>>> WELL, GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN FROM OUR NBC NEWS
HEADQUARTERS HERE IN NEW YORK.
DAY 1,141 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION, LEAVING 243 DAYS
TO GO UNTIL THE 2020
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. AS THE NATION GROWS INCREASINGLY
ANXIOUS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS
OUTBREAK, OUR PRESIDENT’S FOCUS
IS CLEARLY ON DEFENDING HIS
ADMINISTRATION AND HIS FIGHT TO
HOLD ON TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
FOX NEWS PUT ON A TOWN HALL
MEETING FOR THE PRESIDENT
TONIGHT, OF ALL PLACES IN JOE
BIDEN’S HOMETOWN OF SCRANTON,
PA, MORE ON THAT EVENT LATER.
THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE IS UNDER
FIRE AND UNDER PRESSURE FOR ITS
RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS.
RIGHT NOW THE NUMBER OF
CONFIRMED CASES IN THE U.S.
RISING DAILY AND REGION BY
REGION.
REGION. THERE ARE NOW WELL OVER 200
CONFIRMED CASES IN THIS COUNTRY,
BUT REMEMBER ONLY 1,500 PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN TESTED.
FINANCIAL MARKETS REMAIN RATTLED
BY THE RELENTLESS SPREAD.
TODAY THE DOW LOST ABOUT 970
POINTS, LARGELY ERASING THE BIG
GAINS FROM EARLIER THIS WEEK.
BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE
NOW APPROVED AN $8.3 BILLION
EMERGENCY SPENDING PACKAGE BILL
TO HELP FIGHT THE VIRUS.
THE PRESIDENT’S EXPECTED TO SIGN
IT TOMORROW.
IT TOMORROW. AT THAT PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL
ON FOX NEWS TONIGHT, THE VERY
FIRST QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE
WHITE HOUSE HANDLING OF THE
VIRUS.
VIRUS. >> AT THE OUTSET OF THE
CORONAVIRUS, YOUR
CORONAVIRUS, YOUR ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE SEEMED
TO SOME AS BEING CONFUSING OR
MINIMIZING.
MINIMIZING. WHAT PLANS ARE BEING CONSIDERED
ON A FEDERAL LEVEL FOR THE
POSSIBILITY OF A LONG-TERM
DISRUPTION?
DISRUPTION? >> WELL, ACTUALLY, WE’RE -- I
THINK GIVEN TREMENDOUS MARKS.
ONE OF THE THINGS I DID IS
CLOSED DOWN THE BORDERS TO CHINA
AND TO OTHER AREAS THAT ARE
BADLY AFFECTED.
BADLY AFFECTED. WE HAVE 149 CASES AS OF THIS
MOMENT.
MOMENT. THIS MORNING WAS 129, AND I JUST
SEE RIGHT NOW IT’S ABOUT 149
CASES.
CASES. IT’S GOING TO ALL WORK OUT.
EVERYBODY HAS TO BE CALM.
IT’S ALL GOING TO WORK OUT.
WE COULD HAVE A VERY LONG-TERM
PLAN.
PLAN. WE HOPE THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN, BUT
WE HAVE PLANS FOR EVERY SINGLE
POSSIBILITY, AND I THINK THAT’S
WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
WHICH
WHICH WE HOPE IT DOESN’T LAST TOO
LONG.
LONG. >> A QUICK REMINDER HERE.
THIS WAS SEVEN DAYS AGO, A WEEK
AGO TODAY, WHEN THE PRESIDENT
GAVE HIS PROGNOSIS FOR THE
CORONAVIRUS.
CORONAVIRUS. >> IT’S GOING TO DISAPPEAR ONE
DAY.
DAY. IT’S LIKE A MIRACLE.
IT WILL DISAPPEAR, AND FROM OUR
SHORES, YOU KNOW, IT COULD GET
WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER.
IT COULD MAYBE GO AWAY.
WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
>> JUST TONIGHT HE SUGGESTED A
BENEFIT OF THE VIRUS IS THAT
PEOPLE ARE NO LONGER TRAVELING,
INSTEAD SPENDING THEIR MONEY
HERE IN THIS COUNTRY.
JUST 24 HOURS AGO, TRUMP WAS
ASKED ABOUT THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION’S LATEST ASSESSMENT
OF THE CORONAVIRUS.
>> 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 THE 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.
THIS. SO 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 --
WORK -- >> HIS ANSWER PROMPTED THIS
RESPONSE FROM A KEY TRUMP ALLY
IN THE U.S. SENATE.
>> I LISTEN TO THE SCIENTISTS
WHEN IT COMES TO THE NUMBERS,
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE
PRESIDENT, IF HE’S GOING TO
REPORT THINGS, TO MAKE SURE THAT
THE SCIENCE IS BEHIND WHAT HE’S
SAYING.
SAYING. >> TRUMP TONIGHT ALSO TALKED
ABOUT HAVING TO CHANGE UP HIS
PLAYBOOK GOING INTO THE 2020
ELECTION, ADJUSTING HIS STRATEGY
FOLLOWING JOE BIDEN’S SUPER
TUESDAY VICTORIES OVER BERNIE
SANDERS AND THEN ELIZABETH
WARREN’S DROPPING OUT OF THE
RACE.
RACE. >> I WAS ALL SET FOR BERNIE
BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING
TO HAPPEN.
TO HAPPEN. YOU KNOW HOW WE GET READY FOR
THINGS, RIGHT?
THINGS, RIGHT? SO MENTALLY I’M ALL SET FOR
BERNIE.
BERNIE. COMMUNISTS, I HAVE EVERYTHING
DOWN.
DOWN. I WAS ALL SET.
[ APPLAUSE ]
THEN WE HAVE THIS CRAZY THING
THAT HAPPENED, RIGHT, ON
TUESDAY?
TUESDAY? BERNIE WOULD BE TOUGHER BECAUSE
HE’S GOT A BASE.
I DON’T THINK I’M RUNNING
AGAINST BERNIE.
AGAINST BERNIE. I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE VERY
HARD FOR HIM TO COME BACK.
>> HE STEPPED UP HIS ATTACKS ON
JOE BIDEN, VOWING TO MAKE HUNTER
BIDEN’S WORK IN -- WAIT FOR
IT -- UKRAINE A MAJOR ISSUE IN
THE GENERAL ELECTION.
TONIGHT HE APPEARED TO SUGGEST
THE IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATION
WAS ULTIMATELY MORE DAMAGING TO
BIDEN THAN TO HIM.
>> DO YOU THINK BIDEN IS
DAMAGED?
DAMAGED? DO YOU THINK HE’S DAMAGED?
>> I THINK -- I THINK THAT BIDEN
HAS BEEN DAMAGED, YEAH.
A LOT OF PEOPLE -- I SAW A
COUPLE OF STATEMENTS, VERY
STRONG STATEMENTS BY VERY
RESPECTED PEOPLE IN YOUR WORLD
SAYING THEY AIMED AT TRUMP, AND
THEY TOOK BIDEN DOWN.
AND REALLY THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED
WHEN YOU THINK BECAUSE YOU LOOK
AT THE SON.
HERE’S A GUY DIDN’T HAVE A JOB,
WAS UNFORTUNATELY THE MILITARY
WAS A VERY SAD EXPERIENCE FOR
HIM.
HIM. HE GOES OUT, HE GETS $3 MILLION
PLUS $183,000 A MONTH TO BE A
BOARD MEMBER OF A COMPANY THAT A
LOT OF PEOPLE SAID WAS CORRUPT.
>> AND HE HAD THIS TO SAY WHEN
ONE PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT ASKED
ABOUT DIALING BACK THE DIVISIVE