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Remarks by Trump, Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing, 03-19-20
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: March 19, 2020
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
11:31 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I think this is going to be a very important conference and I’ll get to that toward the middle, but I have a few things to report. And I want to thank you all for being here.
And I have to say, I think with social distancing that the media has been much nicer. I don’t know what it is — all these empty — these in-between chairs. We probably shouldn’t have anybody sitting behind you either. You know, you should probably go back. But I love it. It’s so much nicer. But I shouldn’t say that because you’ll get me now.
Thank you all for being here. And we continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus.
{snip}
Our entire team, headed by Secretary Mnuchin, is on the Hill. We’re working with Democrats and Republicans and there’s a lot of goodwill going on. This was something that happened that was, some people would say, an act of God. I don’t view it as an act of God; I would view it as is something that just surprised the whole world. And if people would have known about it, it could have stopped — been stopped in place. It could have been stopped right where it came from — China — if we would have known about it, if they would have known about it.
But now the whole world, almost, is inflicted with this horrible — with this horrible virus and it’s too bad. It’s too bad because we never had an economy as good as the economy we had just a few weeks ago.
{snip}
But most importantly, the American public has been incredible. We took the best economy we’ve ever had and we said “Stop. You can’t work. You have to stay home.” You know, there’s never been a case like this. Normally, you pay a lot of money to get things going. Here’s a case we’re paying a lot of money to stop things because we don’t want people to be together so that this virus doesn’t continue onward. So there’s never been anything like this in history. There’s never been a –nobody has ever seen anything like this.
But we’re doing the right thing. We have to get rid — I mean, our big war is not a — it’s not a financial war. It’s a war — it’s a medical war. And we have to win this war. It’s very important.
With that, I’d like to just introduce Dr. Stephen Hahn. And he — again, I’d like to send back with Stephen our thanks to all of the people working in the FDA who are fantastic, talented people. We appreciate it very much, everything you’ve done, especially the speed that you got these two elements, these two very important drugs passed. Thank you very much. Thank you, Stephen.
DR. HAHN: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank you for your leadership during this coronavirus outbreak, and thank you for the kind words about the FDA staff.
{snip}
DR. HAHN: Yeah. And thank you for that question because I just want to be clear about this: Remdesivir is going through the normal process. We are using our internal processes at FDA to set up, with the company, the protocols to actually collect the data. And you’re right, we need to actually know about the safety and the effectiveness, and that’s done through the clinical trial process. So it’s those data that are going to inform the decisions that are ultimately made about safety and efficacy.
This is an unprecedented situation. This is a really significant time. And one thing that, with the President’s leadership, FDA has done is said, “Okay, how do we approach these extraordinary times with extraordinary measures, knowing that we have a sacred trust with the American people about safety and efficacy, but still, at the same time, enable these treatments to get into patients?” And that’s what we’re doing.
{snip}
Q At what point in the future will any American who wants to test be able to get a test? Because you’re talking about not needing a test right now if you’re not showing any symptoms, but a lot of those who —
THE PRESIDENT: Not needing the tests?
Q — or only getting tested if you’re showing symptoms. But a lot of this —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, no, you should only get —
Q — says (inaudible) being —
THE PRESIDENT: You should — I didn’t have any symptoms and I got a test. But I got a test because you people were driving everybody crazy. So that’s the only reason. I had no symptoms but I had a test. And my doctor told me, “Don’t get it. You don’t need it.” Everybody said, “You don’t need it.” But I had to do it because the press was going crazy.
And then, after I got it, they said “You shouldn’t have gotten it. You had no symptoms.” You know, the whole thing. So, in other words, if you get it, it was no good. But that’s — I’m a unique case, unfortunately.
But, no, people that don’t show symptoms and people that have doctors that say they shouldn’t get it — I would rely on that. Yeah, I would rely on that.
Q Mr. President, thank you. Mr. President, thank you. I have two questions. Do you consider the term, “Chinese food” —
THE PRESIDENT: OAN.
Q Yes, sir. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Very good. Thank you very much. They treat me very nicely. Go ahead.
Q I have two questions. Do you consider the term “Chinese food” racist?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q Because it’s food that originates in China or it has Chinese origins.
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t think it’s racist.
Q And on that note —
THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think it’s racist at all.
Q On that note, major left-wing news media, even in this room, have teamed up with Chinese Communist Party narratives and they’re claiming you are racist for making these claims about the Chinese virus. Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic radicals, and Latin gangs and cartels, and they work right here, at the White House, with direct access to you and your team?
THE PRESIDENT: It amazes me when I read the things that I read. It amazes me when I read the Wall Street Journal, which is always so negative. It amazes me when I read the New York Times. It’s not even — I don’t — I barely read it. You know, we don’t distribute it in the White House anymore, and the same thing with the Washington Post. Because, you see, I know the truth. And people out there in the world, they really don’t know the truth. They don’t know what it is. They use different slogans and different concepts for me almost every week, trying to catch something.
Last week, it was all chaos. You see me. There’s no chaos. I have no chaos. I’m the one telling everybody to be calm. There’s no chaos at the White House. We have unbelievable professionals. It’s really — I mean, I think I came up with the term — I hope I came up with the term — but it is fake news. It’s more than fake news; it’s corrupt news. They write stories without calling anybody. They write a story — today, I had a couple of stories where they — they never call me ever, that I know of. At least nobody tells me. They’ll write a story about me without even asking my opinion on something. It’s totally fake.
I’ve never seen — I mean, there is a story in the Wall Street Journal today about — you know, about how we’ve done. We’ve done a phenomenal job on this. The governors are even — even Gavin Newsom, who you know I’m usually fighting with over the fires and — “I think you should do a different kind of a job at the — in the forests,” and lots of things. We argue a lot. But Gavin Newsom has been very, very generous — generous. Andrew Cuomo has been, really, very generous. I mean, they’re saying we’re doing a great job, and everybody saying.
But then you read this phony story in the Wall Street Journal or — the Washington Post is going wild lately. I don’t know what happened to them. I guess, something happened like we don’t call them back or whatever.
But the Washington Post — these are very dishonest media sources. They’re very dishonest. And you know what? Someday, hopefully in five years, I won’t be here and that’ll be fine. I will have done, I think, a great job, because I don’t think anyone has done as much in three and a half years as I’ve done, I don’t think — and the administration. This administration has done a great job. But the press is very dishonest.
Q But more than dishonest, they’re siding with state propaganda overseas.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think they do. I mean — I mean, they are siding with — they are siding with China. They are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. They’re siding with many others, China’s the least of it. So why — why they’re doing this, you’ll have to ask them. But if we had an honest media in this country, our country would be an even greater place.
So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We are very excited about — we are very excited about — you know, specifically, what we talked about with the chloroquine. I think the — I think it could be something really incredible. It could totally depress the times that we had mentioned.
Q Can you provide a timeline of that, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: Wait. Excuse me. Excuse me. It could totally depress any time that we’re talking about, if it works. There are a lot of reasons that I have to believe — again, Dr. Hahn is the expert, but a lot of reasons that I would have to think that it could have a very positive effect or a positive effect. Maybe not very, but maybe — maybe positive. I think it’s, to me, very, very exciting.
And the beauty is — I think I can say this, Steve — the beauty is that these drugs have been out there. So the really danger part of the drugs — especially chloroquine — it’s been out there for years. So we know it’s something that can be taken safely. So it’s very important.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: Now — well, I think that’s enough. Thank you.
END
12:48 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump, Vice President Pence, and Members of the Coronavirus Task Force in Press Briefing
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: March 19, 2020
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
11:31 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. I think this is going to be a very important conference and I’ll get to that toward the middle, but I have a few things to report. And I want to thank you all for being here.
And I have to say, I think with social distancing that the media has been much nicer. I don’t know what it is — all these empty — these in-between chairs. We probably shouldn’t have anybody sitting behind you either. You know, you should probably go back. But I love it. It’s so much nicer. But I shouldn’t say that because you’ll get me now.
Thank you all for being here. And we continue our relentless effort to defeat the Chinese virus.
{snip}
Our entire team, headed by Secretary Mnuchin, is on the Hill. We’re working with Democrats and Republicans and there’s a lot of goodwill going on. This was something that happened that was, some people would say, an act of God. I don’t view it as an act of God; I would view it as is something that just surprised the whole world. And if people would have known about it, it could have stopped — been stopped in place. It could have been stopped right where it came from — China — if we would have known about it, if they would have known about it.
But now the whole world, almost, is inflicted with this horrible — with this horrible virus and it’s too bad. It’s too bad because we never had an economy as good as the economy we had just a few weeks ago.
{snip}
But most importantly, the American public has been incredible. We took the best economy we’ve ever had and we said “Stop. You can’t work. You have to stay home.” You know, there’s never been a case like this. Normally, you pay a lot of money to get things going. Here’s a case we’re paying a lot of money to stop things because we don’t want people to be together so that this virus doesn’t continue onward. So there’s never been anything like this in history. There’s never been a –nobody has ever seen anything like this.
But we’re doing the right thing. We have to get rid — I mean, our big war is not a — it’s not a financial war. It’s a war — it’s a medical war. And we have to win this war. It’s very important.
With that, I’d like to just introduce Dr. Stephen Hahn. And he — again, I’d like to send back with Stephen our thanks to all of the people working in the FDA who are fantastic, talented people. We appreciate it very much, everything you’ve done, especially the speed that you got these two elements, these two very important drugs passed. Thank you very much. Thank you, Stephen.
DR. HAHN: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank you for your leadership during this coronavirus outbreak, and thank you for the kind words about the FDA staff.
{snip}
DR. HAHN: Yeah. And thank you for that question because I just want to be clear about this: Remdesivir is going through the normal process. We are using our internal processes at FDA to set up, with the company, the protocols to actually collect the data. And you’re right, we need to actually know about the safety and the effectiveness, and that’s done through the clinical trial process. So it’s those data that are going to inform the decisions that are ultimately made about safety and efficacy.
This is an unprecedented situation. This is a really significant time. And one thing that, with the President’s leadership, FDA has done is said, “Okay, how do we approach these extraordinary times with extraordinary measures, knowing that we have a sacred trust with the American people about safety and efficacy, but still, at the same time, enable these treatments to get into patients?” And that’s what we’re doing.
{snip}
Q At what point in the future will any American who wants to test be able to get a test? Because you’re talking about not needing a test right now if you’re not showing any symptoms, but a lot of those who —
THE PRESIDENT: Not needing the tests?
Q — or only getting tested if you’re showing symptoms. But a lot of this —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, no, you should only get —
Q — says (inaudible) being —
THE PRESIDENT: You should — I didn’t have any symptoms and I got a test. But I got a test because you people were driving everybody crazy. So that’s the only reason. I had no symptoms but I had a test. And my doctor told me, “Don’t get it. You don’t need it.” Everybody said, “You don’t need it.” But I had to do it because the press was going crazy.
And then, after I got it, they said “You shouldn’t have gotten it. You had no symptoms.” You know, the whole thing. So, in other words, if you get it, it was no good. But that’s — I’m a unique case, unfortunately.
But, no, people that don’t show symptoms and people that have doctors that say they shouldn’t get it — I would rely on that. Yeah, I would rely on that.
Q Mr. President, thank you. Mr. President, thank you. I have two questions. Do you consider the term, “Chinese food” —
THE PRESIDENT: OAN.
Q Yes, sir. Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Very good. Thank you very much. They treat me very nicely. Go ahead.
Q I have two questions. Do you consider the term “Chinese food” racist?
THE PRESIDENT: No.
Q Because it’s food that originates in China or it has Chinese origins.
THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t think it’s racist.
Q And on that note —
THE PRESIDENT: I don’t think it’s racist at all.
Q On that note, major left-wing news media, even in this room, have teamed up with Chinese Communist Party narratives and they’re claiming you are racist for making these claims about the Chinese virus. Is it alarming that major media players, just to oppose you, are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, Islamic radicals, and Latin gangs and cartels, and they work right here, at the White House, with direct access to you and your team?
THE PRESIDENT: It amazes me when I read the things that I read. It amazes me when I read the Wall Street Journal, which is always so negative. It amazes me when I read the New York Times. It’s not even — I don’t — I barely read it. You know, we don’t distribute it in the White House anymore, and the same thing with the Washington Post. Because, you see, I know the truth. And people out there in the world, they really don’t know the truth. They don’t know what it is. They use different slogans and different concepts for me almost every week, trying to catch something.
Last week, it was all chaos. You see me. There’s no chaos. I have no chaos. I’m the one telling everybody to be calm. There’s no chaos at the White House. We have unbelievable professionals. It’s really — I mean, I think I came up with the term — I hope I came up with the term — but it is fake news. It’s more than fake news; it’s corrupt news. They write stories without calling anybody. They write a story — today, I had a couple of stories where they — they never call me ever, that I know of. At least nobody tells me. They’ll write a story about me without even asking my opinion on something. It’s totally fake.
I’ve never seen — I mean, there is a story in the Wall Street Journal today about — you know, about how we’ve done. We’ve done a phenomenal job on this. The governors are even — even Gavin Newsom, who you know I’m usually fighting with over the fires and — “I think you should do a different kind of a job at the — in the forests,” and lots of things. We argue a lot. But Gavin Newsom has been very, very generous — generous. Andrew Cuomo has been, really, very generous. I mean, they’re saying we’re doing a great job, and everybody saying.
But then you read this phony story in the Wall Street Journal or — the Washington Post is going wild lately. I don’t know what happened to them. I guess, something happened like we don’t call them back or whatever.
But the Washington Post — these are very dishonest media sources. They’re very dishonest. And you know what? Someday, hopefully in five years, I won’t be here and that’ll be fine. I will have done, I think, a great job, because I don’t think anyone has done as much in three and a half years as I’ve done, I don’t think — and the administration. This administration has done a great job. But the press is very dishonest.
Q But more than dishonest, they’re siding with state propaganda overseas.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think they do. I mean — I mean, they are siding with — they are siding with China. They are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. They’re siding with many others, China’s the least of it. So why — why they’re doing this, you’ll have to ask them. But if we had an honest media in this country, our country would be an even greater place.
So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. We are very excited about — we are very excited about — you know, specifically, what we talked about with the chloroquine. I think the — I think it could be something really incredible. It could totally depress the times that we had mentioned.
Q Can you provide a timeline of that, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT: Wait. Excuse me. Excuse me. It could totally depress any time that we’re talking about, if it works. There are a lot of reasons that I have to believe — again, Dr. Hahn is the expert, but a lot of reasons that I would have to think that it could have a very positive effect or a positive effect. Maybe not very, but maybe — maybe positive. I think it’s, to me, very, very exciting.
And the beauty is — I think I can say this, Steve — the beauty is that these drugs have been out there. So the really danger part of the drugs — especially chloroquine — it’s been out there for years. So we know it’s something that can be taken safely. So it’s very important.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: Now — well, I think that’s enough. Thank you.
END
12:48 P.M. EDT
2 replies
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