UNIVERSITY AND DAVID JOLLY ALSO JOINING US.
JOINING US. CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
PETER BAKER.
PETER BAKER. PETER, I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS
PRESIDENT CLOSELY AS HAVE YOU
FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS, I’VE
BEEN WATCHING HIM PARTICULARLY
CLOSELY OVER THE LAST THREE
WEEKS, HIS PERFORMANCE’S BY THE
ADMISSION BY HIS OWN ALLIES
UNEVEN AND HALTING AND IT REALLY
HAS BEEN REVEALED SOME OF THE
PRICE THAT HE HAS PAID FOR
TELLING 16,000 LIES AND
COUNTING.
COUNTING. HE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO
COMMAND THE RESPECT AND
ATTENTION OF THE BROADER GENERAL
PUBLIC, HE’D VERY MUCH LIKE TO
DO AND SAY THINGS THAT SOOTHE
AND CALM THE MARKETS, HE DOES
NOT HAVE THOSE TOOLS IN HIS TOOL
BELT AT THIS POINT IN HIS
PRESIDENCY.
PRESIDENCY. >> YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW,
WE’RE SEEING A CRISIS THE KIND
THAT HE HASN’T FACED BEFORE,
IT’S NOT A HUMAN TARGET THAT HE
CAN TWEET AT OR MOCK OR EVEN USE
MILITARY ACTION AGAINST AND I
THINK THAT WORKS AGAINST HIS
SORT OF MOST NATURAL SKILL SET.
HE’S AT HIS STRONGEST WHEN HE
HAS AN OPPONENT, SOMEONE WHO HE
JOUST WITH.
JOUST WITH. HE KNOWS HOW TO DO THAT.
HE’S BEEN PRETTY SUCCESSFUL AT
THAT.
THAT. AT LEAST WITHIN HIS OWN GOAL
SET.
SET. BUT THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT
CHALLENGE.
CHALLENGE. I WAS WITH HIM IN THE LAST FOUR
DAYS IN FLORIDA.
WE WENT TO ATLANTA TO TOUR THE
CDC.
CDC. WE WERE ON THE PLANE JUST
YESTERDAY COMING BACK, WHERE THE
CRISIS CAME INTO THE PLANE
ITSELF.
ITSELF. THE CONGRESSMAN WAS BRINGING
BACK, TOLD HE HAD BEEN EXPOSED
TO SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN INFECTED
AND SELF-QUARANTINED ON THE
PLANE.
PLANE. WATCH THIS PLANE -- AS WE CAME
BACK TO WASHINGTON YESTERDAY WAS
STUNNINGLY FAMILIAR ON WHO WAS
ON THAT PLANE DURING HURRICANE
KATRINA, WATCHING THE NEWS, THE
SINKING DOW, THE INCREASING
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT WERE
CLOSING AND YOU FELT AS YOU WERE
FLYING BACK TO WASHINGTON THAT
YOU WERE FLYING BACK TO A WHOLE
DIFFERENT WORLD THAT WOULD TEST
THIS PRESIDENT.
THIS PRESIDENT. >> THAT’S UNBELIEVABLE IMAGERY.
YOU’RE RIGHT, IT BRINGS TO MIND,
YOU KNOW, I’M NOT SAYING THAT
THE CRISES ARE SIMILAR, A DAY OF
CRISIS FOR A PRESIDENT, THE
PRESIDENT I WORKED FOR AND YOU
COVERED GEORGE BUSH FLYING
AROUND ON 9/11, WHERE THE
PRESIDENT AND THE PLANE HIMSELF
BECOMES THE STORY.
AS ALL OF THESE REPUBLICANS IN
THE PRESIDENT’S VERY CLOSE AND
RATHER SMALL INNER CIRCLE WERE
REVEALED TO HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT
WITH THE INFECTED PATIENT WHO
WAS AT THE CPAC CONFERENCE.
MARK MEADOWS IS ANOTHER ONE, THE
INCOMING CHIEF OF STAFF, WHAT’S
THE STATUS TODAY OF HIS
SELF-QUARANTINE?
SELF-QUARANTINE? >> YEAH, MARK MED DOUSE JUST
PICKED ON FRIDAY BY THE
PRESIDENT TO REPLACE MICK
MULVANEY AS THE CHIEF OF THE
STAFF OF THE WHITE HOUSE.
TO HELP HIM GET INTO RE-ELECTION
TURNS OUT TO BE SELF-QUARANTINE.
HE’LL BE SELF-QUARANTINED UNTIL
TOMORROW, THE END OF THE 14-DAY
PERIOD FROM THE TIME HE WOULD
HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE PERSON
WHO WAS INFECTED AT THE CPAC
CONFERENCE IN MARYLAND.
HE TESTED NEGATIVE FOR
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. HE’S NOT SICK HIMSELF.
HE’S STAYING AWAY FROM PEOPLE.
IT TELLS YOU THAT THIS IS WIDER
SPREADING KIND OF SITUATION THAN
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF WANTED TO
ADMIT.
ADMIT. NOT THAT LONG AGO HE WAS IN THE
BRIEFING ROOM, HE SAID, JUST 15
PEOPLE IN AMERICA HAVE THIS.
NOT EVEN A CORRECT THEN AND IT’S
CERTAINLY NOT A CORRECT NUMBER
NOW.
NOW. HE’S HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING
A BALANCE BETWEEN REASSURANCE AS
PRESIDENT IN A CRISIS SITUATION,
A CRISIS THAT’S NOW AFFECTING
EVERYDAY PEOPLE ACROSS THIS
COUNTRY, WHETHER SCHOOLS ARE
CLOSING, CONVENTIONS ARE
CANCELLED, TRAVEL HAS BEEN
RESTRICTED.
RESTRICTED. >> YOU KNOW, IN ANY WHITE HOUSE
FEARS AND INCOMPETENCE
NARRATIVE, ONCE IT SETS IN, YOUR
PUBLIC AND YOUR POLITICAL
ADVERSARIES CAN ALWAYS FIND
EXAMPLES TO PROVE IT’S TRUE.
THAT’S NOW LOCKED IN WITH THE
DELAY IN TESTING, WITH THE MIXED
MESSAGES.
MESSAGES. RACHEL MADDOW HAD ON HER SHOW
PART OF A PHONE BRIEFING AND
DONALD TRUMP IS STILL OUT OF
STEP IN TERMS OF SUBSTANCE AND
AN EMPHASIS OF HIS MESSAGE
COMING FROM THE TOP SCIENTIST
AND DONALD TRUMP DOESN’T CARE.
HE LIES ABOUT THE SMALL STUFF.
HE LIES ABOUT THE BIG THINGS AND
HE’S BEEN LYING SINCE DAY ONE OF
HIS ADMINISTRATION WHEN HE LIED
ABOUT CROWD SIZE.
HE’S LIED 16,000 TIMES SINCE
HE’S TAKEN OFFICE.
WE KNEW THAT WE WERE GOING TO
GET THIS MOMENT WITH A CRISIS
AND HE WOULD HAVE NO
CREDIBILITY.
CREDIBILITY. YOU HAVE A PRESIDENT RIGHT NOW
WHO’S MISLEADING THE PUBLIC,
LYING TO THE PUBLIC, AND, YOU
KNOW, BIDEN IS RIGHT.
BIDEN SAID IN THAT INTERVIEW
WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL THAT SHE
SHOULD JUST BE QUIET AND HE
SHOULD AND LET THE EXPERTS DEAL
WITH IT, LET THE SCIENTISTS DEAL
WITH IT.
WITH IT. THAT’S WHO WE NEED TO BE DEALING
WITH OR HEARING FROM BECAUSE THE
PRESIDENT LIES AND HE HAS NO
CREDIBILITY AT THIS TIME.
>> YOU KNOW DAVID JOLLY, I
REALLY BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE, IF
DONALD TRUMP WERE CAPABLE OF
FADING TO BLACK, OF SHUTTING
OFF -- I SAY THIS IN ALL
SERIOUSNESS, IF HE CAN SHUT OFF
HIS TWITTER AND GO TO ONE OF HIS
GOLF CLUBS, BEDMINSTER OR
MAR-A-LAGO SAID NOTHING FOR TWO
WEEKS I BET HIS RATING WOULD GO
UP TEN POINTS.
>> I THINK WE’RE ALL WONDERING
WHERE WE’RE LIVING THIS WEEK
THIS IS THE TURNING POINT.
AMERICAN FAMILIES NOW SEEING THE
TURNING POINT.
TURNING POINT. WHAT THE COUNTRY’S ASKING FOR IS
A PRESIDENT WHO CAN CALM NOT
JUST THE MARKETS BUT CALM THEIR
FEARS.
FEARS. YOU KNOW, BILL CLINTON BUILT
PART OF HIS POLITICAL NARRATIVE
BY SAYING, I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
DONALD TRUMP IS ASKING THE
NATION TO FEEL HIS.
AND IT’S A WEIRD LEADERSHIP
QUALITY.
QUALITY. IN A MOMENT OF CRISIS AND TO USE
THE KATRINA ANALOGY, I KNEW YOU
AND EDDIE HAVE THIS
CONVERSATION.
CONVERSATION. HE SAID 15 CASES, IS AKIN TO
BUSH 43 BROWNIE IS DOING A GREAT
JOB, THAT MOMENT HE CAN’T TAKE
IT BACK.
IT BACK. WHETHER IT’S INCOMPETENCE OR
NOT, WHAT DONALD TRUMP DOESN’T
REALIZE IN THIS MINUTE HE THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE FEARFUL.
HE’S ASKING PEOPLE TO ACCEPT HIS
GRIEVANCE THAT HE’S NOT GETTING
A FAIR SHAKE, WHAT’S DIFFERENT
THAN KATRINA, VERY DIFFERENT,
ALL SAY IT IS FOX NEWS.
THE REALITY IS THAT THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT INTO A
MASTERFUL LINE BY DONALD TRUMP,
THAT THE HYSTERIA IS ACTUALLY
THE MEDIA’S FAULT AND THE
DEMOCRATS’ FAULT.
DEMOCRATS’ FAULT. THEY BELIEVE THAT NOW.
YOU HAVE TO GIVE CREDIT
POLITICALLY TO DONALD TRUMP AS
PRESIDENT BUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR
A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS SHOULD BE
CONCERNING FOR NOT JUST EVERY
AMERICAN BUT FOR THE WORLD THAT
YOU PERHAPS ONE OF THE LEADING
NATIONS OF THE WORLD WHOSE
LEADER IN DONALD TRUMP IS GOING