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Trump's Remarks in a Meeting with Governor Polis of Colorado and Governor Burgum of North Dakota
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting with Governor Polis of Colorado and Governor Burgum of North Dakota
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: May 13, 2020
Cabinet Room
4:41 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be with the Governor of Colorado and the Governor of North Dakota, two governors that are working very hard — harder than they thought they’d have to work. We also have two very distinguished senators that you know very much: Senator Gardner, who you know, and — John, say hello. Say hello to the fake news.
SENATOR HOEVEN: It’s great to be here. Thank you, Mr. President. We appreciate the invitation. And, of course, appreciate all the support you’re giving us —
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
SENATOR HOEVEN: — and the leadership of our governors.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It’s been — and that’s what we’re doing. That’s what we’re here for — to do that and to talk about it. We just came out with a new listing on testing. We just cracked 10 million tests, which is here. I thought you’d like to show that to everybody. Ten million. We set an all-time record, by far. If you look down here, these are other countries that have not done anywhere near what we’re doing.
We’re double. If you add them up and double them, we’ve done more tests. But I can’t get the press to print that, unfortunately. They just don’t want to print it.
But I want to thank the governors for being here, very much. We appreciate it. We’re going to have some good, fruitful talks about going even to the next step. And I know you’re trying to open up, and I know you’re opening up. You’re sort of more than trying; you’re opening up. And you’re both — you’re both doing an excellent job, and it’s an honor to have you at the White House very much. And these two gentlemen have done a fantastic job.
And David you know from Interior, and David is very much involved with your states. And how are they doing, David? What do you think?
SECRETARY BERNHARDT: Fantastic.
THE PRESIDENT: I think so. They’re doing a good job. They really are. They’re doing a good job.
We’re talking about, as you know, Space Force, and a lot of the states are interested in Space Force. And we’re talking to some of them, and I know that Colorado is very interested in it, and so we’ll be talking to you about that too. Okay? We might mention that today a little bit during our meeting.
So thank you all very much. Thank you.
{snip}
Q Do you want to comment on the release of those names related to Michael Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the unmasking is a massive — it’s a massive thing. It’s — I just got a list. It’s — who can believe a thing like this? And I watched Biden yesterday on “Good Morning America” being interviewed by one of your colleagues, George Stephanopoulos, and he said he knew nothing about anything. He has no idea. He knows nothing about anything. Nothing at all.
And then it gets released today that he was a big unmasker. So how do you know nothing if you’re one of the unmaskers? It’s one of the very big stories, and I suspect you’ll have, if it’s possible, even bigger stories coming out.
{snip}
So the problem with the mail-in ballots: It’s subject to tremendous corruption. Tremendous corruption, cheating. And so I’m — I’m against it. And if you look at the bill that Nancy Pelosi is putting in, it has a lot to do with elections. And then we’re not going to — we’re not going to lose elections because of that.
Q Was that bill a non-starter? Or is there any —
THE PRESIDENT: And I do think you should mention the fact that the Republicans won two major congressional seats last night. I think it’s really worthy of mentioning.
Q Is that House bill a non-starter?
Q Mr. President, do you believe that the judge presiding over the Mike Flynn case, Emmet Sullivan —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let’s finish with your question.
Q Is that bill a non-starter, or is there anything in there you could support? Or —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s, as they say, “DOA.” Right?
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: DOA.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: Dead on arrival. Of course, Nancy Pelosi knows that, you know, obviously.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Do you believe that the judge presiding over the Michael Flynn case, Emmet Sullivan, ought to recuse himself or be disqualified for being biased against Mr. Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: I was just with General Milley and some other generals, and I asked them about General Flynn: “Do you know him?” They said, “Yes, sir. I’ve known him for 20 years.” “What do you think?” “He’s an incredible man, an incredible soldier. He’s an incredible general.” This is General Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, four star. He’s done fantastically. He thinks General Flynn is a great, great gentleman and a real fighter.
And when I see what is happening to him, it’s disgraceful. And it was all a ruse. And, by the way, the FBI said he didn’t lie. The FBI said he did not lie. So with all the stuff I’m hearing about lying, the FBI said he didn’t lie. But the sleazebag said, “Well, we don’t care what he — what they say. We’re saying he lied.” Okay? But the FBI, you remember, when they left, they said, “He didn’t lie.” What they’ve done to that man and that family is a disgrace. But I just tell you that because I just left General Milley, and he said, “A great man and a great soldier.” Isn’t that a shame.
Q Would you consider a pardon — a pardon for Mr. Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ll talk about that, but he’s going to be okay. He’ll be just fine.
Q What about the judge?
THE PRESIDENT: And I’m very, very saddened by what’s happening to General Flynn and others. I want to tell you right now: and others.
Please.
Q Dr. Fauci yesterday was a little cautious on reopening the economy too soon. Do you share his concerns?
THE PRESIDENT: About reopening what?
Q Reopening the economy too soon, some states.
THE PRESIDENT: Look, he wants to play all sides of the equation. I think we’re going to have a tremendous fourth quarter, I think we’re going to have a transitional third quarter, and I think we’re going to have a phenomenal next year. I feel that we are going to have a country that’s ready to absolutely have one of its best years.
{snip}
Q Sir, when you say Dr. Fauci is playing both sides, are you suggesting that the advice he’s giving to you is different?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I was surprised — I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it’s just — to me, it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools.
The only thing that would be acceptable, as I said, is professors, teachers, et cetera, over a certain age. I think they ought to take it easy for another few weeks — five weeks, four weeks, who knows. Whatever it may be. But I think they have to be careful because this is a disease that attacks age and it attacks health. And if you have a heart problem, if you have diabetes, if you’re a certain age, it’s certainly much more dangerous. But with the young children, I mean — and students, it’s really — it’s just — take a look at the statistics. It’s pretty amazing.
Q Mr. President, businesses are concerned about getting sued once they reopen. Will you be insistent on some sort of shield from liability being in a phase four bill?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. If anything is done, I would do that. And these are the new testing numbers, so you saw that. But I was just showing this to a group of people outside. We’re now over 10 million tests, or we will be very shortly, like within a couple of days.
Look at that test. This is us. This is the rest of the world. Okay? We have more tests and we have better tests, Jon. We have more tests and we have better tests. And we’re going to have your football team in, your championship football team.
SENATOR HOEVEN: Go Bison. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Right?
SENATOR HOEVEN: Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: And we were — the Bison — and tell us a little about the team, first of all. You know, they won the championship and we were all set to have them, and what happened is the plague came in. And because of the plague — it came in from China — and because of the plague, we didn’t have those great people.
But we’ll do a raincheck. Okay? But seriously, even if it’s in a few months, we’ll do a raincheck.
Tell them about the team, because it was a tremendous season.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what’s your level of confidence that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in your favor in a case involving your tax returns?
THE PRESIDENT: I hope they will. I mean, look, it’s — you have a situation where a President has to be able to focus on this. And, you know, when you’re doing an audit, who would give — you know, in the old days, no President gave tax returns. A while ago — I mean, no President gave tax returns.
But when you’re under audit, who would — who would want to give them? It’s a very big thing, but it would also take time, it would take — and this — people are going to get — ultimately, people are going to be getting returns. They’re going to see that.
But I think — you know, I think it went very well, yesterday. I thought it was — I have great respect for the Supreme Court. And I think the lawyers put out a very strong case. And from what I’ve read, it was a very strong case.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: How about — because I go there, as you know. And the ski slopes are fantastic, right?
GOVERNOR POLIS: Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: There are those that say the greatest anywhere. How are you doing with the skiing? And — you know, it’s a big business for you.
GOVERNOR POLIS: You know, it’s a big business. It’s also one of the reasons that we got a lot of the virus in our state because people come from all over the world.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s very interesting.
GOVERNOR POLIS: All over the world.
THE PRESIDENT: I’ve heard that, yeah.
GOVERNOR POLIS: And so that’s what led to the spread. And so most of the ski season is ending, but we’re actually hopeful. We have — a lot of people don’t know this, but in Colorado we have a few areas that they’re skiing through July 4th. And we’re hoping that people will be able ski again. David knows this — Secretary Bernhardt knows this: In Arapahoe Basin, Wolf Creek, maybe Breckenridge, Loveland in June, we’re hoping that people can actually ski again.
{snip}
GOVERNOR BURGUM: And while we’re here, I want to also say: Secretary Bernhardt, you’re doing a fantastic job — because we had a chance to interact with him on national parks. We had great things going on in Theodore Roosevelt National Park as we move ahead with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. That’s right.
GOVERNOR BURGUM: And we’ve got the U.S. Fish and Wildlife BLM that we’ve been great partners, working with the five tribal nations that are headquartered in North Dakota with whom we share geography. And we’ve done great collaboration with those tribal leaders on testing through COVID. But I just want to thank Secretar
THE PRESIDENT: They’ve had a lot of difficulty in the different tribes, haven’t they?
GOVERNOR BURGUM: They have.
THE PRESIDENT: A lot of difficulty. Tremendous difficulty.
{snip}
Thank you very much.
END
5:13 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump in a Meeting with Governor Polis of Colorado and Governor Burgum of North Dakota
HEALTHCARE
Issued on: May 13, 2020
Cabinet Room
4:41 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be with the Governor of Colorado and the Governor of North Dakota, two governors that are working very hard — harder than they thought they’d have to work. We also have two very distinguished senators that you know very much: Senator Gardner, who you know, and — John, say hello. Say hello to the fake news.
SENATOR HOEVEN: It’s great to be here. Thank you, Mr. President. We appreciate the invitation. And, of course, appreciate all the support you’re giving us —
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah.
SENATOR HOEVEN: — and the leadership of our governors.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. It’s been — and that’s what we’re doing. That’s what we’re here for — to do that and to talk about it. We just came out with a new listing on testing. We just cracked 10 million tests, which is here. I thought you’d like to show that to everybody. Ten million. We set an all-time record, by far. If you look down here, these are other countries that have not done anywhere near what we’re doing.
We’re double. If you add them up and double them, we’ve done more tests. But I can’t get the press to print that, unfortunately. They just don’t want to print it.
But I want to thank the governors for being here, very much. We appreciate it. We’re going to have some good, fruitful talks about going even to the next step. And I know you’re trying to open up, and I know you’re opening up. You’re sort of more than trying; you’re opening up. And you’re both — you’re both doing an excellent job, and it’s an honor to have you at the White House very much. And these two gentlemen have done a fantastic job.
And David you know from Interior, and David is very much involved with your states. And how are they doing, David? What do you think?
SECRETARY BERNHARDT: Fantastic.
THE PRESIDENT: I think so. They’re doing a good job. They really are. They’re doing a good job.
We’re talking about, as you know, Space Force, and a lot of the states are interested in Space Force. And we’re talking to some of them, and I know that Colorado is very interested in it, and so we’ll be talking to you about that too. Okay? We might mention that today a little bit during our meeting.
So thank you all very much. Thank you.
{snip}
Q Do you want to comment on the release of those names related to Michael Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the unmasking is a massive — it’s a massive thing. It’s — I just got a list. It’s — who can believe a thing like this? And I watched Biden yesterday on “Good Morning America” being interviewed by one of your colleagues, George Stephanopoulos, and he said he knew nothing about anything. He has no idea. He knows nothing about anything. Nothing at all.
And then it gets released today that he was a big unmasker. So how do you know nothing if you’re one of the unmaskers? It’s one of the very big stories, and I suspect you’ll have, if it’s possible, even bigger stories coming out.
{snip}
So the problem with the mail-in ballots: It’s subject to tremendous corruption. Tremendous corruption, cheating. And so I’m — I’m against it. And if you look at the bill that Nancy Pelosi is putting in, it has a lot to do with elections. And then we’re not going to — we’re not going to lose elections because of that.
Q Was that bill a non-starter? Or is there any —
THE PRESIDENT: And I do think you should mention the fact that the Republicans won two major congressional seats last night. I think it’s really worthy of mentioning.
Q Is that House bill a non-starter?
Q Mr. President, do you believe that the judge presiding over the Mike Flynn case, Emmet Sullivan —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, let’s finish with your question.
Q Is that bill a non-starter, or is there anything in there you could support? Or —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s, as they say, “DOA.” Right?
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: DOA.
Q Okay.
THE PRESIDENT: Dead on arrival. Of course, Nancy Pelosi knows that, you know, obviously.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Do you believe that the judge presiding over the Michael Flynn case, Emmet Sullivan, ought to recuse himself or be disqualified for being biased against Mr. Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: I was just with General Milley and some other generals, and I asked them about General Flynn: “Do you know him?” They said, “Yes, sir. I’ve known him for 20 years.” “What do you think?” “He’s an incredible man, an incredible soldier. He’s an incredible general.” This is General Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, four star. He’s done fantastically. He thinks General Flynn is a great, great gentleman and a real fighter.
And when I see what is happening to him, it’s disgraceful. And it was all a ruse. And, by the way, the FBI said he didn’t lie. The FBI said he did not lie. So with all the stuff I’m hearing about lying, the FBI said he didn’t lie. But the sleazebag said, “Well, we don’t care what he — what they say. We’re saying he lied.” Okay? But the FBI, you remember, when they left, they said, “He didn’t lie.” What they’ve done to that man and that family is a disgrace. But I just tell you that because I just left General Milley, and he said, “A great man and a great soldier.” Isn’t that a shame.
Q Would you consider a pardon — a pardon for Mr. Flynn?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ll talk about that, but he’s going to be okay. He’ll be just fine.
Q What about the judge?
THE PRESIDENT: And I’m very, very saddened by what’s happening to General Flynn and others. I want to tell you right now: and others.
Please.
Q Dr. Fauci yesterday was a little cautious on reopening the economy too soon. Do you share his concerns?
THE PRESIDENT: About reopening what?
Q Reopening the economy too soon, some states.
THE PRESIDENT: Look, he wants to play all sides of the equation. I think we’re going to have a tremendous fourth quarter, I think we’re going to have a transitional third quarter, and I think we’re going to have a phenomenal next year. I feel that we are going to have a country that’s ready to absolutely have one of its best years.
{snip}
Q Sir, when you say Dr. Fauci is playing both sides, are you suggesting that the advice he’s giving to you is different?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I was surprised — I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it’s just — to me, it’s not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools.
The only thing that would be acceptable, as I said, is professors, teachers, et cetera, over a certain age. I think they ought to take it easy for another few weeks — five weeks, four weeks, who knows. Whatever it may be. But I think they have to be careful because this is a disease that attacks age and it attacks health. And if you have a heart problem, if you have diabetes, if you’re a certain age, it’s certainly much more dangerous. But with the young children, I mean — and students, it’s really — it’s just — take a look at the statistics. It’s pretty amazing.
Q Mr. President, businesses are concerned about getting sued once they reopen. Will you be insistent on some sort of shield from liability being in a phase four bill?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. If anything is done, I would do that. And these are the new testing numbers, so you saw that. But I was just showing this to a group of people outside. We’re now over 10 million tests, or we will be very shortly, like within a couple of days.
Look at that test. This is us. This is the rest of the world. Okay? We have more tests and we have better tests, Jon. We have more tests and we have better tests. And we’re going to have your football team in, your championship football team.
SENATOR HOEVEN: Go Bison. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Right?
SENATOR HOEVEN: Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: And we were — the Bison — and tell us a little about the team, first of all. You know, they won the championship and we were all set to have them, and what happened is the plague came in. And because of the plague — it came in from China — and because of the plague, we didn’t have those great people.
But we’ll do a raincheck. Okay? But seriously, even if it’s in a few months, we’ll do a raincheck.
Tell them about the team, because it was a tremendous season.
{snip}
Q Mr. President, what’s your level of confidence that the Supreme Court will ultimately rule in your favor in a case involving your tax returns?
THE PRESIDENT: I hope they will. I mean, look, it’s — you have a situation where a President has to be able to focus on this. And, you know, when you’re doing an audit, who would give — you know, in the old days, no President gave tax returns. A while ago — I mean, no President gave tax returns.
But when you’re under audit, who would — who would want to give them? It’s a very big thing, but it would also take time, it would take — and this — people are going to get — ultimately, people are going to be getting returns. They’re going to see that.
But I think — you know, I think it went very well, yesterday. I thought it was — I have great respect for the Supreme Court. And I think the lawyers put out a very strong case. And from what I’ve read, it was a very strong case.
{snip}
THE PRESIDENT: How about — because I go there, as you know. And the ski slopes are fantastic, right?
GOVERNOR POLIS: Yeah.
THE PRESIDENT: There are those that say the greatest anywhere. How are you doing with the skiing? And — you know, it’s a big business for you.
GOVERNOR POLIS: You know, it’s a big business. It’s also one of the reasons that we got a lot of the virus in our state because people come from all over the world.
THE PRESIDENT: That’s very interesting.
GOVERNOR POLIS: All over the world.
THE PRESIDENT: I’ve heard that, yeah.
GOVERNOR POLIS: And so that’s what led to the spread. And so most of the ski season is ending, but we’re actually hopeful. We have — a lot of people don’t know this, but in Colorado we have a few areas that they’re skiing through July 4th. And we’re hoping that people will be able ski again. David knows this — Secretary Bernhardt knows this: In Arapahoe Basin, Wolf Creek, maybe Breckenridge, Loveland in June, we’re hoping that people can actually ski again.
{snip}
GOVERNOR BURGUM: And while we’re here, I want to also say: Secretary Bernhardt, you’re doing a fantastic job — because we had a chance to interact with him on national parks. We had great things going on in Theodore Roosevelt National Park as we move ahead with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. That’s right.
GOVERNOR BURGUM: And we’ve got the U.S. Fish and Wildlife BLM that we’ve been great partners, working with the five tribal nations that are headquartered in North Dakota with whom we share geography. And we’ve done great collaboration with those tribal leaders on testing through COVID. But I just want to thank Secretar
THE PRESIDENT: They’ve had a lot of difficulty in the different tribes, haven’t they?
GOVERNOR BURGUM: They have.
THE PRESIDENT: A lot of difficulty. Tremendous difficulty.
{snip}
Thank you very much.
END
5:13 P.M. EDT
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