AS HAVE THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS,
THE TEAM THAT PLAYED THE TITANS
LAST WEEKEND.
>>> AND THE CURRENT COUNT OF THE
PEOPLE THAT HAVE DIED IN THIS
COUNTRY FROM CORONAVIRUS STANDS
AT █ç207,000.
AND MORE THAN 7.2 MILLION HAVE
BEEN INFECTED, BUT WHEN THE
PANDEMIC CAME UP DURING THE
DEBATE, PRESIDENT TRUMP DEFENDED
HIS RESPONSE.
>> HIS OWN HEAD OF THE CDC SAID
IF WE JUST WORE MASKS BETWEEN
NOW -- IF EVERYBODY WORE A MASK
AND SOCIAL DISTANCED BETWEEN NOW
AND JANUARY, WE WOULD SAVE UP TO
100,000 LIVES.
IT MATTERS.
>> THEY HAVE ALSO SAID THE
OPPOSITE.
>> NO SERIOUS PERSON SAID THE
OPPOSITE.
NO SERIOUS PERSON.
>> WHAT ABOUT DR. FAUCI?
IT’S ALL SET UP.
>> BY EASTER, THIS WOULD BE GONE
AWAY.
BY THE WARM WEATHER, IT WOULD BE
GONE.
MI
MIRACULOUS, LIKE A MIRACLE, AND
BY THE WAY, MAYBE YOU COULD
INJECT BLEACH IN YOUR ARM.
>> THAT WAS SAID SARCASTICALLY.
>> IT WASN’T SAID SARCASTICALLY.
AND EVEN IF IT WAS SAID
SARCASTICALLY, DOES THAT MAKE IT
BETTER?
THIS AFTERNOON, JOE BIDEN GOT AN
UNINTERRUPTED CHANCE TO ANSWER
THE PRESIDENT AND ACCUSED HIM OF
DEFLECTING WHEN THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE NEED ANSWERS.
>> TRUMP’S CONSTANT DISREGARD
AND UNWILLINGNESS TO SPEAK TO
COVID AND THE FACT THAT 205,000
PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY DIED AND
OVER 7 MILLION ARE INFECTED,
IT’S LIKELY TO GET WORSE, HE
DIDN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT AT
ALL.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS THE
DIRECTOR OF COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, DR. IRWIN
REDLENER.
DR. REDLENER, I’M SURE YOU WERE
WATCHING THE DEBATE LAST NIGHT.
I WANT TO GET YOUR TAKE.
>> WELL, IT WAS ASTOUNDING.
FIRST OF ALL, JUST THE
ATMOSPHERICS THERE WERE
INCREDIBLE.
ALMOST MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO
WATCH, AND CERTAINLY IMPOSSIBLE
TO LEARN ANYTHING.
I THINK THE DISCUSSION SUCH AS
IT WAS ABOUT COVID WAS
PARTICULARLY NONILLUMINATING
WITH THE█ç PRESIDENT TALKING OVE
JOE BIDEN REPEATEDLY,
INCESSANTLY, AND WHEN HE DID
SPEAK AND DID MAKE HIMSELF
CLEAR, HE WAS ACTUALLY EITHER
DISHONEST OR JUST FABRICATING
INFORMATION THAT’S NOT TRUE.
SO IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT THING
TO WATCH, BUT THE REALITY IS,
WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY MORE
HONESTY OR TRANSPARENCY FROM
TRUMP THAN WE HAVE GOTTEN OVER
THE LAST SIX, EIGHT MONTHS NOW.
IT’S REALLY PROBLEMATIC.
I THINK JOE BIDEN TRIED TO
PRESENT HIS POSITION, DID A
REASONABLY GOOD JOB OF IT
CONSIDERING ALL THE STATIC AND
YELLING THAT WAS COMING FROM THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
IN THE MOST UNDISTINGUISHED,
INDISTINGUISHED FASHION
IMAGINABLE.
IT WAS REALLY A TOUGH WATCH,
KATY.
>> DONALD TRUMP ALSO DEFENDED
HIS RALLIES, SAYING THEY WERE
ALL OUTSIDE.
THEY HAVEN’T ALL BEEN OUTSIDE.
HE ALSO GREATLY INFLATED THE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WERE AT
HIS EVENTS.
THAT’S NO SURPRISE.
HE DOES THAT.
BUT HE SAID THAT THERE WERE NO NEGATIVE EFFECTS FROM HIM
NEGATIVE EFFECTS FROM HIM
GETá
UNCLEAR WHERE HE GOT IT.
CAN THE PRESIDENT MAKE THAT
CLAIM THAT THERE WERE NO
NEGATIVE EFFECTS?
>> NO, HE CERTAINLY CANNOT.
THERE WERE PLENTY OF NEGATIVE
EFFECTS.
AND HOW WELL THEY WERE TRACKED
AND TRACED AND SO ON, THAT’S A
PROBLEM.
BUT HE HAD MANY, MANY, YOU KNOW,
HE CALLED THEM LARGE, BUT THEY
WERE SORT OF MODERATE SIZED
CAMPAIGN EVENTS, INCLUDING ONE
IN TULSA NOT TOO MANY WEEKS AGO
WHERE IT WAS ONE THIRD FULL.
THE ARENA, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT
WERE THERE ON THE GROUND FLOOR
WERE CROWDED TOGETHER, SHOULDER
TO SHOULDER, NO MASKS.
THE PRESIDENT’S DEFIANCE ABOUT
MASKS HAS BEEN PERMEATING EVERY
SINGLE PUBLIC APPEARANCE HE’S
MADE, AND HE’S REALLY UNDERMINED
OUR ABILITY TO GET THIS
STRAIGHT, TO DO THE THINGS THAT
WE KNOW WILL SAVE█ç LIVES AND
PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE
DISEASE LIKE THE MASKS AND
SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE HAND
WASHING.
AND THIS HAS BEEN A VERY
TERRIBLE TIME IN THE HISTORY OF
AMERICA’S OTHERWISE STERLING
REPUTATION AS THE LEADER IN
PUBLIC HEALTH AROUND THE WORLD,
AND YOU KNOW, IT’S GOING TO BE A
HARD THING TO FIX, ACTUALLY,
EVEN IF JOE BIDEN GETS ELECTED.
IT’S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME
TO REESTABLISH THE CREDIBILITY
AND THE RELIABILITY OF THE
AGENCIES WHICH TRUMP SEEMS TO BE
INTENTIONALLY UNDERMINING, KATY.
>> NEW YORK CITY’S OPENING UP
DINING INSIDE TODAY.
25% CAPACITY.
DO YOU EXPECT IT TO REMAIN OPEN?
DO YOU EXPECT THERE TO BE ANY
CONSEQUENCES?
>> WELL, UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK
IT’S A PRETTY GOOD BET WE’RE
GOING TO GET A RESURGENCE EVEN
IN THE PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN
PRETTY PRISTINE ABOUT PREVENTING
COVID OVER THE LAST COUPLE
MONTHS, AND NEW YORK HAS BEEN IN
WORRIED ABOUT A RESURGENCE.
I’M WORRIED ABOUT ENFORCEMENT OF
THE 25% CAPACITY RULES AND
MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE OTHER
THAN WHEN THEY’RE ACTUALLY
EATING AND DRINKING ARE WEARING
MASKS AND ALL OF THE STAFF IN
THE RESTAURANT ARE WEARING MASKS
AND SO ON.
THIS IS A VERY HARD TIME.
KATY, PARTICULARLY SINCE WE
REALLY DON’T HAVE THE POINT OF
CARE RAPID RELIABLE TESTING THAT
WE NEED TO REALLY KEEP THINGS
UNDER CONTROL.
I MEAN, WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS,
BUT I’M NOT SANGUINE ABOUT THE
IDEA THIS IS GOING TO BE
SUSTAINED OVER TIME.