Posted on 05/07/2020 12:33:56 PM PDT by ransomnote
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
4:32 P.M. EDT
MS. MCENANY: Good afternoon, everyone. Id like to direct your attention to a very encouraging graph regarding test results. Itll be over my shoulder and hopefully on the screen for those of you watching on television. As this chart shows, the United States has, to date, completed 7.5 million coronavirus tests. Its an extraordinary number. And, as you can see, the United States leads the world in testing.
This graph is no accident. In fact, this graph is a testament to American innovation, including the work of the Trump administration. For example, the FDA has issued over 70 emergency use authorizations to expand testing capacity to accelerate the development of therapeutics and vaccines. There are nearly 80 clinical trials ongoing with an additional 30 clinical trials expected.
This graph is also a testament to the American people who have been and its no exaggeration American warriors, as theyve followed social distancing guidelines and taken steps to ensure that the health and safety of our vulnerable populations is protected.
Finally, I would like to note that this graph indicates that the U.S. has conducted double the number of tests conducted in other countries. The U.S. is providing leadership during this crisis, not only leading the world in testing, but also taking steps to help allies around the world steps we are able to take only because of this countrys incredible ingenuity and work ethic.
As youre well aware, President Trump has consistently sided with the experts and has always prioritized the health and safety of the American people. This includes issuing guidance that meant hardworking Americans had to stay home, social distance, and slow the spread of the virus. The hard work of Americans saved many lives, and we salute the great citizens of this country for your hard work.
As Americans across the country stayed home and businesses temporarily shut their doors, President Trump ensured American employees and employers would receive the help that they needed. The Paycheck Protection Program provided forgivable loans to small-business owners who kept their employees on payroll.
To date, 2.3 million small-business loans have been processed, with the average loan being $76,000. In other words, meaning that the small businesses that needed the help the most got it. I would remind everyone that, of the 1.6 million loans given out in the first tranche of spending, one million of those went to businesses with 10 or fewer employees. So it truly has gone to those who need it most.
Joe Shamess is a small-business owner. Joe, with his co-founder Brian Steorts are two veteran special operators in the military who started Flags of Valor in 2015. Its a veteran-owned, veteran-run manufacturing company located not too far from here in Virginia.
Flags of Valor builds wooden flags, among other products. Theyve employed, over their years, 65 veterans and have raised over $1 million for veteran charities. Flags of Valor is also proud to have 97,000 hours of American manufacturing labor under their belt. Thats a lot of hours.
At the start of this crisis, Joe had to furlough four of his employees, in addition to imposing a 50 percent pay cut. His employees were, of course, disappointed but they were, quote, in his words, all in, in the fight against the coronavirus.
Everything changed for Joe and his furloughed employees when he applied for the PPP loan. Just this week, he was approved for that PPP loan that enabled Flags of Valor to rehire its furloughed employees and to boost paychecks back to pre-coronavirus levels. PPP was a huge lifeline for us, Joe told me. He called it a lifesaver.
This is a perfect example of why President Trump fought for additional PPP funding and will continue to fight for small businesses and American heroes like Joe. Joe is here with me today, and Id like to invite him to come up.
Joe, thank you so much for your service. Thank you for all the great work youve done for our veterans and being a veteran yourself. I wanted to see if youd take to the podium for a minute or two and share your message of hope with the American people.
MR. SHAMESS: Id love to. Thank you, Kayleigh, and thank you, President Trump, for allowing me to be here today. Ive got a couple props. This is examples of one of our products that we make, and heres another one. This one, my son Gabriel made.
And when when you talk about hope and whats going on, its a its a challenging time for small business. We lost two-thirds of our revenue like that. Gone. And so trying to get that back, and when you think about a small business that generally is running maybe its 10 to 20 percent profit margin, two-thirds is a killer.
And so when you think about the Paycheck Protection Program, the two biggest fixed costs for most businesses is people and property. And thats exactly what the PPP focused on.
So, for us, it was a lifesaver. It was an absolute game changer. We went from trying to figure out how we were going to limit our cash burn every single day to stay alive as long as we could, with as many people as we could, to finally bring them back. And when you have to furlough someone, Im telling you, it is one of the worst things you can do because youre talking about family. These are people. These are their their wives, their husbands, their children. Theyre a part of your ethos.
And so what weve experienced has been challenging, sure. But when there hasnt been all the revenue, theres been people helping other people. And the way we approached it was, how can we be better? How can we exit COVID-19 a better version of ourselves? How can we innovate?
And so we saw people like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the SBA step in. We saw our partners at Under Armour step in. We saw innovation you see companies making respirator masks. You see all kinds of stuff going on. And we created the flag boat kit because families were at home with their kids. They didnt know what to do with their children. And we believe this is our nations family crest. So, what better thing than allow families to build American flags together and talk about that and what it means?
And then we started a twice-a-day, daily pledge at 9:00 a.m. in the morning on the East Coast and again at 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast. Every day weve got thousands of kids and their families joining us to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Its phenomenal. And all thats happening by people coming together, by people thinking and innovating.
And and I cant tell you enough how grateful we are to the U.S. government, the bipartisanship that took place to pass the Paycheck Protection Program. It was all hands on deck. It wasnt like there was no script for this. And they built the parachute on the way down.
And when you think about it, you want to talk about the Lakers got it or somebody else got it think about the millions of businesses that are being benefitted by this. And its, I think, 47 percent of U.S. private-sector employees are in small businesses. They work for small businesses.
And so, all the big businesses we love, they started as small businesses. And I hope to be a big business someday, but for now, Im happy to be alive. Im thankful for your support. And thank you, Kayleigh, for letting me be here.
So, join us at FlagsofValor.com. Thank you.
MS. MCENANY: Joe, if you want to take a seat with the reporters, you can ask me some questions.
MR. SHAMESS: Im happy right here.
MS. MCENANY: Joe, its veterans like you that make our country great. Its small-business owners like you that are going to bring this country back. And employees like the one we heard from last week Michael Heup, the employee of Bitty & Beaus Coffee that keep this country going. So thank you so much for the example youve set and to the hardworking business owners across the country, to the employees across this country who are working during this time. So, thank you, Joe. Thank you for your service.
As I said, PPP has changed lives across this country. And as President Trump has said, the American people are warriors and we will fight together to defeat the invisible enemy.
And with that, Ill take questions.
Q Thanks, Kayleigh. Just to get back to this decision that was supposedly coming yesterday: Whose idea was it initially to wind down the White House Coronavirus Task Force?
MS. MCENANY: Look, I would just refer you back to the Presidents comments. Hes been asked this, like, four times today, I believe. He decided that Coronavirus Task Force is here to stay. Theyve done great work. Ive witnessed it. Im in the Coronavirus Task Force meetings and theyve gotten our country through this. There were supposed to be 2.2 million deaths, and were at a point where were far lower than that. And its thanks thanks to the great work of the task force and to the leadership of President Trump.
Q But whose idea was it initially to wind it down?
MS. MCENANY: Again, Im not going further. The President has answered this four times today.
Jon.
Q I have just a question about masks. I know there was some back and forth over the President wearing a mask yesterday, and want to ask about that. But the White Houses view what is the White Houses message to the American people? Does the White House does the President believe that people should be wearing masks as they try to get back to some semblance of their normal life?
MS. MCENANY: As we put out, its recommended ,but thats the choice of the individual as to whether they wear a mask or not. The President yesterday the CEO of Honeywell said that there was no need, and so he followed that that advice and that guidance. And, you know, I would just note on the note of masks, 70 million N95 masks have been distributed across the country, 20 million 25 million, rather, are whats used in the average year for our healthcare workers. So the fact that, in a few weeks, weve distributed nearly three times what is used in a year is extraordinary, and thats not to mention the 120 million surgical masks and the many other supplies that this President has put forward.
Q And if I could just follow up, what Im sure youve seen in a number of polls theres a huge difference between Democrats and Republicans over whether or not they think its necessary to wear a mask in public. But do you have any sense as to why that would be?
MS. MCENANY: No sense as to why that would be. Thats the choice of the American public. Thats the choice of the individual, as to whether to wear a mask or not. But again, Id praise the extraordinary work of this administration in distributing those masks and ensuring healthcare providers get them.
Yes.
Q Kayleigh, we were just talking about masks. You said, at Honeywell, that the President was told by the folks at Honeywell, as was the team, that they didnt need to wear masks. The reason he was told that was the people who would be interacting with him had all been tested and had been shown to be negative before that took place, I guess. So the President had those circumstances. Obviously, hes the President. But why shouldnt all Americans who go back to work be able to get a test before they do to feel comfortable in their own work environment to be interacting with other individuals?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, well, lets dismiss a myth about tests right now. If we tested every single American in this country at this moment, wed have to retest them an hour later, and then an hour later after that. Because at any moment, you could theoretically contract this virus. So the notion that everyone needs to be tested is just simply nonsensical.
The people who need to be tested are vulnerable populations. Thats why Dr. Birx has repeatedly emphasized we need to surge nursing homes with the testing, meat-processing facilities. Thats where the testing is needed. We have to be strategic with our testing and we have done that so far.
And again, you know, if we want to talk about testing and the volume of testing, the fact that in South Korea there are we always hear about South Korea and their tests. There are 11 tests per thousand here in the United States. Thats 17 tests per thousand. Our hotspots per capita are higher than other countries. We have two times weve conducted two times another the number of tests of other countries around the world.
Were at a very strong place in this country with testing. But rest assured well deploy it strategically because thats what the American public expects of us.
Q So just to follow up, to be clear: Should people I guess, should people accept the risk that they could become ill if they go back to work?
MS. MCENANY: Look, each and every state has put into place this is a governor-led effort, first of all. Let me emphasize that. The President has said that governors make the decisions as to how to move forward and we encourage them to follow our phased approach. Each state has submitted to us a list of testing that they need in order to safely reopen. I was sitting in the meeting when Admiral Giroir pulled out the list for several states and said, Heres the testing you requested to open safely. Heres the testing Im giving you to meet that need.
Its pretty extraordinary, this wide-scale effort by the Trump administration to ensure states have what they need. So as states reopen, theyll do so safely and theyll do so with the supplies of the Trump administration.
Francesca.
Q What does it say that so many of those states what does it say that so many of those governors of those states arent following the guidelines dictated from this podium?
MS. MCENANY: We encourage every single governor to follow the guidelines that weve put forward, the to a phased reopening approach. We have this beautiful concept called federalism, which means that the states lead on this, and thats what thats what were doing; its a governor-led decision. But we encourage everyone to follow the expert, written guidelines that weve put forward.
Q Thank you, Kayleigh.
MS. MCENANY: Francesca.
Q I do have a question about about reopening. But first, some of the areas that have been hardest hit by coronavirus have been urban areas. What is the White House doing or is there any targeted effort to help stop the spread in minority communities?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, its a very important question because we know that some of our underserved communities are hit most by the coronavirus. Absolutely, weve done quite a bit. Invested, first of all, $1.4 billion into our nations 13,000 community centers. That ensures that 28 million people living in medically underserved areas receive funding. Also that announcement I had for you last week about hospital funding $2 billion of that was geared towards specifically ensuring that men and women in underserved communities and those hospitals got that money.
And I would also note just that the President has directed Secretary Ben Carson to focus the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council on underserved communities. So very important, this is a community thats been very hard hit. And rest assured we are laser focused on making sure that these communities are assisted.
Q Can I ask about the reopening as well?
MS. MCENANY: Sure.
Q Okay, so the task force has put out phased guidelines for states to reopen and individual guidelines, but it hasnt said very much about businesses specifically. Does it plan to put out any detailed guidelines for businesses like retailers and restaurants to reopen?
MS. MCENANY: Well, in the phased approach, there are some recommendations for how, for instance, restaurants should reopen and the distancing thats required. And as you go through the phases, that distancing is shrunk and there are other mechanisms that are outlined for restaurants and movie theaters and sporting venues. So I would argue that our phased approach does take that into account.
And each and every state, by the way, the governor is welcome to reach out to us. Were constantly communicating with the governors. And when I say we the administration, meaning Dr. Birx and others. So we are happy to consult with with regard to specifics.
Q (Inaudible) referring to something really detailed. Some other organiz- outside organizations have put, you know, very detailed, step-by-step Heres what you should do. You should require masks. You should require them to sit this far apart. You should only have half of it open in phases. Anything like that coming?
MS. MCENANY: Weve put together a phased approach. Many of those guidelines are within. Weve consulted individually with states.
But as I said, its a government governor-led effort. Its a state-led effort, in which the federal government will consult, and we do so each and every day.
Yes.
Q So, youve used the phrase warriors to describe everyday Americans. The President is using that phrase as well. Whats the thinking behind using that description? And is that basically asking Americans to put themselves in harms way harms way like warriors do?
MS. MCENANY: Not in the slightest. Its actually the opposite. You know, the President has been clear that, at this moment you know, were at a wartime moment, where were fighting the invisible enemy and, by that, I mean COVID-19. And on the contrary, the the notion that the American people are warriors theyre warriors because theyve stayed home. Theyre warriors because theyve social distanced. Theyre warriors because this mitigation effort is something that could only be done by the American people coming together and making really hard sacrifices.
And the American public has done that, and we salute each of you around the country that have listened to these guidelines. I know its been difficult. I know its been hard. But its because of you that were at this place where we can reopen the country.
Q But just to be clear, thats the opposite of what the President says, specifically because he says Americans must be warriors to reopen the economy. Youre saying theyve already been warriors by staying home. Those seem like different things.
MS. MCENANY: Were saying the were saying the exact same thing. The President says theyre warriors to reopen, because guess what? In order to get to reopening, you have to social distance. You had to put it together those very hard choices that allowed us to get to a point where we have the one of the lowest mortality rates in the world. And thats because of the American people. So it took the American people being warriors to get us to the point of reopening.
Blake.
Q Thanks, Kayleigh. I want to ask you about best practices. But first, on China and some of the comments that the President made in the Oval Office: He said that there will be a report coming out next week 10 days or so as to whether or not theyre living up to the deal China is. As it stands, though, right now at this moment, how does the White House view the U.S. relationship with China right now?
MS. MCENANY: Right now, its a relationship of disappointment and frustration because the President has said how frustrated he is that some of the decisions of China put American lives at risk.
Ill share just a few: that China, for instance, did not share the genetic sequence until after a professor in Shanghai did so on his own. And after that genetic sequence was shared, the next day, the lab was shut down for, quote, rectification. The World Health Organization slow-walked information on human-to-human transmission; that was not adequately provided by China. China didnt let U.S. investigators in.
And, look, that those decisions put American lives at risk. And the President is certainly not happy about that. And as the President said, youll be hearing more about that next week.
Q Can they be trusted business partners?
MS. MCENANY: Sorry?
Q Can they be trusted business partners?
MS. MCENANY: Look, but the President has worked with China and stood up to China and got the phase one China deal a huge win, $250 billion. The President managed to get that done. And the President appreciates that, that China got us to that point of the phase one China deal.
So, you know, Ill leave it to the President as to how we move forward, and I certainly wont get ahead of him on that.
Q And on best practices, we heard the President say, as it relates to schools, that he wants to see schools open, but maybe teachers who are older than 60 not necessarily come back into the classroom. When you talk about reopening the economy, reopening the country again, theres a lot of people out there wondering, Well, my school-aged child should they come back into contact with a family member who might be older than 60, per se? What is the White House advice on that and families who are all over the country saying, Is it time to meet up again?
MS. MCENANY: Well, the President and the task force have been clear that vulnerable Americans, our senior citizens, need to shelter in place and they need to take extra measures of precaution because, as we know, theyve been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. So I certainly would include the senior community to continue to follow the guidelines weve put forward.
Yes.
Q Thank you. Dr. Birx has mention an influx of asymptomatic coronavirus cases. And without more widespread testing, how do you get a handle on something like that? And how do you keep people without symptoms from spreading the disease around the country?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, so its an important question. We get information on asymptomatic spread when we test in the meat-processing facilities and other facilities. Again, you know, we can do tests strategically. And its important that once we test and we find an example of someone who has coronavirus, that we can contact trace and ensure that its not spread to other members of the community. So contact tracing is an important measure, and were testing strategically and in line with governors.
John.
Q Whats the process, Kayleigh, for the distribution and access to remdesivir?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, remdesivir is a great example of innovation in this country. I would note that remdesivir is a drug that the President mentioned quite often. And as it turns out, theres a lot of hope and a lot of promise when it comes to remdesivir. Gilead Chairman announced last week and CEO Daniel ODay announced that they would be donating 1.5 million vials of remdesivir and working with the federal government to distribute to patients across the nation.
So this will get out there. And we thank Gilead for the great work theyve done and for giving these 1.5 million vials, which will help a lot of Americans around the country.
Q But whats but whats the process for distributing it and giving access to patients?
MS. MCENANY: I dont have any information on that as of now. But if once I get that, I can share that with you.
Yes. Yeah.
Q Thanks, Kayleigh. The President said yesterday he does not want Dr. Fauci testifying before the House because its filled with Trump haters. How is that consistent with oversight and transparency?
MS. MCENANY: Well, first of all, what the President noted was specific to the House. Its important to note that Dr. Fauci will be testifying before the Senate, which means he will be fielding questions from both Democrats and Republicans. The House, however and specifically Chairwoman Nita Loweys committee did not act in good faith.
Mark Meadows had three calls with Chairwoman Nita Lowey three nights ago, when she called to ask if Dr. Fauci could testify before a subcommittee hearing. And Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has made clear he wants to make the best use he can of the task force members time. Of course, theyre working hard to save American lives, so thats very important.
So to that end, he said, in the three phone calls, You know, what is the purpose of this hearing? Can you give me the subject matter? And Lowey was unable to tell the Chief of Staff what the subject matter was.
The last phone call they had was at 10:46 p.m. on that evening, and Lowey agreed to follow up in the morning with details. Those details were never received. Instead, we got a press release. So thats what we call a publicity stunt. We encourage the House to act in good faith, but much like the Senate did.
And as I noted, Dr. Fauci will be speaking in a in a week and a half before the Senate. So the notion that hes being blocked is just farcical.
Q Let me ask you on just one another can I ask you one other topic, Kayleigh?
MS. MCENANY: Someone I havent heard from. Back there.
Q All right, thank you. Does the President have doubts about the way the death toll is being calculated? Does he think, perhaps, the the true toll is lower?
THE PRESIDENT: So the President answered this, and he said, No, just a few moments ago in the Oval Office.
On the mortality rate, I would note, as I noted just a few moments ago, we have one of the lowest in the world mortality rates. Its because of the hard work of the American people.
Our mor- our mortality rate excuse me is currently 218 per million. You compare that to Spains, at 548 per million; Italy, at 485 per million. This country is in a place where, because of the work of the American people, we have escaped that 2.2 million number because of the extraordinary social distancing effort put in place by the American people.
Yeah. Way in the back.
Q Thank you. The President has said many times that he has received praise in phone calls with foreign leaders because of this administrations response to the coronavirus outbreak. Who exactly are those heads of states and heads of government who are praising this administration for its response?
MS. MCENANY: Well, I I wont reveal any contents of his private conversations with world leaders, but I will certainly share some of the very public comments from Democrat governors like Gavin Newsom, who said, Every single direct request that President Trump that he was given, President Trump was capable of meeting. He has met them.
Governor Phil Murphy, Democrat from New Jersey: The President knows New Jersey. He and his team have been extremely responsive in our hour of need, whether it was ventilators. We got a huge amount of supplies to test.
And, of course, I I love the ones from Governor Andrew Cuomo, who praised this administrations phen- response as phenomenal, saying: Hes delivered for New York. The Army Corps of Engineers, we built thousands of beds, he sent the Navy ship Comfort to New York he has delivered for New York. President Trump has delivered for this nation.
Yes.
Q Thanks, Kayleigh. The President was talking earlier about Dr. Bright being a disgruntled employee. One of the allegations in that whistleblower complaint is that, in January, when there was still a huge shortage of N95 masks, that he had excuse me been in contact with a company that was offering up to a million of those masks, and he couldnt get anybody at HHS willing to engage with that company, which then subsequently exported one million N95s to China. Is that something that youre looking into or concerned about?
MS. MCENANY: Look, I on issues of Dr. Bright, Id refer you to HHS. Im not going to get involved with the personnel issues or the substance of that complaint. But I will, once again, note you mentioned masks 70 million-plus delivered. And again, thats three times the amount used by healthcare providers in any given year. So weve done a a rather good job when it comes to supplies.
Q Back to the question about teachers and what the President said earlier about keeping those who are 60 or older out of the classroom: What is the message to older Americans? Should they not do anything, not leave their homes until there is a vaccine? Or what would the President have them do if theyre theyre not allowed to teach because of their age?
MS. MCENANY: Well, our our task force has said that vulnerable communities, like our seniors, should shelter in place. That being said, we encourage every American: If you have a a symptom that is pressing, that you need to go to your doctor. Ive been disturbed to read many quotes from doctors, stories of people who are staying home with chest pain and dont go to the hospital when they could be on the verge of having a heart attack; who are missing on important appointments like mammograms, screenings like colonoscopies.
Its important that we, as Americans, continue to go to our doctors, to get medically necessary procedures, and when we have symptoms that are that need to be addressed, like chest pain, that you do go to your doctor.
So seniors need to go to their doctors. Make sure to call your healthcare provider, go see your healthcare provider, go to the hospital, should you have a symptom like that.
Chanel?
Q Thank you, Secretary McEnany. To going back to a topic about the House: In a separate chamber, Acting DNI Rick Grenell has stated this week that he is prepared to release about 6,000 pages worth of transcripts relating to Adam Schiffs probe. Can you confirm whether or not the executive branch is conducting any kind of investigation into House members or potential of wrongdoing? Or is that something you can comment on yet?
MS. MCENANY: Yeah, I dont have any information on that subject matter. Thats the first Im hearing of that.
Jon.
Q If I could just go back to Jeffs question about Dr. Fauci and then the Presidents statement that that there are too many Trump Haters in in the House. I mean, does does the White House really believe that you can decide to have officials testify in the Republican-controlled Senate, but not testify in the Democratic-controlled House? Doesnt the House have legitimate oversight and and legitimate responsibility, not just not just the, you know, authority, but responsibility to have somebody like Anthony Fauci testify?
MS. MCENANY: Will Dr. Fauci be questioned by Democrats in that Senate hearing?
Q Yes, he will be. So what so why
MS. MCENANY: Yes he will.
Q But but are you saying so the Senate is fine? The House has no role in oversight?
MS. MCENANY: The House needs to act in good faith. We dont have time, in the middle of a pandemic, for publicity stunts. Its not the time for that. Its not the place for that. In the course of
Q This is a congressional testimony. This isnt a
MS. MCENANY: In the course of three phone calls, you should be able to give the subject matter to ensure its the best use of Dr. Faucis time. As you yourself noted, in the Republican-controlled Senate, Dr. Fauci will indeed be asked questions by Democrats.
Q Is the subject matter a mystery? I mean
MS. MCENANY: Jeff?
Q Kayleigh, in a previous life, before you were Press Secretary, you worked for the campaign. And you made a comment, I believe, on Fox, in which you said, President Trump will not allow the coronavirus to come to this country. Given what has happened since then, obviously, would you like to take that back?
MS. MCENANY: Well, first, let me note I was asked a question on Fox Business about the Presidents travel restrictions. I noted what was the intent behind those travel restrictions, which is: We will not see the coronavirus come here. We will not see terrorism come here referring to an earlier set of travel restrictions.
I guess I would turn the question back on the media, and ask similar questions: Does Vox want to take back that they proclaimed that the coronavirus would not be a deadly pandemic? Does the Washington Post want to take back that they told Americans to Get a Grippe, the flu is bigger than the coronavirus? Does the Washington Post, likewise, want to take back that our brains are causing us to exaggerate the threat of the coronavirus? Does the New York Times want to take back that fear of the virus maybe spre- spreading faster than the virus itself? Does NPR want to take back that the flu was a much bigger threat than the coronavirus? And finally, once again, the Washington Post would they like to take back that the government should not respond aggressively to the coronavirus?
Ill leave you with those questions and maybe youll have some answers in a few days.
END 5:00 P.M. EDT
NOT GUILTY!
Pretty and smart.
saw it and she was great.
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