>> SEAN: JOHN ROBERTS AT THE WHITE HOUSE TONIGHT.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. FACTS, TRUTH MATTERS.
PERSPECTIVE MATTERS.
PERSPECTIVE MATTERS. TONIGHT, MORE DECISIVE ACTION
AND LEADERSHIP FROM PRESIDENT
TRUMP AS WE BEGIN OUR MONOLOGUE.
WE HAVE FULL COVERAGE THROUGHOUT
THIS HOUR.
THIS HOUR. HERE’S SOMETHING THAT THE MEDIA
WILL NOT TELL YOU.
HERE’S SOMETHING THAT DEMOCRATS
PLAYING POLITICS WILL NOT TELL
YOU.
YOU. WE SHOULD ALL LISTEN TO THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. THIS ISN’T ABOUT POLITICS.
IT’S ABOUT OUR AMERICAN FAMILY.
THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME FOR
POLITICS DOWN THE ROAD.
FROM DAY ONE THIS PRESIDENT TOOK
AGGRESSIVE AND EVEN
UNPRECEDENTED STEPS TO PREVENT
THE SPREAD AND MITIGATE THE
IMPACT OF WHAT’S NOW A GLOBAL
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. WE HAVE PANDEMICS FROM TIME TO
TIME.
TIME. WE HAD IT IN 2009-2010 IN THE
OBAMA-BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
OBAMA-BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. WE’LL GIVE YOU SOME OF THAT
INFORMATION IN A MINUTE.
AS ALWAYS THE PRESIDENT’S
MISSION ABOVE ALL ELSE IS TO
PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
AMERICAN PEOPLE. THIS SHOULD NOT BE A PARTISAN
ISSUE.
ISSUE. THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL TALKING
POINT.
POINT. THE CORONAVIRUS DOES NOT
DISCRIMINATE.
DISCRIMINATE. REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS,
CONSERVATIVES OR LIBERALS, THIS
IS A MOMENT WE SHOULD ALL WORK
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOULD PROTECT
AMERICAN WORKERS FROM THIS
DISEASE AND THOSE WHO ARE MOST
SUSCEPTIBLE AND GET BACK TO
NORMAL.
NORMAL. MAKE NO MISTAKE.
IN SERIOUS SITUATIONS TRUTH
MATTERS, FACTS MATTER AND
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE HAS BEEN
WAY TOO MUCH POLITICIZING OF
THIS, TOO MUCH, WELL, UNTRUTHS
BEING TOLD, AND ACTUALLY EVEN
SOME ACTUALLY WEAPONIZING WHAT’S
A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
THAT ALL NEEDS TO STOP.
I HOPE IT WILL.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW.
THERE ARE NOW AROUND 120,000
INDIVIDUAL CASES OF CORONAVIRUS
WORLDWIDE INCLUDING AN ESTIMATED
81,000 IN CHINA WHERE NEW CASES
ARE STEADILY DECLINING.
CHINA DID NOT DO THE WORLD A
FAVOR BY NOT ACTING SOONER.
THEY SHOULD HAVE ACTED EARLIER,
BEEN MORE FORTHRIGHT, HONEST AND
WERE NOT.
WERE NOT. 8,000 CASES IN IRAN, NEARLY
8,000 IN SOUTH KOREA.
AROUND 4,300 PEOPLE IN THE
ENTIRE WORLD HAVE DIED FROM THE
DISEASE.
DISEASE. AS WE NOW SPEAK, THERE ARE
AROUND 1,200 CASES INSIDE THE
UNITED STATES, INCLUDING 30
AMERICAN DEATHS.
AMERICAN DEATHS. MOST OF WHICH WERE FROM ONE
NURSING HOME IN THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON. THE AVERAGE AGE OF MORTALITY IS
80.
80. ACCORDING TO EFFICIENCY, THE
DEATH RATE ESTIMATED AT 1%.
NOW, THOSE, MOST AT RISK ARE
PEOPLE WITH UNDERLYING MEDICAL
CONDITIONS.
CONDITIONS. THE ELDERLY, THOSE WITH
COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS.
PEOPLE GOING THROUGH
CHEMOTHERAPY, FOR EXAMPLE, OR
IMMUNODISEASES.
IMMUNODISEASES. FOR PERSPECTIVE, SO FAR THIS
SEASON THERE HAVE BEEN 34
MILLION CASES OF THE FLU.
20,000 DEATHS IN THE U.S. ALONE.
IN OTHER WORDS, THERE HAVE BEEN
1,200 CASES OF CORONAVIRUS
VERSUS 34 MILLION CASES OF THE
FLU.
FLU. AS THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF JOHNS
HOPKINS POINTED OUT THIS WEEK
THE FLU IS HAVING MUCH MORE OF
AN IMPACT THAN CORONAVIRUS.
THESE ARE FACTS, FOR MORE
PERSPECTIVE WE GO BACK TO 2009.
THAT YEAR MORE THAN A THOUSAND
AMERICANS DIED IN A SIX-MONTH
PERIOD FROM INFLUENZA.
20,000 AMERICANS HAD CONTRACTED
THE PANDEMIC BEFORE.
OBAMA HIMSELF DECLARED A
NATIONAL EMERGENCY.
NATIONAL EMERGENCY. ONE OF HIS HEALTH OFFICIALS ON
DAY 11 SAID IT WAS AN EMERGENCY
AND RELEASED SOME FUNDING.
GOT TO TELL THE TRUTH ON ALL
CASES BUT A THOUSAND AMERICANS
AT THAT POINT HAD DIED.
ULTIMATELY THAT DISEASE KILLED
AROUND 12,000 PLUS AMERICANS IN
ITS FIRST YEAR.
NOW, PERSPECTIVE ASIDE OUR
CURRENT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP,
HE’S NOT LEADING FROM BEHIND.
IN FACT, MORE FACTS, NO
PRESIDENT HAS EVER DONE MORE,
ACTED MORE QUICKLY, TO SLOW THE
SPREAD OF A DISEASE.
KEEP IN MIND, THE CORONAVIRUS
WASN’T EVEN OFFICIALLY
IDENTIFIED IN CHINA UNTIL WE
GAVE IT A NAME ON JANUARY 7.
DECEMBER 30 OF LAST YEAR IS WHEN
THEY FIRST SAID, WE SEE THAT
THERE IS A VIRUS THAT’S SHOWING
SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMONIA.
WE LABELED IT ON JANUARY 7.
ON JANUARY 31 OF THIS YEAR,
THREE WEEKS LATER, THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION DECLARED A PUBLIC
HEALTH EMERGENCY.
HEALTH EMERGENCY. NO PRESIDENT EVER ACTED THAT
FAST.
FAST. AMERICANS RETURNING FROM AREAS
MOST IMPACTED, THEY WERE SUBJECT
TO MANDATORY QUARANTINES ON
MILITARY BASES.
MILITARY BASES. THE TRAVEL BAN WENT INTO EFFECT.
THE PRESIDENT ORDERED THAT ON
FEBRUARY 2 FOR ALL NON U.S.
CITIZENS WHO RECENTLY VISITED
CHINA EVEN THOUGH MOST OFFICIALS
FEARED IT WAS TOO SOON FOR
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS. ON THE POLITICAL SIDE JOE BIDEN
SUGGESTED THAT BAN WAS CAUSING
PHOBIA.
PHOBIA. CNN SAID WE’RE STIGMATIZING
PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.
IN THE FOLLOWING DAYS THE
PRESIDENT FORMED A TASK FORCE
FILLED WITH TOP SCIENTIFIC
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. WE’RE BLESSED WITH THE BEST IN
THE WORLD AND THEY ARE LED BY
THE VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE.
EVERY DAY HE’S BEEN UPDATING THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. ON FEBRUARY 29 THE STATE
DEPARTMENT ISSUED NEW TRAVEL
RESTRICTIONS FOR ITALY, SOUTH
KOREA, AND IRAN.
AT THE SAME TIME, THE FDA CUT
REGULATIONS ALLOWING MORE RAPID
TESTING, CAPACITY FOR
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. ON MARCH 2 PRESIDENT TRUMP MET
WITH PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVES
TO DISCUSS TREATMENT AND
VACCINATION PLANS.
VACCINATION PLANS. ON MARCH 3 THE ADMINISTRATION
ORDERED THE CDC TO LIFT ALL
RESTRICTIONS ON TESTING.
ON MARCH 6 THE PRESIDENT SIGNED
AN $8 BILLION EMERGENCY SPENDING
PACKAGE INTO LAW.
$8.3 BILLION TO BE SPECIFIC.
ON MARCH 10 THE PRESIDENT MET
WITH INSURANCE INDUSTRY
REPRESENTATIVES WHO AGREED TO
WAVE CO-PAYS FOR
CORONAVIRUS-RELATED TREATMENT.
CORONAVIRUS-RELATED TREATMENT. THIS AFTERNOON THE PRESIDENT MET
WITH BANKING EXECUTIVES TO
DISCUSS PLANS FOR CORONAVIRUS’S
ECONOMIC IMPACT AND THE
POTENTIAL ECONOMIC AND TAX
RELIEF FOR WORKERS, OF
BUSINESSES, THAT ARE DIRECTLY
IMPACTED BY THIS VIRUS.
JUST MOMENTS AGO, YOU JUST HEARD
THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCE THAT A
TEMPORARY TRAVEL BAN WILL BE
EXTENDED TO THE CONTINENT OF
EUROPE EXCLUDING THE UNITED
KINGDOM.
KINGDOM. THAT MEANS THERE ARE NOW
RESTRICTIONS.
RESTRICTIONS. TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON
CONTINENTAL EUROPE, SOUTH KOREA,
IRAN, AND CHINA.
WILL WE SEE NEW CASES OF CORONA
IN THE UNITED STATES?
ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY. DO WE NEED TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY?
I’VE BEEN SAYING WE HAVE TO.
I WANT TO CURE CANCER ONE DAY.
IT’S AMAZING HOW GREAT OUR
MEDICAL RESEARCHERS ARE, THE
BEST BUT LET’S BE CLEAR.
THIS ADMINISTRATION, THEIR
ACTIONS IN DESPITE OF WHAT MANY
HAVE BEEN SAYING, THEY HAVE TAN
UNPRECEDENTED STEPS TO SLOW THE
SPREAD OF THIS DISEASE.
THE DOCTOR ON THIS PROGRAM LAST
NIGHT, PRESIDENT’S QUICK BAN ON
TRAVEL FROM CHINA LIKELY SAVED
THOUSANDS OF LIVES.
THAT ONE ACT, IN THREE WEEKS,
UNPRECEDENTED, PROBABLY
UNPRECEDENTED, PROBABLY LITERALLY SAVED THOUSANDS OF
AMERICANS FROM CONTRACTING THAT
DISEASE AND PROBABLY SOME, THE
ELDERLY, THOSE WITH UNDERLYING
HEALTH ISSUES, THOSE WITH
COMPROMISED IMMUNE SYSTEMS, YES,
FACING POTENTIAL DEATH.
CHINA, MEANWHILE, THEY HAVE GOT
TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
SPREAD OF THIS DEADLY DISEASE.
THEIR DISHONESTY, THEIR
GOVERNMENT SECRECY, EVEN
OUTRIGHT LIES.
OUTRIGHT LIES. THE WUHAN CORONAVIRUS WAS ABLE
TO SPREAD UNCHECKED THROUGHOUT
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. NOW THOUSANDS ARE DEAD, MARKETS
ARE DOWN, BUSINESSES ARE
SUFFERING, IN PART BECAUSE CHINA
LIED, SUPPRESSED SCIENTISTS AND
FRANKLY TRIED TO COVER UP THE
DISEASE INSTEAD OF ALERTING THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WHICH
COULD HAVE BEEN THE WISER THING
TO DO.
TO DO. AT THE END OF THE DAY IT’S
ANOTHER IMPORTANT REMINDER THAT
CHINA IS RULED BY A
SELF-INTERESTED DICTATOR FOR
LIFE WITH LITTLE CONCERN CLEARLY
FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD.
BUT FEAR NOT, BACK HERE IN THE
U.S., WE DO HAVE THE BEST
DOCTORS, BEST SCIENTISTS, THE
BEST MEDICAL RESEARCHERS, THE
BEST TECHNOLOGY, AND WE HAVE A
PRESIDENT NOW THAT IS COMMITTED
TO DOING, AS HE SAID TONIGHT,
WHATEVER IT WILL TAKE TO SAVE
AMERICAN LIVES.
AMERICAN LIVES. YEAH, WE’RE IN THE MIDST OF A
SERIOUS SITUATION.