{"id":99954,"date":"2020-04-30T10:14:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T17:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=99954"},"modified":"2020-04-30T10:14:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T17:14:43","slug":"president-trump-and-vice-president-pence-in-roundtable-with-industry-executives-on-the-plan-for-opening-up-america-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=99954","title":{"rendered":"President Trump and Vice President Pence in Roundtable with Industry Executives on the Plan for Opening Up America Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much, everybody.  A lot of progress is being made, as you see.  And we\u2019re reopening our country, and it\u2019s very exciting.  And it should have never happened.  This plague should never have happened.  It could have been stopped, but people chose not to stop it.  It\u2019s a very sad thing for the world \u2014 184 countries, at least.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dj83LYPfZdU\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s a great honor to have you with us, friends of mine who have been truly great business leaders and are great business leaders.  And you\u2019re opening up your company again too, if you think about it, right?  You\u2019re, sort of, doing a reopening.<\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re great companies, and they\u2019ll do very well \u2014 hopefully better than ever before.  And that\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing.  We\u2019re seeing tremendous pent-up demand.  And it\u2019s a beautiful thing to see.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s wonderful to have American industry leaders \u2014 and that\u2019s what you are: true leaders \u2014 to the White House.  You\u2019ve been here before, all of you, and we\u2019ve talked about it in different times.  We built the greatest economy in the history of the world, and nobody even disputes that.  And one day, they walk in and they say, \u201cSir, we\u2019re going to have to close it up until we get rid of this hidden enemy, this \u2014 this terrible scourge.\u201d  And that\u2019s what we did.  And we did the right thing.  We did an incredible job.  We worked with the governments.  We worked with states all over the country.<\/p>\n<p>We had no ventilators, or very few, from previous administrations.  And we became the king of ventilators.  We have thousands and thousands of ventilators.  We\u2019re now helping other countries with ventilators.<\/p>\n<p>We had old-fashioned tests that didn\u2019t work; they were really obsolete.  They didn\u2019t work.  They were broken.  And we end up \u2014 the testing has been incredible now and to a level that nobody has seen.  I got a call from President Moon of South Korea.  He said, \u201cCongratulations.  Your testing is just\u201d \u2014 nobody has ever seen anything like we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve tested more than all countries put together, and millions of tests and the highest quality test.  But it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s great to be with \u2014 with you.  We\u2019re joined by Matt Maddox of Wynn Resorts, Chris Reynolds of Toyota, Chris Nassetta of Hilton, Josh Bolten of the Business Roundtable, Walt Ehmer of Waffle House.<\/p>\n<p>And thanks to Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Secretary Eugene Scalia.  That Scalia has very good genes.  Where is Scalia?  He has very good genes, that guy, I\u2019ll tell you.  Scalia.  He\u2019s got the Scalia genes, right?  We all know what that means.<\/p>\n<p>We mourn \u2014 and I have to say this so strongly \u2014 we mourn every life tragically lost to the invisible enemy, and we\u2019re heartened that the worst of the pain and suffering is going to be behind us.  We think we really have crossed a big boundary, and much better days are ahead.  And I often say I see the light at the end of the tunnel, very strongly.  This demand is going to be incredible.  I think next year is going to be an incredible year for our economy.<\/p>\n<p>I think the fourth quarter is going to be really, really good, Kevin.  We were talking about that before.  You maybe will say something.  And we\u2019re going to be in a transition quarter next quarter, the third quarter.  And I think we\u2019ll do very, very nicely there, from an economic standpoint.<\/p>\n<p>But thanks to the devotion of the American people, the number of new cases continues to decline.  The United States has now conducted nearly 6 million tests, far more than any other nation, as I said.  So many \u2014 so many tests and so much has been learned about what we\u2019re fighting.<\/p>\n<p>And if it does rear up a little bit in the fall or even a lot, we\u2019ll be able to put it out.  We\u2019ll put out the embers or we\u2019ll put out the flames.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, we released guidelines to give states a real strong indication of what we want and how we want it done.  We\u2019ve really had a good relationship with the states.  Mike Pence has worked very, very hard with the task force.  He\u2019s headed the task force, so importantly, with a great group of people.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s been \u2014 it\u2019s just been incredible what\u2019s taken place over a very short period of time, including the gowns and all of the surgical equipment, and the safety equipment and masks.  People don\u2019t talk about masks anymore; that\u2019s the other thing.  They\u2019re not talking about masks.  They were talking about \u201cwhere are the masks,\u201d because we had a cupboard that was bare.  We didn\u2019t have a lot of \u2014 a lot of equipment or medical supplies in the cupboard that we inherited.<\/p>\n<p>Now we\u2019re taking in millions and millions of masks.  I\u2019ll give you a number that you won\u2019t even believe.  We have an order: 500 million masks coming in.  And we\u2019ve delivered millions and millions and tens of millions of masks all over.  So you don\u2019t hear about that anymore either.  You don\u2019t hear about ventilators; you don\u2019t hear about masks.  And you shouldn\u2019t be hearing about testing, but that\u2019s the last thing they can complain about, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>You know, if we do \u2014 if we do 2 million tests, they said, \u201cHow come you didn\u2019t do three?\u201d  Well, we do three and then they say, \u201cHow come you didn\u2019t do four?\u201d  That\u2019s like a \u2014 that\u2019s like a dream for the media.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019ve done incredible with testing.  And you\u2019ll see over the next coming weeks \u2014 Mike, you maybe want to speak about that a little bit \u2014 but over the next coming weeks, you\u2019ll see some \u2014 some astonishing numbers.  I don\u2019t know that all of that\u2019s even necessary because you have some governors that love the test.  You have others that like doing it a different way, an old-fashioned way, with some testing.  But we\u2019re going maximum testing.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve encouraged the more than 30 states that have taken steps to resume economic activity already \u2014 we\u2019ve given them tremendous encouragement and support.  We\u2019re backing them 100 percent.  You know, many governors have called me, telling me their plans, laying them out: governor of Texas, Oklahoma, governor of Arkansas \u2014 many, many governors.  I spoke with Governor Cuomo.  We had a great talk today on a different subject, but he wants to get open.  Everybody wants to get open.  They want to get open, and they want to get back to business.  And their constituents, the citizens of this country, want to get back.  And that\u2019s what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n<p>So I just want to perhaps start off by introducing our Vice President, and then we\u2019ll go around the table, and you\u2019ll introduce yourself and say a few words to the media.  You\u2019re covered by a very serious media out here.  The audience can\u2019t see it, but these are the most wonderful human beings.  Actually, this is a nice group.  I can\u2019t imagine.  We actually have a nice group of people.<\/p>\n<p>But, Mike, if you could say a few words, please, that would be great.  And then we\u2019ll go around the table.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, Mr. President.  And I want to thank all the distinguished business leaders who are here and the \u2014 and the, literally, millions of Americans that are employed at the businesses represented around this table.<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s remarkable to think, Mr. President, that before the coronavirus epidemic came ashore, we had seen extraordinary growth in the American economy, not just the stock market setting records; millions of new jobs; more Americans working than ever before.  But in January, when you stood up the White House Coronavirus Task Force, you said we had one mission, and that was to save lives and to make sure that the healthcare providers in America would be able to render the level of care to any American struggling with the coronavirus that we would want our own family members to have.<\/p>\n<p>And thanks to your leadership, thanks to the partnership that we forged with states across the country, working with local health officials, Mr. President, as you said yesterday, we have light at the end of the tunnel.  We really are encouraged by the progress.  In even the hotspots around the country, cases are leveling off, and in some areas, going down.  Hospitalizations are declining even in the Greater New York City area.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a testament to the American people and to the way the American people, now nearly 45 days ago, embraced the guidelines to slow the spread.  And as we come to the end of this mitigation period, states across the country have all embraced those same mitigation and social distancing efforts.  The American people to put them into practice.  We\u2019ve saved lives.  We\u2019ve protected the vulnerable.  We preserved our healthcare system.  And we\u2019re well on our way to healing our land.<\/p>\n<p>As you mentioned, testing will be a part of how we move to the next stage.  It was just on the 16th that you laid out a plan for opening up America again.  And as we sit here today, I\u2019m \u2014 I\u2019m informed that 35 states have already released formal opening plans, many of which are consulting directly with our team here in the administration, and we\u2019re going to continue to work with all of them.<\/p>\n<p>Testing is a major part of it.  And I can assure you, Mr. President, and the American people that we\u2019ll continue to scale testing across the country.  We\u2019re doing more than a million tests a week now; 5.8 million tests total.  We expect, by next month, very quickly to be at a capacity to do more than 2 million tests a week.  We laid out our blueprint for testing.<\/p>\n<p>And as I heard again today on a conference call with America\u2019s governors in agricultural states, there\u2019s great enthusiasm for the blueprint for testing that you unveiled earlier this week.  And we\u2019ll be surging supplies and resources and reagents into the states to support that increased testing.<\/p>\n<p>But we know that, ultimately, we\u2019ve \u2014 we\u2019ve got to find a way to help America get back to work.  And having the opportunity to hear from these business leaders about best practices that businesses are considering, whether they be restaurants like Waffle House or major corporations and hotels, we welcome that.  We look forward to partnering with you, as the President said.<\/p>\n<p>America works when America is working.  And we\u2019re absolutely committed, as soon as it is safe and responsible to do so, to partner with governors across the country, partner with businesses across the country, and open up America again.  So, thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Mike.  And I just \u2014 before we go around, Puritan Medical Supplies [Products], a wonderful company, will produce 40 million additional swabs per month starting in May.  They\u2019ve opened up a very big process, and that was funding authorized by the Defense Production Act.  So that\u2019ll help the states.  And again, we\u2019re there to help the states.  A lot of states can buy their own swabs.  It\u2019s not that big a deal.  But we\u2019re here to help them.  We want them to be successful.<\/p>\n<p>We had, as you know, the governor of Louisiana in today and we told that story, which has been a really great story.  And we had the governor of Florida in yesterday.  And that was a great story.  These were \u2014 just incredible what\u2019s been happening.<\/p>\n<p>So maybe we\u2019ll start with my left.  And, Chris, do you want to take it \u2014<\/p>\n<p>MR. NASSETTA:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  \u2014 and tell him about \u2014 I know a lot about your company, but maybe a lot of people don\u2019t.  Tell them the story.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NASSETTA:  Indeed, you do.  Thank you, first of all, for inviting me back to the White House.  I was thinking, on the way down here today \u2014 I\u2019m based in Washington, and I was here about six weeks ago.  The world was a different place.  We were \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Different.<\/p>\n<p>MR. NASSETTA:  We were not at the beginning, but we were in the thick of it, fighting this war.  And we\u2019ve come a long way.  We\u2019ve made tremendous progress, thanks to your leadership and the leadership of the administration that is represented around this table and otherwise.  So, thank you for that.<\/p>\n<p>We \u2014 you know, we are very supportive as an industry, and certainly as a company, on reopening America.  We think it\u2019s critical that that happen.  The guidelines that you and the administration have outlined, we\u2019re incredibly supportive of, of opening in a safe and healthy way, which \u2014 which you and Vice President Pence just described.<\/p>\n<p>We have been trying at Hilton, and as an industry, to be part of the solution throughout.  So in the middle of the crux of the crisis, when first responders were unable to get housing \u2014 even though our industry and our company has its share of problems \u2014 we provided, with American Express, one million rooms, free of charge, to first responders.  Those rooms are still being provided to first responders as they fight the war.<\/p>\n<p>But now, as we think about and I spend my time predominantly on the reopening of our business, what we realize is that people do want to get out.  They want safety.  They want to be doing it in a way that is safe.  They want to feel good about it, but they want to get out.  They want to visit their family, their friends, their loved ones.  They ultimately want to get around the country and do business again.  And in order to do that, they want to feel safe.<\/p>\n<p>So all the work that you all are doing is obviously, as an administration and the states, is critical.  What we\u2019re trying to do in our part is develop the best health and hygiene standards that exist.  So when they stay in our hotels, they feel safe.<\/p>\n<p>So what we launched just this week was \u2014 in partnership with Lysol, one of the most respected brands with some of the best scientists on cleanliness and killing germs, and the Mayo Clinic, one of the most reputable health organizations in the world \u2014 we have developed and are working on the absolute best protocols so that when people come into our hotels, the rooms have been cleaned, they\u2019ve been sealed, the public spaces have, and then they can feel safe and secure in that environment so they can get out and see the people they want to see and see this great country again, like they used to.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve also been trying to work with the industry \u2014 and the industry, to their credit, is trying to mobilize to create a consistent set of standards so that this isn\u2019t just Hilton.  The whole industry, you know, would have a set of health and hygiene standards that would make \u2014 that would make people comfortable.  We will be sharing it with the administration, we\u2019re sharing it with governors already, to try and create a standard.<\/p>\n<p>We stand ready, as Hilton, and we stand ready as an industry to help get America open and moving again.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s great.  Thank you very much.  Great company.  And you\u2019ll have it up and running again very soon.  I know you very well and you\u2019re going to do a great job reopening.  We\u2019re reopening Hilton, and we\u2019re reopening our nation.  A lot of companies are very excited right now.<\/p>\n<p>Steve, do you want to say just a couple of words about where we are with the different things, please?<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  Well, I think \u2014 thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President.  It\u2019s great to see these companies here today.  It\u2019s great to see the reopening.  I think we\u2019re making an enormous amount of progress.  Yesterday, we met with small businesses that we saw the benefit of the programs.  Today, we\u2019re meeting with big businesses.  I was particularly pleased to hear from Chris.  He\u2019s been able to access the capital markets.<\/p>\n<p>Just the announcement of our facilities with the Federal Reserve created liquidity so that public companies could access the capital markets and not need to come to the government for support.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>Please.  How are you doing?<\/p>\n<p>MR. EHMER:  I\u2019m doing great.  Thank you, Mr. President.  I\u2019m Walt Ehmer, with Waffle House, in Atlanta, Georgia.  It is a \u2014 it\u2019s an honor to be here today.  Thank you for including me, a \u2014 probably a well-dressed cook and dishwasher.  I don\u2019t know about big companies, but \u2014 but we\u2019re happy to be included.  And thank you, too, Mr. Vice President, for \u2014 for all of your support.<\/p>\n<p>I am here representing our industry, I believe, and, in large part, the independent restaurant companies of America that are out here that have helped create the fabric of our country with the restaurants that they\u2019ve put in our communities and the connections they have with communities.  And we, in a small way, feel like we are a part of that.<\/p>\n<p>We did have \u2014 we did have the opportunity this week, in the state of Georgia, in the state of Tennessee, to open up some of our dining rooms to dine-in customers again.  And it was very welcomed by our people; it was welcomed by our customers.  Our customers are ready to see some sign of progress that we are beginning to move forward.  We\u2019ve done it in a safe way.  We have followed all of the guidelines \u2014 your guidelines, the CDC guidelines, in how to make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>But what we believe we\u2019ve \u2014 when we started out in this journey, we said we really have several goals.  And the first goal was we wanted it to be a safe environment for our customers and for our associates.  And our second goal was to create financial safety for our workforce.<\/p>\n<p>And I wanted to thank you personally for \u2014 on behalf of our workforce \u2014 for all of the stimulus funds that have gone directly to the workforce of America.  It is making a difference.  It has made a difference.  It is keeping the economic engine turning ever so slowly right now, but it is helping keep people put food on the table and a roof over their head.  So, on behalf of our workforce, I thank you for that.<\/p>\n<p>As we got into this, we felt like we needed to make a lot of adjustments coming in.  One of the great things about a restaurant and the entire restaurant community: The restaurants are the second largest private employer in the country.  And there is a million restaurants out there.  And probably no other industry has been hit as hard from a revenue standpoint, or a layoff and furlough standpoint.  But restaurants, if you think about \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  What\u2019s number one?<\/p>\n<p>MR. EHMER:  What\u2019s number one?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>MR. EHMER:  Health \u2014 healthcare, is my understanding.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Really?  Good.<\/p>\n<p>MR. EHMER:  Yeah.  Private employers.  I assume you guys are number one overall, but \u2014<\/p>\n<p>So, you know, restaurants have a unique opportunity to help lead us out of this.  And the reason for that, in my opinion, is \u2014 is that we have been practicing safe food handling for years.  The safety of our guests has always been paramount.  So, what we have done is we\u2019ve taken a workforce that is trained to do that and added more sanitation practices to it, more touchpoints, more social distancing, as you have prescribed and the CDC has prescribed.<\/p>\n<p>And we have a \u2014 basically turned our restaurants into the ability, pretty much at half capacity, to seat guests in our restaurant.  And it \u2014 it\u2019s given us an opportunity to get the wheels of the economy, our economy, our engine turning a little bit, because the next thing we want to make sure is we protect the jobs for the people that work for us and the people in our industry.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re very appreciative.  I did want to say that, ever since my daughter was young, she \u2014 every time she saw the \u201cWH\u201d on the TV screen, she thought that that stood for \u201cWaffle House.\u201d  So I don\u2019t know if you have the trademark for the \u201cWhite House\u201d or we do, but we could probably work something out.  But I wore my \u201cWH\u201d tie for you today.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  This one was here first.  I know that.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. EHMER:  Well, we might have to talk then.<\/p>\n<p>So \u2014 but thank you for including us.  And on behalf of all the restaurant operators out there in the country, we appreciate this opportunity to begin the journey to move forward.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And thank you very much, Walt.  We appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Reynolds?  Chris, of Toyota.<\/p>\n<p>MR. REYNOLDS:  Yes, Mr. President.  Thank you, first, for inviting us.  Thank you, Mr. Vice President, in giving us an opportunity to share how Toyota is working within the American automotive industry to return to work safely, to reopen America safely.<\/p>\n<p>We announced on March 18 that we were suspending production due to the awful scourge of the coronavirus.  On March 19, we started to plan to reopen.  We started right away.  And just to give you some quick background on Toyota: We\u2019ve been here in the U.S. for over 60 years; 1,500 dealers; 1.2 million doll- \u2014 1.2 million units of cars and trucks manufactured last year; 475,000 people employed, including a great number in the state of Indiana from where our Vice President is from.<\/p>\n<p>Going to the next slide, we \u2014 with that as background \u2014 really are trying to apply three fundamental principles to how we\u2019re going to return to work.  Principle number one is: We need to stay connected with our team members.  So, every week, we conduct phone surveys with all 32,000 of our factory workers, asking them how are they feeling, what\u2019s their health, what\u2019s their family\u2019s wellbeing, what\u2019s their confidence level in returning to work.<\/p>\n<p>And we also preview with them all of the new safety protocols and processes that we\u2019re going to put in place.  We share pictures of the reconfigured factory workplace so they can have confidence that we\u2019re doing everything possible, Mr. President, to keep them healthy, safe, and productive.<\/p>\n<p>The second principle that we follow is that we\u2019ve prepared our plants and facilities for safe and healthy working.  So, like many here, we\u2019re engaging in marked-off areas that require social distancing, the provision of masks and face shields where appropriate, daily temperature screening, as well as a daily app-based questionnaire that, before you come into work, asks you, \u201cHow are you feeling today?  Do you have any symptoms?\u201d \u2014 so that we can try and manage and contain the virus.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re using best practices not only from your own Centers for Disease Control, Mr. President, but also from around the world to try and increase the safety and health of our team members as they produce.<\/p>\n<p>And then the third principle is we\u2019re not date driven, we\u2019re data driven.  So our current plan is to open on May 11.  It\u2019ll be a slow, gradual opening of our plants around the country.  But we\u2019re flexible.  Every plant will be different.  We\u2019ll have staggered shifts.  We\u2019ll do many other things to comply with the Centers for Disease Control guidelines.  And our goal is to prioritize team member and health.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. President, one final point: We all know that our team members live in communities.  It\u2019s not just the workforce that they\u2019re in; they\u2019re in communities.  So what Toyota has done is it\u2019s tried to support the communities in which our team members live, including manufacturing half a million face shields just since the start of this crisis \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.<\/p>\n<p>MR. REYNOLDS:  \u2014 to distribute to healthcare centers, nursing homes, first responders around the country, so that our team members can feel that we\u2019re also part of the community.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ve also put together \u2014 just released yesterday \u2014 a community service announcement aimed at those communities of color that have been particularly impacted by the lethal nature of this virus.  This announcement includes celebrities encouraging everyone to engage in safe practices promoted by the Centers for Disease Control.<\/p>\n<p>So we think it\u2019s a holistic process.  We think it\u2019s also a process that requires commitment.  And thank you for the commitment that your administration has demonstrated.  We\u2019re going to get through this as a family, Mr. President.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So, Chris, what\u2019s Toyota doing in Japan?  Are they open?  Are they semi-open?  What\u2019s happening in Japan?<\/p>\n<p>MR. REYNOLDS:  Mr. President, in Japan, the situation varies prefecture by prefecture.  It depends on the plant.  Some facilities are operating, some are not.  And that\u2019s really a function of both the situation on the ground in a given prefecture, like our state, or it\u2019s a function of demand.  So it varies, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great job.  You\u2019re going to have a great Olympics next year too, by the way.<\/p>\n<p>MR. REYNOLDS:  Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  A really great Olympics.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Maddox, please, of Wynn \u2014 Wynn Resorts.  Hi, Matt.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  Yes.  Thank you, Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>First, I\u2019d like to echo what you\u2019re saying about testing and testing capacity.  We have seen a real expansion in testing capacity in Las Vegas, so much so that our university hospital is going from a couple hundred tests a day to 10,000 tests a day.  They don\u2019t have enough people to test.  So I signed a deal with them to allow all Wynn employees to get tests anytime for free, and they\u2019re going to set up on-site testing.  So that\u2019s moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>We also, during this time, decided to pay all 15,000 of our employees, from housekeepers to head of sales.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  And we did that because I thought that could help accelerate the economy.  So, as an example, we took our call center, and we\u2019ve had our call center team up with the Health District to become contact tracers.  We tripled the amount of contact tracing ability, on us, for our state to get that moving.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  And we published a 23-page plan for the whole world to see, 10 days ago, that lays out exactly what we think a Strip opening would look like.  We have thermal cameras at our entrances.  We have company-supplied PPE.  We have just about every UV technology that you can think of for disinfectant.  So we\u2019re ready.  And I\u2019m encouraging our state that we need to begin a phased approach and get back to business.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So, Matt, when do you think the Las Vegas Strip will be open?  Do you have any idea?<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  So, the plan that I put forward to the state is: This week, let\u2019s start phase one \u2014 golf course, tennis courts, small restaurants, small retails, nail salons, et cetera \u2014 with social distancing in place.  Judge the benchmarks that we\u2019ve prepared.  We prepared three benchmarks based on disease growth, ICU capacity, and testing positivity rate.  We\u2019re going to have them out there public every day.  If we\u2019re inside those benchmarks in three weeks, then on Memorial Day, I would hope that we\u2019re open.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And you have a lot of excess testing capacity.  That\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  We do.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Others have said that too.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  We do.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Ron DeSantis said it yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  So all 12,000 of our employees in Las Vegas can now go get a test.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s fantastic.  Thank you very much.  Great job.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  Sure.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Say hello to all of my friends.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  I will.  I will, of course.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Josh Bolten, please.  Josh?  Business Roundtable.<\/p>\n<p>MR. BOLTEN:  Mr. President.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And does a great job at the Business Roundtable.  Thank you, Josh.<\/p>\n<p>MR. BOLTEN:  Thank you, Mr. President.  Thanks for this opportunity.  I\u2019m Josh Bolten.  I\u2019m CEO of the Business Roundtable, an organization of nearly 200 of America\u2019s leading CEOs who collectively employ over 15 million people.  Every sector of the economy is represented in our organization, so we have an opportunity to get a view of the big picture.<\/p>\n<p>And, Mr. President, we don\u2019t need to tell you that right now the big picture is very challenging.  We \u2014 we\u2019re facing the largest economic crisis in \u2014 certainly in our \u2014 in our lifetimes, and all of our members are keenly aware of that.<\/p>\n<p>We think now is the moment that it\u2019s critical that the country start getting back to business as rapidly as possible, not just for the health of the economy, but for the health and wellbeing of all of our citizens in our country.  Successful reopening will depend, as the other panelists have said, on a lot of different elements.  And if I may, I\u2019d like to highlight three.<\/p>\n<p>Top of the list is: safety first.  Business Roundtable companies are all uniformly committed above all to protecting the lives and the wellbeing of their employees and their customers.  And that means following sound public health guidance like the one \u2014 like the guidance that has issued here from the very capable people on your team.<\/p>\n<p>At Business Roundtable, all of our members either already have in place or are formulating careful plans for responsibly transitioning back to work, like the plans we\u2019ve \u2014 we\u2019ve heard about just now this afternoon.  They\u2019re devising new measures around personal protective equipment, cleaning procedures, virus screening, ongoing social distancing in the workplace \u2014 all of the things that you know about, and they all seem to be excellent plans.<\/p>\n<p>Which takes me to my second point, which is: consistent guidelines.  No matter how good every company\u2019s transition plan is, and we\u2019ve heard a lot of good ones here this afternoon, public confidence will be undermined, and the speed of the reopening will be dramatically slowed, if we\u2019re all doing different things.  And that\u2019s why the Business Roundtable has called for clear, science-based guidance from the federal and state governments on appropriate safety measures in multiple workplace and commercial settings at different stages in the progression of the disease.<\/p>\n<p>The White House guidelines, Mr. President, that you highlighted in your first slide \u2014 the ones that came out two weeks ago \u2014 are an excellent start in identifying a common set of phases for dealing with reopening.  And a number of states are off to a really good start in identifying recommended safety measures in each various different settings.<\/p>\n<p>Now we think, since we are now on the cusp of many places being ready to reopen more fully, we think more specific guidance is needed.<\/p>\n<p>And so, on Friday, we sent to the Vice President and to all the governors a set of recommendations on the kinds of consistent guidance our businesses feel is necessary for the safest and fastest reopening.  And we\u2019re grateful for the chance to engage with the Vice President\u2019s team and all of your task force on those issues.<\/p>\n<p>And I should say, Mr. Vice President, that everybody in your administration, despite the heavy burdens on them, has been very receptive to taking advice from the business community, and we\u2019re very grateful for that.<\/p>\n<p>Final point: ample testing and monitoring.  The only thing worse than an unnecessarily slow recovery is a reversed recovery.  So to avoid serious setbacks, as our businesses reopen, we need to stay vigilant, identifying rapidly, and \u2014 identifying rapidly and isolating new COVID cases, and carefully tracking the spread of the disease, as I know your team is working very hard on.<\/p>\n<p>The robust testing and other forms of monitoring are the keys to the vigilance.  And they\u2019ll also teach us what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not working and allow us to make adjustments.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019ll take a while for our economy to return to normal, but the traditional American virtues of vigilance, adaptation, and innovation, we are confident, will see us through and get to \u2014 get us to the other side of this crisis as safely and rapidly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, Josh.  That was great.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers \u2014 when you look at the stock market today, the enthusiasm is great.  It\u2019s up very substantially, as you know.  And I think people are seeing a very big year coming up next year, and I think they\u2019re seeing a very big fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Larry, would you like to say \u2014 Larry Kudlow \u2014 a few words, please?<\/p>\n<p>MR. KUDLOW:  Just a few words.  Thanks to everybody, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, and all the business folks, and my friend, Steve Mnuchin.<\/p>\n<p>This is a tough one.  I\u2019ve been around a while.  This is a tough one.  And the contraction is going to go on for a bit, but I like what I hear around the table.  And I agree with the President.  We will see a growing, recovering economy by summertime and the back end of the year, and it\u2019s going to extend into 2021.  That\u2019s what I think is going to happen.  And I think the stock market is signaling some of that.<\/p>\n<p>I wanted to buck it over to my dear friend and colleague, Kevin Hassett.  He gave it to me over in the Oval yesterday.  I want to send it over to him today.  But I appreciate it, Mr. President.  Thank you, sir.<\/p>\n<p>MR. HASSETT:  Thank you, Larry.  And, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, I think that when I first came back, back in early March, that it was clear that you had a first objective, with respect to the economy, of building a bridge to the next shore \u2014 the other shore when we could restart the economy.<\/p>\n<p>And it was really massive fiscal action that made it so that a day like today could be possible \u2014 whereas, you look around, there all these businesses that have the wherewithal to start up.  And it\u2019s because they\u2019ve stayed connected to their employees.  The checks that we\u2019ve mailed to citizens means that there\u2019s going to be a demand for their products.  And so that the big negative numbers that we\u2019re going to be seeing over the next few months don\u2019t necessarily mean what they would\u2019ve meant absent all those policies.<\/p>\n<p>So I think that we all have a great deal of optimism about how quickly the economy can come back.  And it\u2019s precisely because of what we see in the room today that people are \u2014 have come up with plans, based on the guidance that your task force, Mr. Vice President, have given that make it so that they can operate safely, and they\u2019re gradually across the country opening up and getting back to work.  And they\u2019re able to do so because of the lifeline that you, Mr. President, threw them with all the first three phases of fiscal policy.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And it\u2019s great to have you back too.  Very talented guy.  At least he made a lot of good predictions.  Your predictions all turned out.  Between you and Larry, that\u2019s a \u2014 it\u2019s a tremendous team.  Thank you both very much.<\/p>\n<p>Gene, Secretary of a very important thing called Labor.  What\u2019s more important than labor?<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY SCALIA:  Well, it is so important.  And, Mr. President, I was pleased to be able to tell you earlier today that, as of yesterday, all 50 states in the District of Columbia are now offering the additional $600 in unemployment insurance that was part of the CARES Act that you signed last month.  This was an additional benefit on top of what the states were already making available in unemployment and one important part of your program to support workers during this difficult time.<\/p>\n<p>As you know, the states have had some challenges with their computer systems.  We\u2019ve been working with them.  This is not declaring victory in all aspects of delivering those unemployment benefits, but it is a milestone I wanted to note.<\/p>\n<p>I have been very pleased to hear the discussion among this group about all the steps that companies are taking to keep their workers safe.  I think we all appreciate that confidence in the part of workers that they will be safe in the workplace is going to be an important part of the reopening, as well as confidence in the part of business about what needs to be done, and that when those steps are taken, they will have satisfied their obligations.<\/p>\n<p>We at the Labor Department have been working carefully, in conjunction with the CDC, to provide guidance for a variety of different workplaces so that employers and companies know what needs to be done and employees know as well.  And we\u2019ll continue to do that.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also receiving complaints from workers who worry about safe work conditions or that they might have experienced some adverse action for raising safety concerns, and we\u2019ll look into those.  And we\u2019ll \u2014 we have the tools that we need, from an enforcement perspective, if workers\u2019 rights aren\u2019t respected.  But I\u2019m so heartened to hear the steps that businesses want to take and are taking to support their workers.<\/p>\n<p>Just a last observation, Mr. President: As you and the Vice President said, just weeks ago we were enjoying such an extraordinary economy.  And there were reasons for that.  There were policies that you put in place \u2014 lower taxes, deregulation \u2014 that were vital to what we enjoyed before.  Right now, we\u2019re in a period of very important government intervention, and we need that.<\/p>\n<p>But as we look forward at the department, I think it will be important to remember as well the limits of government and that the single best thing for workers is a vibrant economy, and that often comes from allowing free markets and free people to go about their business.  We\u2019ll keep that in mind too.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  Any questions for our panelists, please?<\/p>\n<p>Yeah.  Please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    This could be a question for any of the business leaders.  But there are polls that show that Americans say \u2014 the vast majority of Americans say that once they\u2019re allowed to go back to restaurants, hotels, places like that, that they won\u2019t because they don\u2019t feel safe.  So do you \u2014 are you worried that until there is a vaccine, people really won\u2019t come back to some of these businesses?<\/p>\n<p>MR. NASSETTA:  I mean, of course we worry about it.  And we see some of the same polling, and we\u2019re talking to our customers by the tens of millions, hundreds of millions.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, we served 180 million people, so we have a pretty \u2014 pretty big and extensive customer base.  What \u2014 what we\u2019re hearing from our customers is that they\u2019re desperate to get back out and move around and see their country again and see their friends again.  They obviously want to do it in a safe and healthy way.<\/p>\n<p>And so I think they\u2019re looking \u2014 our customers are saying they\u2019re looking for the government, both state and federal government, to focus on testing so that they understand, you know, what real mortality rates are as work has been done with the Stanford test and the \u2014 you know, the data in Norway and other data points that are coming out.<\/p>\n<p>As the administration and states do more and more testing, I think our customers \u2014 what I\u2019m hearing from our customers is they\u2019re starting to understand while every life is precious, that the reality of the ultimate mortality rates here is probably much, much lower than had been estimated.  And if they are old and infirm, that they have great risk and those people should be protected, but if they\u2019re not, they probably are at a very low risk.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re then looking for \u2014 which is why we launched, this week, CleanStay and why we\u2019re working with our industry.  They want to know that people are being responsible.  Right?  They want to know that we are doing the testing, the social distancing; that we are using protocols and PPE in protecting our employees so that they can protect customers; that we\u2019re being very thoughtful and sensible that, when they do come and stay with us or they enter into a restaurant where we\u2019ve always had good hygiene, as you heard earlier \u2014 we are \u2014 you know, our people are trained to have good ideas, but we up our game so that when they\u2019re with us, they feel safe.<\/p>\n<p>So I think it\u2019s a combination of those things that are happening of broadly understanding the real risk that they have and then mitigating that risk even further by the specific actions that we all take in our places of work with our team members and thus, ultimately, with our customers.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And I haven\u2019t seen that, because I will tell you, to me, I think there\u2019s a tremendous pent-up demand for people.  I see it in Texas where they have lines going into stores.  And a couple of restaurants, I guess, opened, and they\u2019re \u2014 they literally have \u2014 they have long lines.  I think there\u2019s a tremendous pent-up demand.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been at the White House now for many months, and I\u2019d like to get out, as much as I love this.  This is the most beautiful house in the world, in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p>But I think there\u2019s just a great demand to get out and, you know, get our country going again, and that includes going to restaurants and hotels.  And I think you\u2019re going to find, Chris, that you\u2019re going to have \u2014 do a lot of business that you\u2019re not even thinking about.  I\u2019m seeing it; I feel it.  And I\u2019ve felt a lot of things over the years, including, \u201cGee, I think I can win for President,\u201d you know?<\/p>\n<p>And, frankly, I really feel that next year is going to be a very good year, economically.  We\u2019re going to be back in business.  So we\u2019ll have to see.  I mean, only time will tell, but there\u2019s a lot of good feelings.  And a lot of good decisions have been made by a lot of very talented people.  So I\u2019m feeling very much that it\u2019s going to be very successful.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Just one question for you, Mr. President: Do you want the FDA to issue a emergency use authorization for remdesivir?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it\u2019s a big \u2014 it\u2019s a big thing what happened just recently, where they came up with something that has a very substantial percentage.  You know, it\u2019s a building block.  Tony said it today; I thought it was very well expressed.  He said that\u2019s a building block.  That means it\u2019s a very substantial chunk of a step.  And that\u2019s a building block to the ultimate step.  That\u2019s a big building block, when you hear, I guess, 31 percent.  So, it was very good.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, I want them to go as quickly as they can.  Stephen Hahn \u2014 Dr. Hahn has been incredible at the FDA.  He\u2019s getting things done in record time.  There\u2019s never been anything like it.  And, yeah, we want it \u2014 we want everything to be safe.  But we do \u2014 we would like to see very quick approvals, especially with things that work.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, Mr. Bolten and others suggested that they\u2019d like to see federal guidelines for some of these companies \u2014 explicit federal guidelines for some of these companies and factories opening back up.  So far, you\u2019ve given a lot of discretion to companies and states, but is that somewhere where you\u2019d be willing to step in and do more?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we will step in if we see something wrong.  We have given discretion to the governors.  I\u2019ve become very well acquainted with the governors.  You have some very talented governors, frankly, and probably some that are a little bit less talented.  That\u2019s okay.  But it\u2019s a very talented group of people.<\/p>\n<p>And they\u2019re working with us.  We\u2019re helping them.  Whether it\u2019s ventilators or swabs that they can\u2019t get, we\u2019re there.  And we\u2019ve taken in billions and billions of dollars\u2019 worth of equipment and distributed it to the states.  And, you know, you \u2014 you\u2019ve heard the calls and we have no problems.  We\u2019re doing really well, and we\u2019re backing them up.<\/p>\n<p>But we want the governors to call those shots.  If we see something that we don\u2019t like or that\u2019s bad or that\u2019s unsafe, we\u2019ll stop it immediately.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    What might the new normal look like in two, three years from now?  Say restaurant workers, hotel workers \u2014 might they be required to wear masks?  That sort of thing.  What would the new normal look like?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, I don\u2019t see that.  No, I don\u2019t see that.  I see the new normal being what it was three months ago.  I think we want to go back to where it was.  I mean, when I look at a baseball game, I want to see people right next to each other.  I don\u2019t want to see four seats in between every person so that the stadium becomes 25 percent of its original size.  No.  I want to see the NFL with a packed house.  I don\u2019t want to see NFL with three seats in between people.<\/p>\n<p>No, I want to \u2014 I want to go back to where it was.  That\u2019s where we\u2019re going to be.<\/p>\n<p>Look, this thing will pass.  And when it passes, that\u2019ll be a great achievement.  And we \u2014 we\u2019ve done a very good job.  It\u2019s far too many people, needlessly, because it could have been stopped at the point of origin.  And somehow we weren\u2019t helped by \u2014 whether it\u2019s World Health Organization or China, whoever, we weren\u2019t \u2014 they didn\u2019t do what should have been done.  Very sad, actually, for the whole world.  It\u2019s a very sad thing.  This is a very, very sad event.  It\u2019s a war against the invisible enemy.  And we\u2019re now on the other side, and we\u2019re \u2014 I think what I want to see is I want to see where it was.<\/p>\n<p>And I think we have a chance of an incredible year next year.  Now, not if somebody is going to come in like our opponents and raise taxes all over the place.  They want to raise taxes.  That\u2019s \u2014 that will kill something very fast.  We have something that\u2019s very special.  We built the greatest economy in the world, and I want to get that back as soon as possible.  I think we can start getting it back very, very quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Look at the stock market today, when it has that kind of \u2014 Kevin and Larry \u2014 when it has that kind of \u2014 Josh \u2014 when it has that kind of a bounce today, as much as it went up.  But I think it set some kind \u2014 almost a record over the last week, right?  It\u2019s almost a record.  And this is in the midst of something.<\/p>\n<p>Now, we\u2019re not in the midst.  They feel we\u2019re on the other side of it, or you wouldn\u2019t be seeing numbers like this.  But \u2014 so we\u2019re at 24,000.  Maybe even a little above 24,000.  And we were at 29,000.  We never broke 30 on the Dow.  So that\u2019s tremendous.<\/p>\n<p>But what it really does \u2014 you have a lot of very smart people.  That means that they are looking to the future, number one.  And I look at it as jobs.  I also look at it as sort of guidance; it\u2019s a guidance, in a sense.  It\u2019s \u2014 the stock market.  Who would think you could have a stock market at 24,000 after we\u2019ve gone through the worst pandemic since 1917?  That\u2019s over 100 years.<\/p>\n<p>You know, this is the worst since 1917.  So I think that\u2019s a great indicator.  There are a lot of very smart people that understand that world very well and they have a lot of confidence in it, and that\u2019s some of the companies that were here \u2014 public companies.<\/p>\n<p>But it means jobs.  It also means not only guidance; it means some really \u2014 some people \u2014 and I know some great investors \u2014 people really have a lot of confidence in what\u2019s going forward.  And that\u2019s what I see, and that\u2019s where I want it to be.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, ma\u2019am.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 are you open to making a deal with the Postal Service that would allow it to borrow from Treasury without raising its shipping rates, its package rates?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, you have to raise the rates on packages because they\u2019re losing a fortune on packages.  They\u2019re losing anywhere from two dollars to three or four dollars a package every time they deliver.  So, it\u2019s not fair.  And it\u2019s not fair to the people that work at the Postal Service.<\/p>\n<p>You have some of these companies \u2014 the Internet retail.  You look at that, and they drop millions of packages on the post office.  The post office delivers a package, and every time they deliver a package, they lose from two to five dollars a package.  And what kind of a business is that?<\/p>\n<p>And you could never replicate the post office.  The post office is massive.  But they\u2019ve got places and little sections of our country that no company could ever go to.  That took hundreds of years to build the post office.  And when you look at the size of it and you compare it to companies, it\u2019s much bigger than companies.  I mean, much, much bigger.  There\u2019s no company that\u2019s the size of that.<\/p>\n<p>No, we want to stabilize the post office, and the way you do that is these companies are going to have to pay more, not the people.  We\u2019re not looking for the people to pay.  But the companies are going to have to pay a percentage of that \u2014 that loss.  You can\u2019t do that.  The government shouldn\u2019t have to do it.  I think the post office could \u2014 wouldn\u2019t it be great if it could, after so many decades, break even?<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re making a lot of people rich and a lot of companies rich by subsidizing these companies.  On top of that, they don\u2019t pay the same taxes as a retail store.  It\u2019s very unfair to the retailers.  You look at these stores; the retail stores are being just clobbered.  And there are so many disadvantages.<\/p>\n<p>But, no, when we deliver a package at the post office, every package it delivers, they lose a lot of money.  And that\u2019s not fair.  Those companies should pay for it.<\/p>\n<p>Steve?<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  The President, over a year ago, asked us to chair a Postal Task Force to look at restructuring.  A year ago, we didn\u2019t have any Board of Governors.  We now have a Board of Governors that\u2019s overseeing it.  They\u2019re conducting a search.  We look forward to hearing the results of the new postmaster.  And we think this is a business, and the people at the post office will have a terrific opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And we\u2019re protecting our post office, by the way, and we always will.  But we want our post office to be successful.  We don\u2019t want it to be a laughingstock and a stupidly run organization, the way it\u2019s been for so many decades now.  It\u2019s ridiculous.  And then we make other people rich.  We make other people rich because we\u2019re willing to deliver packages at a fraction of the cost, so other people gain by it.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, and you\u2019re hurting a lot of other people because you\u2019re hurting retailers.  You look at stores where the stores are \u2014 they have to pay rent and taxes and all sorts of things that these companies don\u2019t have to pay.  So, it\u2019s not a fair situation.<\/p>\n<p>We want to take care of our taxpayers and we want to take care of \u2014 very, very importantly \u2014 the people that work at the post office.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, if there is another round of aid for the states and communities, are you going to try to restrict that aid from going to sanctuary cities and states?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I don\u2019t think you should have sanctuary cities if they get that kind of aid.  You know, if you\u2019re going to get aid to the cities and states for the kind of numbers you\u2019re talking about \u2014 billions of dollars \u2014 I don\u2019t think you should have sanctuary cities.<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, the people that have sanctuary cities, they don\u2019t like it.  I think politicians like it a lot more.  I \u2014 I go to California.  I go to lots of different places.  And I have people with a very liberal bent saying they don\u2019t like sanctuary cities.  They don\u2019t want criminals to be in sanctuary.  They want \u2014 they want \u2014 they want security.  They want safety.<\/p>\n<p>Q    But are you going to \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And, you know, they want borders too.  They don\u2019t want people pouring across into our country.  And, you know, I was there a long time ago.  The wall is \u2014 is up to 175 miles built down.  And it\u2019s \u2014 the numbers are incredibly good because all of that 175 miles, nobody comes through.  Nobody even comes close to coming through.  Unless you have a climber of Mount Everest, but even they don\u2019t.  It\u2019s not even easy for them, Josh.  So it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s been good.<\/p>\n<p>But we let \u2014 very important for you \u2014 we want our farmers to be able to get their help.  And we work it so it\u2019s actually easier for them to get in.  You know, they\u2019ve been taking some people that they\u2019ve had for years and years.  They\u2019d come with the crops and everything else and \u2014 that really have been great for the farmers.  And we want that to continue and actually continue at an easier pace.  We\u2019re working it so it comes in \u2014 so that kind of help can come in even easier, which I think you have to tell your people.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Could I just follow up and ask \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, please.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Explicitly, will you seek to prevent the next round of aid from going to sanctuary states and cities?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, number one, we shouldn\u2019t have to pay anything anyway because all they do is make it very hard for law enforcement.  So that\u2019s number one.<\/p>\n<p>But I think, in the bigger picture, I don\u2019t see helping cities and states if they\u2019re going to be sanctuary.  Because all sanctuary means to me is it\u2019s protecting a lot of criminals and \u2014 and others \u2014 many people.  But they are \u2014 there are criminals.  And, you know, you write about it all the time.  I see stories every day where somebody is being totally protected.  ICE can\u2019t get to them.  Law enforcement can\u2019t get to them.  You look at law enforcement; law enforcement hates sanctuary cities.<\/p>\n<p>We want a safe country.  We don\u2019t want people that are criminals \u2014 and criminals from other countries, in many cases \u2014 protected and you can\u2019t get to them.  And then we\u2019re supposed to make massive payments to those states to bail out what they\u2019ve done wrong over a 25-year period.<\/p>\n<p>So, we\u2019ll see.  That\u2019ll be a subject that will be discussed, certainly.  Sanctuary cities.  I think maybe it was brought up yesterday, and I made the statement and people were surprised to hear it, but they shouldn\u2019t be surprised.<\/p>\n<p>Okay?  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, when would you like the country to fully be reopened to the way it was before, as you mentioned?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we talked about it.  And, very strongly, Josh mentioned safety.  Have to have safety.  But at the same time, people want this country open.  The people here want it open.  And there is a danger to too much being confined to a house or an apartment or wherever you live.  You can\u2019t \u2014 and this \u2014 we got to start moving along.  And with all of the testing we\u2019re doing, with all of the things we\u2019re doing, you can do this now.<\/p>\n<p>And governors are actually \u2014 a lot of pressure is being put on governors right now by the people in their states. They want to get it open.  And that\u2019s what you want.  That\u2019s what we all want.  And with all of the procedures and safety \u2014<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve learned a lot about this hidden enemy.  We\u2019ve learned a lot.  And there\u2019ll be pockets of fire, and we\u2019ll put them out. We\u2019ll put them out very, very quickly.  But, you know, during this period of time, I think we\u2019ve really learned a tremendous amount about how to handle it.  Nothing easy, but we want safety.<\/p>\n<p>So we want safety and we want economic \u2014 where people can go and make a great living and go back to living the way \u2014 I mean, you had people \u2014 we had wonderful people in yesterday, where their business was going to be lost, other than what we did, Steve, with the great programs that we set up.  Their businesses were gone.<\/p>\n<p>One man, he was a chef with five children, and his mother lived with him and his wife.  And he got \u2014 he lost his job for the first time in his life.  Some of you were there.  And \u2014 and you had others that were equally.  So it was pretty \u2014 pretty amazing.  I thought it was a pretty amazing display of what we\u2019ve done to help a lot of people.  And you have millions of people like that.  Millions that have been helped, where they wouldn\u2019t have a job right now and where the business \u2014 the small business \u2014 would have closed.<\/p>\n<p>Now these are big businesses, but the small businesses would have closed.  And I think it\u2019s great when \u2014 when Wynn, which is a terrific group of people \u2014 but when Matt says that, you know, we\u2019re supporting all of the people.  I know what that is.  That\u2019s a big \u2014 you have all of your \u2014 practically a full staff and you have no income.  That\u2019s a big thing.  That\u2019s a great thing.  And I hope you\u2019re rewarded for that.<\/p>\n<p>MR. MADDOX:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No, it\u2019s a tremendous thing.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Is there a target date?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, yeah.  His target date is as soon as possible.  Some states are already open.  I mean, they\u2019re opening up rapidly.  We have a number of them opening up on Monday.  We have a number of them opening up sooner than that, as you know, and \u2014 or at least partially opening.  Some of them even very \u2014 even with a very strong bent toward opening, they\u2019re opening up where they\u2019ll open a certain amount here \u2014 restaurants at 25 percent, then going to 50 percent.  Then, ultimately, we want to be back to where the \u2014 where we\u2019re 100 percent.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t want \u2014 we \u2014 I had one restaurant owner come up to me and say, \u201cSir, you know, I\u2019m going to be opening up, but if I distance too much, I have 50 percent of the restaurant I had.\u201d  And I said, \u201cAnd you\u2019ll also have a worse atmosphere.\u201d  We want to be back where we can have \u2014 we want it to be the way it was, because the way it was is the right way.  We can\u2019t have somebody with a half a restaurant.  You understand.  He got 175 seats; now he\u2019s got half.  That\u2019s not going to pay the rent or whatever.<\/p>\n<p>Same thing with an owner.  I was on the phone with the commissioners and some of the owners of sports \u2014 of big-time sports.  And he was talking almost like he was going to have two or three seats in between everybody that was there.  And I said, \u201cYou know, you\u2019re not going to have to do that for that long.  You know it\u2019s \u2014 you\u2019re going to be back.\u201d  And he said, \u201cReally?  I \u2014 oh, really?\u201d  He was like \u2014<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t want people to get used to this because this virus is going to be gone.  And when it\u2019s gone, you want to get back to normal.  You\u2019re not going to have a stadium that\u2019s 30 percent the size of what it was three months ago.  If I watch Alabama play LSU, I don\u2019t want to see 20,000 people instead of 120,000 people.  We want it to be the way it was.<\/p>\n<p>Now, we going to wait until it\u2019s gone.  And it will be gone.  And we\u2019ve done a lot to get rid of it.  But we \u2014 we want to open our country.  The people want this country open.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So this 100 percent scenario that you\u2019re laying out, if it\u2019s going back to the way it was \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 is that before a vaccine or after the vaccine?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  So, a lot of progress is being made on a vaccine.  But you never know, right?  You never know.  You know, with SARS, they didn\u2019t come up with a vaccine.  And sometimes they don\u2019t, and sometimes they do.  I will say this: I don\u2019t think there was the same effort because a lot of people don\u2019t know what SARS is and some people do.  But \u2014 but they do come up with vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>I mean, you look at what\u2019s happened, as an example, with Ebola, with AIDS, with others that have been so incredibly successfully \u2014 if not eradicated, certainly it\u2019s been incredible what some of \u2014 you know, with \u2014 with what these people that I\u2019m dealing with right now \u2014 like Gilead today \u2014 with, you know, what they came up with, as an example.  That\u2019s far ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re looking for vaccines.  We\u2019re looking for therapeutics also.  I mean, I think therapeutics, right now \u2014 I\u2019d rather \u2014 if you gave me both, I\u2019d rather have the therap- \u2014 because that, you know, makes people better right now.  Whether it\u2019s helping them along or makes them better almost instantly, we have to see.  But there\u2019s tremendous work on therapeutics going on, and I think we\u2019re having some good results.  One of them was \u2014 was Gilead today.<\/p>\n<p>Q    So 100 percent \u2014 the full restaurants, the stadiums \u2014 theoretically, could come before the vaccine?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I think \u2014 yeah.  I \u2014 no, I think we\u2019re \u2014 no, I\u2019m not relying on that.  I hope that\u2019s going to happen.  Johnson &#038; Johnson, Oxford \u2014 you know, you hear a lot of very good stories.  I\u2019m hearing them really firsthand.  Good stories.  Very promising.  But they have to test it.  You know, maybe it\u2019s not safe.  Maybe it eradicates it, but it\u2019s not safe.  And, you know, they have to do testing with vaccines.  Whereas the therapeutics, it\u2019s \u2014 it goes a lot quicker, in terms of the process.<\/p>\n<p>No, if you don\u2019t have a vaccine, if the virus is gone, we\u2019re like we were before.  But having a vaccine would be a great thing.  And I think we\u2019re going to get there in this case, just based on what I know, but we\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n<p>Look, the Gilead research has been \u2014 I mean, that\u2019s gone so fast.  That\u2019s gone at a level of speed that nobody has ever seen before.  And that\u2019s a stepping stone.  So, I think they\u2019re doing very well.<\/p>\n<p>But, no, I want to get \u2014 I want to get back with or without.  But I want \u2014 you know, obviously, we have to wait until it\u2019s gone.  It will be gone.  And we want to be back to where we were.<\/p>\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Without a vaccine, sir, why do you think the virus will just be gone?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  It\u2019s going to go.  It\u2019s going to leave.  It\u2019s going to be gone.  It\u2019s going to be eradicated.  And it might take longer.  It might be in smaller sections.  It\u2019ll be \u2014 it won\u2019t be what we had.  And we also learned a lot.<\/p>\n<p>Again, if you have a flare up in a certain area, if you have a \u2014 I call them \u201cburning embers\u201d \u2014 boom, we put it out.  We know how to put it out now.  But we put it out.  And now we\u2019re equipped.  Now we have more ventilators than anyone thought was possible.  I mean, we\u2019re doing a tremendous service for the world right now.  We\u2019re giving ventilators.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we have \u2014 we\u2019re making hundreds of thousands of ventilators in, I believe, nine different plants that made other products.  In some cases, cars.  In some places, other things.  These companies \u2014 General Motors; and \u2014 and Ford, in another way; and GE; so many companies; Honeywell \u2014 they\u2019ve stepped up.  3M has been terrific.  They\u2019ve stepped up like nobody has ever seen before, and the job they\u2019re doing is great.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019ll tell you, I think the job that they\u2019re doing on vaccines and on therapeutics has been great too.  We\u2019ll see.  I mean, we\u2019ll let you know about that in a little while.<\/p>\n<p>Please.  Anybody else?<\/p>\n<p>Q      Yeah, Mr. President.  Oil is up today, partially on reports that the Treasury Secretary and others may have \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  What is it up to?<\/p>\n<p>Q    It depends which, but it\u2019s about $25.  (Laughter.)  But on the suggestion that the Treasury Secretary and others may have presented you with a plan for government assistance to the oil companies?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we\u2019re not going to let our oil companies go and get in trouble.  It\u2019s not their fault that they got hit by 50 percent less volume in one day.  You know, one \u2014 one instant, all of a sudden, these very great companies that are employing all these people.<\/p>\n<p>So I\u2019m talking to Steve and, you know, we\u2019re \u2014 we just saved the airlines.  The airlines were having the best year they\u2019ve ever had.  And then all of a sudden, they\u2019re like out of business?  We can\u2019t let that happen.  So we saved the airlines.  That\u2019s done.  We\u2019re saving other companies and industries.<\/p>\n<p>And I would say \u2014 Steve, maybe you can talk to it \u2014 but I think the oil industry is one of the top on the list.<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY MNUCHIN:  So, we\u2019re looking at a lot of different strategies.  We have a dedicated team, combined of people at Treasury and people the Department of Energy.  As I\u2019ve said before, this is not going to be a bailout of shareholders, but this is going to be supporting the national security issue.<\/p>\n<p>I would just comment: The Secretary of Energy has done an extraordinary job of taking in oil in the Strategic Reserve and being paid for the storage capacity in oil.  We\u2019re also exploring potentially having the ability to store another several hundred million barrels.<\/p>\n<p>So we\u2019re looking at lots of different options.  We\u2019re in touch with lots of people around the world.  And the President is determined that we protect the national security interest and the jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Do you expect an announcement this week about it?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, we had a very interesting thing, because we had a lot of capacity \u2014 meaning you can fill it up in the National Strategic Reserves.  And, you know, it wasn\u2019t full.  And we made a great deal.<\/p>\n<p>If you would have told us that we could have had that filled up or it\u2019s on the way to being filled up at the kind of pricing that we\u2019re talking about, I would have said you have to be kidding.  We\u2019re talking about 19 \u2014 I\u2019m not sure Chris is going to be happy about this, because it doesn\u2019t pertain to the hotel business \u2014 don\u2019t get scared.  But, you know, we\u2019re talking about like 1952 pricing.  It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s unbelievable.  It\u2019s \u2014 prices that are so low.<\/p>\n<p>And, in some cases, we\u2019re storing oil and getting paid for storage because we have a tremendous capacity for it.  So, what\u2019s happened with the Strategic Reserves is incredible.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And the additional aid might be announced this week?  Or do you have the timeline for that?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Say it?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Additional aid might be announced this week or do you have the timeline for it?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  On \u2014 on that?<\/p>\n<p>Q    For oil \u2014 for oil companies.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, it\u2019s \u2014 you mean a plan to help them out?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I would say shortly.  I mean, right now, we\u2019re dealing with some of the big ones, but we\u2019re \u2014 the big ones are very strong.  They\u2019ve been very strong over the years.  I think that they\u2019re not going to have the problem.<\/p>\n<p>But we have a lot of great people and a lot of great jobs in Texas and Oklahoma and North Dakota and other states that are great.  It\u2019s energy.  It\u2019s not \u2014 I don\u2019t even call it oil; I call it energy.  This is \u2014 this is the backbone of \u2014 of the world, really.<\/p>\n<p>You know, you can talk all of the green \u2014 I\u2019m all for green.  But the green can\u2019t power these massive factories that are being built in this country.  It just can\u2019t.  The windmills aren\u2019t going to be able to do it, and solar is not going to be able to do it.  And I love solar, but it\u2019s not going to be able to do it.<\/p>\n<p>And, you know, we\u2019re getting it for the right price, but we\u2019re not going to let our \u2014 we\u2019re energy independent.  We\u2019re not going to let our energy industry down.  We\u2019re not going to let them \u2014 and it\u2019s not our fault.  It\u2019s not their fault.  But we\u2019re not going to let anything happen to them.  So we\u2019re working on that very hard.<\/p>\n<p>I think protecting energy and energy independence \u2014 to me, that\u2019s a very big part of what happened.  You know, we \u2014 energy has really helped me turn this country into the economic power that it\u2019s been, and we\u2019re not going to let that go.<\/p>\n<p>And, sure, it\u2019s going to have a couple of bad years.  We have a tremendous oversupply.  The reason we have the oversupply though \u2014 number one, it was a very efficient business.  And \u2014 but the reason we have it is because the demand got cut in half one day by this \u2014 by this plague.  One day, all of a sudden \u2014 take a look at the roads, it goes from packed highways, everybody traveling, going all over, to no cars on the road.  I mean, that was 25, 30 percent right there.  But then there\u2019s other things \u2014 factories that aren\u2019t working right now because of this.<\/p>\n<p>We did a great thing last night, using the powers that we have to make sure that the processes and \u2014 and all of the delivery of our food chain, that it was protected and safe.  And those people \u2014 we were on the phone with, all of them, this morning \u2014 pretty much all of them, as you probably know.  They were cheering \u2014 literally cheering over the phone.<\/p>\n<p>We did some good moves.  Not moves \u2014 not money moves, so much as \u2014 as commonsense moves.  Because they were being \u2014 you know, they were being hurt by stupidity.  And we have them really back online.<\/p>\n<p>So I think that we put out \u2014 that\u2019s called \u201cburning embers,\u201d too.  We put out a fire.  So there\u2019ll be plenty of meat and pork and everything that you want.  Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And \u2014 and, Mr. President, you said you were anxious to get out the White House.  Might we see some travel in the next week or so?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I think so.  I think I\u2019m going to Arizona next week.  And we look forward to that.  And I\u2019m going to, I hope, Ohio very soon.  And we\u2019re going to start to move around.  And hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we\u2019ll have some massive rallies and people will be sitting next to each other.  I can\u2019t imagine a rally where you have every fourth seat full. Every \u2014 every six seats are empty for every one that you have full.  That wouldn\u2019t look too good.<\/p>\n<p>No, I \u2014 look, I hope that we\u2019re going to be able to do some good, old-fashioned, 25,000-person rallies, where everyone is going wild because they love our country.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    When you do expect that to happen?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I\u2019m going to Arizona and that\u2019s a little bit different.  That\u2019s having to do with industry, because it\u2019s too soon for \u2014 you know, for the big \u2014 for the big \u2014 everybody get together and stand next to each other crowds.  But that\u2019ll be next week.  I don\u2019t know, it \u2014 it\u2019ll depend.<\/p>\n<p>It also depends on states.  You know, you have different states.  Some states are really in great shape now, and some states will be in great shape.<\/p>\n<p>But a lot of progress has been made.  A lot of progress has been made.  It\u2019s pretty incredible.  Even \u2014 if you look in New York, I spoke with Governor Cuomo at length today and, you know, they were on that other side of the curve.  A lot less. It\u2019s been hit very hard.  You know, it\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s New York and you probably would expect that, but they\u2019re on the other side of that curve.  The \u2014 the bed usage and the people coming to hospitals is way down \u2014 much lower than it was.<\/p>\n<p>So a lot of very positive signs are happening.  Okay?<\/p>\n<p>Q    So you expect to be able to hold rallies before the election?  Do you think that \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I hope so.  I hope so.  Look, we have a tremendous pent-up demand.  They love what we\u2019re doing.  They don\u2019t want to have taxes raised.  They don\u2019t want to have stupid things happening.  They like the trade deals.  We\u2019ve made great trade deals \u2014 I mean, the greatest trade deals ever made in this country.  And that\u2019s what they want.<\/p>\n<p>And we have a lot of them that were lined up and ready to be done.  Right, Kevin?  We have deals that were lined up with countries ready to be done that were so good for our country, so good for our workers.  And then this scourge came along and \u2014 you know, that\u2019s the last thing people are thinking about right now.  It\u2019s \u2014 you know, we put them on hold for a little while.<\/p>\n<p>But \u2014 but, no, I hope to have \u2014 I hope to see football games and baseball games and basketball.  Now, ba- \u2014 for basketball, you\u2019re going to have to have a little bit of time.  I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re going to do.  Maybe they\u2019ll be able to play sort of toward the finals or the playoffs or whatever they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>I saw baseball is doing something very unusual.  I don\u2019t know \u2014 I don\u2019t know if I agree with it.  I\u2019d like to see the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium.  I see they have some ideas for baseball that are very different.  I guess I\u2019m a traditionalist.  But I think they\u2019d be able to play at Yankee Stadium with obviously smaller crowds, and then the crowds would start to build as things get to be a little bit better.<\/p>\n<p>But, no, I \u2014 I think you\u2019re going to see some \u2014 some big things happening.  And, again, this is going away.  This is going away.  You know, I think we\u2019re going to come up with vaccines and all, but this is going away.  And when it\u2019s gone, we\u2019re going to be doing a lot of things.<\/p>\n<p>And again, you have to look.  Other areas \u2014 there are areas \u2014 you know, we all look at New York and we see New York and New Jersey and some of these very high-density places where they\u2019re doing a very good job.  It\u2019s just \u2014 you know, it\u2019s not easy.  But you have areas that are really at a very low point and \u2014 and really heading \u2014 I would say, heading south quickly, and that\u2019s what we want.  So we\u2019ll see how it all works out.  I think it\u2019s working very good.<\/p>\n<p>How about one more.  Anybody else?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Just on that point of this going away: Not to belabor the point, but isn\u2019t it going away because people are staying in their homes and people are not traveling, and once they come back out \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, maybe.  Maybe.<\/p>\n<p>Q    \u2014 there\u2019s no evidence that it would go away.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And maybe that\u2019s it.  And I \u2014 I cannot tell you how dedicated the people of this country have been, in terms of that.  Yeah.  You know one thing: If you stay in your home, you\u2019re not catching it.  If you stay in your place and you don\u2019t go out \u2014 you know, which is what people were doing.  But they want to go out now.  They want to get back.  And they want to do what they have to do.<\/p>\n<p>And some of the facts are coming out, and we did all the right moves.  I\u2019ll tell you, we did \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t do \u2014 we were talking to Mike before.  If we didn\u2019t do what we did, you would\u2019ve had a million people die, maybe more.  Maybe 2 million people die.  And if you think that we\u2019d be at 65 or 70 or 60 or whatever the final number will be \u2014 one is too many.  I always say it: One is far too many.  This should\u2019ve never been allowed to happen.  It should\u2019ve been stopped a long time ago, before it ever got here or to other countries.<\/p>\n<p>But if you really think about it, you could\u2019ve had \u2014 I take a look at Elmhurst Hospital.  I take a look at some of these places that I know, growing up in Queens, and I know them.  Elmhurst Hospital.  I know these places very well, like the back of my hand.  And you see body bags lying all over the hallways and outside and going into refrigerated trucks.  Multiply that number by 10 or 20 if we didn\u2019t do what we did.  It wouldn\u2019t be acceptable.  It wouldn\u2019t be sustainable.  Nobody would\u2019ve accepted that.  It would\u2019ve been a terrible thing.<\/p>\n<p>We \u2014 we\u2019ve just \u2014 we\u2019ve done it right.  I \u2014 I can\u2019t \u2014 I can\u2019t believe how incredible the American people have been, because they went out and they really did this, Chris.  You know, when you think they went out and \u2014 and they did what they had to do.<\/p>\n<p>You know, there\u2019re \u2014 every once in a while, a country like Sweden will be thrown out or Brazil.  Now, Brazil is having a hard time because they \u2014 you know, they\u2019re have a hard time.  But Sweden \u2014 the people in Sweden, they\u2019re not running around and shaking hands and hugging and kissing each other.  You know, they\u2019re \u2014 the bars are closed and the \u2014 the people are staying in the house.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister doesn\u2019t have to \u2014 doesn\u2019t have to say in Sweden, \u201cStay in your house.\u201d  The people stay there automatically.  And, you know, they\u2019re using that as an example, but they\u2019ve been hit hard.  They\u2019ve been hit hard.  But again, their prac- \u2014 you call it automatic.  I mean, it\u2019s automatic distancing.  It\u2019s automatic protection.  But places were closed, the bars were closed.  You can\u2019t stand at the bars.  You can\u2019t do certain things.<\/p>\n<p>You know \u2014 now, what we did was \u2014 what we did is a great tribute to this country.  But if we lost \u2014 so if we lose 65,000 people \u2014 it\u2019s so crazy to say it.  It\u2019s just so horrible.  But if we lose 65,000 people, and instead of that going the other route, we would have lost a million or a million and a half or 2 million.  It\u2019s possible.  It\u2019s possible that you lost more.  But could you imagine?  Look how horrible it is to lose 65 and then multiply that times many, many times.  That would not be sustainable.<\/p>\n<p>So, I think with all of that, I want to just thank everybody.  And I want to thank \u2014 these business folks are \u2014 are just tremendously talented people.  People have no idea how talented they are, the job they do.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re getting our way back.  And we\u2019re getting our way back, I think, much faster than people think, and I think it\u2019s going to be a much more \u2014 a much more successful launch than anybody would have thought.  I really think next year is going to be a tremendous year.  And I think the fourth quarter is going to be \u2014 Larry, I think the fourth quarter is going to be fantastic.  I can feel it.<\/p>\n<p>MR. KUDLOW:  Thank you.  I feel great.  Thank you, Mr. President.  I can feel it very much.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Yeah.  I can feel the demand.  It\u2019s \u2014 it\u2019s going to be really fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much, everybody.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>END       5:30 P.M. EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Well, thank you very much, everybody. A lot of progress is being made, as you see. And we\u2019re reopening our country, and it\u2019s very exciting. And it should have never happened. This plague should never have happened. It could have been stopped, but people chose not to stop it. It\u2019s a very sad thing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Fullscreen-capture-4302020-101249-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/99955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}