centered in FEMA, to get the people of our country what they need, when they need it, to battle the coronavirus.

The President. Thank you, Mike.

And, Kristen, when Schumer makes a statement like that, he's only doing it for politics. He knows. We have the best generals, the best admirals. We have the best people. These are incredible leaders. These are vibrant people. They've done such a good job.

And again, you'll get a tape of the conversation, because I'm sure some of the Governors probably had their favorite reporter listening to the conversation, even though they weren't supposed to. But that's happened before.

Just so you understand, we had a call today that was a beautiful call, everybody friendly, everybody happy. They also know, in some cases, we'll get them a little bit more. And if they need it, we'll get them a lot more, depending on where this monster is going.

But when Schumer does that, take a look at the pastââ

Federal Coronavirus Response/Previous Administrations' Influenza Responses

Q. Well, he's not the only one, to be fair, Mr. President.

The President. Well, you know, you're going to have to tell me who.

Q. There are other people who have raised that point.

The President. They certainly don'tâwell, yes, some Democrats, because they view this as a campaign issue, they want to make Trump look as bad as they can, because they want to try and win an election that they shouldn't be allowed to win, based on the fact that we have done a great job.

We built the greatest economy in the world. I'll do it a second time. We got artificially stopped by a virus that nobody ever thought possible. And we've handled it, and we've built a team, and we've built an apparatus that's been unbelievable.

Take a look at the swine flu. Right? That's H1N1. Take a look at that. And it's not the other way around, by the way. It's H1N1. Take a lookâyou know what I mean by that. Take a look at the swine flu. It was a disaster; 17,000 people died. The other administrationâthey didn't even knowâit was like they didn't even know it was here. And that was peanuts compared to what we have, in terms of the power, the magnitude of what we're going through. This is attacking 182 countries, simultaneously.

So Schumer is just all about politics. I've known him almost all of my adult life. And he's a disgrace. In many ways, he's a disgrace. And he knows it's notâhe just wants to do that. But he knows the job we're doing.

Everybody is amazed at the job we're doing. And the public is starting to find out. They're startingâyou know, one of the reasons I do these news conferencesâbecause if I didn't, they would believe fake news. And we can't let them believe fake news. They see us up here. They see

us with admirals. They see us with this talent. They see the job that Mike Pence has done, which has been an unbelievable job. An unbelievable job.

I put him there. I thought he'd do well. He did great as the Governor of Indiana, and I thought Mike would do well. He's done much better than well. And he gets along with people, I think, much better than I do. [*Laughter*] Because I like people being 100âMike can put up with things that, sometimes, I say, "It's amazing that he can put up with it." But he's done an incredible job, and so has the entire team.

This is a military operation. And again, we built 2,900 beds in Javits Center. We built medical centers in New York. In Chicago, we built 1,000 bedsâmuch more nowâin McCormick Place. That's their big convention hall, the equivalent of Javits convention hall. Big McCormick Place. Fantastic place.

By the way, the mayor of Chicagoâat least on the phoneâis extremely happy with what we're doing. She's thanking us. Has a great relationship with Mike. Thanking us.

And I just wish the politicians would say to you what they say to us. Really. And it's a good question.

Do you have one? Yes, please. And we'll get to you.

Drug Interdiction Efforts/Border Security

Q. Yes, Mr. President. A national security question and then a question about Governor Cuomo. On the national security front, to the extent that you can comment on this: Your administration is making heavy preparations to move against the cartels in Latin America right now. And Iâcould you expandââ

The President. You said Latin America?

Q. Yes.

The President. Yes.

Q. Could you expand on the reasoning of why now? Are their supply and logistics especially weak? Is it political? What's the reasoning?

The President. Yes. It's a good question. We've moved a tremendous number of boats and ships to the area ofâyou know, different areas of exactly where you're talking aboutâbecause we are tired of drugs pouring into our country from other places. And we're tired of seeing drugs pouring into different parts of Latin America, South America, and just coming into our country.

Now we've got them stopped at the border, and they're trying to do it by sea. So we stop them at the border withâand frankly, with the help of Mexico. Mexico, right now, has 27,000 soldiers on our southern border. They never had any soldiers. They're doing that because I've asked them to do it. That's the only reason they're doing it. They have 27,000 soldiers.

So now they're trying to bring it in by boat and by shipâthe drug lords and the people doing drugsâand trying to destroy our country from inside with drugs. And we're hitting them very, very hard. And that's why we're doing that.

Q. Are there other illicit activities that U.S. assets are targeting orââ

The President. Say it?

Human Trafficking/Border Security

Q. Is it beyond narcotics? Are there other illicit activities that U.S. assets are targeting?

The President. Well, there are the activities of human trafficking, and especially with respect to women. And, as you know, proportionally, it's mostly women.

Q. [Inaudible]

The President. And it's a horrible thing. It's a horrible thing.

Q. ââjust particularly opportunistic?

The President. And there's never been a time like it. And it's because of the internet. And this is all over the world. But, for the most part, they're coming throughâin this country, they're coming through the southern border. But we're hitting them very hard. They have tremendous illegal trafficking in womenâand children also, but mostly in women. And it's illegal. And it's horrible. And it's disgraceful. And I've seen things that are an absolute disgrace. And we're trying to knock them out, and we're knocking them hard.

And again, I want to thank the President of Mexico because he has really stepped up to the plate. Twenty-seven thousand soldiers. They've never had any soldiers on our border. And I did that, because the Democrats will not approve anything to stopâbecause they want to have open borders. They want to have all these people flowing through our border. And, in many cases, they're sick. They have problems that weâyou don't want to know about. Or they're criminals, in many cases. Not in all cases, but in many cases. And they don't want to have bordersâthey want to have open borders. They want to have sanctuary cities. So they protect criminals. And I don't want to have it.

And Joe Biden does want to have that also, as you know, because he said that during numerous debates. I want to have strong borders, and I don't like protecting criminals with sanctuary cities. But we're doing it for drugs. We're doing it for human trafficking. We're doing it because you have to do it. We either have borders, or we don't have a country.

All right. Go ahead, please.

Q. On Governor Cuomo, why did he moveââ

Q. Mr. President, on the question of antibody testingâwhich is FDA approved now, but not widely available yetâI know the admiral said, by Mayââ

The President. That's right.

Q. ââexpect to have millions available. How are you going to prioritize who's going to get the antibody tests? And what doesâwhat is that going to show you? Do you think that's going to be immunity?

The President. Okay. I mean, I have an answer, but I'd rather have the admiral answer that.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. So let me clarifyâand I know you probably understand thisâis the antibody test does not tell you if you have the active virus in your nose. If you're positive for the antibody, it strongly impliesâit means that you have had the virus before. And to the degree that we know of medical knowledge, you will probablyâhighly probablyâbe protected against getting the virus again in the future.

[*Assistant Secretary Giroir continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

So this allows for surveillance screeningâand Dr. Birx is one of the world expertsâto understand is 1 percent, 5 percent, 20 percent of Americans have been infected. But it also allows us to have very widespreadâtens and tens of millions of people screened with a finger prick on the spot.

Q. And by when? Just to beâby May you're saying this will happen or whenââ

Assistant Secretary Giroir. So we'reâscience doesn't run on rails. Right? So we need to make sure that the FDA, the NIHâwhich they're actively doing right nowâassure that the tests that they're testing really do perform the way they should.

And if things work out the way we believe they will, we will have millions on the market by Mayâin a sophisticated way, in a prospective wayâthat we get the surveillance we need. We can test people to see if they've been exposed, immune, and go back to work. And a combination of that kind of test with the current kind of tests we have now is how America opens back up again.

Coronavirus Antibody Testing Access

Q. And so how do you prioritize who gets those tests? I mean, tens of millionsâwe're a country of 300 million. How do you determine who you're going to have have that test?

Assistant Secretary Giroir. Well, we are having active discussions under the leadership of Dr. Birx and the Task Force. But you can imagine how that is, right? But with tens and tens and tens of millions of tests per month that are available, you could really do wideâvery widespread testing.

But let me just give you an example.

The President. Which nobody else can do, by the way. No other country can do it.

Assistant Secretary Giroir. I'll just give you one example. It would be very important to know, if the virus is still circulating here, whether, for example, a health care worker or a long- term-care nursing home worker is immune from the virus and can't carry it.

[*Assistant Secretary Giroir continued his remarks, concluding as follows.*]

And I don't want to take too much more time to the podium, but antibody tests are a different thing. They're comingâwe're highly confident that this can be scaled very rapidly and provide us a bit of information we just don't have now.

The President. Jeff, go ahead.

Q. Mr. President, may I follow up on what you said?

The President. A few more. We'll do a few more.

Q. May Iââ

The President. And then, Mike is taking over, and you're going to see some incredible work that's been done.

Go ahead, please.

Removal of Captain Brett E. Crozier, USN, From Command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Q. May I please follow up on what you said with regard to Captain Crozier before?

The President. Yes.

Q. You said you didn't want to punish him for having a bad day.

The President. He had a bad day or a bad week.

Q. Wouldâdoes that meanââ

The President. But I don'tâyes, I want toâI'm going to look into it.

Q. What does that meanââ

The President. And I alsoâI also think our Navy Secretaryâhe's a highly respected man.

So sometimes, that happens with people, and I'll take a look at it.

Q. But what doesâwhat do you mean by that? Would you consider reinstating him?

The President. He had a bad day. When he sends a letter out and he sends copies all over the place and it's not a classified letter. And it was very disconcerting to the families of the people on the shipâvery disconcerting. So, number one, they get worried and scared. It was weak. We don't want weak.

But I'm going to take a look, because he'sâI think heâyou know, looks to me like he's an outstanding guy. I looked at his wholeâjust a little while ago, I looked at his file. And people have bad days, and we'll take a look at it.

Q. I guess my question is: What would you consider doing for him?

The President. Well, we'll take a look. I want to look, I want to speak also to the Secretary. I also want to speak to the Secretary of Defense, who is Mark Esper, who is doing a fantastic job. And we'llâyou know, maybe I can help the situation out.

I mean, you guys are saying, "Why is the President getting involved and going"âwell, I like to solve problems. It's a problem. You know? I don't want to see men hurt, women hurt. I don't want to see people hurt unnecessarily. Maybe we can solve it easily where, you know, it's not life changing.

But he did a bad thing, sending a letter out and many, many copies, as you know. I don't know, I heard 28 copies. I heard a lot. That's a lot of copies. Plus, the letter was 5 pages long. I haven't read the letter, but I think it was 5 pages long, single spaced. That's a lot of writing.

You know, he's the captain of a ship. He's theâhe's a very important person of a very expensive ship, a nuclear-powered ship. He shouldn't be writing letters like that. But it happens. Sometimes, I'll write a letter that I say, "I wish I didn't send it." Not too often, but it happens.

Q. Can I follow up on that?

Q. Mr. Presidentââ

Q. Mr. President, can I follow up on that?

The President. Go ahead. Yes, go ahead.

Removal of Captain Brett E. Crozier, USN, From Command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Q. A quick follow-up on that, because the Acting Navy Secretaryâand I know you were asked about this, but I just want to try one more time. He did say, in remarks to soldiers on the USS Roosevelt, that Crozier was, quote, "too naÃ¯ve or too stupid" to be in command if he didn't think that writing that letter was a bad idea.

The President. Well, I don't know want to comment on what he said. I understand.

Q. Do you wish he had used different language, Mr. President?

The President. It's tough language, but I don't want toâlet's not get into that. It's tough language. Now, there are some people that think, "Oh, wow, he says it like it is."

Look, he made a mistake. He should not have sent that letter, or he should have gone through his chain of command, which is the typical way of doing it. You know, he's in the military. He's a very important person in the military. He knows it better than anybody in this room what he should have done, and I'm sure he feels he made a mistake.

But I'm going to look into it, and I'm going to seeâmaybe we can do something, because I'm not looking to destroy a person's life who's had an otherwise stellar career, as I understand it. I looked at his file just now, because I've been seeing what's going on.

Q. Would you potentially reinstate him?

The President. If we can saveâif we can save a person's careerâI don't mind going after a person if they did something wrong. And you knowâbut this was a mistake. He made a mistake. I'm not justifying what he did. He made a mistake. He shouldn't be sending letters. He's the captain. He's a very important person in the military. You don't send letters, and then it leaks into a newspaper. Of all newspapers, that was a beauty. Right? So you just don't do that. So it was a mistake.

But I may get involved. I'll call Secretary of Defense and find out a little bit about it. And if I can help two peopleâtwo good peopleâI'm going to help them.

Q. Mr. President, sir, on theââ

Removal of Captain Brett E. Crozier, USN, From Command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

Q. Mr. President, your tone seems to have changed a little bit since Saturday.

The President. Say it?

Q. Your tone seems to have changed a little bit on the captain since Saturday.

The President. On the captain?

Q. Yes. Hasââ

The President. No, it hasn't. I mean, lookââ

Q. But is it the news coverage, or did somebody speak to you on his behalf?

The President. Okay, ready? I saidâwhen you asked me and when the question was asked the last time, I said, "Shouldn't have sent the letter." I haven't changed. He shouldn't have sent the letter. And it should haveâif there's a letter, it should go classified, and it should go to his superior. And he shouldn't be jumping over his superior.

Q. Why did you look at his file, sir? Did somebody ask you to?

The President. So I'mâit hasn't changed, in that regard. The only thing that has played right up here with me is that I looked at his record. And he's been an outstanding person. If he wasn't, I wouldn't even be talking about this. He's been an outstanding person. He's had a very exemplary military career.

I mean, you know, he started off as a helicopter pilot. They called him "Chopper." His name was "Chopper." He was a great helicopter pilot. It's a tremendous skill. I know a lot about helicopters. And then, he went to Fâ16s or Fâ18s, and he was a tremendous pilot. And thenâhe's very smart. He studied nuclear energy, and he was fantasticâand very few people have the aptitude, they have the mentality to do that. Nuclear energy is very complex. Veryâit's very hard. Very few people can do it. And he did it well.

And then, he became the captain of a nuclear ship. Right? He becameâof aâa replacement costsâif you look at replacement costs: $18 billion of replacement cost. Right? So he's gotâon a replacement-cost basis, an $18 billion ship. You know, the President *Gerald Ford*, very expensive. That's, you know, the nearest thing I can think of. But they're spending money on that one like nobody's ever seen.

So, he made a mistake. He made a mistake. And maybe we're going to make that mistake not destroy his life.

Q. Does that mean you would reinstate him, Mr. President?

The President. Okay, a couple of more. A couple of more. Go ahead.

Hardship Compensation for Health Care Workers/Service and Dedication of Health Care Workers

Q. Mr. President, you mentioned medical professionals and compared them to soldiers going onto the battlefield.

The President. Yes.

Q. Many doctors and medical workers today, some of them seeing pay cuts, they're going into a sort of environment where they're concerned about their own health, their family's livelihoodââ

The President. I know.

Q. ââif something were to happen to them.

The President. Very much on my mind.

Q. As part of this phase four, are you going to prioritizeââ

The President. It doesn't have to be phase four. I think it could be a separate phase when it's all over. Right now I don't think they want to think about it. These people don't want to think about it. These people are incredible. They're not thinking about, "How much am I getting paid?" These people are incredible. I've seen it. I see the spirit. I hear about it all the time from Mike, from the admiral. I hear about it all the time. These people are incredible.

When it's all over, I do want to seriously thinkâmaybe in the form of bonuses. These people areâwhat they've done is incredible.

I just admire the attitude, and I've said it. I justâthey walk into those hospitals and they are seriouslyâyou know, one of the things that came up with the *Comfort*, the ship, is that when we fulfilled the request of Governor Cuomo and Governor Murphyâand they're going to be splitting it. But you know, a lot of the things happen to ships when you do theâyou know, it's a lot ofâ they didn't want to do this. In fact, they specifically didn't want to do this: have patients that were affected with this horrible disease or whateverâthe plagueâbecause, frankly, it's a plague.

That's exactly what it is. You'd read about it in the old days. The plague. And that's exactly what it is.

But we're doing it. But when I see the bravery of these people walking through doors without their stuffâI mean, they're halfâthey're just gettingâthey're not standing outside: "Hey let's get ready. Let's"âthey're running through doors, putting on the stuff. It's not even on. I think it's incredible.

I'm telling you, the nearest thing I can think of is soldiers in battle and soldiers going right into battle, because that's what they're doing. It's reallyâin many ways, it's the same thing.

All right. How about one more?

Professional Sports

Q. Mr. President, one more question. Mr. President, you may have seen this: The Masters Tournament has been rescheduled to November. Two questions: A, is that an outgrowth of your conversation that you had with sports commissioners on Saturday?

The President. Could be. I hope it's rescheduled. I hope football is able to start. I hope baseball can get to play a little bit. I hope basketball can maybe do their playoffs.

Q. What about theâMr. President?

The President. I mean, hey, I have no interests or anything other than I want what's good for the country.

Professional Sports/Economic Impact of the Coronavirus

Q. What about the U.S. Open, which you've attended many times?

The President. Yes, a lot of people are tiredâyes, a lot of people are tired of looking at games that are 5 years old. I looked the other day, I saw somebody, I said, "Wow, he looks great." I forgot. I said, "Oh, that was 9 years ago." You know, I said, "He's really in great shape." Well, not in a great shape now, but he was in great shape then. It was 9 years ago.

You know, you get tired of looking at 9-year-old baseball games and playoff games that took place 12 years ago. I don't have much time to do that, frankly, but that's what people are doing, and they want to see sports. Sports are a great thing for this country.

And I hope football can start. And I told them, "I think you might be able to." They may very well be able to. I hope they can start, and I hope they can start with people in the stands. You know, we're not going to be separated. But you have seats. Those seats are meant for people to sit next to each other. And when this virus is gone, people are going to be sitting next to each other.

And just for the restaurant industry, so they understand, when the virus is gone, people are going to be sitting next to each other. One man said: "I have a 200-seat restaurant. It's been great. But if I go by these rules, those 200 seats goes down to 60." I said, "No, no. You have a 200-seat restaurant. That's what you have." But we have to wait till the virus goes away. It wouldn't even do well at 60. Frankly, there's a warmth to it also. There's a warmth. But not when we have the virus in the air.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. So I'm going to let our Vice President take over. He's got some really interesting numbers, statistics. And I want to thank the admiral. I want to thank Tony and Deborah and everybody else. I want to thank everybody that's working. And I really do, I see a lot of tremendous things happening. And the therapeuticsâthe call I had today was one of the most exciting calls I've had in a long time.

And again, I want to wish my best to the U.K. and the family of Boris Johnson. And we just hope he's going to be okay, because he's a fine guy.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. Thanks.

[*The President left the briefing room, and the briefing continued with remarks by Vice President Pence and other members of the Task Force.*]

NOTE: The President spoke at 5:41 p.m. in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer, Amgen Inc.; Alexander Hardy, chief executive officer, Genetech, Inc.; Daniel O'Day, chairman and chief executive officer, Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Leonard S. Schleifer, founder, president, and chief executive officer, Regeneron; Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly; Physician to the President Sean P. Conley; Gov. Brian P. Kemp of Georgia; former Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis; Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot of Chicago, IL; and President AndrÃ©s Manuel LÃ³pez Obrador of Mexico. Director Fauci referred to Gov. J. Peter Ricketts of Nebraska; and Gov.

Kimberly K. Reynolds of Iowa. A reporter referred to Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager for former Vice President Biden; and White House Chief of Staff Mark R. Meadows.

The transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on April 7 and included the entire briefing.

Categories: Interviews With the News Media : White House Coronavirus Task Force press briefings.

Locations: Washington, DC.

Names: Abbot, Gregory W.; Abbott, Gregory W.; Biden, Joseph R., Jr.; Birx, Deborah L.; Bradway, Robert A.; Conley, Sean P.; Crozier, Brett E.; Cuomo : Andrew M.; Cuomo, Andrew M.; de Blasio, Bill; Esper, Mark T.; Fauci, Anthony S.; Giroir, Brett P.; Grimm, Christi; Hardy, Alexander; Johnson, Boris; Kemp, Brian P.; Lightfoot, Lori E.; LÃ³pez Obrador, AndrÃ©s Manuel; Modi, Narendra; Modly, Thomas B.; Murphy, Philip D.; Newsom, Gavin C.; Obama, Barack; O'Day, Daniel; Pence, Michael R.; Pritzker, Jay R. "J.B."; Roman, Mike; Schleifer, Leonard S.; Schumer, Charles E.; Xi Jinping.

Subjects: 3M; Agriculture : Domestic production, strengthening efforts; Amgen Inc.; Apple Inc.; Armed Forces, U.S. : Funding; Armed Forces, U.S. : Military families; Armed Forces, U.S. : National Guard; Armed Forces, U.S. : Servicemembers :: Deployment; Armed Forces, U.S. : Servicemembers :: Service and dedication; Army, Department of the : U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Business and industry : Manufacturing industry :: Government and private sector, coordination efforts; Business and industry : Small businesses, promotion efforts; California : Governor; China : Coronavirus outbreak; China : President; China : Relations with U.S.; China : Trade agreement with U.S.; Communications : News media :: Accuracy and fairness; Communications : News media :: Presidential interviews; Congress : Senate :: Minority leader; Defense and national security : Border security; Defense Production Act of 1950, executive authorities; Defense, Department of : Secretary; Diseases : Coronavirus, domestic prevention efforts; Drug abuse and trafficking : Foreign narcotics traffickers; Drug abuse and trafficking : Illegal drugs, interdiction efforts; Economy, national : Economic concerns; Economy, national : Improvement; Economy, national : Strengthening efforts; Economy, national : Travel and tourism, promotion efforts; Employment and unemployment : Job creation and growth; Employment and unemployment : Unemployment insurance; Energy : Domestic production, promotion efforts; Energy : Gasoline, oil, and natural gas costs; Environment : Carbon emissions; Genetech, Inc.; Georgia : Governor; Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Health and Human Services, Department of : Assistant Secretaries :: Health; Health and Human Services, Department of : National Institutes of Health; Health and Human Services, Department of : Principal Deputy Inspector General; Health and Human Services, Department of: Food and Drug Administration; Health and medical care : Experimental drugs and therapies; Health and medical care : Health care workers, service and dedication; Health and medical care : Medical equipment and supplies; Health and medical care : Research and development; Homeland Security, Department of : Emergency Management Agency, Federal; Illinois : Governor; Immigration and naturalization : Foreign nationals and refugees, U.S. admission policy; Immigration and naturalization : Illegal immigration; India : Prime Minister; India : Trade with U.S.; Infrastructure : National improvement efforts; Law enforcement and crime : Trafficking in persons, efforts to combat; Mexico : Border with U.S., infrastructure and security; Mexico : President; Navy, Department of the : Acting Secretary; Navy, Department of the : Naval hospital ships, deployment; New Jersey : Governor; New York : Governor; Presidency, U.S. : Annual health examination; Regeneron; South Korea : Coronavirus outbreak; Sports : Coronavirus impact; Taxation : Tax Code, reform; Texas : Governor; Transportation : Highway system, modernization efforts; United Kingdom : Coronavirus outbreak; United Kingdom : Prime Minister; United Kingdom : Relations with U.S.; White House Coronavirus Task Force; White House Office : Assistants to the President ::

Physician to the President; White House Office : Coronavirus Response Coordinator; White House Office : Vice President.

DCPD Number: DCPD202000244.