Pool Reports of April 29, 2020

In-town pool report #1

Pool was called at 10:53 a.m. to gather for Oval Office meeting.

POTUS is scheduled to meet with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) at 11:00 a.m.

Edwards on Monday extended his state's stay-at-home order through May 15.

In-town pool report #2 - Gilead

Pool was ushered into Oval Office at 11:41 a.m., where POTUS was meeting with Louisiana Gov. Edwards.

Trump and Edwards were seated in chairs in front of the fireplace. A chart with PPE numbers was set up between them.

In the room sitting on couches were Drs. Fauci and Birx, VP Pence, economic adviser Kevin Hassett, and Dr. Blythe Adamson, senior quantitative scientist at Flatiron Health, who Trump introduced as having helped the administration temporarily.

Question about Gilead trials, but Trump deferred to Fauci. Gilead Sciences has been reporting positive results for its remdesivir.

Fauci rough transcript:

So that's something that will go with 31% improvement, doesn't seem like a knock out, 100%, it is a very important proof of concept.

This is very optimistic, the mortality rate trended towards being better in the sense of less deaths in the REM designate group. 8% versus 11% in the placebo group.

So bottom line. You're going to hear more details about this this will be submitted to a peer reviewed journal, and will be peer reviewed appropriately.

"But certainly it's a, it's a positive it's a very positive event," Trump said in response.

In-town pool report #3

Pool was escorted out of Oval at 12:27 p.m. Trump, Pence and Fauci all took many questions from reporters on a number of issues related to Gilead drug and reopening the country, including testing & economic factors, WHO.

Gilead remarks were most newsy; pooler will scan notes for more highlights, but no major announcement at Oval meeting.

This afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Trump is scheduled to participate in a roundtable with industry executives on the plan for opening up America. Trump in Oval alluded to plans for protecting workers that would be discussed at this meeting.

Edwards closed out the meeting by saying his state has "turned the corner" and is in a much better place, in part because of the supplies sent by the federal government.

Edwards said with recent commitments from FDA's Brett Giroir for tests, Louisiana is in a good place.

In-town pool report #4 - lunch lid

A lunch lid was called until 2:30 p.m.

In-town pool report #5 - call readout

>From the White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan. The President and the King discussed the coronavirus response in the United States and Jordan. The President thanked the King for his generous commitment to sending medical supplies to the United States. The President and the King agreed to cooperate closely, along with other Middle East partners and through the G20, to defeat the pandemic and minimize its economic impact. The leaders also discussed critical regional and bilateral issues.Cheryl Bolen

In-town pool report #6

>From the White House:

READOUT OF THE PRESIDENT'S CALL WITH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY LEADERS

Today, President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue spoke with food and agriculture industry leaders to discuss the strength and importance of the American food supply. The participants thanked the President and his Administration for the unprecedented level of support they have received before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presidential actions like negotiating beneficial trade deals with China and the USMCA with Mexico and Canada; providing the industry with PPE; and employing the Defense Production Act were heralded as just a few ways President Trump has kept his promise to the food and agriculture industries. The President thanked those on the call for their support and pledged to continue fighting for their success so that all of America triumphs over this virus.

The following individuals participated:

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

Trump Administration
Secretary Sonny Perdue, Department of Agriculture

External Participants
Zippy Duvall, President and CEO, American Farm Bureau Federation
Jay Jandrain, President and CEO, Butterball, LLC
John Keating, President, Cargill Meat Solutions
Doug Clemens, CEO, Clemens Food Group, LLC
Jim Snee, Chairman, President and CEO, Hormel Foods Corporation
Andre Nogueira, President and CEO, JBS USA
Ronnie Cameron, Chairman, Mountaire Farms, Inc.
Kevin Garland, CEO, Mountaire Farms, Inc.
Marty Smith, President, National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Colin Woodall, CEO, National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Mike Brown, President and CEO, National Chicken Council
Clint Rivers, Chairman, National Chicken Council
Bill Even, CEO, National Pork Board
David Newman, President, National Pork Board
A.V. Roth, President, National Pork Producers Council
Jen Sorenson, President-Elect, National Pork Producers Council
Neil Dierks, CEO, National Pork Producers Council
Joel Brandenberger, President, National Turkey Federation
Ron Kardel, Chairman, National Turkey Federation
Julie Anna Potts, President and CEO, North American Meat Institute
Warren Panico, Chairman, North American Meat Institute
Randy Day, CEO, Perdue Farms, Inc.
Joe Sanderson, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Duke Sand, President and CEO, Seaboard Foods, LLC
Ken Sullivan, President and CEO, Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Noel White, CEO, Tyson Foods, Inc.

In-town pool report #7

A reminder that 4:00 p.m. event with industry executives is being live-streamed: https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

Trump is scheduled to participate in a roundtable with industry executives on the plan for "Opening Up America Again," per daily guidance. It's being held in State Dining Room.

Pool was called about 3:50 p.m. and is holding in Red Room, adjacent to State Dining Room.

Pooler has not yet received a list of attendees at the meeting, but will forward as soon as possible.

In-town pool report #8

Pool was escorted into State Dining Room at 4:16 p.m. Trump and Pence walked in a minute later.

>From White House:

Today, President Donald J. Trump will lead a roundtable discussion with industry executives on the plan for Opening Up America Again in the State Dining Room of the White House.

The following individuals are expected to attend:

The White House
President Donald J. Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
Mark Meadows, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
Marc Short, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Larry Kudlow, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Counsel
Ambassador Debbie Birx, M.D., White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator
Tim Pataki, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison
Kevin Hassett, Senior Advisor

Trump Administration
Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Department of the Treasury
Secretary Eugene Scalia, Department of Labor

External Participants
Josh Bolten, President and CEO, Business Roundtable
Walt Ehmer, President and CEO, Waffle House
Matt Maddox, CEO, Wynn Resorts
Chris Nassetta, President and CEO, Hilton
Chris Reynolds, Chief Administrative Officer, Manufacturing & Corporate Resources, Toyota

In-town pool report #9

Trump started speaking about 4:18 p.m. at a long table with participants well-spaced.

Trump's initial remarks were generally about working well with governors and everyone wanting to open up businesses and get back to work.

VP Pence said as we come to the end of this mitigation period, states across the country at all embrace the same social distancing efforts & the American people have put them in practice.

Testing will be a part of how we move to the next stage, Pence said. We expect by next month, very quickly, the capacity to do more than 2 million tests a week, he said.

Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton, was the first industry executive to speak, and he described the deep-cleaning precautions the hotel chain was using to reassure guests.

Walt Ehmer, CEO of Waffle House, said some dine-in restaurants in Georgia were able to open this week and it was welcomed by the public. Ehmer said additional social distancing is now in place, with restaurants at about half-capacity.

Some debate about whether WH stands for White House or Waffle House.

Chris Reynolds at Toyota said 100+ new safety protocols were being put in place for factory workers to contain the virus. Plan to open May 11, but slowly, and with staggered shifts, he said.

Trump asked about Toyota facilities in Japan, where some facilities were open in some places.

Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts, said he was urging phase one opening soon in Nevada, and hopefully the Vegas strip could open by Memorial Day.

Josh Bolten of the Business Roundtable said this was a critical time and opening will depend on several elements, but safety first. Bolten said more detailed guidance for reopening is needed now. And more testing and monitoring is needed.

Larry Kudlow predicted markets would rebound next year.

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said UI benefits were now being delivered in all 50 states. Working on guidelines for employers and are hearing from workers who are concerned about returning to work, he said.

I'm response to a question, Trump said there is tremendous pent-up demand to get out to restaurants and hotels.

On whether FDA should grant emergency use authorization for Gilead's drug remdesivir, Trump said he wanted the agency to move quickly.

On whether he was open to deal to let US Postal Service borrow from Treasury without raising shipping rates for packages, Trump appeared disinclined.

Trump declined to put a date on when he wanted to see the country reopened, other than as soon as possible. He noted most businesses are opening slowly with reduced seats or other limits.

"This virus is going to be gone," but have to wait till it's gone, Trump said.

A lot of progress is being made on a vaccine, Trump said. Looking for therapeutics as well. Unclear whether full opening will happen before or after vaccine.

Trump said he was not going to let oil companies get in trouble, saving other industries. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said looking at several strategies, such as potentially storing additional oil. Trump said a plan could be announced shortly.

Trump said he was traveling to Arizona next week for an industry event, but it's too soon to be able to hold huge political rallies.

Said it would be a terrible thing to lose 65,000 people, but could have been worse without early action.

After making additional general remarks on reopening, Trump ended his comments at 5:30 p.m.

In-town pool report #10 - lid

A travel/photo lid was called at 6:18 p.m. Stay safe everyone!