Pool Reports of April 24, 2020

Pool Report #1

>From the White House:

“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday's briefing. Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.” - Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary

Pool Report #2

Happy Friday!

I'll be your print pooler today. It's a drizzly 52 degrees from the White House.

Events to which pool is scheduled to have access today are the regular WH coronavirus briefing and the bill signing for HB 266. I'll let you know if anything changes.

POTUS has been busy tweeting this morning, most recently about calls with heads of state in Ecuador and Indonesia. Your pooler has inquired if a more formal readout of the calls is forthcoming.

Pool Report #3 — Kudlow gaggle

Larry Kudlow held a gaggle after a TV appearance. Your pooler missed the first part, but was told nothing substantive was missed.

Listen: https://otter.ai/s/hwz5ufOIS9GlTPT_g_QhOQ

A main topic at the beginning was Kudlow arguing businesses shouldn't be held liable if a customer later tests positive for COVID-19.

"I don't think there should be a lawsuit. I think we should help them now. We may help them with assistance if they go to a hospital or provider, government, federal, state, local to pay for it. It's not a lawsuit. That's my point. It's not a lawsuit."

Kudlow acknowledged the states could ensure that, but added, "some of it can be done through executive order or regulatory changes. Some of it might require legislation. We're looking at it right now. We're looking at all the options."

On federal bailout for states vs. McConnell idea of bankruptcy:"I think what Senator McConnell says is very important because he's raising an issue —we spent a lot of money," but ultimately "I'm not saying one way or the other."
Kudlow added he'd like to see "some incentives for growth," which could consist of low tax rates, payroll tax cut, 100 percent deductions for business expenses.

In response to final Q on whether the immigration ban will help the economy:
"I'll get a pass on that. The president believes a lot of unemployed Americans will be helped, but I got to go."

Pool Report #4 - Indonesia call

From Judd Deere:

Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of Indonesia. President Trump expressed his strong support for the people of Indonesia and discussed ways the United States could assist Indonesia's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both leaders agreed to work together to defeat the pandemic and restore global economic strength. The two leaders also discussed the United States-Indonesia Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed the shared commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship across their nations' long-standing economic, cultural, and security ties.

Pool Report #5

Pool now holding outside the Oval Office in anticipation of the bill signing.

Pool Report #6 - Remarks in Oval Office

Pool escorted into the Oval Office at 12:10.

Listen: https://otter.ai/s/hwz5ufOIS9GlTPT_g_QhOQ

POTUS was seated at his desk. Among the officials behind him were VPOTUS, Munchin and head of SBA Jovita Carranza. Also present are Reps. Liz Cheney, Kevin McCatrhy and Steve Scalise as well as Sen. John Cornyn. No McConnell.

Reading from remarks, POTUS promotes HR 266 as means to grant economic relief:
“Great for small businesses, great for the workers”
POTUS makes a point will “extend relief to thousands of African-American and Hispanic American business owners.”

POTUS also touts task force work on COVID-19:
“We're making thousands and thousands of ventilators.”
Says excess of ventilators allows for donation to other countries.
Asks VPOTUS about tests. VPOTUS says 5.1 million. POTUS says more than other countries.
VPOTUS adds it was 80,000 tests a month ago.
POTUS says Honduras president said country in “quagmire” over testing, asked for help.

POTUS also talks work on border wall:
“A country has to have to have borders, and you don't have borders if you have people pouring in by the tens of thousands.”

VPOTUS delivers marks:
Says administration now encouraging hospitals to hold elective surgeries
“We're encouraging states around the country to restart elective surgery wherever possible even on a county by county basis.”

POTUS asks Scalise what was vote on bill.
Scalise informs him number. POTUS asks about Senate. When told it was unanimous, POTUS predicts Dems will criticize him for singing bill.

Scalise touts bill, estimates it will save 30 million people from going on unemployment. McCarthy commends POTUS and Americans in remarks. Cornyn also commends POTUS, followed by Cheney.

More to come...

Pool Report #7 - Info on Oval attendees

From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will participate in a signing ceremony for H.R. 266, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. As the President said yesterday at the press briefing, “I'm grateful that Congress is answering my call to deliver these additional $320 billion in relief for the American worker and for small businesses. At a time when many Americans are enduring significant economic challenges, this bill will help small businesses to keep millions of workers on the payroll.”

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Vice President Mike Pence

Trump Administration
Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury
Administrator Jovita Carranza, Small Business Administration

Members of Congress
Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY)
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK)

Pool Report #8 - HR266 signed

Cont'd from Pool Report #6...

POTUS said he just spoke to Apple CEO Tim Cook. “He would like us to do things.”
“he feels we're going to have a ‘v'” in terms of the economy.

POTUS sings the legislation at 12:29, then handed a pen to Sen. Roy Blunt.

Reporters Qs now

Pool Report #9 - Qs with reporters

Qs

Listen: https://otter.ai/s/qHxEE1FqTH6BlfkG9VkcEg

On Rick Wright:“Don't know him”
Adds he hasn't started an inquiry on why he was let go
Asks how he can file a whistleblower complaint if everyone knows who he isOn Postal Service getting money:
Mnuchin says he working on that.
POTUS, however: “The Post Office is a joke.”
“The Post Office should raise the price or package four times.”
“If they don't raise the price, I'm not signing anything.”
Adds he won't allow Mnuchin to do anything if prices aren't raised.

On injection remarks:
“I was asking a sarcastically to reporters just like you to see what would happen.”

On helping oil industry:
“That industry got unnecessarily hurt”
Filing up strategic reserves
“We will make the energy business great again.”

Taking stakes in energy companies?
Mnuchin says he's looking at alternatives
“You can assume that's one of the alternatives.”

POTUS adds companies could be helped by massive purchases from U.S. government
Applies that idea to airlines, buying tickets, but adds airlines are set now

On issue of energy companies facing discrimination:
“You can't be afraid of the radical left.”
“Paris Accord basically took your wealth away.”

Pool report #9a - corrected quote

POTUS on initial Q on about injection remarks:

"I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen."

Pool Report #10 - more Q&A

Listen: https://otter.ai/s/qHxEE1FqTH6BlfkG9VkcEg

POTUS gets question on Saudis, asks reporter to take off face mask to hear her

On hydroxychlorine:
POTUS says he talked to Honduras president, who said results were “incredible.”
“You hear it both ways.”
“I saw some study that wasn't good” in reference in VA study

Talks more about ventilators:
“They've been making them by the thousands.”
“We're sending them to countries as they call.”

Asked more on injection:
“I do think disinfectant on the hands could have a very good effect.”
Says impact being examined in laboratory
“Sun has a tremendous impact on it.”
“I'm not a doctor. They have to work with their doctors.”

Are you encouraging that use?
“Of course not”

Pool escorted out at 12:53.

Pool Report #11 — Full exchanges on injection comments

Here's both exchanges in full in response on injection comments.

Reporter: Can you clarify your comments about injection on disinfectant?

POTUS: I was asking a question sarcastically to reporters like you just to see what would happen. Now disinfectant or doing this maybe on the hands would work. I was asking the question of the gentleman who was there yesterday, Bill, because when they say that something will last three to four hours or six hours, but if sun is out, or if they use disinfectant, it goes away in less than a minute. Did you hear about this yesterday?

POTUS: When I was asking a sarcastic — a very sarcastic question to the reporters in the room about disinfectant on the inside, but it does kill it, and it would kill it on the hands and that would make things much better. That was done in the form of a sarcastic question to a reporter.

Reporter: But you were asking your medical experts to look into it.

POTUS: To look into whether or not sun — and disinfectant on the hands — but whether or not sun can help us. Because, I mean he came in yesterday and he said they've done a big study. This is a study. This isn't where he hasn't done it. This is where they've come in with a final report that sun has a massive impact negatively on this virus. In other words, it does not live well with humidity and it doesn't live well with sun, sunlight, heat. It doesn't live well with heat and sun and and disinfectant. And that's what I brought up, and I thought that was clear.

….

Jeff Mason: Just to follow up on the comments from yesterday you said you were being sarcastic, but some people may have misunderstood you. Do you want to just clarify?

POTUS: I wish they […]

Jeff Mason: Do you want to clarify to Americans if you don't want people to think that?

POTUS. Yes. I do think that disinfectant on the hands could have a very good effect. Now, Bill is going back to check that in the laboratory. You know, it's an amazing laboratory, by the way. It's amazing the work they do. So, he's going to check because a hard surface. This is a hard surface I guess maybe depending on whose hand you're talking about, right? But this is a hard surface and disinfectant, disinfectant has an unbelievable — it wipes it out. You saw it? Sun and heat, and humidity and you wipe it out. And this is from tests — they've been doing these tests for a number of months. And the result — so then I said, ‘Well, how do we do it inside the body or even outside the body with the hands and disinfectant I think would work.' He thinks it would work. When you use it when you're doing your hands. I guess that's one of the reasons they say wash your hands, but whether it's washing hands or disinfectant on your hands, it's very good. So, they're going to start looking at that. Andthere is a way of, you know, if light — if sun, sun itself that sun has a tremendous impact on or kills it like in one — it goes from what was it? Hours to like one minute instead.

So, I said you got to go back and look, but I'd like them now to look as it pertains to the human body. Not just sitting on a railing or sitting on a wall. I'd like to look as it pertains because maybe there's something there. They have to work with — I'm not a doctor. They have to work with their doctors. but maybe there is something to light, and the human body, and helping people that are dying.

Jeff Mason: Just to clarify: You're not encouraging Americans to inject disinfectant?

POTUS: No. Of course not…It was said sarcastically. It was put in the form of a question to a group of extraordinary hostile people. Namely, the fake news media.

Jeff Mason: Some doctors felt you needed to clarify that after your comments.

POTUS: Of course, all they had to do was see just — you know the way it was asked. I was looking at you.

Jeff Mason: No you weren't sir. I wasn't there yesterday.

Weijia Jiang: You were looking at Dr. Birx.

POTUS: What's that?

Weijia Jiang: You were looking at Dr. Birx.

POTUS: I was looking at Bill. I was looking at the doctor. I was looking at some of the reporters. I don't know if you were there. Were you there?

Weijia Jiang: I was there and I watched you ask her.

POTUS: You were there. You were there. You I never forget.

Jeff Mason: I wasn't there yesterday.

POTUS: You were not?

Jeff Mason: No sir.

POTUS: Yeah. I didn't think you were there.

Note: POTUS seems to make references to hand motions and his desk during these remarks, but your pooler didn't see POTUS' gestures at those times and can't be certain.

Pool Report #12 — CSPAN video

CSPAN now has full video of the bill signing event online.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?471480-1/president-trump-signs-paycheck-pr...

Pool Report #13 — Full exchange on Rick Bright

Chris Johnson: Do you have any comment on Rick Bright, who said he's going to file a whistleblower complaint?

POTUS: I don't know the gentleman. I'm sorry. I don't know him. I don't know how you sign a whistleblower complaint or whatever — you said a whistleblower complaint?

Chris Johnson: That's what's being reported he's going to do.

POTUS: How can he sign a whistleblower complaint when everybody knows who he is? I know nothing about him.

Reporter: But he says he was retaliated against because he refused to promote hydroxychloquine.

POTUS: That I don't know. I don't know anything about it.

Reporter: Did you ever ask a scientist to promote it?

POTUS: Easy. Easy. Just take it nice and easy. I don't know anything about him. Until yesterday, I never heard of the gentleman.

Reporter: Are you going to make an inquiry into what happened to him?

POTUS: What?

Reporter: Have you asked anyone to look into the circumstances?

POTUS: I have not yet. At some point I will. I guess they moved him into a different group.

Pool Report #14 — Full exchange on Postal Service

Reporter: Do you support any money for the postal service?

Mnunchin: I think I can comment on that first.

POTUS: Go ahead. Postal Service.

Mnuchin: So we authorized in the last CARE[S] Act over $10 billion in a loan. My team is already actively working on that with the postal service, if they need the money. And we're dealing with them.

POTUS: The Postal Service is a joke because they're handing out packages for Amazon and other internet companies, and every time they put out a package, they lose money on it. So Amazon and other internet companies and delivery companies are dropping all of their — not all of them — but a big portion of packages into a Post Office, and the Post Office is supposed to deliver the packages, and they lose a lot of money.

The Post Office should raise the price of a package by approximately four times because they don't raise them. For some reason — these people have been in there a long time — but for some reason they're very cozy with some of these companies, and they don't raise the price of a package, and if they raise the price of a package like they should — four or five times, that's what it should be — or let Amazon build their own post office, which would be an impossible thing to do because the Post Office is massive and serves every little piece of the country. The post office if they raise the price of the package by approximately four times, it'd be a whole new ballgame. But they don't want to raise because they don't want to insult Amazon, and they don't want to insult other companies perhaps that they like. The post office should raise the price of the packages to the companies, not to the people, to the companies, and if they did that it would be a whole different story.

Do you agree with that, Steven?

Mnunchin: I agree. And actually we are going to put certain criteria for a postal reform program as part of the loan, and we're forward to — the board is recruiting a new postmaster general and doing postal reform.

POTUS: Well, I'll go a step further. If they don't raise the price of the service they give, which is a tremendous service, and they do a great job and the postal workers are fantastic — but this thing's losing billions of dollars. It has for years because they don't want to insult for whatever reason, you can imagine, they don't want to insult Amazon and these other groups. If they don't raise the price I'm not signing anything, so they'll raise the price so that they become maybe even profitable but so they lose much less money, OK? And if they don't do it, I'm not signing anything and I'm not authorizing you to do anything.

Pool Report #15 - Ecuador call

>From White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere:

"Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Lenín Moreno of the Republic of Ecuador to discuss ways their governments can cooperate closely to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. President Trump offered to provide critical resources that will assist the Government of Ecuador's healthcare system deliver life-saving services to its citizens. President Trump also expressed support for President Moreno's efforts to implement much-needed economic measures and address Ecuador's fiscal constraints through support from multilateral institutions. Both leaders reaffirmed the strong U.S.-Ecuador bilateral relationship and reiterated the importance of working together to advance their mutual priorities in the Western Hemisphere."

Pool Report #15 — Full exchange on remarks on energy, Pt. 1

More from Oval signing...

Jeff Mason: Could you comment a little bit on what you're considering right now for helping the oil and gas industry?

POTUS: I want to help that industry. That industry got unnecessarily hurt by massive amounts of oil being — being produced by very big countries, oil producing countries, and they got carried away. And I got involved with those two countries to have them make peace with each other, but by the time we get involved, all of a sudden — billions of barrels of it…Every tanker is loaded up with oil sitting out in the ocean. Oil is less than water. Nobody's ever seen anything like it.

Now, in many respects for our country, automobiles and airplanes and all of the things that you have to do with the airlines — we're trying to make the airlines work again and we just provided financing for them, which was great. We're going to keep our airlines and all those employees totally intact.

So, in some ways, the fuel cost is very low, but I'm an energy person. I love the energy business. We're energy independent. We're going to stay that way. We're also filling up, as you know Jon [Cornyn], our national strategic reserves. And we're filling them up like never before. And frankly, getting very good prices, OK? As we should, very good prices. So we're filling up the reserve. That's 75 million barrels. And we're going to have that filled up pretty soon so it'll be filled for the first time in a long time, and we're doing it at a very, very low cost.

So, now, it'll come back when the virus is gone. They lose 40 percent of the market because of the virus in all fairness to even the producers and even the countries. It was 40 percent of the market because people aren't driving automobiles, they're not doing anything. So, all of a sudden they're not flying in airplanes — the airline business was essentially shut down. So all of this massive amount of fuel.

And this is all over the world. This isn't here. This is in virtually every country. I probably say, as you know I've been hovering about 184 countries. Probably more than that now. 184. A friend of mine said, a very sophisticated friend, I never knew you had 184 countries. We actually have more than that, but 184 countries that we know have been affected by this.

So, the oil business lost 40 percent to 50 percent of their market. And that was, you know —who would have seen anything like that coming? As soon as this comes back — and with the cutting — the energy business will come back and it would come back strong. So we're working.

The energy business is very important to me. And we're going to build it up. This really hurt the energy business as much as any other business because it totally knocked out — the supply kept coming. And by the way, there was a lot of oil with us before it hit. A lot of oil prices were pretty low, which is a very good thing. But then we got hit by this, and it was devastating to the energy business all over the world.

Jeff Mason: Just a quick follow up?

We will be able to — once this straightens out, and once you get some demand and then you're going to reduce the supply a little bit. It'll equalize and it's going to be great and we'll — we will make the energy business great again.

We want to remain independent. We're independent now. We're totally independent on energy. We want to keep it that way.

Jeff Mason: Can you or Secretary Mnunchin clarify whether the government is considering taking stakes in energy companies, equity stakes?

Mnunchin: The president has asked me to work with the secretary of energy and we're looking at a whole bunch of alternatives, it would be premature for me to comment on any one of them. But the president has asked us to look at the range of alternatives.

Jeff Mason: Is that one of the alternatives?

Mnunchin: Again, you can assume that's one of the alternatives, but there's many of them.

POTUS: One of the alternatives that we can think about, Steve, and just sitting here watching, we could buy — you know, the United States is the largest user of oil — we could buy oil at a great price into the future. That gives them the infusion, and we have oil and gas at a great price into the future so that's something I'd you to think about.

Mnunchin: [inaudible, something about suggested]

POTUS: Likewise, I don't see — we the biggest user of the airlines, the United States government, and one of the ways we can help the airlines is buy tickets at a very large discount, maybe 50 percent off or maybe more. And you buy into four or five years worth of tickets. And you infuse them with some cash, and in the meantime, we're flying the people of our country for a fraction of the cost that it would be of the year when the airlines get back.

They will get back. But so, we're thinking in terms of — as additional because the airlines are all set right now, but as an additional incentive where we buy tickets in advance at a very big discount, which I've liked, really from the beginning. And we're not up there. Look, the practice the airlines are going to fly the way it is now. But I like that as an additional help for the airlines. I like it both ways. I like it for us, too. We're the largest user of the airlines. So you buy tickets. I don't know. It sounds good, right? You get a good discount.

Rep. Cheney: I appreciate — Wyoming appreciates what you're doing for the oil industry.

POTUS: Well, Wyoming is great. They're great, and they're lucky to have you.

Pool Report #16a — Full exchange on remarks on energy, Pt. 2

From the Oval Office signing...

Sen. Dan Sullivan: Sorry to interrupt. But first I want to thank you and your administration. Your involvement in the OPEC deal was incredibly vital, it wouldn't have happened without what you did. Your team has been very focused on energy. I do think one issue that a lot of us are starting to have concerns about is there are big American financial institutions that the federal government has helped many times. They're going to do well with regard to facilitating some of the CARES act stuff. They're starting to discriminate against American energy companies, discriminate against investment in my state in Alaska.

POTUS: I don't like that.

Sen. Dan Sullivan: I think it's going to be really important. These two Wall Street banks that want to — they want the federal government to help support them and then they discriminate against a critical sector of the U.S. economy, by the way the sector in the 2008, 2009 recession that really drove us out of our recession. I don't think they should be allowed to do that, sir.

POTUS: I like the idea of looking into that. You're right. You know, that got where they were pushed by the radical left. And so they're afraid of the radical left. You shouldn't be afraid of the radical left. Very nice people: AOC plus three, and all of her friends. But you shouldn't be afraid of them. You should reason with them and if they don't reason you do what's right. You cannot be discriminating against these great energy companies, and there is. I've heard that from them. That's very hard. One of the banks I think they said we want to be out of energy by 2050. That's a long time, but they want to be out of energy. What's that all about? They want to be out of energy.

You know, we're blessed in this country because we're sitting on top of tremendous wealth. Very few countries have that kind of wealth. We're bigger than Saudi Arabia. We're bigger than Russia. We're bigger than any other country in terms of energy.

And a lot of things like the Paris accord. The Paris accord basically took your wealth away. It didn't give you the advantage and I said I won't sign it because it took the wealth of this country away because they didn't want us to use our energy. They don't want to use our great asset. We have tremendous wealth...

Note: The last pool report was misnumbered 15 when it should have been 16. This should correct the sequence.

Pool Report #17

The White House just called for restricted in-house pool to gather at the briefing room doors.

Pool Report #18 - El Salvador call

>From Judd Deere:

“Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador regarding their ongoing efforts to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the health and safety of their respective citizens. President Trump affirmed his support for the Government of El Salvador, offered resources to help support El Salvadorians suffering from COVID-19, and expressed a shared commitment to achieving sustained economic growth in El Salvador. President Trump thanked President Bukele for his cooperation on the repatriation of El Salvadorian nationals from the United States and Mexico during the pandemic, as well as their joint efforts to address the primary drivers of irregular migration to the United States. President Bukele extended his gratitude for the release of United States aid to the region.”

Pool Report #19 - NASA officials in Cabinet room

Pool escorted into Cabinet Room at 3:35 pm, where POTUS, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and other officials were standing before the table.

Bridenstine now discussing new technology he says scientists have been developing amid COVID-19 epidemic.

“The question is what are you doing rocket scientists when they stay at home. Well, what they do is they build amazing things.”

More to come...

Pool Report #20 - NASA meeting info

>From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will meet with NASA leadership to review the incredible ways NASA hasanswered the President's call for a whole-of-Government response to combatting COVID-19. Administrator Bridenstine will present the President samples of equipment produced using NASA technology, including a VITAL ventilator, AMBUstat, and an oxygen hood, to demonstrate the practical benefits NASA provides Americans both on Earth and beyond.

The ventilator, called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), was developed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to free up the nation's limited supply of traditional ventilators so they may be used on patients with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms. It is intentionally designed to use fewer parts that are not used in existing designs in order to not compete with the current ventilator supply chain, and is thereby cheaper to produce and more reliable due to the reduction in part count and complexity.

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center partnered with Antelope Valley Hospital, the City of Lancaster, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company (TSC), and Antelope Valley College to develop oxygen helmets, 500 of which will be produced this week, for use in the Los Angeles area. The device functions like a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to force oxygen into a patient's lungs, and safely filters the air from the patient's exhales to protect the health care workers around them.

Working with private industry, NASA's Glenn Research Center guided the development and production of theAMBUstat , a small, portable and economical device that decontaminates spaces like ambulances, in under an hour, at a fraction of the cost as compared to existing systems. Additional research is being done to ensure the maximum effectiveness of this device against COVID-19 in other areas like locker rooms, classrooms or even dining rooms.
The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Vice President Mike Pence

Trump Administration
Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA
Dave Gallagher, Associate Director, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Bettina Inclán, Associate Administrator for Communications, NASA

Pool Report #21 — Audio of NASA comments

Pool escorted out of Cabinet Room at 3:42.

Listen to remarks here: https://otter.ai/s/iDWSHhUzRyKBRqeRdYXJ9A

The White House gave a good summary, but more quotes to come.

Pool Report #22 — Exchange in NASA event, link to photo

In the Cabinet room, NASA Jim Bridenstine moved from a transparent oxygen hood to a red-colored robot, then allowed Dave Gallagher, associate director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to comment on a beige colored ventilator.

Here's a photo I tweeted that will give you an idea of the general setup: https://twitter.com/chrisjohnson82/status/1253775596066410500

Here's a transcript...

Jim Bridenstine: This is an oxygen hood. So a person who has coronavirus, we want to make sure that they have pressure for their lung with 100 percent oxygen, so we put this hood on them, and we also want to make sure they're not shedding the virus at the same time. So it protects the healthcare workers that are there that are there working on the patient.

So this is an — it's an oxygen hood. It was created by scientists at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Calif., in conjunction with what's called Virgin Galactic, which is a commercial company that will be launching people to suborbital space straight up and straight down here in just a very short period of time. Just commercial tourists, if you will.

POTUS asks to reaffirm its straight-up and straight down, then asks about the level of safety.

Bridenstine: I think it's very safe. And if you ask them, they'll tell you. It's Sir Richard Branson's organization. He took it public. So it's now publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and, and they're getting customers very rapidly. They go up to about 50 miles — over 50 miles as a matter of fact — straight up.

POTUS: And do they immediately come straight down?

Bridenstine: They do. They'll get about 10 minutes of weightlessness before they come back to Earth. So it's not so much of a tour around but just a period of time where you get to experience weightlessness.

POTUS: Would you do it?

Bridenstine: I would absolutely do it. No kidding? In a heartbeat.

POTUS: I'll pass.

Bridenstine: And in fact, NASA actually contracts with them for experiments…Now this red box sir, is something you're gonna love and I mean it's impressive.

NASA had this technology. When we launch a robot to Mars — which as you know, we're going to do here in July, when we launch a robot to Mars — we have to sterilize the robot. We have to make sure that there's not a microbe on the robot because we don't want to accidentally put a microbe on Mars because we want to make sure anything we discover on Mars is something that was already there.

So here's what here's what this does: We took that technology to sterilize a spacecraft. And we said, How do we use it to sterilize the inside of a room? And that's what this device is AMBUstat . So think of it as a fogger. It will fog the room and every surface in the room will then be sterilized. No Coronavirus. So we use it right now it's NASA technology used by ambulances. But now we're going to use it for the inside of schools, the inside of prisons.

POTUS: So people can breathe this in?

Bridenstine: It'll take about an hour and after the room is clear of the fog — think of it as an atomized sterilant that touches every surface and guarantees that there's no germs. That's what we're doing with this. We've been using it in ambulances now for a while. Now we want to take it and use it to sterilize the entire room, so schools can open and businesses can open.

POTUS: So it's emptied out, and then you would do it.

Bridenstine: Yes, that's right, sir.

POTUS: Would you do it remotely, or no?

Bridenstine: You just bring it in a room, set it down, let it fog and then every surface ends up being clean and and people can go back to work knowing that their workspace is clean and it doesn't leave a film on any of the surfaces. You don't have to wipe down the surface.

POTUS: So what is it that cleans the room?

Bridenstine: It's what we call a sterilant. So think of it as a fog, so the fog goes throughout the room. It touches all the surfaces. And it kills viruses. We've used it specifically for MERS. We've used it for Ebola. And we believe it's very effective. And we're proving it out right now. We believe it's going to be very effective for coronavirus.

…

Dave Gallagher on ventilator

Gallagher: So Mr. President. This is actually a great news story in the midst of this pandemic. When we started stay-at-home about four weeks ago, one of our engineers just could not stand the idea of sitting back and doing nothing with the spreading coronavirus and came up with a design very rapidly.

We built the team which did a lot of the work remotely working from home. And in just over four weeks have developed a COVID-19 ventilator. It's unique in many ways — and JPL we build spacecraft, we don't build medical products, and the innovation and creativity of men and women at JPL. It's incredible.

So this thing has about 80 parts. A normal ICU ventilator has about an order magnitude higher than that. These parts are not in the ventilator supply chain, They're part of regular parts. So by building these, we will not interrupt the supply chain for ICU ventilators. Most importantly, COVID-19 patients have — their lungs are not compliant, so you need high pressure. And this is a high pressure ventilator from day one. We got Mount Sinai doctors on the front line involved. We got the FDA involved. This thing just finished a couple days of testing at Mount Sinai. We submitted it for FDA approval.

POTUS: How did it do?

Gallagher: It did great. They have the most high fidelity lung simulator anywhere.

POTUS: So how would this compare to a really high quality ventilator?

Gallagher: So the difference is just heavily computerized. But the real difference is a ICU ventilator, a traditional one that you find in a hospital right now is meant to deal with any kind of situation. This is really targeted for COVID-19 patients.

POTUS: Because of the pressure?

Gallagher: Because of the pressure, it's very easy to manufacture. So we submitted the FDA approval and then just this morning got the details operated for NASA. It's by Caltech. So this morning, Caltech, we went live with a royalty free worldwide license. And we have here hundreds of companies that are interested in it...

Pool Report #23 — Briefing now at 5:30

POTUS just tweeted that time change a couple minutes ago.

Note: Your pooler won't provide quotes from the on-camera briefing, but will offer color not seen on camera if warranted.

Pool Report #24 - briefing begins

POTUS entered the briefing room at 5:39. With him is FDA Stephen Hahn and VPOTUS.

Pool Report #25 - briefing ends

POTUS, VPOTUS and FDA Administrator Hahn left the briefing room at 6:01 after taking no questions following the remarks.

Pool Report #25a — clarification

The pool report on the briefing ending indicated no questions were taken after remarks.

That's technically true, but one reporter was able to interject one question in between remarks from Hahn and VPOTUS before the briefing concluded.

Here's the exchange:

Reporter: Just about an hour ago, a subcommittee on oversight released findings that the FDA doesn't have any review of the antibody tests that are on the market. There are no guidelines to tell which one should be out there, and there's no way to test their accuracy. They're quite worried that these are junk tests on the market because they weren't reviewed before they were approved. Is that true?

Hahn: So under our policy, we provide a flexibility. What we told manufacturers is that in order to market into the U.S., they have to validate their tests, they have to tell us that they validated their tests, and then in the package insert, they have to let people know and users, labs, etc., that those tests were not authorized by FDA.

We've authorized four. As I mentioned, more are in the pipeline, and these tests that have come in without any information to us, but have been self-validated. As I mentioned at the podium a couple days ago, we're working with the National Cancer Institute as well as CDC to perform our own validation of tests that have been sent to us.

So, we'll provide as much information as we possibly can, and there is transparency on our website about those tests and also the tests that we have authorized.

Pool Report #26 — lid

The White House called a travel-photo lid at 6:39.

Enjoy your weekend!

Pool Report #27 - seating issue

Earlier today before the briefing, a White House official instructed the print pooler to take CNN's seat in the briefing room because the seating would be swapped for the briefing. Given the seating assignment is under the jurisdiction of the White House Correspondents' Association, not the White House, pooler refused to move.

The White House official then informed the print pooler swapping wasn't an option and the Secret Service was involved. Again, pooler refused to move, citing guidance from the WHCA. The briefing proceeded with both CNN and print pooler sitting in their respective assigned seats.

Pool Report #28 - Honduras call

From Judd Deere:

Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras. The two leaders emphasized their shared commitment to a sustained regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the availability of safe treatments. President Trump extended his appreciation for the critical role the Government of Honduras has played in addressing the root causes of irregular and illegal migration to the United States, and acknowledged the need to encourage economic growth and prosperity in the Americas. President Trump also thanked President Hernández for his cooperation on the repatriation of Honduran nationals from the United States and Mexico during the pandemic, and offered resources to help support the Honduran healthcare system. President Hernández thanked President Trump for the release of United States financial assistance to Honduras and the region.

Pool Report #29

From Hogan Gidley:

READOUT FROM WHITE HOUSE OPPORTUNITY AND REVITALIZATION COUNCIL CONFERENCE CALL
Today, the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council held its first meeting after President Trump directed them to refocus efforts on underserved communities who have been adversely impacted medically and economically by COVID-19.

The Council, led by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, is uniquely familiar with these communities having spent the last 3 years working with local leaders, private industry, and state officials to bring prosperity to forgotten neighborhoods across America. Under President Trump's leadership, America witnessed a historic level of African American and Hispanic unemployment, unprecedented economic growth, and steady rising wages.
The Council discussed various ways to improve the lives of our most vulnerable communities as they face this crisis. The members emphasized the importance of a holistic approach to recovery, prioritizing both the health and economic stability of historically underserved communities as part of the prescription. They discussed CARES Act implementation and how they can continue to utilize public-private partnerships to bring all available resources to the table. The Council concluded the call with an agreement to continue empowering and enabling Americans living in underserved communities, to ensure they are part of the great American economic revival.

QUOTES:

“Over the past three years, the Council has developed relationships with mayors and governors, paved inroads with community leaders, and breathed new life into these long struggling communities. Even in the face of this invisible enemy, we are going to expand and continue our work to bring prosperity and promise to our most vulnerable,” said Secretary Carson.

“The crisis created by this pandemic has hit underserved communities hard, and it's critically important that entrepreneurs and small businesses in these communities remain viable as we navigate this extraordinary time,” said SBA Administrator Carranza.
“Preliminary data has shown a concerning pattern that underrepresented minorities are developing COVID-19 infection more frequently and dying disproportionately compared to majority populations. The dedication of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council to supporting underserved communities impacted by COVID-19 will become a key vehicle of transformation for the individuals and communities who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and its widespread economic effect,” said U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams.
Council Participants:
Ben Carson, Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Alex Azar, Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services
Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of United States Department of the Treasury
Dan Brouillette, Secretary of United States Department of Energy
David Bernhardt, Secretary of United States Department of the Interior
Wilbur Ross, Secretary of United States Department of Commerce
Betsy Devos, Secretary of United States Department of Education
Andrew Wheeler, Administrator of United States Environmental Protection Agency
Jovita Carranza, Administrator of United States Small Business Administration
Jeffrey Rosen, Deputy Attorney General of United States Department of Justice
Patrick Pizzella, Deputy Secretary of United States Department of Labor
Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the United States, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Kellyanne Conway, Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor
Brooke Rollins, Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives
Ja'Ron Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of the White House Office of American Innovation

Scott Turner, Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
READOUT FROM WHITE HOUSE OPPORTUNITY AND REVITALIZATION COUNCIL CONFERENCE CALL WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS

Members of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council hosted a bipartisan group of nearly 2,500 African American leaders on a briefing call to outline President Trump and the Administration's comprehensive strategy to revitalize distressed communities impacted by COVID-19. The discussion covered SBA CARES Act disaster assistance and the effect of the COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations within the community. Through additional resources, guidance, and regulatory flexibilities, the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council said it will continue to work hand-in-hand with African American leaders to ensure that no American is left behind.
Council Participants:
Ben Carson, Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Jovita Carranza, Administrator of the United States Small Business Administration
Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the United States, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Ja'Ron Smith, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director of the White House Office of American Innovation
Scott Turner, Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, Unite States Department of Housing and Urban Development

Nicole Frazier, Special Assistant to the President, Director of Strategic Partnerships and African American Outreach, Office of Public Liaison

READOUT FROM WHITE HOUSE OPPORTUNITY AND REVITALIZATION COUNCIL CONFERENCE CALL WITH MAYORS:
Members of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council hosted a bipartisan group of nearly 350 of the Nation's Mayors on a briefing call to discuss the important partnership between Federal, State, and Local leaders on COVID-19 coordination and response. The Council shared President Trump and the Administration's comprehensive strategy to revitalize distressed communities impacted by COVID-19 and it conveyed how, through additional resources, guidance, and regulatory flexibilities, the Council will continue to work hand-in-hand with State and local leaders to ensure that no American is left behind.
Council Participants:
Ben Carson, Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Jerome Adams, Surgeon General of the United States, United States Department of Health and Human Services