>>> THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING TOWERING OVER A GRATEFUL CITY OF
NEW YORK TONIGHT, DISPLAYING THE
COLORS OF THE FDNY AND NEW YORK
CITY EMS.
CITY EMS. GOOD EVENING ON THIS DAY 1,191
OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
193 DAYS REMAINING UNTIL OUR
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. THE PRESIDENT STARTED TODAY’S
WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING TOUTING HIS
ADMINISTRATION’S SUCCESS IN THE
FIGHT AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS.
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS HE SAID
WAS THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING,
AND LET’S STOP RIGHT THERE
BECAUSE HE’S RIGHT BUT MAYBE NOT
IN THE WAY HE MEANT IT.
BECAUSE BY TONIGHT, MUCH OF THE
WORLD HAD CAUGHT UP WITH THE
FACT THAT JUST YESTERDAY, HE
SAID THIS FROM THE PODIUM IN THE
WHITE HOUSE.
WHITE HOUSE. >> SUPPOSING WE HIT THE BODY
WITH A TREMENDOUS -- WHETHER
IT’S ULTRAVIOLET OR JUST VERY
POWERFUL LIGHT, AND I THINK YOU
SAID THAT HASN’T BEEN CHECKED,
BUT YOU’RE GOING TO CHECK IT.
AND THEN I SAID SUPPOSING YOU
BROUGHT THE LIGHT INSIDE THE
BODY, WHICH YOU CAN DO EITHER
THROUGH THE SKIN OR IN SOME
OTHER WAY, AND I THINK YOU SAID
YOU’RE GOING TO TEST THAT TOO.
SOUNDS INTERESTING.
SOUNDS INTERESTING. THEN I SEE THE DISINFECTANT
WHERE IT KNOCKS IT OUT IN A
MINUTE, ONE MINUTE.
AND IS THERE A WAY WE CAN DO
SOMETHING LIKE THAT BY INJECTION
INSIDE OR ALMOST A CLEANING
BECAUSE YOU SEE IT GETS IN THE
LUNGS, AND IT DOES A TREMENDOUS
NUMBER.
NUMBER. SO IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO
CHECK THAT.
CHECK THAT. SO THAT YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO
USE MEDICAL DOCTORS WITH, BUT IT
SOUNDS -- IT SOUNDS INTERESTING
TO ME.
TO ME. >> THOSE WORDS ABOUT INSERTING
UV LIGHT INTO THE HUMAN BODY,
ABOUT INJECTING DISINFECTANT
INTO THE HUMAN BODY ESTABLISHED
A NEW BENCHMARK OF SORTS IN THE
HISTORY OF PUBLIC UTTERANCES BY
OUR PRESIDENTS IN THAT HOUSE.
AND CONSIDER FOR A MOMENT THE
FACT THAT WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF
A PANDEMIC WITH OVER 50,000
DEAD.
DEAD. HIS WORDS WERE GREETED WITH
REVULSION AND DOWN RIGHT ANGER
ON THE PART OF HEALTH CARE
PROFESSIONALS.
PROFESSIONALS. HIS WORDS CAUSED A SPIKE IN
CALLS TO POISON CONTROL AND, TO
A LESSER DEGREE, LAUNCHED A
THOUSAND JOKES AND MEMES THAT
CONTINUE TONIGHT, AND IT’S CLEAR
THIS ONE WILL STAY WITH HIM
FOREVER.
FOREVER. SO PERHAPS BECAUSE THE WHOLE
WORLD IS WATCHING, WHEN MIKE
PENCE WAS DONE AFTER DELIVERING
THE DAY’S CORONAVIRUS PEP RALLY,
THE PRESIDENT ABRUPTLY LEFT THE
BRIEFING ROOM.
BRIEFING ROOM. BRIEFING OVER AFTER A TIDY 21
MINUTES OR SO.
BACK ON THE GROUND AND IN THE
REAL WORLD WE INHABIT, THIS WAS
A TERRIBLE DAY BECAUSE THE DEATH
TOLL PASSED NORTH OF 50,000 IN
OUR COUNTRY.
OUR COUNTRY. 51,523 TO BE EXACT.
PEOPLE WHO WERE ALL ALIVE THREE
MONTHS AGO.
MONTHS AGO. SHOULD THINGS CONTINUE AS THIS
PACE, IN JUST A FEW DAYS MORE,
MORE AMERICANS WILL HAVE DIED
FROM CORONAVIRUS OVER A SPAN OF
NINE WEEKS THAN DIED IN THE
VIETNAM WAR OVER A SPAN OF 12
YEARS.
YEARS. THIS AFTERNOON IN THE OVAL
OFFICE AFTER HE DRAGGED A
SHARPIE ACROSS A NEARLY
$500 BILLION RELIEF PACKAGE, THE
PRESIDENT WAS ASKED ABOUT THE
DEVASTATING TOLL THIS VIRUS HAS
TAKEN.
TAKEN. >> DO YOU TAKE ANY
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE 50,000
DEATHS THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN
THIS COUNTRY?
THIS COUNTRY? >> I THINK WE’VE DONE A GREAT
JOB.
JOB. MINIMAL NUMBERS.
MINIMAL NUMBERS. WE’RE GOING TO BE 100,000
PEOPLE, AND WE’RE GOING TO BE
HOPEFULLY FAR BELOW THAT.
IF WE DIDN’T TAKE QUICK ACTION,
YOU COULD HAVE LOST MANY
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
>> AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER,
TODAY’S WHITE HOUSE PANDEMIC
BRIEFING, THE 46th SUCH BRIEFING
IN THIS CRISIS, WAS THE
PRESIDENT’S SHORTEST TO DATE.
AND AXIOS TONIGHT IS REPORTING
THAT TRUMP IS PLANNING TO CUT
THE DAILY BRIEFINGS.
QUOTE, A NUMBER OF TRUMP’S MOST
TRUSTED ADVISERS -- BOTH INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE,
HAVE URGED HIM TO STOP DOING
MARATHON TELEVISED BRIEFINGS.
THEY’VE TOLD HIM HE’S
OVEREXPOSED AND THESE
APPEARANCES ARE PART OF THE
REASON POLLS AREN’T LOOKING GOOD
FOR HIM RIGHT NOW AGAINST JOE
BIDEN.
BIDEN. AXIOS ADDS THAT CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT THIS WERE UNDER WAY AT THE
WHITE HOUSE BEFORE YESTERDAY’S
BRIEFING.
BRIEFING. THAT’S THE ONE WHERE TRUMP
SEEMED TO SUGGEST INJECTING
HOUSEHOLD DISINFECTANTS AND
INSERTING ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT INTO
COVID PATIENTS.
COVID PATIENTS. TODAY WITH THE DON’T TRY THIS AT
HOME WARNINGS FROM DISINFECTANT
MANUFACTURERS, STATE AND FEDERAL
HEALTH OFFICIALS PILING UP, THE
PRESIDENT WAS TRYING TO TELL US
WE SAW SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
HE TRIED TO SAY HE WASN’T BEING
SERIOUS.
SERIOUS. >> COULD YOU CLARIFY YOUR
COMMENTS ABOUT INJECTIONS OF
DISINFECTANT?
DISINFECTANT? >> NO.
>> NO. I WAS ASKING A QUESTION
SARCASTICALLY TO REPORTERS LIKE
YOU JUST TO SEE WHAT WOULD
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. I WAS ASKING A SARCASTIC AND A
VERY SARCASTIC QUESTION TO THE
REPORTERS IN THE ROOM ABOUT
DISINFECTANT ON THE INSIDE.
BUT IT DOES KILL IT, AND IT
WOULD KILL IT ON THE HANDS, AND
THAT WOULD MAKE THINGS MUCH
BETTER.
BETTER. >> PANDEMIC TASK FORCE
COORDINATOR DR. DEBORAH BIRX,
WHO YOU SAW EARLIER LISTENING TO
HER BOSS OFFER POTENTIALLY
LIFE-THREATENING SUGGESTIONS,
LIFE-THREATENING SUGGESTIONS, WAS MORE FORGIVING TODAY DURING
AN INTERVIEW ON FOX NEWS.
>> WHEN HE GETS NEW INFORMATION,
HE LIKES TO TALK THAT THROUGH
OUT LOUD AND REALLY HAVE THAT
DIALOGUE.
DIALOGUE. AND SO THAT’S WHAT DIALOGUE HE
WAS HAVING.
WAS HAVING. I THINK HE JUST SAW THE
INFORMATION AT THE TIME,
IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE PRESS
CONFERENCE, AND HE WAS STILL
DIGESTING THAT INFORMATION.
>> NBC NEWS AMONG THOSE
REPORTING TRUMP’S COMMENTS ABOUT
SUNLIGHT AND DISINFECTANTS
STUNNED HIS CLOSE AIDES,
CATCHING THEM OFF GUARD.
OUR COLLEAGUE CAROL LEE IS PART
OF THE TEAM THAT’S BEEN WORKING
ON THIS STORY.
>> AIDES IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHO
JUST STARTED TEXTING EACH OTHER,
SAYING WHERE DID HE GET THIS
FROM, WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM,
AND THEY WERE TRYING TO FIGURE
IT OUT.
IT OUT. WHAT WE LEARNED IS THAT BEFORE
THE BRIEFING, THERE WAS A
MEETING IN THE OVAL OFFICE WHERE
SOME OF THIS WAS DISCUSSED,
WHERE THE IDEA OF HEAT AND
HUMIDITY AND DISINFECTANTS BEING
EFFECTIVE ON SURFACES AND THAT
THE VIRUS DOESN’T LIVE AS LONG
IN HEAT OR HUMIDITY AND THOSE
TYPES OF THINGS.
THAT THAT HAD BEEN DISCUSSED IN
THE OVAL OFFICE.
THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT
HOW DIFFERENT AILMENTS CAN BE
TREATED WITH RADIATION.
AND WHAT AIDES SAID IS THAT THE
PRESIDENT SEEMED TO JUST
CONFLATE ALL OF THIS AND AD-LIB
AT THE PODIUM.
>> THIS ALL COMES TO THE FORE AS
ONE OF TRUMP’S OTHER
QUESTIONABLE POTENTIAL CURES IS
TAKING A BIG HIT PUBLICLY.
HE HAS TOUTED THIS ANTI-MALARIA,
ANTI-LUPUS DRUG
ANTI-LUPUS DRUG HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE AS A
GAME-CHANGER FOR COVID PATIENTS.
BUT THE FDA IS NOW WARNING
AGAINST ITS WIDESPREAD USE
WITHOUT STRICT MEDICAL
SUPERVISION IN A HOSPITAL
SETTING.
SETTING. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS,
STATES HAVE BUILT UP STOCKPILES
OF THIS DRUG DESPITE CAUTIONS
FROM MEDICAL EXPERTS THAT MORE
RESEARCH IS NEEDED.
>> WE HAVE PURCHASED AND WE HAVE
STOCKPILED 29 MILLION PILLS OF
THE HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE, 29
MILLION.
MILLION. A LOT OF DRUGSTORES HAVE THEM BY
PRESCRIPTION.
PRESCRIPTION. OUR NATIONAL STOCKPILE IS NOW
EQUIPPED WITH NEARLY 30 MILLION
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE PILLS.
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE PILLS. WE’RE DISTRIBUTING THEM BY THE
MILLIONS.
MILLIONS. OVER THE LAST SEVEN DAYS, MY
ADMINISTRATION HAS DEPLOYED
ROUGHLY 28 MILLION DOSES OF
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE FROM OUR
NATIONAL STOCKPILE.
NATIONAL STOCKPILE. >> MEANWHILE, AFTER WEEKS IN
LOCKDOWN AND A DAY AFTER WE
LEARNED WE HAVE 26 MILLION OUT
OF WORK AND FILING FOR
UNEMPLOYMENT, GEORGIA IS ONE OF
A HANDFUL OF STATES THAT TODAY
STARTED ALLOWING SOME BUSINESSES
TO REOPEN -- BARBERSHOPS, NAIL
SALONS, GYMS, TATTOO PARLORS
OPENED THEIR DOORS EVEN AS
GEORGIA REPORTED NOW NEARLY 900
DEATHS FROM CORONAVIRUS.
IOWA, WHICH IS ALSO SEEING
INCREASES IN ITS VIRUS CASELOAD,
IS PLANNING TO BEGIN REOPENING
ITS ECONOMY ON MONDAY.
AND FINALLY THERE’S THIS.
MIKE PENCE WITH GERALDO RIVERA.
>> DO YOU THINK I’LL BE ON MY
BOAT AND FISHING IN EARLY JUNE,
MR. VICE PRESIDENT?
>> I THINK HONESTLY IF YOU LOOK
AT THE TRENDS TODAY, THAT I
THINK BY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND,
WE WILL LARGELY HAVE THIS