-The president bragged about his TV ratings
during the coronavirus pandemic,
suggested states were lying about how many
ventilators they need and blamed health care workers
for the lack of masks.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
♪♪
You know, we're all just trying to get through
this quarantine period any way we can.
For many, it means working from home while watching the kids.
For others, it means taking up new hobbies.
And for many essential workers, it means having to go to work
without adequate pay, protections, or sick leave.
And then for everyone else, there's, you know, liquor.
As you can see here, I have a bottle of scotch
I've been working on all morning.
I like to ease into it by just a little nip,
just the littlest of nip into my coffee mug.
And then I just sanitize my hands in that
and then I drink directly from the old bottle.
Mmm.
Now, apparently I'm not the only one,
because one of President Trump's staunchest
allies on Fox News, Jeanine Pirro,
aka the Real Housewife of Westchester,
seemed like she might have dipped into the sauce
on Saturday night while filming her show from home.
The show started late after what she called
"technical difficulties" and got weirder from there.
-Welcome back. It's good to be with you tonight.
And, uh, we apologize for the technical difficulties.
Welcome back to "Justice."
Just the other day, the president talked,
or was hoping, about the possibility of reopening
everything on Easter Sunday.
And in a way where we could kind of come out of this quarantine,
as loose as it may be, that we're involved in.
And Lisa Boothe, a Fox News contributor,
is here to talk with us tonight about whether or not...
-Hey, Judge. -...that's even a possibility.
How are you, Lisa?
-Wow, I understand having a sip to take the edge off,
but she sounds like she's about to grab a microphone
and ruin her daughter's wedding.
"Deejay, turn off the electric slide.
I have a few bombs to drop before the cake comes out.
How are ya now, Lisa?"
What were the technical difficulties?
Did the labels get switched on your Ambien and Xanax
and your water and grain alcohol?
Someone tell Judge Jeanine to stay six feet away
from the liquor cabinet.
Look, I can't tell for sure if she was drunk or not.
But that's definitely the face you make when you're trying
to act like you're not drunk,
you know, like you're in a conversation
and you're not following a word
the other person is saying so you overcompensate
by nodding and smiling like a lunatic and saying stuff
like, "Oh, yeah. Totally. Good point.
Yeah, man, my thoughts exactly."
I'm shocked she didn't do the rest of her show
with a lampshade on her head singing karaoke
from the top of her desk.
Of course at this point, to defend President Trump
on national television, you have to be
at least a little bit drunk.
This morning, for example, as courageous health care workers
were exposing themselves to danger
and begging for supplies,
the president was dialing in for his weekly
Skype therapy session with the "Fox & Friends"
and complaining about absolute nonsense.
-You know, I've gotten from fair people, you know,
a lot of accolades, and I don't want the accolades,
but it's just in terms of a fact.
Then you hear Nancy Pelosi, who's, you know,
somehow there's something wrong with the woman
because she knows what we've done.
And don't forget, she was playing the impeachment game,
you know, her game where she ended up
looking like a fool.
It just went on for years.
I mean, if you think about it, that's all she did.
She didn't do anything. She couldn't get bills passed.
She's controlled by the radical left, by AOC plus three.
And, you know, I have to say this,
it's never pleasant, but my poll numbers
are the highest they've ever been because of her.
If you look at Russia, Russia lost 50 million people
at World War II, 50 million.
They were fighting along with us.
They were our partner.
And now we don't talk to Russia, we talk to Germany.
I mean, look, it's fine. I want to talk to Germany.
My father was born -- you know, Germany is --
it's in my heritage.
-He was definitely about to say his father was born in Germany
even though he was born in New York.
The man doesn't even know where his father was born.
He needs to see his own father's birth certificate.
So it really wasn't that personal, Obama.
Maybe it's because Trump himself wasn't actually born anywhere.
He was just summoned by some teens in the woods
playing with a Ouija board.
"You guys want to make some investments?"
Also, look at the three of them.
They're captives in their own homes, getting yelled at
by a senile old man.
It's like a cross between FaceTime with your grandpa
and a "Saw" movie.
It's like an escape room where the theme is,
Grandpa has been watching History Channel all day
and now he wants to yell at you.
Now, the coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the world
to a halt, with hospitals overwhelmed
and courageous health care workers on the front lines
heroically exposing themselves to danger.
There are now more than 700,000 cases globally
with roughly a third of the world's population
under lockdown, or as Trump put it
during his press conference on Sunday night...
-It's up to 151 countries.
So when we say our nation, our nation and the world,
when you think.
Think of it. 151 countries.
Somebody said to me today that wasn't in this particular world,
they didn't know that we had that many countries.
-151 countries.
Thanks for the fun fact,
President Kid From "Jerry Maguire."
"There are some important developments I want to share
with you, but first, did you know the human head
weighs eight pounds?
Because mine weighs 50."
Also, it was definitely that
didn't know we had that many countries.
Or knowing the Trump Administration, it was
the Deputy Secretary of Knowing How Many Countries There Are.
"I thought there were only a few --
America, Mexico, Europe, Canada, China,
China-da, Chinatown, Chipotle, Xanadu, and...
-...the United States.
-Also, it's an important detail that it's in 151 countries,
but Trump always immediately blows it
by focusing on the unimportant part that people already know.
"COVID-19 continues to spread.
And you know, the 19 is for the year it was discovered,
not the age it was.
I knew that. But when I told someone,
they made a face like, 'What?'
So that's just a fun piece of bar trivia
the next time you go out drinking."
[ As Pirro ] "Did someone say drinking?!"
Real John Leguizamo here
doing multiple voices at the same time.
So virtually the entire world
has been transformed by this pandemic.
In fact, in Italy things are so bad,
mayors have had to resort to drastic measures
to keep people from going outside.
-In Italy, strict government restrictions
designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus
have not stopped people from heading outside.
Tens of thousands have been reported for breaking
the restrictions in a nation that's seen
more coronavirus deaths than anywhere in the world,
and this is prompting outraged officials to use social media
to vent their frustrations.
-Ping-Pong is not allowed.
Go home and play on the PlayStation.
You cannot stay here.
Don't look at me like that.
You should be respectful. There is a decree.
I am the mayor of this city, and as the mayor of this city,
I will make everyone respect this decree.
Go home now.
-Hundreds of students will be graduating soon.
I hear that some want to host a party.
We will send the police and we will send them
with flamethrowers.
-Of course, the only thing scarier than a flamethrower
is an angry Italian mayor.
Italians are great at social distancing because you have to
stand six feet away during a normal conversation
to avoid getting hit with the hand gestures.
Because if they're talking, their hands are flying,
and it doesn't matter what they're talking about.
[ Italian accent ] "You know what I like?
I like a nice cup of coffee on the balcony."
You get it.
Italy's experience has been harrowing,
and the fear is that it's a preview
of what's about to happen here.
And this is important to remember --
just because you can't personally witness it
doesn't mean it's not happening.
Here's how one health care professional put it.
-What would the zombie apocalypse be like
if we only had verbal descriptions of zombies
but could never show them?
-That's a chilling description of what's going on,
and also a reminder that it's hard to describe zombies.
You'd say they're pale, angry ghouls
with their hair falling out and they look like
they've been decomposing underground for years.
And most people would guess, "Oh, is that those guys,
those guys who work for the president?"
Health care professionals on the front lines
are begging for life-saving supplies
like masks and ventilators.
In epicenters like Detroit, New York, and New Orleans,
they're describing the situation as a tsunami,
calling it apocalyptic and comparing it to a war zone.
An ER doctor in Queens put it this way
in an interview with "The New York Times."
-I don't have the support that I need
and even just the materials that I need physically
to take care of my patients, and it's America.
And we're supposed to be a first world country.
-[ As President Trump ] "It's harder to be
a first world country than you think.
Did you know there are 151 of them?
At least."
And yeah, we're supposed to be a first world country.
Instead, our doctors can't get masks,
our hospitals can't get ventilators,
and our president can't get a suit that doesn't look
like it was stolen from Shaquille O'Neal.
I mean, that right there, that is what happens
when you can't even tell the truth to your tailor.
"So how tall are you?" "Seven feet. No, it's true.
Many people, many people are saying it."
So front line health care workers are describing
a dire situation and telling us they need supplies immediately.
But don't worry, the president is laser-focused on the crisis.
-"I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen
and the United Kingdom.
It was reported that Harry and Meghan who left the Kingdom
would reside permanently in Canada.
Now that they have left Canada for the U.S., however,
the U.S. will not pay for their security protection.
They must pay."
-What the [bleep] are you talking about?
Harry and Meghan are moving to L.A.?
Where are you getting your celebrity news
during the pandemic?
I know it's not "People" magazine because
even "People" magazine is covering the coronavirus.
Seriously, was anyone in America worried about this?
Honestly, was there a single person
out of 300 million people sitting there on Sunday,
muttering to themselves, "We better not be paying
for Harry and Meghan's security protection.
That would be large-scale tragedy."
Also, how does Trump even hear about this stuff?
Is he surfing TMZ during his task force meetings
with Dr. Fauci?
"Fauci, Fauci, Fauci, I'm going to cut you off real quick.
Did you see that Kanye lied
about his phone call with Taylor Swift?
That is ice cold, Fauci.
I mean, I was Team Kanye, but now I'm definitely Team Kanye.
Fauci? Fauci, I got you.
I made you touch your face again.
You're not better than me, Fauci.
I'm just joking, you make me laugh.
You're my best friend."
So Trump fired off a random tweet about Harry and Meghan,
and yet it's not even remotely the worst thing he tweeted
this weekend because he also bragged
about the ratings for his press conferences during the pandemic.
"Because the 'ratings' of my news conferences are so high,
'"Bachelor' finale," "Monday Night Football"
type numbers,' according to "The New York Times,"
the Lamestream Media is going crazy."
And then later he tweeted,
"President Trump is a ratings hit."
You're comparing your pandemic briefings to "The Bachelor"?
Because at this point, I would rather go to Peter's mom Barb
for coronavirus updates.
"All I know is after she showed up three hours late
to our meeting in Australia,
Madi needs to socially distance herself from my son."
I don't watch "The Bachelor," so I don't get that joke.
Also I'm not saying it to say I'm better than you.
I mainlined "Love Is Blind" in two nights, and, guys,
when this is over, we need to talk about Jessica
because she's a real Judge Jeanine.
Also, people aren't tuning in because they all love you.
They're tuning in because they're trapped inside
and their only choices are watching you
or digging through Netflix trying to find
a British crime show they haven't seen yet.
"Honey? Honey, did we watch 'Inspector Pinderberry'?"
"Yeah, remember? The killer was the lorry driver
and Pinderberry caught him burying the body
in the Yorkshire Moors?"
"Ha, ha, that's right.
No one outsmarts Inspector Pinderberry."
Also, we're only trapped inside watching you
because you kept ignoring the crisis and pretending
it would go away until it was too late.
We're forced to stay inside and watch you
because you screwed up.
More people than ever are playing Scrabble right now,
but it sure as hell isn't because Scrabble is fun.
"Monday Night Football" could score huge ratings too
if every week they released
millions of large exotic wildcats onto the streets
in major cities and forced everyone to stay inside.
We could either stay inside and watch the Jaguars
or go outside and get eaten by one.
And then during his press conference on Sunday night,
as experts were warning that we could see as many as
100,000 to 200,000 deaths from the pandemic,
Trump decided it was a good time to double down
and to brag about his ratings.
-As "The New York Times" said, we have
"Monday Night Football" type ratings.
But even they said that the ratings are like
"Monday Night Football" ratings,
And that these are like "Bachelor" finale --
that's their end.
When the big deal happened -- I have no idea what happened
because I'm too busy working on this.
Someday you will tell me what happened.
-No, we won't. That's your punishment.
You have to watch it yourself, months after everyone else
when nobody wants to talk about it anymore.
And at dinner parties, you'll say,
"Did you guys see 'The Bachelor'?"
And people will say, "We don't want to talk about
'The Bachelor.'" And then you'll have to say,
"Well, did you hear how many countries there are?
I know, but do you know?"
Trump is bragging about TV ratings and his own
disastrous response to the crisis
even after intelligence briefings
and his own health secretary tried to warn him
that it was serious.
In fact, "The Washington Post" reported that
Health Secretary Alex Azar had asked for $2 billion
to buy respirator masks and other supplies
for a depleted federal stockpile of emergency medical equipment.
The $2 billion request was cut to $500 million,
and "The New York Times" reported that after considering
the $1 billion price tag for ventilators,
the White House had second thoughts.
So you couldn't spare a few billion
for emergency medical supplies and ventilators
as a deadly virus was spreading,
but you had trillions lying around
for a massive corporate tax cut a few years ago?
You know what? Next time Trump wants to dole out
trillions in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy,
we should get that Italian mayor over to light the bill on fire
with his flamethrower.
It would be like a Quentin Tarantino movie.
And now after repeatedly ignoring the crisis,
pitting the states against each other,
and bragging about his TV ratings,
Trump is actually suggesting that state officials
and hospitals are either lying about what they need
or possibly even stealing supplies.
First he said this...
-New York is a, uh, bigger deal,
but it's going to go also.
But I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers
that are being said in some areas
are just bigger than they're going to be.
I don't believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.
You know, you go into major hospitals sometimes,
they'll have two ventilators.
And now all of a sudden they're saying,
"Can we order 30,000 ventilators?"
And, you know, they say, like Governor Cuomo and others,
that say, "We want, you know, 30,000 of them."
30,000? Think of this.
You know, you go to hospitals, they'll have one in a hospital.
And now all of a sudden everybody's asking
for these vast numbers.
-What do you mean, all of a sudden?
Yes, yes, all of a sudden there's a pandemic,
which means all of a sudden
a bunch of people need ventilators.
Pandemics aren't weddings.
They don't send you a "save the date" card.
Although based on how you ignored repeated warnings
that this was a possibility,
you'd probably throw that in the trash, too.
I mean, have you not been paying attention
to, like, any of the news besides your own ratings
and what Harry and Meghan are up to?
Somebody please, for the love of God, squeeze some information
about ventilators into the celebrity quotes section
of "Us Weekly."
Nick Jonas says of his marriage to Priyanka Chopra,
"She's such a breath of fresh air,
and speaking of fresh air, New York needs
40,000 lifesaving ventilators because of
the exponential growth of an incredibly infectious disease."
But Trump's grotesque conspiracy theories about
the urgent lack of medical supplies didn't stop there.
On Sunday night, he implied something fishy was also
going on with the lack of masks in New York City hospitals,
implying that heroic medical professionals
who are literally putting their lives at risk
might be hoarding or stealing the masks.
-They've been delivering for years 10,000 to 20,000 masks.
Okay, it's a New York hospital, very --
it's packed all the time.
How do you go from 10,000 to 20,000 to 300,000?
10,000 to 20,000 masks to 300,000,
even though this is different.
Something's going on.
And you ought to look into it as reporters.
Where are the masks going?
Are they going out the back door?
I would like them to check that,
because I hear stories like that all the time.
You know, we're delivering millions and millions
of different products,
and all we do is hear that, "Can you get some more?"
So I think people should check that,
because there's something going on.
I don't think it's hoarding.
I think it's maybe worse than hoarding.
-I'm not wearing a mask, but if I did, I would remove it
to make sure you could hear me clearly when I say,
[bleep] off.
Trump thinks they might be stealing masks
because he would definitely steal masks.
Trump is so deeply and completely corrupt,
he can't even imagine someone having a legitimate motivation.
I'm surprised he hasn't opened a press conference saying,
"Bad news -- ventilators went missing.
Good news -- you guys, we found a corresponding amount
of Trump-olators, which are very affordable."
Think about how grotesque this is.
Health care professionals are courageously putting their lives
on the line, and Trump is baselessly accusing them
of stealing masks and lying about
how many ventilators they need while bragging about
his TV ratings.
He's either a sociopath, or he's been stealing
from Jeanine Pirro's liquor cabinet,
which would explain why he often slurs his words like a drunk.
-10,000 known or suspes -- gang members.
Advising law markers.
Will not be toleri--
-We had a chance to avoid the fate we're currently suffering,
and our president squandered it by ignoring the problem
for weeks and then pretending it would go away.
Now health care professionals are putting themselves in danger
and begging for supplies,
and the president instead is accusing them of stealing
while bragging about his TV ratings.
When this is all over and the history of this moment
is written, the kindest thing you'll be able to say
about Trump is that... -Ended up looking like a fool.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
♪♪
Hey, just a reminder, if you've been watching
our lockdown "Closer Looks" online,
they're also airing on NBC as part of our full show again,
so you can watch it there.
Thank you so much. Stay safe. Wash your hands. We love you.