THANK YOU. >> THAT IS TONIGHT’S LAST WORD.
"THE 11th HOUR" WITH BRIAN
WILLIAMS STARTS NOW.
>>> A BARREN TIMES SQUARE IN THE
CITY OF NEW YORK.
UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
A LONE POLICE CAR SITTING
BETWEEN TWO CITY BLOCKS.
WELL, GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN.
DAY 1,168 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION LEAVING US 216
DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. AND WE’LL START THIS WAY.
PERHAPS IT IS NOT SAID OFTEN
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH. THE LAST ROLE DONALD TRUMP
INHABITED BEFORE BECOMING OUR
PRESIDENT WAS HOST OF A REALITY
SHOW PRODUCED AND AIRED BY THE
ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION OF OUR
PARENT NETWORK OVER 14 SEASONS.
AS A TELEVISION VETERAN HE IS
FOREVER TALKING ABOUT CASTING,
SPECIFICALLY CENTRAL CASTING,
WHICH HE REPEATED AS RECENTLY AS
THIS AFTERNOON.
THIS AFTERNOON. PEOPLE TUNING IN TO TODAY’S
WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING
WOULD BE FORGIVEN FOR THINKING
TO TRUMP ACTING AS CASTING
DIRECTOR HAD ASSEMBLED ON EITHER
SIDE OF HIM, SOCIAL DISTANCING
NOTWITHSTANDING, ALL THE MOST
SERIOUS-LOOKING PEOPLE HE COULD
FIND IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, ACTUAL
GENERALS AND ADMIRALS, THE
DEFENSE SECRETARY.
DEFENSE SECRETARY. AND OUT OF NOWHERE THEY BRIEFED
THE PUBLIC TODAY ABOUT DRUG
INTERDICTION INCLUDING FALSE
STATS ON THE BORDER WALL AND THE
SITUATION IN IRAN.
THE PRESIDENT SAID ALL WE’VE
GOTTEN FROM THE MIDDLE EAST IS
DEATH.
DEATH. HE WENT ON TO GIVE A BRIEF
LESSON IN THE 1917 FLU PANDEMIC
WHICH WAS IN 1918 AND TOOK A
SWING AT JOHN KERRY ALONG THE
WAY.
WAY. AND THEN THIS HAPPENED.
>> DID YOU KNOW I WAS NUMBER ONE
ON FACEBOOK?
ON FACEBOOK? I JUST FOUND OUT I’M NUMBER ONE
ON FACEBOOK.
ON FACEBOOK. I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY NICE.
>> LATER, ON THE ACTUAL SUBJECT
OF CORONAVIRUS, THE PRESIDENT
SAID, AS HE DOES EVERY DAY IN
SOME FORM, NOBODY’S EVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
HE WENT ON TO CONFIRM THE WHITE
HOUSE IS CONSIDERING RESTRICTING
AIR AND RAIL TRAVEL IN THIS
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. HE SAID HE’D BE PERFECTLY
WILLING TO TALK TO JOE BIDEN BY
PHONE ABOUT THE FIGHT AGAINST
THE VIRUS.
THE VIRUS. THIS WAS ANOTHER RECORD DAY IN
OUR COUNTRY.
OUR COUNTRY. JUST TODAY MORE THAN 25,000 NEW
CASES APPROACHING 1,000 NEW
DEATHS IN THE SPACE OF ONE DAY.
AND SO TONIGHT THE UNITED STATES
NOW HAS OVER 211,000 CONFIRMED
CASES OF CORONAVIRUS.
OVER 4,700 DEATHS.
ALSO AS OF TODAY MORE THAN 280
MILLION AMERICANS ARE LIVING
UNDER SOME FORM OF STAY-AT-HOME
ORDER.
ORDER. SINCE WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY
PEOPLE HAVE THE VIRUS ITSELF.
AFTER TUESDAY’S DIRE PREDICTION
THAT AS MANY AS 240,000 AMERICAN
LIVES COULD BE LOST TO THE
CORONAVIRUS, THE PRESIDENT --
THE VICE PRESIDENT RATHER
OFFERED THIS DISTURBING ANALOGY
TODAY.
TODAY. >> THEY CALL IT MODELING, WOLF,
WHERE THEY LOOK AT WHAT’S
HAPPENED AROUND THE WORLD.
WE THINK ITALY MAY BE THE MOST
COMPARABLE AREA TO THE UNITED
STATES AT THIS POINT.
>> ACCORDING TO THE LATEST
ESTIMATES ITALY, WHICH IS OF
COURSE A MUCH SMALLER COUNTRY,
HAS SEEN OVER 13,000 CORONAVIRUS
DEATHS THUS FAR.
HERE IN THE UNITED STATES NEW
YORK CITY REMAINS THE EPICENTER
OF THE OUTBREAK WITH OVER 47,000
CONFIRMED CASES.
CONFIRMED CASES. ANOTHER 278 DEATHS WERE REPORTED
IN NEW YORK CITY OVER JUST THE
PAST 24 HOURS, BRINGING THE
TOTAL AGAIN IN THE CITY ALONE TO
1,374.
1,374. AND GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO WARNS
THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL DARK
WEEKS AHEAD.
WEEKS AHEAD. >> WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT NOW IS
THE APEX, TOP OF THE CURVE,
ROUGHLY AT THE END OF APRIL.
WHICH MEANS ANOTHER MONTH OF
THIS.
THIS. >> IT WAS ANOTHER ROUGH DAY FOR
THE FINANCIAL MARKETS.
THE DOW CLOSED DOWN MORE THAN
900 POINTS ON FEARS THE ECONOMY
COULD BE SHUT DOWN LONGER THAN
PEOPLE FIRST EXPECTED.
TOMORROW WE GET TO SEE INITIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS FROM LAST
WEEK.
WEEK. CNBC REPORTING ECONOMISTS HAVE
BEEN RAMPING UP THEIR
PROJECTIONS.
PROJECTIONS. "THEY RANGE TO AS HIGH AS 9
MILLION, BUT MANY ARE BETWEEN 4
MILLION TO 5 MILLION.
THAT FOLLOWS THE RECORD 3.3
MILLION CLAIMS FILED THE WEEK
EARLIER.
EARLIER. BUT AGAIN TODAY THE PRESIDENT
WAS SOUNDING OPTIMISTIC.
>> I DO THINK ONCE WE GET RID OF
THE VIRUS I THINK WE’RE GOING TO
HAVE A BOOM ECONOMY.
I THINK IT’S GOING TO GO UP
RATHER QUICKLY.
RATHER QUICKLY. MAYBE VERY QUICKLY.
AND MAYBE SLOWLY.
BUT IT’S GOING TO GO UP.
AND IT WILL ALL COME BACK.
AND I THINK IT’S ACTUALLY GOING
TO COME BACK STRONGER THAN WHAT
IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE STIMULUS.
>> WITH AN ESTIMATED 80 080% OF
LIVING UNDER SOME SORT OF
STAY-AT-HOME ORDER TODAY FLORIDA
FINALLY CAME ALONG.
AFTER WEEKS OF RESISTANCE AND
CRITICISM AND WHILE PRESIDING
OVER A HUGE POPULATION OF
SENIORS, GOVERNOR DeSANTIS
ISSUED THE ORDER.
>> THE PRESIDENT JUST THE OTHER
DAY ANNOUNCED THEY’RE GOING TO
DO A 30-DAY EXTENSION FOR THE
CURRENT GUIDELINES.
CURRENT GUIDELINES. AND ALTHOUGH THE GUIDELINES
DON’T CALL FOR ANY NEW ACTIONS
BEYOND WHAT WAS THERE
PREVIOUSLY, IN FLORIDA WE DID
THE 15 DAYS TO STOP THE SPREAD.
I MEAN, I THINK IT’S CLEAR THAT
THAT REPRESENTS EFFECTIVELY A
NATIONAL PAUSE.
NATIONAL PAUSE. >> WE ALSO FOUND OUT TODAY THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS DECIDED
AGAINST REOPENING OBAMACARE
MARKETPLACES TO NEW CUSTOMERS
DESPITE THE PANDEMIC, DESPITE
THE NEED FOR AVAILABLE HEALTH
CARE.
CARE. THE PRESIDENT WAS ASKED ABOUT
THAT TODAY AND QUICKLY HANDED
THE QUESTION OVER TO HIS VICE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> THEY TOOK THAT UP UNDER THE
TASK FORCE.
TASK FORCE. AND MIKE, YOU WANT TO SAY A FEW
WORDS ABOUT IT?
>> WELL, THANK YOU, MR.
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT THE
PRESIDENT HAS MADE A PRIORITY
FROM THE OUTSET OF OUR TASK
FORCE WORK TO MAKE SURE EVERY
AMERICAN KNOWS THAT THEY CAN
HAVE THE CORONAVIRUS AND THEY
DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE
COST.
COST. >> THAT’S ABOUT AS DETAILED AS
THE ANSWER GOT.
MEANWHILE, THERE’S NEW
UNCERTAINTY TONIGHT OVER A NEW
WAVE OF EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR
STRUGGLING AMERICANS IN THE
MIDST OF ALL THIS.
ROBERT COSTA OF THE "WASHINGTON
POST," WHO JOINS US IN JUST A
MOMENT, HAS THIS EXCLUSIVE
REPORTING.
REPORTING. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH
McCONNELL IS TELLING HOUSE
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI TO STAND
DOWN.
DOWN. AND CONGRESS IS ALREADY TALKING
ABOUT INVESTIGATION OF HOW THE
U.S. GOT ITS RESPONSE TO THIS
PANDEMIC SO WRONG, SO BEHIND THE
8 BALL.
8 BALL. NBC NEWS HAS LEARNED THERE ARE
INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS UNDER WAY
ABOUT THE CREATION OF A
9/11-STYLE COMMISSION TO LOOK AT
WHAT HAPPENED, TO COME UP WITH A
PLAN TO HANDLE ANY FUTURE
PANDEMICS.
PANDEMICS. HERE’S HOW THE PRESIDENT
ADDRESSED THE COUNTRY’S
PREPAREDNESS DURING THIS
EVENING’S CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING.
>> WE’RE BUILDING THOUSANDS OF
VENTILATORS RIGHT NOW.
IT TAKES A PERIOD OF TIME TO
BUILD THEM.
BUILD THEM. AND AGAIN, NOBODY COULD HAVE
KNOWN A THING LIKE THIS COULD
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. WE’RE BUILDING THOUSANDS.
WELFARELY SOON BE AT A POINT
WHERE WE WILL HAVE FAR MORE THAN
WE CAN USE EVEN AFTER WE
STOCKPILE FOR SOME FUTURE KAFRTD
WHICH WE HOPE DOESN’T HAPPEN.
>> TO PUT THE CURRENT CRISIS IN
PERSPECTIVE, MORE AMERICANS HAVE
ALREADY DIED FROM CORONAVIRUS
THAN WERE KILLED ON 9/11.
PETER BAKER OF THE "NEW YORK
TIMES," WHO ALSO JOINS US IN A
MOMENT, WRITES TODAY, "UNDER THE
BEST-CASE SCENARIO MR. TRUMP
WILL SEE MORE AMERICANS DIE THAN
PRNTSD HARRY S. TRUMAN, DWIGHT
D. EISENHOWER, JOHN F. KENNEDY,
LYNDON B. JOHNSON, AND RICHARD
M. NIXON SAW DIE IN THE KOREAN
AND VIETNAM WARS COMBINED.
THE LOWEST ESTIMATE WOULD CLAIM
NEARLY AS MANY AMERICANS AS
WORLD WAR I UNDER PRESIDENT
WOODROW WILSON AND 14 TIMES AS
MANY AMERICANS AS IRAQ AND
AFGHANISTAN TOGETHER UNDER
PRESIDENTS GEORGE W. BUSH AND
BARACK OBAMA."
BARACK OBAMA." TO ALL OF THAT HERE’S HOW NEW
YORK’S GOVERNOR IS ADVISING
AMERICANS TO LOOK TOWARD THE
FUTURE.
FUTURE. >> WE’RE NEVER GOING TO BE THE
SAME AGAIN.
SAME AGAIN. WE’RE NOT GOING TO FORGET WHAT
HAPPENED HERE.
HAPPENED HERE. THE FEAR THAT WE HAVE, THE
ANXIETY THAT WE HAVE, THAT’S NOT
JUST GOING TO GO AWAY.
WHEN DO WE GET BACK TO NORMAL?
I DON’T THINK WE GET BACK TO
NORMAL.
NORMAL. I THINK WE GET BACK -- OR WE GET