THE WASHINGTON POST, ASHLEY PARKER AND ON /*BEN ROSE IS BACK
ASHLEY PARKER, TAKE ME INSIDE
WHAT’S GOING ON INSIDE THE WHITE
HOUSE, PROJECTING THE SAME KIND
OF FEAR THAT EVERYBODY FEELS
ABOUT GOING TO WORK AND TRYING
TO WORK AND BEING AT THE OFFICE
AMIDST AN OUTBREAK?
>> THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT, THERE
WAS A HIGH LEVEL OF ANXIETY AS
THE FIRST CASE EMERGED LAST WEEK
AND THAT WAS THE PRESIDENT’S
MILITARY VALET, THEN VICE
PRESIDENT PENCE’S PRESS
SECRETARY TESTED POSITIVE.
LOT OF ANXIETY.
IT’S BROKEN DOWN BY PEOPLE’S
PROXIMITY TO THE PRESIDENT AND
IN FACT THE CLOSER AIDES ARE TO
THE PRESIDENT THE SAFER THEY
FEEL BECAUSE IF YOU’RE CLOSE TO
THE PRESIDENT EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE
POTENTIALLY IN THE OVAL OFFICE
NOT WEARING A MASK YOU KNOW HE’S
GETTING TESTED REGULARLY AND
YOU’RE GETTING TESTED REGULARLY.
THAT SAID, MAY BE FALSE SENSE OF
SECURITY.
SECURITY. KATIE MILLER WHO TESTED
POSITIVE, THE PRESIDENT SAID SHE
HAD BEEN NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE,
NEGATIVE AND THEN SHE WAS
POSITIVE.
POSITIVE. BUT IT’S ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT
TODAY THE WHITE HOUSE JUST SENT
OUT A MEMO INSTRUCTING AIDES TO
BASICALLY DO -- FOLLOW THE
GUIDANCE THE ADMINISTRATION HAS
BEEN GIVING THE PUBLIC FOR
WEEKS, WEAR A MASK, WEAR A FACE
COVERING, YOU NOW HAVE THE
DIRECTIVE THAT THESE OFFICIALS
IF THEY’RE IN PUBLIC SPACES THEY
NEED TO BE WEARING MASKS NOT IF
THEY’RE SITTING AT THEIR DESK
NECESSARILY OR IN AN OFFICE
WHERE THEY CAN CLOSE A DOOR.
VICE PRESIDENT PENCE WAS SPOTTED
TODAY NOT WEARING A MASK.
THERE’S SKEPTICISM THAT
PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL WEAR A
MASK.
MASK. THIS WAS A MEMO THAT WENT OUT TO
AIDES.
AIDES. SO, THERE’S FINALLY A SENSE
THEY’RE TAKING IT A BIT MORE
SERIOUSLY.
SERIOUSLY. >> DR. GUPTA, CAN YOU WEIGH IN,
ONE ON THE RISK THAT THESE
STAFFERS FACE BY BEING IN SUCH
TIGHT QUARTERS.
TIGHT QUARTERS. I WORKED IN THE WEST WING, IT’S
NOT SPACIOUS.
NOT SPACIOUS. I SEE SOME SIGNAGE, AMERICA’S
NUMBER ONE IN TESTING.
BASED ON PER CAPITA, HAD AROUND
18 OR 19 IN THE WORLD.
>> NICOLLE, IT DEPENDS ON YOUR
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS RIGHT NOW,
WE’RE CELEBRATING AMERICA’S
TESTING -- I THINK WE REACHED 8
MILLION TESTS IN A COUNTRY OF
325 MILLION AMERICANS, 2% OF THE
POPULATION, TO YOUR POINT PER
CAPITA RATES OF TESTING ARE
STILL PRETTY MEDIOCRE.
THERE’S TWO THINGS TO ANSWER
YOUR QUESTION.
YOUR QUESTION. NUMBER ONE WITH REGARDS TO MASKS
AND SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THE
WEST WING, NOTHING’S GOING TO
CHANGE UNLESS THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES SAYS, YOU KNOW
WHAT I BELIEVE THE DATA AND
SCIENTISTS NOT WHATEVER ELSE
HE’S LISTENING OR ADHERING TO
WHEN HE’S CHOOSING NOT TO WEAR A
MASK.
MASK. VICE PRESIDENT PENCE HAS DONE
THIS IN A HIGH-PROFILE WAY AT
THE MAYO CLINIC.
WE KNOW COMPUTER SCIENTISTS
MODELED OUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
MASKS.
MASKS. IF 80% OF AMERICANS WORE MASKS
WE WOULD HAVE A TENFOLD DECREASE
IN THE DISEASE.
IT’S PRETTY STRIKING TO ME THE
SCIENCE ON MASKS.
IT’S -- NOTHING’S GOING TO
CHANGE UNLESS THE PRESIDENT SAYS
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL
SHOULD BE DOING.
ON THE SIGNAGE, NICOLLE, LET’S
PAY ATTENTION TO ONE THING AT
THE PRESS BRIEFING, WHAT’S THE
REPEAT TESTING THAT AMERICANS
SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT?
WE’RE THINKING RIGHT NOW
EVERYBODY NEEDS TO GET TESTED.
BUT HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING OUT
OF THE CDC OR THE WHITE HOUSE
MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW MANY
TIMES SHOULD AMERICANS GET
TESTED AT REPEAT CADENCE.
THE PRESS SECRETARY’S GETTING A
TEST EVERY DAY.
BUT THE REASONS THAT ASHLEY JUST
YOU POINTED OUT, YOU CAN TEST
NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, THEN
POSITIVE.
POSITIVE. WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HOW
REPEAT TESTING AMERICANS WHO ARE
AT RISK OF EXPOSURE CONSTANTLY.
THAT NEEDS TO BE A PART OF THAT
DISCUSSION.
DISCUSSION. HOPEFULLY HE’LL TALK ABOUT IT
TODAY.
TODAY. >> BEN RHODES, I WANT TO ASK YOU
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT’S SEEMINGLY
UNHINGED ATTACKS ON PRESIDENT
OBAMA.
OBAMA. BUT I ALSO WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT
THE PUBLIC SENTIMENT.
BECAUSE THE PUBLIC FOR ALL THE
DISINFORMATION OUT THERE, THE
ECHO CHAMBERS FOR DONALD TRUMP’S
MISINFORMATION, I THINK THE
PUBLIC STANDS AT 70% MORE
WORRIED THAT WE’RE GOING TO GO
BACK TOO QUICKLY, THE PUBLIC HAS
INTERNALIZED WHAT LAURIE GARRETT
WAS DESCRIBING TO ME THE WE
ROSSTY OF THIS DISEASE.
YOU GOT 68% OF AMERICANS NOT ON
BOARD WITH THE LET’S GO BACK AND
ROLL THE DICE WITH THIS DISEASE,
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT?
>> WELL, NICOLLE, HONESTLY THE
ONLY WAY TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT TRUMP IS DOING LOOK IT
THROUGH THE PRISM HE’S TRYING TO
SERVE HIS OWN POLITICAL
INTERESTS.
INTERESTS. IT’S TOO HARD TO MANAGE THIS
PANDEMIC EFFECTIVELY.
PANDEMIC EFFECTIVELY. HE DOESN’T LIKE TO DIG INTO HARD
PROBLEMS, HE DOESN’T LIKE TO
LISTEN TO THE SCIENCE.
HE’S TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HIS
POLITICAL POSITIONING.
POLITICAL POSITIONING. HE’S TRYING TO OPEN UP THIS
ECONOMY AGAIN AND THIS WAY HE
CAN BLAME GOVERNORS,
PARTICULARLY DEMOCRATIC
PARTICULARLY DEMOCRATIC GOVERNORS IF THE ECONOMIC
SLOWDOWN, THE CRASH WE SEEM TO
BE ENTERING INDOORS AND HE CAN
BLAME THEM IF THE PUBLIC HEALTH
RESPONSE IS NOT ADEQUATE.
THE PROBLEM WITH HIS APPROACH,
NICOLLE, IS THAT YOUR NOT GOING
TO BE ABLE TO RESUME THE ECONOMY
UNLESS PEOPLE HAVE CONFIDENCE
THEY CAN GO TO THE OFFICE, THAT
THEY CAN GO TO RESTAURANTS,
SHOPPING.
SHOPPING. WHAT THAT POLLING SHOWS YOU THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE AREN’T
CONFIDENT.
CONFIDENT. THEY’RE NOT ABLE TO TRUST
THEY’RE GETTING CLEAR, PRECISE
INFORMATION FROM THEIR ELECTED
OFFICIALS PARTICULARLY THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. THEY’RE NOT SEEING THE PRESIDENT
MODEL THE KIND OF BEHAVIOR THAT
THEY WILL NEED TO DO THEMSELVES
LIKE WEARING MASKS IF THEY’RE
GOING BACK OUT INTO THE
WORKPLACE.
WORKPLACE. IT REMINDS ME OF WHEN WE HAD
H1N1 PRESIDENT OBAMA WENT OUT OF
HIS WAY TO GET HIMSELF
PHOTOGRAPHED GETTING A SHOT,
WHICH WAS UNUSUAL FOR A