>>> THE BIGGEST FAILURE OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO
CORONAVIRUS HAS BEEN THE LACK OF
TESTING ON THE SCALE NEEDED.
THEY ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK THEY’RE
GOING TO HAVE OVER A MILLION
CORONAVIRUS TESTS AVAILABLE AT
THE ENDING OF THE WEEK.
AT THE TIME THEY ANNOUNCED THAT
IT WAS OBVIOUSLY FALSE.
ANYONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING, KNEW
THAT LOGISTICAL OBSTACLES WERE
TOO BIG TO GET THERE BY THE END
OF THE WEEK.
TODAY SENATORS CONFIRMED WE
AREN’T GOING TO BE TESTING AT
ANYWHERE NEAR THAT SCALE.
RICK SCOTT ADMITTING THERE WON’T
BE A MILLION PEOPLE TO GET A
TEST AT THE ENDING OF THE WEEK,
IT’S SMALLER THAN THAT.
IT’S DEFENSIBLE, BUT THE LACK OF
TESTING WE HAVE MEANS WE DO NOT
KNOW HOW MANY CASES THERE REALLY
ARE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AGAIN, THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE
CONTROL SAYS THERE ARE JUST 99
TOTAL CASES IN THE COUNTRY WITH
13 STATES REPORTING CASES.
NBC NEWS HAS FOUND THE NUMBERS
ARE HIGHER, AT LEAST 226 CASES
AT LAST COUNT IN 21 STATES.
WHAT HAS BEEN CLEAR FROM THE
BEGINNING IS THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES ISN’T REALLY
PRIMARILY INTERESTED IN DEALING
WITH THE VIRUS ITSELF AS A FIRST
ORDER PROBLEM.
ORDER PROBLEM. NO, HE IS INTERESTED IN SPINNING
IT TO PRESERVE HIS POLITICAL
STANDING AND THE STANDING OF THE
ECONOMY.
ECONOMY. LAST WEEK HE WAS DOING A DOOZY
OF IT ON TRUMP TV.
>> WE HAVE A REPORT TODAY THE
GLOBAL DEATH RATE AT 3.4% AND A
REPORT THAT THE OLYMPICS COULD
BE DELAYED.
BE DELAYED. YOUR REACTION TO THAT?
>> WELL, I THINK 3.4% IS REALLY
A FALSE NUMBER.
NOW, THIS IS JUST MY HUNCH.
BUT BASED ON A LOT OF
CONVERSATIONS WITH A LOT OF
PEOPLE THAT DO THIS, BECAUSE A
LOT OF PEOPLE WILL HAVE THIS AND
IT’S VERY MILD.
>> NOW, THERE’S A RESPONSIBLE
WAY TO COMMUNICATE WHAT THE
PRESIDENT SAID, WHICH IS THAT
THE 3.4% MORTALITY RATE IS NOT
CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL COUNTRIES
WHICH PROBABLY HAS TO DO WITH A
LACK OF TESTING.
IN SOUTH KOREA WHERE THEY’RE
DOING A TON OF TESTING, MORE
THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD,
THE FATALITY RATE THERE
REPORTEDLY APPEARS TO BE
HOVERING AROUND 0.65%.
MUCH BETTER.
MUCH BETTER. THAT IS HOPEFULLY WHAT WE WILL
ENDING UP HAVING HERE.
BUT YOU CAN’T JUST DISMISS THE
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION FIGURE
BASED ON A HUNCH.
THEN THE PRESIDENT SAID
SOMETHING UNBELIEVABLY REVEALING
ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE VIRUS
AND DON’T NEED INTENSIVE MEDICAL
CARE.
CARE. >> IF, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE
THOUSANDS OR HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT GET
BETTER JUST BY, YOU KNOW,
SITTING AROUND AND EVEN GOING TO
WORK, SOME OF THEM GO TO WORK
BUT THEY GET BETTER.
>> THAT’S THE PRESIDENT BLITHELY
GOING TO WORK WITH THE
CORONAVIRUS, WHICH LISTEN TO ME,
DO NOT GO TO WORK WITH THE
CORONAVIRUS, OKAY?
CORONAVIRUS, OKAY? JOINING ME NOW, RON KLAIN WHO
SERVE EGD ASD AS THE U.S. EBOLA
RESPONSE COORDINATOR UNDER
PRESIDENT OBAMA.
PRESIDENT OBAMA. TESTING CONTINUES TO BE A REAL
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. EVEN AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT THEY
WERE SENDING OUT THESE KITS.
HOW DO YOU ASSESS OVERALL THE
RESPONSE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION
SO FAR?
SO FAR? >> I THINK YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT A
PRETTY LOW GRADE, C MINUS, D
PLUS, FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.
THEY FOCUSED ON TRAVEL
RESTRICTIONS TO DELAY THE
ARRIVAL OF THE VIRUS.
WHAT IT BOUGHT WAS TIME.
THAT’S ONLY A VALID STRATEGY IF
YOU USED THAT TIME TO RAMP UP.
SO, YEAH, IT WAS REASONABLE THAT
ON MONDAY WHEN THEY SAID THERE
WOULD BE A MILLION TESTS BY
FRIDAY, NO ONE SHOULD HAVE
BELIEVED THAT.
BELIEVED THAT. BUT THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A
MILLION TESTS WAY BEFORE FRIDAY
BECAUSE WE KNEW IN DECEMBER AND
EARLY JANUARY THIS WAS COMING.
WHY DIDN’T WE START REALLY
WORKING ON THIS PROBLEM THIS
WEEK?
WEEK? SAME THING WITH HOSPITAL
CAPACITY AND ALL THE OTHER
ASPECTS OF THIS.
THE RESPONSE IS MOVING SLOWLY.
IT’S STARTING LATE.
AND THAT’S INEXCUSABLE.
>> THE PRESIDENT HAD THIS -- HE
TALKED ABOUT HIS SORT OF
BRAGGING ABOUT THE NUMBERS
TODAY.
TODAY. THERE ARE TWO TWEETS.
IN ONE TWEET HE CALLED YOU A
LIGHTWEIGHT WASHINGTON FAILURE.
AND WAS MAD ABOUT THE SWINE FLU
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE DYING WITH
THAT.
THAT. ANOTHER HE SAID, LOOK, WE’VE
ONLY GOT 129 CASES AND 11
DEATHS.
DEATHS. WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO KEEP
THESE NUMBERS AS LOW AS
POSSIBLE.
POSSIBLE. IT STRUCK ME THAT WAS A VERY
REVEALING SENTENCE.
REVEALING SENTENCE. WE ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO KEEP
THESE NUMBERS AS LOW AS
POSSIBLE.
POSSIBLE. IT’S THE NUMBERS.
IF YOU’RE NOT TESTING, THAT’S
ONE WAY TO KEEP THE NUMBERS LOW.
>> WHAT THEY’RE DOING TO KEEP
THE NUMBERS LOW IS BEING SLOW
ABOUT TESTING.
ABOUT TESTING. IN THE END, YOU CAN’T HIDE SICK
PEOPLE UNDER THE SOFA, OKAY?
WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND
THESE PEOPLE, TREAT THEM, GET
THEM INTO THE HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM, GET THEM WELL.
ISOLATE THOSE CASES TO THE
EXTENT POSSIBLE.
EXTENT POSSIBLE. IF YOU DON’T TEST, YOU DON’T
KNOW.
KNOW. HE IS FOCUSED ON NUMBERS.
HE’S FOCUSED ON THE STOCK MARKET
BEING UP AND THE CASE COUNT
BEING DOWN.
BEING DOWN. THOSE ARE THE TWO WRONG THINGS
TO FOCUS ON.
HE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON GETTING
PEOPLE TESTED, SURVEILLANCE,
FINDING OUT WHERE THIS IS AND
GETTING HOSPITALS READY TO DEAL
WITH THE INFLOW OF PATIENTS.
>> ONE THING I WANT TO BE CLEAR
ON IN OUR COVERAGE OF THIS, THE
IDEA OF THE RISK TO AN
INDIVIDUAL AMERICAN IS CORRECT.
EVEN IF WE WERE FACING AN
ITALY-SIZED OUTBREAK, WHICH IS
LARGE, THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW,
25,000 CASES, RIGHT?
THEY HAVE ABOUT 5,000 CASES, 60
MILLION PEOPLE.
MILLION PEOPLE. SO AGAIN, IN THE RELATIVE SCHEME
OF THINGS.
OF THINGS. THE RISK, THOUGH, IS TO THE
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
EXPLAIN WHY THAT IS.
>> I DO THINK THE RISK OF NUMBER
OF CASES COULD BE HIGHER THAN
THAT.
THAT. THEY ARE TESTING IN ITALY BUT
NOT TESTING NEARLY AS MUCH AS
THEY SHOULD BE ALSO.
I DON’T THINK WE -- I THINK THE
FAIREST THING TO SAY ABOUT THE
NUMBER OF CASES IS WE DON’T
KNOW.
KNOW. >> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> WE SHOULD BEGIN AND END WITH
THAT, OKAY?
THAT, OKAY? NOW, IT’S GOING TO BE A NUMBER,
A PRETTY BIG NUMBER IN THE END.
OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS
FRAGILE, RIGHT?
FRAGILE, RIGHT? IT RUNS AT CAPACITY.
WE DON’T HAVE HOSPITALS JUST
SITTING EMPTY WAITING FOR
CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS TO SHOW UP.
SO IF YOU PUT STRESS ON THAT
SYSTEM BY A DISORGANIZED
RESPONSE, BY PEOPLE IN A
PARTICULAR CITY, WHATEVER CITY
IT IS, FLOODING INTO HOSPITALS,
FLOODING INTO EMERGENCY ROOMS,
THAT WILL, ONE, REALLY COLLAPSE
THE CAPACITY OF THOSE HOSPITALS
AND EMERGENCY ROOMS.
IT MAY INFECT DOCTORS, NURSES
AND FRONT LINE HEALTH CARE
WORKERS, AND THOSE THINGS WILL
TAKE DOWN PART OR A LOT OF A
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN A
PARTICULAR AREA.
PARTICULAR AREA. EVEN IF YOU DON’T GET
CORONAVIRUS, IF YOU NEED TO GO
TO THE HOSPITAL TO GET TREATMENT
FOR A HEART ATTACK AND THERE ARE
NO BEDS OR THE NURSING
POPULATION IS DOWN BECAUSE
THEY’RE SICK OR THE DOCTORS ARE
OUT BECAUSE THEY’RE SICK, THAT’S
GOING TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON ALL
OF US, EVEN IF YOU NEVER, EVER
GET CORONAVIRUS.
GET CORONAVIRUS. >> HOW MUCH WAS COMMUNICATION
STRAIGHTFORWARD, HONEST, CLEAR,
FACT-BASED COMMUNICATION
FACT-BASED COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT TO YOU WHEN YOU WERE
COORDINATING THE EBOLA RESPONSE?
>> IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT.
IRONICALLY THAT’S ONE REASON WHY
I DIDN’T GO ON TV AT ALL THE
FIRST MONTH.
FIRST MONTH. WE PUT TONY FAUCI ON TELEVISION.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SHOULD HEAR
FROM EXPERTS, FROM THE PEOPLE
WHO KNOW THE MEDICINE, WHO HAVE
BEEN CAREER OFFICIALS, WHO
CAN -- TONY FAUCI SERVED SIX
U.S. PRESIDENTS BACK TO RONALD
REAGAN.
REAGAN. HE FOUGHT AIDS, HE FOUGHT
MALARIA, ALL KINDS OF DISEASES.
PEOPLE SHOULD HEAR FROM HIM
DIRECTLY ABOUT THE FACTS AND THE
TRUTH.
TRUTH. HE NOW HAS TO GO TO EVENTS WITH
THE PRESIDENT AND CORRECT THE
PRESIDENT WHEN HE MISLEADS
PEOPLE IN REALTIME.
HE’S A REALTIME FACT CHECKING.
THAT’S NOT THE WAY THIS SHOULD
WORK.
WORK. >> THAT IS YOUR HOPE THAT YOU
SEE HAPPEN IN THIS RESPONSE YOU
HAVEN’T SEEN?
HAVEN’T SEEN? >> SO I THINK TWO THINGS REALLY
HAVE TO BE FIXED.
WE HAVE A PROBLEM OF COMPETENCE
AND A PROBLEM OF CONFIDENCE AND
WE NEED TO FIX BOTH.
ON COMPETENCE, WE NEED TO RAMP
UP THE TESTING.
SECONDLY, WE NEED TO GET THE
TOUCH POINTS OF OUR HEALTH CARE
SYSTEM, THE INTAKE POINTS READY
FOR THESE CASES SO WE DON’T
CLAMS THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN
PARTICULAR AREAS.
PARTICULAR AREAS. ON THE CONFIDENCE SIDE, THE
PRESIDENT NEEDS TO PUT DOWN THE
iPHONE, STOP SAYING RIDICULOUS
THINGS ON CAMERA AND LET PUBLIC
HEALTH AUTHORITIES BRIEF PEOPLE
AND TEM US THE TRUTH.
>> FINAL QUESTION, HAS THE WHITE
HOUSE OR ANYONE IN THE WHITE
HOUSE REACHED OUT TO YOU FOR
YOUR EXPERTISE?
YOUR EXPERTISE? >> I HAVEN’T TALKED TO ANY
SENIOR PEOPLE AT THE WHITE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. I CONTINUE TO TALK TO CAREER
PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE GOVERNMENT
WHO WORKED WITH ME ON EBOLA
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. THOSE CAREER PEOPLE, WHAT DONALD
TRUMP DISPARAGES AS THE DEEP