AINSLEY, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR REPORTING THIS MORNING.
JULIA, SAY HI TO MARY FOR ME.
>>> BACK TO THE LATEST WITH THE
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. AN "ASSOCIATED PRESS" ANALYSIS
HAS FOUND MANY GOVERNORS ACROSS
THE U.S. ARE DISREGARDING OR
CREATIVELY INTERPRETING WHITE
HOUSE GUIDELINES AND EASING
THEIR STATE’S LOCKDOWN MEASURES.
THE "AP" DETERMINED THAT 17
STATES HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A
14-DAY DOWNWARD TRAJECTORY IN
NEW CASES OR INFECTION RATES, A
KEY BENCH MARCMARK SET BY THE WH
HOUSE AND, YET, MANY OF THOSE
ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH
REOPENING PLANS.
REOPENING PLANS. WHILE OTHER STATES, LIKE
GEORGIA, BECAUSE OF THE BROADWAY
IN WHICH THE GUIDELINES ARE
WRITTEN, HAVE TECHNICALLY
MANAGED TO MEET THE CRITERIA TO
REOPEN, DESPITE NOT SEEING THOSE
DECLINES IN CASES.
THE "AP" REPORTS THAT THE WHITE
HOUSE HAS NOT BEEN SPECIFIC
ABOUT HOW STATES SHOULD
CALCULATE THE 14-DAY DOWNWARD
TRAJECTORY.
TRAJECTORY. GEND
GEND DEPENDING ON HOW YOU CALCULATE
IT, A STATE MIGHT PASS OR FAIL.
MEANWHILE, PRESIDENT TRUMP,
YESTERDAY, AGAIN, PLACED THE
RESPONSIBILITY ON THE GOVERNORS.
>> 20 STATES BY THE ACCOUNT OF
MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS RIGHT NOW
THAT HAVEN’T MET THE GUIDELINES
THAT YOU SET HERE, PARTIALLY OR
COMPLETELY TO REOPEN.
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE STATES
THAT HAVEN’T MET THE GUIDELINES
AND ARE STARTING THE PROCESS
NOW?
NOW? >> WE’VE LOOKED AT ALL OF THEM
AND SPOKEN TO MANY OR MOST OF
THE GOVERNORS.
THE GOVERNORS. AS YOU KNOW, WE GIVE LEEWAY TO
THE GOVERNORS.
THE GOVERNORS. THESE ARE GOVERNORS THAT HAVE
DONE A GOOD JOB IN, I THINK, ALL
CASES.
CASES. I HAVE SOME THAT I DON’T THINK
ARE DOING A PARTICULARLY GOOD
JOB, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THEY
HAVE.
HAVE. THESE GOVERNORS HAVE.
WE GIVE THEM THE LEEWAY.
THE GOVERNORS HAVE GREAT POWER
AS TO THAT GIVEN BY US.
WE WANT THEM TO DO THAT.
WE RELY ON THEM.
WE TRUST THEM.
HOPEFULLY THEY’RE MAKING THE
RIGHT DECISIONS.
RIGHT DECISIONS. >> LET’S BRING IN NBC NEWS
CORRESPONDENT HANS NICHOLS.
HE IS LIVE FOR US AT THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. GOOD MORNING.
GOOD MORNING. EVERY SIGNAL THE PRESIDENT AND
THE WHITE HOUSE HAVE GIVEN TO
THE STATES AND TO THE COUNTRY IS
THAT IT IS TIME TO TURN THE
PAGE.
PAGE. REMEMBER, EARLIER THIS WEEK,
THEY TALKED ABOUT WINDING DOWN
THE TASK FORCE.
THE PRESIDENT LATER AMENDED THAT
TO, "WELL, WE HAVE IT, BUT IT IS
CHANGING AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC
HEALTH SIDE OF IT TO THE
ECONOMIC SIDE OF IT."
WHAT IS THE WHITE HOUSE SAYING
DIRECTLY TO STATES, IF ANYTHING
AT ALL?
AT ALL? >> Reporter: DEPENDS ON THE DAY,
REALLY.
REALLY. THEY’RE SAYING SOMETIMES YOU
NEED TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES.
APRIL 16th, WHEN THE GUIDELINES
CAME OUT, THOSE CRITERIA, THE
LANGUAGE WAS STATES MUST PASS
THESE THRESHOLDS BEFORE THEY CAN
START OPENING UP, THREE FAZEPHAS
ALL THE RHETORIC FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE AND THE PRESIDENT IS
FLEXIBILITY.
FLEXIBILITY. SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS,
JUNIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS
THROUGHOUT, EVERYONE WANTS THIS
TO BE A STATE-LED EFFORT.
PART OF IT HAS TO DO WITH
SOMETIMES THEIR COMMITMENT TO
FEDERALISM.
FEDERALISM. IT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH A LITTLE
POLITICAL BLAME SHIFTING.
THEY WANT THE STATES TO OWN THIS
BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY’RE IN
THE BEST PLACE, THE BEST
POSITION, REALLY, TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT’S GOING ON.
WE SAW A VERSION OF THIS
YESTERDAY WHEN THAT CDC REPORT,
THE WHITE HOUSE SAID THEY SENT
BACK FOR REVISIONS TO THE CDC.
THE WHITE HOUSE REALLY WANTS
THIS TO BE AT THE STATE LEVEL.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT THE CDC IS
TRYING TO, DO THEY WANT IT TO BE
NATIONAL.
NATIONAL. THAT TENSION WAS REALLY EXPOSED
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. NOW, THE CLEAREST WE HEARD WAS
FROM DR. BIRX LAST NIGHT, SAYING
THEY THINK THE CDC DOCUMENT
NEEDS MORE EDITS.
EDITS AND REJECTIONS, AT LEAST
IN MY VIEW, IN MY EXPERIENCE AS
A JOURNALIST, TEND TO BE THE
SAME THING.
SAME THING. GUYS?
GUYS? >> HANS, WHAT ARE DR. BIRX AND
DR. FAUCI EITHER SAYING OR AT
LEAST THINKING AS THEY WATCH THE
PRESIDENT THIS WEEK SAY EXPLICIT
EXPLICITLY WHEN HE WAS IN
ARIZONA, "WE HAVE TO MOVE ON, WE
HAVE TO MOVE PAST THIS," DESPITE
THE FACT CASES ARE GOING UP
ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE CROSSED 75,000 DEATHS.
YES, THEY’VE COME DOWN IN HOT
SPOTS LIKE NEW YORK CITY, BUT
IT’S SPREADING ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. WHAT DO THE DOCTORS ON THE TASK
FORCE THINK AS THEY HEAR THE
PRESIDENT SAY, "TIME TO MOVE
ON"?
ON"? >> Reporter: THEY SEEM TO BE IN
BROAD AGREEMENT.
BROAD AGREEMENT. THERE’S NOT A LOT OF DAYLIGHT
WE’RE PICKING UP BETWEEN DR.
BIRX AND DR. FAUCI.
I SAY THAT, AND IN MOMENTS,
THERE’S GOING TO BE A TWEET THAT
ONE IS LEAVING THE TASK FORCE.
BUT THE PRESIDENT SEEMS TO BE EM
PRAISING THEM.
PRAISING THEM. THEY SEEM TO BE GIVEING THE
PRESIDENT THE ADVICE HE WANTS TO
HEAR, AND THAT IS, YOU CAN STAY
AHEAD OF THIS VIRUS’ SPREAD BY
THE TESTING, BY GOING IN AND
HAVING CERTAIN TESTING REGIMENS
TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN’T POP BACK
UP, THAT YOU CAN DO CONTACT
TRACING, AND THAT YOU DON’T NEED
A TEST EVERY DAY.
OF COURSE, WE SAW THE WHITE
HOUSE AND THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF
SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. THAT IS, EVERYONE NEAR HIM IS
GOING TO BE TESTED ON A DAILY
BASIS.
BASIS. I JUST WALKED TO THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. THERE ARE NEW QUESTIONNAIRES
THEY’RE ASKING REPORTERS COMING
IN ON WHAT SORT OF SYMPTOMS THEY
MIGHT BE PRESENTING.
THE TENSION IS -- AND WE HEARD
THIS FROM THE PRESS SECRETARY --
THEY DON’T THINK TESTING ON A
DAILY BASIS IS GOOD FOR THE REST
OF THE COUNTRY, BUT CLEARLY,
THAT’S THE PROTOCOL AT THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. WILLIE?
WILLIE? >> REAL QUICK, WE GOT REPORTING
FROM YOU YESTERDAY THAT A
PERSONAL VALET, SOMEBODY AROUND
THE PRESIDENT QUITE A BIT,
TESTED POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS.
HAS THAT CHANGED THE PRESIDENT’S
VIEW?
VIEW? IF HE’S THAT CLOSE, MAYBE
WEARING A MASK OR OBSERVING
SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THE WHITE
HOUSE?
HOUSE? >> Reporter: DOESN’T SEEM TO BE
A CHANGE ON THE MASK POLICIMENTY
WHICH IS AN INDIVIDUAL POLICY.
THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED
YESTERDAY HE’D BE TESTED EVERY
DAY, OPPOSED TO SPORADICALLY.
THE TESTING REGIMEN MAY CHANGE.
IN TERMS OF HOW PEOPLE ARE
BEHAVING IN THE WHITE HOUSE, AS
FAR AS WE CAN TELL, THAT HASN’T
CHANGED.