White House, Rose Garden, March 29, 2020:
Q Thank you, Mr. President. I have two questions. The first is, you've said repeatedly that you think that some of the equipment that governors are requesting, they don't actually need. You said New York might need —White House, Rose Garden, March 30, 2020:
Trump: I didn't say that.
Q — might not need 30,000.
Trump: I didn't say that.
Q You said it on Sean Hannity's, Fox News.
[Yes, he did: "And you know, they'd say, like Governor Cuomo and others that say we want, you know, 30,000 of them, 30,000. ... And now, all of a sudden everybody's asking for these vast numbers. ... I think that a lot of things are being said that are more. ... And you know a lot -- a lot of equipment's being asked for that I don't think they'll need ..."]Trump: I didn't say — come on. Come on.
[Trump then said it four more times at a White House press conference on March 27 (and managed not to throw a tantrum when asked about his comments). And he said it again this morning.:
&
Q You said that you might —
Trump: You know, why don't — why don't you people act — let me ask you: Why don't you act —
Q You said some states —
Trump: Why don't you act in a little more positive? It's always trying to "get you."
Q My question to you is —
Trump: "Get you. Get you." And you know what? That's why nobody trusts the media anymore. That's why people —
Q My question to you is: How is that going to impact —
Trump: Excuse me. You didn't hear me. That's why you used to work for the Times and now you work for somebody else. Look, let me tell you something: Be nice. Don't be threatening.
Q Mr. President, my question is —
Trump: Don't be threating. Be nice. Go ahead.
Q My question is: How is that going to impact how you fill these orders for ventilators or for masks? Your views that —
Trump: It's not going to impact.
Q They're — you're not going to — it's not going to impact you at all?
Trump: We're producing tremendous numbers of ventilators. We're doing a great job on it. … The fact is, we've done a great job of delivering. … We had a meeting at 3 o'clock. It lasted for a long time. It was a great meeting with the generals and with everybody else. ... We sent thousands of generators to New York. They were put into a warehouse — a New York warehouse — that happened to be located, interestingly, in Edison, New Jersey. They were given to New York, and we then went to other places, also giving thousands of ventilators. The people in New York never distributed the generators. ... I knew they had them. So we said, "Why didn't you distribute them?" ... But maybe they didn't need them so badly. But just so you know, we're all — you, me, everybody — we're all on the same team. You know, when — when journalists get up — and you're a journalist, a fine journalist —
Q I was quoting you directly from Sean Hannity
Trump: — when journalists get up and ask questions that are so threatening — we're all on the same team.
Q I was quoting you directly from your interview with Sean Hannity.
Trump: Take a look at my interview. What I want to do is, if there is something wrong, we have to get to the bottom of it. When I hear facemasks go from 10,000 to 300,000, and they constantly need more, and the biggest man in the business is, like, shocked — he knows all about the virus, by the way; he's not surprised by that. He knows all about it. He shouldn't be surprised. He should say, "Well, that's standard," because this is, really, a very tough disease. This is, really, a very tough virus to handle.
Okay. Please, go ahead.
Q Mr. President, my second question — Mr. President, my second question —
Trump: Go ahead.
Q My second question is —
Trump: That's — that's enough. Thank you very much.
Q But, Mr. President, my second question is —
Trump: Please. Please.
Q My second question is —
Trump: That's enough.
Q Mr. President —
Trump: That's enough. That's not fair to your other reporters. It's not fair. You had a long time, a long question.
. . .
Q Thank you, sir. I would also like to ask you about some comments you made on Friday. You were talking about governors of different states, and you said, "I want them to be appreciative." You also said, "If they don't treat you right, I don't call."
Trump: But I didn't say that. I didn't say that.
Q These are direct — direct quotes, sir.
[Yep. Direct quotes, but Trump constantly denys reality. Again, from the White House website, March 27:]Trump: No, it's such a — excuse me. Ready? Ready? Ready? Take a look at what I said. I want them to be appreciative of me — okay? — and then you cut it off, because it's fake-news CNN.
Q — of you and of your administration. Absolutely.
Trump: Listen. Just, please, let me just finish. You just said it again, and you know the answer is a lie.
Q I could read you your full comments, sir, if that would be easier.
Trump: You know that your statement is a lie. Let me just say — look, your statement and your response and your answer is a lie, because here's the story. Are you ready? I said, "I want you to be appreciative of me," and then you go on, and then I go on, and you cut it off. But it says, because when you're not —
Q You said, "I want them to be appreciative. I don't want them to say things that aren't true. I want them to be appreciative. We've done a great job. And I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about Mike Pence, the task force. I'm talking about FEMA…" —
Trump: Thank you.
Q — "…and the Army Corps of Engineers."
Trump: Thank you.
Q But then you went on to say, "If they don't treat you right, I don't call. He's a different type of person," you said —
Trump: I don't call.
Q — referring to the Vice President.
Trump: No, I don't call. No, I don't call the governor of Washington now. [Trump now admits to what he denied about 30 seconds earlier.]
Q But why in this time of —
Trump: But Mike Pence calls, and the head of FEMA calls. I don't stop them. Did I ever ask you to do anything negative, Mike, to Washington, the State of Washington? … No, I don't have to call because I'm probably better off not, because we don't get — he's a failed presidential candidate. He's a nasty person. I don't like the governor of Washington. So you know who calls? I get Mike Pence to call. I get the head of FEMA to call. I get the Admiral to call. But what you didn't say — see, you started it off and you talked about "I have to be appreciated," but then, when you read the rest … See, and that's why people aren't watching CNN very much anymore. That's why they don't like it. That's why your ratings are no good, because you even — after knowing the truth for days now, you bring up the old lie. Read the read — the rest of your question, the rest of your statement, you didn't put in. You have to put that in. And it said in there "FEMA," and it said in there "Army Corps of Engineers." Because when they disrespect me, they're disrespecting our government. And you know what? I don't mind if I'm disrespected, but they can't disrespect the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA. Okay. Please, go ahead.
Q Why is the lack of appreciation something that's important in the midst of —?
Trump: I want them to appreciate the incredible job we're doing. We are doing a job the likes of which has never been done before. And there are a couple of people that know that, but for political reasons — let's say they're Democrats; they don't want to give this administration credit, and that's okay. But I don't have to deal with them, but our Vice President does deal with them. Please, go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President.
Trump: But that's why CNN is not trusted anymore. They are not trusted. They are fake news. Remember that. Go ahead.
Q We're not fake news, sir.
Trump: Yes, you are.
Q Sir, what do you say to Americans who are upset with you over the way you —Like: "Mr. President, you are so amazing and smart. You are the best - at everything. Could you tell us - who are all in awe of you and your big abrain, by the way - how you are able to be so perfect every single day?"
Trump: Here we go.
Q — downplayed this crisis over the last couple of months? "We have it very much under control in this country. The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. It's going to disappear. It's like a miracle. It will disappear."
March 4th: "We have a very small number of people in this country infected."
March 10th: "We're prepared. We're doing a great job with it. It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away."
Trump: Well, isn't it true? It will go away.
Q What do you say to Americans who believe that you got this wrong?
Trump: And I do want them to stay calm. And we are doing a great job. If you look at those individual statements, they're all true. Stay calm. It will go away. You know it — you know it is going away, and it will go away. And we're going to have a great victory. And it's people like you and CNN that say things like that. That — it's why people just don't want to listen to CNN anymore. You could ask a normal question. The statements I made are: I want to keep the country calm. I don't want to panic in the country. I could cause panic much better than even you. I could do much — I would make you look like a minor league player. But you know what? I don't want to do that. I want to have our country be calm and strong, and fight and win, and it will go away. And it is incredible the job that all of these people are doing ... It's — it's almost a miracle, and it is — the way it's all come together. And instead of asking a nasty, snarky question like that, you should ask a real question.
More bullshit with the press for not kissing his ass and reporting his propaganda exactly as he wants it:
We're ranking counties and we're ranking states. And a lot of people put out false information because they don't know what they're talking about.And:
You were next. He was very nice in doing it, though, nevertheless. Go ahead.And:
Q Thank you, sir.
Which is unusual for CNN.
I think we're going to be in very good shape. And we had a great call today with a governors. And they were — I actually said, I hope that the media is listening to this call because it was a really good call. And that was randomly selected — largely Democrats and Republicans in there. … [T]hey were saying thank you for doing a great job. … [P]eople are very happy with what we're doing. … I think they're very impressed by the federal government.And:
Q You said several times that the United States has ramped up testing, but the United States is still not testing per capita as many people as other countries like South Korea. Why is that? And when do you think that that number will be on par with other countries?
Yeah, well, it's — it's very much on par.
Q Not per capita —
Look — look — per capita. We have areas of country that's very tight. I know South Korea better than anybody. It's a — very tight. Do you know how many people are in Seoul? Do you know how big the city of Seoul is?
Q But the question is about —
Thirty-eight million people. That's bigger than anything we have. Thirty-eight million people all tightly wound together. We have vast farmlands. We have vast areas … We have done more tests. What I didn't — I didn't talk about per capita. We have done more tests, by far, than any country in the world, by far. Our testing is also better than any country in the world. … So rather than asking a question like that, you should congratulate the people that have done this testing … We have built an incredible system to the fact, where we have now done more tests than any other country in the world. And now the technology is really booming. … Roche has been incredible in the testing job they've done. And they're ramping it up ... It's up, up, up, up. And you should be saying congratulations instead of asking a really snarky question, because I know exactly what you mean by that.
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