>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> THAT IS TONIGHT’S "LAST
WORD."
WORD." "THE 11th HOUR" WITH BRIAN
WILLIAMS STARTS NOW.
♪
♪ >>> I WANT TO SHOW YOU AGAIN
TONIGHT, USUALLY KNOWN AS THE
CROSSROADS OF THE WORLD, TIMES
SQUARE IN NEW YORK.
TONIGHT DESOLATE AGAIN.
VERY FEW PEDESTRIANS.
VERY FEW CARS.
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CORONAVIRUS
SCARE.
SCARE. WELL, GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN.
DAY 1,154 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. 230 DAYS UNTIL THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION.
ELECTION. AND IT’S BEEN ONE WEEK SINCE THE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
DECLARED THE CORONAVIRUS A
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. THE NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CASES IN
OUR COUNTRY IS GOING UP FAST.
TONIGHT IT REACHES OVER 8,600
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. NOTE IT HAS BEEN NEARLY TWO
MONTHS SINCE THE FIRST CASE WAS
DIAGNOSED IN THIS COUNTRY,S YOU
SEE 140 TOTAL FATALITIES.
AS THE NATION GRAPPLES WITH
INCREASING SHUTDOWNS, THE
PRESIDENT HAS NOW ADOPTED A NEW
STANCE WHEN IT COMES TO
POSITIONING HIS EFFORT TO FIGHT
THIS PANDEMIC.
THIS PANDEMIC. >> DO YOU CONSIDER AMERICA TO BE
ON A WARTIME FOOTING IN TERMS OF
FIGHTING THIS VIRUS?
>> I LOOK AT IT -- I VIEW IT AS
A -- IN A SENSE A WARTIME
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> WHILE HE MAY VIEW HIMSELF AND
WISH TO BE VIEWED AS A WARTIME
PRESIDENT NOW, THE PROBLEM WITH
THAT IS THE LENGTHS THAT HE HAS
GONE TO TO DIMINISH THE VIRUS,
THE DANGER, AND THE APPROACHING
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. >> WE’RE FINDING VERY LITTLE
PROBLEM, VERY LITTLE PROBLEM.
NOW, YOU TREAT THIS LIKE A FLU.
>> IT’S GOING TO DISAPPEAR.
ONE DAY IT’S LIKE A MIRACLE, IT
WILL DISAPPEAR.
WILL DISAPPEAR. >> THE DEMOCRATS ARE
POLITICIZING THE CORONAVIRUS.
>> THIS IS THEIR NEW HOAX.
>> ANYBODY THAT NEEDS A TEST
THEY’RE THERE, THEY HAVE THE
TESTS.
TESTS. THE TESTS ARE ALL PERFECT.
LIKE THE LETTER WAS PERFECT.
THE TRANSCRIPTION WAS PERFECT.
>> IT WILL GO AWAY.
JUST STAY CALM.
>> TODAY TRUMP INVOKED THE
KOREAN WAR-ERA DEFENSE
PRODUCTION ACT, WHICH ALLOWS HIM
TO ORDER BUSINESSES TO MAKE
VENTILATORS AND MASKS FOR HEALTH
CARE WORKERS AS WELL AS OTHER
CRITICALLY NEEDED MEDICAL
SUPPLIES.
SUPPLIES. >> WE’VE ORDERED MILLIONS OF
THEM.
THEM. BUT WE NEED MILLIONS MORE.
A THING LIKE THIS HAS NEVER BEEN
REQUESTED, AND IT’S NEVER --
NEVER HAD TO EVEN THINK IN TERMS
OF THESE NUMBERS.
BUT WE NEED MILLIONS OF MASKS.
AND ALL OF THAT WILL BE ORDERED.
WE NEED RESPIRATORS.
WE NEED VENTILATORS IS A BIG
THING BECAUSE IT’S A COMPLEX
PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.
SO WE HAVE A LOT OF VENTILATORS
BUT WE’RE GOING TO BE ORDERING
MORE.
MORE. NOBODY EVER SAW NUMBERS LIKE
THIS.
THIS. EVEN WITH REGARD TO TESTING.
NOW WE’RE GETTING HIGHLY
SOPHISTICATED TESTS AND IT’S
GOING VERY WELL BUT NOBODY’S
EVER HEARD OF TESTING IN THE
KIND OF QUANTITIES THAT YOU’RE
TALKING ABOUT.
TALKING ABOUT. >> THE PRESIDENT SAID TODAY THIS
SNUCK UP ON US.
WHILE THE PRESIDENT ALSO
ANNOUNCED THE GOVERNMENT IS
TAKING FURTHER STEPS TO EXPAND
TESTING CAPACITY, IT’S STILL
IMPOSSIBLE FOR MANY AMERICANS TO
GET TESTED.
GET TESTED. EVEN THOSE WHO ARE VIOLENTLY
SYMPTOMATIC.
SYMPTOMATIC. IT REMAINS TRUE THAT YOUR
ABILITY TO GET TESTED RIGHT NOW
IN THIS COUNTRY DEPENDS ON WHERE
YOU LIVE, WHO YOU ARE, AND HOW
MUCH MONEY YOU MAKE.
IN NEWS TO OUR NORTH, WE’VE NOW
CLOSED OUR BORDER WITH CANADA TO
STOP NON-ESSENTIAL TRAFFIC BACK
AND FORTH.
AND FORTH. AS YOU CAN GUESS, ASYLUM SEEKERS
AND OTHER FOREIGNERS ATTEMPTING
TO ENTER ILLEGALLY FROM MEXICO
ARE BEING TURNED BACK.
THIS COMES AS A NEW INTERNAL
REPORT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, FIRST
REPORTED ON BY THE "NEW YORK
TIMES," SUGGESTS A SOBERING TIME
FRAME FOR RECOVERY, SAYING THE
PANDEMIC "WILL LAST 18 MONTHS OR
LONGER AND COULD INCLUDE
MULTIPLE WAVES OF ILLNESS."
LATE TODAY U.S. CONGRESSMAN
MARIO DIAZ-BALART OF FLORIDA,
BEN McADAMS OF UTAH BECAME THE
FIT TWO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO
ANNOUNCE THEY HAVE CONTRACTED
THE CORONAVIRUS.
THE CORONAVIRUS. AS THE NUMBER OF CASES HAS
INCREASED, THERE’S NEW
INFORMATION ABOUT THE TYPES OF
PATIENTS BEING AFFECTED BY THIS.
>> THERE ARE CONCERNING REPORTS
COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND ITALY
ABOUT SOME YOUNG PEOPLE GETTING
SERIOUSLY ILL AND VERY SERIOUSLY
ILL IN THE ICUs.
IT MAY HAVE BEEN THAT THE
MILLENNIAL GENERATION, OUR
LARGEST GENERATION, OUR FUTURE
GENERATION THAT WILL CARRY US
THROUGH FOR THE NEXT MULTIPLE
DECADES, THERE MAY BE
DISPROPORTIONAL NUMBER OF
INFECTIONS AMONG THAT GROUP, AND
SO EVEN IF IT’S A RARE
OCCURRENCE IT MAY BE SEEN MORE
FREQUENTLY IN THAT GROUP AND BE
EVIDENT NOW.
EVIDENT NOW. SO WE’RE LOOKING AT THAT
INFORMATION VERY CAREFULLY.
WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY SIGNIFICANT
MORTALITY IN THE CHILDREN, BUT
WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE EARLY
REPORTS COMING OUT OF ITALY AND
FRANCE.
FRANCE. >> THIS WAS ANOTHER TOUGH DAY
FOR WALL STREET AS THE DOW
DROPPED BELOW 20,000 POINTS FOR
THE FIRST TIME SINCE FEBRUARY
2017.
2017. IT HAS NOW WIPED OUT ALL OF THE
GAINS MADE DURING THE TRUMP
PRESIDENCY.
PRESIDENCY. TRADING BRIEFLY CAME TO A HALT
AGAIN TODAY.
AGAIN TODAY. EARLIER ON CNBC TODAY LONG-TIME
HEDGE FUND MANAGER BILL ACKMAN
URGED THE PRESIDENT TO SHUT DOWN
THE COUNTRY AND THE MARKETS FOR
A MONTH TO CONTAIN THE
CORONAVIRUS AND RESCUE THE U.S.
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. >> WHAT WOULD THE PRESIDENT BE
ASKING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO
DO?
DO? HE’S NOT SAYING, YOU KNOW, --
HE’S NOT SAYING TO STORM THE
BEACHES AT NORMANDY.
RIGHT?
RIGHT? HE’S SAYING GO HOME.
GO HOME.
GO HOME. SPEND A MONTH WITH YOUR FAMILY.
OKAY?
OKAY? AND I KNOW FOR SOME FAMILIES
THAT’S A HARDSHIP.
OKAY?
OKAY? BUT IT’S NOTHING.
GO HOME.
GO HOME. TAKE A DEEP BREATH P YOU KNOW,
SPEND TIME WITH LOVED ONES.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN.
AND CORPORATE AMERICA IS THE
GRADUAL ROLLOUT OF WHAT’S GOING
ON.
ON. WE NEED TO SHUT IT DOWN NOW.
>> THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE BIG
THREE AUTOMAKERS DID TODAY.
GM, FORD, FIAT, CHRYSLER
TEMPORARILY SHUTTING DOWN THEIR
FACTORIES IN THE U.S., IN MEXICO
AND IN CANADA UNTIL AT LEAST
MARCH 30.
MARCH 30. AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE THAT WILL
AFFECT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
FACTORY EMPLOYEES.
FACTORY EMPLOYEES. TODAY TRUMP SIGNED THE EMERGENCY
CORONAVIRUS AID BILL JUST HOURS
AFTER IT WAS PASSED BY THE
SENATE.
SENATE. THIS LEGISLATION PROVIDES FREE
CORONAVIRUS TESTING IF YOU CAN
FIND IT.
FIND IT. IT ENSURES PAID EMERGENCY LEAVE
AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL MEDICAID
FUNDING AND UNEMPLOYMENT
BENEFITS.
BENEFITS. SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE NOW
WORKING ON A $1 TRILLION
SPENDING PROPOSAL THAT THE WHITE
HOUSE SAID WOULD INCLUDE 500
BILLION IN DIRECT PAYMENTS TO
AMERICANS.
AMERICANS. TRUMP ALSO SAYS HE PLANS TO MAKE
ANOTHER ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT HIS
ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORT TO STOP
THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS.
HERE’S WHAT HE SAID DURING A
MEETING WITH THE HEADS OF
NURSING ORGANIZATIONS.
NURSING ORGANIZATIONS. >> THE FDA WILL BE -- THEY’VE
BEEN WORKING VERY, VERY HARD.
AND I APPRECIATE WHAT THEY’RE
DOING.
DOING. AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME VERY
INTERESTING THINGS THAT WILL BE
BROUGHT UP TOMORROW AT THE NEWS
CONFERENCE.
CONFERENCE. >> ONE MORE NOTE ABOUT THE
AVAILABILITY OF TESTS.
AS WE MENTIONED, THEY ARE STILL
EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO GET.
NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE
CORRESPONDENT PETER ALEXANDER
TODAY ASKED TRUMP WHY THAT
WASN’T THE CASE FOR SOME FOLKS.
>> HOW ARE NON-SYMPTOMATIC
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES GETTING
TESTS WHILE OTHERS ARE WAITING
IN LINE AND CAN’T GET THEM?
DO THE WELL-CONNECTED GO TO THE
FRONT OF THE LINE?
>> YOU’D HAVE AND THEM THAT