The recent White House Press Briefing on Thursday, May 7, included some incredibly important topics, mainly centered around Texas being the first state to re-open.
The press asked questions to both President Trump and Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas.
It was a lengthy interview, so I condensed it down to an easy-to-read, bullet-point format to save you time while keeping you up-to-date on important developments of re-opening America.
President Trump opened the interview by stating that 2021 will be an amazing year for the American economy, and is proud to see the governor of Texas spearheading the re-opening initiative.
Greg Abbott went on to say that he was only able to do this as a result of his great team, staff, and the amount of help & support that the President has provided Texas throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
He went on to confirm that Texas is currently in the process of slowly re-opening, and continued to assert that the re-opening will be completely safe by figuring out the correct strategies to ensure that the public is and remains safe.
They began taking questions...
Question: “How is it possible that someone that tested positive for COVID-19 got so close to you?”
President Trump:
“Testing is not a perfect art, no matter what you do, testing is not a perfect art.”
- He continued to say that although testing is not 100% accurate, it is important to still trust them and to get tested regularly.
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Question: “Could we get your reaction to some breaking news that the Justice Department has decided to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn? Are you aware of that?”
President Trump:
- This was news to him at the moment, but he stated that he knew it was going to happen.
- He went on to proclaim, "...(Flynn) is an innocent man, the whole thing is a disgrace, and I hope a big price will be paid... (His accusers) are scum, dishonest, and crooked."
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Question: “Who would you like to see pay the price for this?”
President Trump:
“The people should pay the price for what they did to this country and they should pay a big price. Their partner is very complicit is the thing called the media, the media is totally guilty.”
- He continued to say that the journalists who 'broke the story' are thieves, and those who received a Pulitzer Prize from is should give it back.
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Question: “You talked with President Putin today (5/7/20). Did he ask for any ventilators or equipment for his pandemic?”
President Trump:
- Putin did ask for assistance, and we gave it to him in the form of ventilators and other medical equipment.
- He went to to remind the press that this was the time where President Putin & President Trump worked together during a time of crisis.
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Question: “During the course of seven weeks, 30 million jobs were lost. Will there be more jobs lost in May or is that number going to start coming down next month?”
President Trump:
- The unemployment number will be coming down at a steady rate, says “.. the third quarter will be a transition into greatness.”
Greg Abbot:
- Texas will be implementing "Surge Forces", a special task force dedicated to areas that show signs of a COVID-19 outbreak and bring them back to normal.
Question: “Governor, last week there was another death in Texas. Police were used with an armored vehicle and guns drawn to shut down a bar that had opened up. What role does the police have into forcing these types of lockdowns and social distancing orders?”
Greg Abbott:
- He made it very clear that if someone is not following an executive order, they should not be arrested. It is unconstitutional.
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Question: “Sir, following up on the Coronavirus in the West wing, has the Oval Office been cleaned? Are you contact tracing people around this area that would’ve had contact with this person? Is there going to be a 14 day quarantine or should there be?”
Mike Pence:
- Everybody who came in contact with the President on that day will be tested.
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Question: “Dr. Birx, do you think that the Texas reopening plan is great? Are you thumbs up with them doing a 25% capacity for movie theaters and restaurants?”
Dr. Birx:
- She & Governor Abbott had a long conversation about dealing with the topic, and both agree that it's a good idea.
- She went on to commend the governors for their knowledge of epidemiology, and has faith that they will carry out the re-openings safely.
- She has been asking governors to have data with them, have the facts, and use focus testing to find the asymptomatic cases.
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Question: “20 states haven’t met the guidelines that you sent. What do you say to those states who haven’t met the guidelines yet have already started the re-opening process?"
President Trump:
- President Trump continues to place trust in the governors' judgement, and that other governors should look to Texas as an example.
Question: “There has been a video of an unarmed black Georgia man who was shot by police while on a jog. Have you seen the video and your reaction to that video?”
President Trump:
- His heart goes out to the parents & is getting a full report on the situation Friday (May 8th).
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Question: “There is a report about Saudi Arabia that the U.S. is considering removing anti missiles systems from Saudi Arabia, is that true?”
President Trump:
- We are making a lot of moves in the Middle East and elsewhere.
- America has spent $1.5 trillion on the military.
- New ships are being built.
- Believes what he is doing in the Middle East and elsewhere will be positive for the U.S and places around the world.
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Question: “The travel restrictions that you have put on China and all round the world , do you see a scenario of easing them anytime soon?”
President Trump:
- At some point we will open it up again when the plague goes away and when China cleans up after themselves.
- He saved the airlines from the repercussions of this with a $25 billion bailout.
- Want to be open to countries at an appropriate time.
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Question: “How much impairments does false news have of your thinking on the pandemic?”
President Trump:
- Calls Fox News, NBC, and CNN fake news, but has a good relationship with ABC.
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Question: “On the Wuhan lab, you said on Sunday that there would be a very strong report coming out soon about the connection between the lab and the virus. Is that still coming, when should we expect that?"
President Trump:
- It is coming, but is unsure if it will be released or when we learn more about the situation.
- It could’ve been stopped in China, China tried to blame Europe, but he believes it was a mistake in a Chinese lab.
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Question: “People have locked up $1200 for a couple months. Should they be expected to live off of that same $1200 for the next couple of months, or is more money coming?”
President Trump:
“The best thing for us to do is to get our country going.”
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