Right now. At the white house, trump who yesterday described himself as a wartime president was asked why he hadnt yet put into effect the law allowing him to tell manufacturers to make more medical equipment for starters. You enabled, i guess is probably the best way to put, the defense production pack yesterday, but you havent pulled the trigger on it. No, because we hope were not going to need that. Whats the rationale for not doing that . First of all governors are doing a lot of this work. Federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping. Were not a shipping clerk. Trump then appeared to indicate that the administration was caught off guard by the growing need for lifesaving supplies. Were working very hard trying to find nobody in their wildest dreams would have ever thought that we would need tens of thousands of ventilators. This is something thats very unique to this this afternoon in the president s home city of new york which now has upwards of a thousand coronavirus cases, mayor bill de blasio blasted the president. Well only say to the president i dont understand. I think there are millions and tens of millions of americans who dont understand what you are doing right now. You are not using the tools of your office. Through the defense production act, the president can authorize the department of health and Human Services to order manufacturers to provide materials and services and to use their private facilities for manufacturing needed items. That has not happened. On the matter of treatment, trump also announced he was directing the fda to push forward with tests for two drugs already used for other illnesses. Earlier this week we began the first Clinical Trial of a vaccine candidate for the virus, and that was launched in record time. Were also pursuing antiviral therapies. A drug called chloroquine and some people would add to it hydroxy, hydroxychloroquine. Were going to make that drug available by prescription. Thats a drug used for other purposes. That drug also has been approved or very close to approved in that case by the fda. Note that theres been no fda approval yet for those treatments. And now to those suddenly out of work. The u. S. Department of labor reported 281,000 new claims from Unemployment Insurance just last week. The latest republican aid bill emerging in the senate is a trillion dollars in stimulus. That includes direct Cash Payments for some americans. Nbc news reporting the white house wants to see a vote on the bill on monday. Trump ally South Carolina republican Lindsey Graham was asked about the potential for getting the bill to the floor with minimal delay. Do you still get this done early next week with all these if we dont were going to get our ass kicked. So, thats why i think well do it. Ill be the one kicking myself. And speaking of the senate, republican richard burr of North Carolina who famously enjoys his privacy is squarely in the public eye and public conversation tonight. Npr reporting that burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee warned a small group of his constituents and donors three weeks ago to get ready for the severe economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by npr. Theres one thing that i can tell you about this. It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history. Its probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic. Senator burrs warning came on february 27th, the same day donald trump said this. Its going to disappear. One day its like a miracle. It will disappear. Npr also reporting in his Public Comments about the threat of coronavirus, burr never offered the kind of precise warning that he delivers to that private gathering even though on february 7th, burr coauthored an oped that laid out the tools the u. S. Government had at its disposal to fight this coronavirus. Pro publy ka also reports tonight that senator burr sold up to 1. 7 million in stock after reassuring the public about coronavirus preparedness. They note the sales were on february 13th, around the same time his committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings. Tonight one of burrs aides tells nbc news the stock sales, quote, were made several weeks before the u. S. And Financial Markets showed signs of volatility due to the growing coronavirus outbreak. And new reporting tonight that the recently appointed republican u. S. Senator from georgia, kelly loeffler, dumped millions in stock after attending a senators only coronavirus briefing. And the following dynamic continues to play out. Trump and his party and his friends in the news media have grappled with the optics of this growing coronavirus outbreak. They have often and pointedly taken great pains to refer to it as the chinese virus and worse, even though medical experts and the World Health Organization say thats inaccurate, not to mention stigmatizing. Well, it showed up again today. In this photograph captured by Washington Post still photographer as trump stepped to the podium for todays white house briefing, the word corona was crossed out and replaced in sharpie with chinese. On that note for our lead off discussion, shannon pettypiece. Peter baker, chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times. And dr. Mina, happens to be assistant professor at Harvard School of Public Health and a score member of the Harvard Centre for communicable disease. I would like to begin with you and specifically your reaction to this stay at home order for 40 million soles in the state of california. I think that its the right thing to do at this point in time, in particular in the absence of good testing and wide scale testing. We dont really know where we are in the course of this epidemic. And so these what seem like somewhat extreme measures are the one way that we really know that we can stop the fast transmission of this virus that seems to be really sweeping across the globe. People are already asking questions as people are eager to do. If california is doing this, does that mean almost by association that new york city, such a dense concentrated urban center, should be doing that same thing at minimum . I think new york city probably should be. I mean, it is an extraordinary dense city as you say, and this virus is very likely to transmit widely throughout a city like that and really across most urban centers. And so i think that it needs to be balanced, of course, against the Economic Impact that it will have and the social impact. But i think from a Public Health and medical perspective, what were really trying to do is were trying to preserve the health care and the Health Care Industry from sort of ripping at its seams as a result of this virus. And these are the types of actions that we really need to start taking as a society right now. Looking at times square in new york, still just an incredible image of the usually teeming cross roads of the world. Shannon pettypiece to, your reporting now. How do we deal with the stoppage of transportation between the u. S. And mexico in both directions . How do we, for that matter, go about bringing home the americans who are flung about the world . Right. Well, i mean, it could be a precursor to more restrictions even still to come with International Travel. You have the white house and the administration now advising people against International Travel. But we dont see a full out ban on International Travel. So, thats another step that could be this could be a precursor to all that. So, the latest action theyre taking on International Travel is stopping the flow of nonessential travel between the u. S. And mexico. Thats something our reporting indicates the administration is planning to announce, could be as early as tomorrow. It would be very similar to what was announced with canada on wednesday where again the border was essentially closed. With the canada situation that doesnt affect trade so we believe that with the mexico with mexico, it wont affect trade at all. But ill note, you know, the Trump Administration has long talked and threatened about closing the border to mexico because of concerns about ilLegal Immigration. We are coming up into a time of year for the harvest where farmers need a lot of Migrant Workers. And the farm bureau actually put out a statement earlier this week saying that they need the state department to pick up the pace of approving Migrant Worker visas to get the harvest season so the food supply is not disrupted from having a lack of Migrant Workers. So, i think a big question out there right now is obviously the u. S. Has been trying to crack down on ilLegal Immigration. But whats going to happen to Legal Immigration coming from mexico . And i should also note, mexico only has about 118 cases of coronavirus right now. Of course thats confirmed cases. We dont know what the testing situations like there. Weve obviously had our own testing struggles here. But were closing down this flow of people when we dont necessarily know theres an enormous problem in mexico right now. And of course mexicans might now want americans coming into mexico since we have awe bigger problem than they do at this point at least according to the day that we have. I think theres going to be a lot of issues that come from this move if indeed the Administration Announces it as soon as our reporting indicates it will. Peter baker, a little history that you already know. The spanish flu 1918 wasnt spanish at all. It likely originated in kansas, right smack dab in the middle of our country. But on that same theme, it is clear the president , the white house staff, their friends at fox news have decided they need to make china an enemy in this story. Listen here to the president criticizing china. It would have been much better if we had known about this a number of months earlier. It could have been contained to that one area in china where it started. And certainly the world is paying a big price for what they did, and the world is paying a very big price for not letting them come at it. You said excuse me, excuse me. Before we started reading about it, it could have been stopped in its tracks. Unfortunately they didnt decide to make it public. But the whole world is suffering because of it. Peter, this part of a larger effort to tell us what we saw and heard for ourselves in the past, indeed the second thing im going to play for you is the president eight weeks ago. Do you trust that were going to know everything we need to know from china . I do, i do. I have a great relationship with president xi. So, peter baker, among those two guys who happen to be the same president , whos right . Yeah, look, theres plenty of room for criticism for the way the Chinese Government has handled this. Remember of course the doctor who was the early whistleblower who tried to bring more attention to what happened in wuhan province was of course suppressed by the Chinese Government. Its one reason why my colleagues in the New York Times and the come papatriots in the Washington Post. The news media has embarrassed the Chinese Government. Thats not the only thing the president is talking about. He works better in political sense when he has an enemy. And in this case he decided that china is the enemy. This is a foreign threat. And that fits into of course the pattern you see throughout his presidency. His presidencys been built on large part that the theory that the outside world is a threat to the United States whether it be rapists and gang members or trade or security threats, now disease, its all coming from the outside which justifies tougher measures at the border. It may be right that these measures are taken at various points, various points along the way. But to frame this as a china virus is meant to play a political, you know, role in the president s policy making and to deflect attention away from things he in his own administration didnt do early on. Shannon pettypiece, a story that is custom made to light a prairie fire of populist anger. People are generically just angry at the situation now already is this story about senator burr. And it could wind up to be several members of the u. S. Senate because it combines Insider Information and personal profit. Tonight i noted of all people Tucker Carlson on fox called straight up for the senator to resign. This sure will make an interesting plot line in the days to come. And i think it highlights this sense weve been getting all along that theres, you know, two americas here as people have pointed out in other similar crises and situations. You have the one where athletes and celebrities are able to get the coronavirus test and other people are, you know, waiting in line or told by their doctors i cant get that for you. I dont know how to get testing. You have one where the president is telling people this virus is going away, where you have the president s economic adviser telling people to buy the dip, when stocks are down just 1 to 2 at the beginning of this stock market route that were going through right now. And another where senators are getting these private briefings and selling their stocks. And so many people at home concerned about their jobs, seeing their 401k, kids College Savings tumble. This is really going to resonate with a lot of people. And peter baker, wall street journal story on senator patty murray, an interview with her. She just becomes another voice saying that she raised alarms with the administration about the testing shortages since midfebruary as more cases began appearing in her state. She just becomes the latest voice to say all this. All my conversations with them was not to worry, by friday well have x amount, she said, the numbers just seem so made up. Peter, this is where the words out of the west wing wont match the reality people are living across this country. Yeah, i think thats right. Weve heard weeks ago from the white house that there would be 4 million tests available, but of course at the moment only a certain number of tens of thousands, less than tens of thousands, have actually been administered at this point. You hear story after story of people waiting in line unable to get a test, calling around to various place, told they cant our local doctor here in washington says i have no tests. Dont come to me about that. Thats a common experience among people in hard hit place. Thats why i think people are looking at this with a little bit of a jaundiced eye. It doesnt seem to match the reality they are hearing. I think the president has had a tough time owning up to this and saying yeah, this has been a problem. And were doing the best we can. But yes, it has been something that hasnt gone right. Instead, of course, hes busy defending himself. He wants credit for everything hes done. He gave himself a ten on a scale of ten of how hes handled it so far and that doesnt square with what a lot of people see in their lives. Doctor you get the last word and thats about this malaria medication that the president mentioned today, went as far as to say could be a game changer, maybe not. People are grasping for anything positive here, doctor. How should we regard this medication as a potential treatment after the fact . I think we have to take it we really have to wait until we see what some of the Clinical Trials show. There are certainly trials that are ongoing now. Theres decent evidence, particularly after sars, this was explored sometimes in animal models and experimental systems. And there is some mechanistic to understanding that this could work. Theres some early evidence from earlier in this epidemic. But i think to really understand just how beneficial will chloroquine be for fighting this virus in individuals, i think its going to take rigorous testing and the trials are starting. So, hopefully within the coming months, well have a much better idea of just how effective this and some of the other medications that he listed off might actually be. As i say, everybodys eager for good news. To shannon pettypiece, peter baker, dr. Michael joseph mina thank you very much for coming on tonight. Coming up for us, an unexpected finding from the cdc about one of the groups ending up needing the most critical care. And later the most peculiar question in todays briefing. Well play it for you as the 11th hour is just getting started. Started. Can my side be firm . And mine super soft . With the sleep number 360 smart bed, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. But can it help keep me asleep . 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Theres a mutuality, and theres a recognition of our interdependence that requires of this moment that we direct a statewide order for people to stay at home. That directive goes into force and effect this evening, and we were confident we are confident that the people of the state of california will abide by it. There has never been anything like this in our country. As governors across this country struggle to keep hospitals supplied, there is this headline from the los angeles times. More than half of californians could become infected with coronavirus, the governor says to trump, projecting 25. 5 Million People in that state potentially infected. And so its very important to have with us tonight from los angeles, dr. Anne rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at the ucla Fielding School of Public Health and Infectious Disease division of the Geffen School of medicine. She specializes in emerging Infectious Diseases, started her career in fact in Public Health as a peace corps volunteer in west africa, and well get to that too before this discussion is over. Doc, what do you make youre in california. What do you make of that entire state and the new rules of the road Going Forward starting tonight . I think its a really good thing. What we really need to be doing right now, what i like to say, were pulling together by staying apart. And thats what the state of california is really trying to do. Thats what our mayor, eric garcetti, put forward today. I think that this is a smart thing. What we really need to do is we need to do what everybody is saying. We need to flatten the curve. We need to slow down the pace of infection so that our hospitals dont get overwhelmed and we can protect all of these vulnerable populations here, the elderly, people who have underlying conditions, all the things that weve been hearing. This is the measure that will make a difference, and all you have to do is look at the global data to see this is what actually works. This is what worked in china. This is what worked in other places like singapore, hong kong, and its whats starting to bring down the curve in europe as well. Ive heard the advice that if we all walk around as if we know we have it and we all regard the space between us that way, that is something that would indeed flatten the curve. Is that correct . Absolutely. If we all act like we have it and we try not to pass it on to somebody else, were going to do a really good job at keeping the amount of disease down. Thats a perfect way of putting it. Keeping six feet away from each other in public places, covering your mouth when you cough, sneezing into your arm, taking really good care of hygiene, thats what we need to do. So if everybody acts like they have it and doesnt want to pass it on to somebody else, thats the bestCase Scenario. Were going to talk about spring break before this broadcast is over. Young people being young people have been going on spring break. Are you concerned at the new stats today showing this uptick in disease and severity that we didnt think was necessarily happening among young people . This is actually data that is not surprising to many of us who have been following the global data. We know that all age groups except the very young have very serious, serious outcomes. What were seeing now is a study focusing on this Younger Group and seeing that these people too do not get out scotfree. Everyone can be affected by this virus, and thats why we have to be very, very careful. This is not this is not really surprising data, i should say. I think that the issue is, is that people havent been focusing on the young people, and many of these young people werent tested, so we dont really have a full picture at this point either. When we have more data on children, well really know what the true effects are in this population. Doctor, as i mentioned, i know youre justifiably proud of your time in the peace corps. We had a Family Member in the peace corps. The daughter of dear friends of ours, i just learned, is home tonight from her work in africa. The peace corps has never, ever ordered all their volunteers home, but it has happened now, and this must break your heart. It does. Now, im always happy to answer any question about peace corps because it totally changed my life, and i really feel that what the peace corps did by pulling people home was the right thing to do. We have young volunteers, also older volunteers all over the world but living in a variety of different circumstances, living in communities often without running water, electricity, and certainly without Good Health Care in most places. So it is very prudent to be bringing people home right now. Its a wonderful program, and it will start up again once were through this. So right now the best thing to do is bring them home, keep them safe, and let them back out when its time to go. Well, im hoping and assuming you are immune from the shelter in place order, and im hoping and assuming we can do this again and you can be free to join us again, dr. Anne rimoin with us from Southern California tonight. Thank you so very much for coming on. Coming up for us, the hashtag wheresfauci was trending today. Why has the nations top immunologist been missing from the oncamera scene of late . Having dry skin is a struggle. Turns out, my body wash was the problem. But with olay ultra moisture body wash, my skin went from dry and dull to visibly healthy in just 14 days. Better skin from a body wash . You Better Believe it. With olay body. The cdc has put out guidelines for hospitals that are dealing with a shortage of masks to use them beyond their shelf life, reuse them instead of getting new ones, and in a worst Case Scenario use a bandana instead of a mask. How is that acceptable at all . Well, i havent seen that, but i will let mike answer that question, the vice president. Im happy to, mr. President. I just i cant emphasize enough the incredible progress that was made with the passage of the legislation last night. That was not exactly a direct answer to the growing question of medical supply shortages. Its been over a week since anybody from the agency, the cdc, spoke at the podium. The Washington Post reports the cdc has been sidelined to prioritize the white house publicfacing task force. For his part, dr. Tony fauci said tonight he was doing nih business today. He said hell be back to the Briefing Room tomorrow. He said its nothing more sinister than that, and hes not being side lined. Back with us tonight is ron klain, a political veteran and formally advising the biden campaign. But most importantly it was ron klain who oversaw the response to the Ebola Outbreak during the obama presidency. He also importantly is cohost of a new podcast about the coronavirus called epidemic. Ron, first things first. Minnesota mining and manufacturing company, 3m, Terrific Company full of terrific people. They gave the world postit notes, by god, and a whole lot of other things. Why cant the president federalize their mask Assembly Line and just say, well make you whole, but we need you to triple production. Everything that comes out of here, were going to distribute. Because what were hearing from the Briefing Room, were not seeing those masks in health care facilities. Yeah. Well, the answer is he can. The law that the president expanded last week, the defense production act, gives him presusly that authority, brian. The question really isnt why cant he. Its why wont he. Thats a hard question. You heard the president say today, im not a delivery clerk as a way to kind of dismiss this concern about these medical supplies. The states somehow should just kind of order them on their own, right . But we heard a governor today tell the president that when the states tried to order them, the federal government outbid them for those medical supplies. So all this goes to this fundamental point ive been making several times on your show over the course of this, which is that its the responsibility of the federal government to take control of the supply chain and make sure the supplies are getting to where they need to get to. That means we need to make more of them, and we need to get them to the places theyre most urgently needed. If not, if the federal government kind of throws up its hands, were going to wake up to stories of some hospitals without masks, without gowns. Were already seeing that. And others with a surplus of them because they have better relationships with the suppliers. This needs to be organized from washington, managed from washington, to the benefit of all of us to get the supplies where they need to be, when they need to be there. Yeah, thats why i wanted you to come on and normalize our thinking. We see these briefings. We hear the president say some form of, you know, the federal government cant be in the business of ordering all these things. Yeah. And you say to yourself, in normal times, just a few weeks back, oh, no. They can. They do, and they have. Yeah. And that is the responsibility of the government. Theres a whole structure thats set up, an agency inside the department of health and Human Services called asper, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, thats supposed to oversee these things. Another agency called barda, which is a biological Defense Agency thats supposed to help spur production of key biological responses, vaccines and things like that biomedical, i should say. So there are structures to do this. There are powers to do this. And i think the president has instead chosen a course of trying to increasingly say, hey, this is the states problem. Hey, this is the governors problem. Were not going to manage this from here. And lets give the governors credit. They are stepping up, both democrats and republicans. Its not a partisan thing. Governor dewine in ohio, Governor Cuomo in new york. We can go down the line and call roll call of both democrat and republican governors and theyre stepping up. But they dont have the powers that the federal government has to solve this. They dont have the resources the federal government has to solve this. And they also cant sort and direct the supplies and the things we need to the places where theyre needed the most. This disease is going to hit different places at different times. Its getting everybody a little bit now, but its going to surge in some places. So someone with planning charge from washington has to say, hey, we need to get this here. We need to get that there. This is the order they need to go in. And that should be happening right now from the administration. Final question, how worried are you when you read reports that the cdc wants to Say Something and has been enjoined somehow from doing so . Yeah. I mean, brian, im very worried. Its been nine days without a briefing from the centers for disease control, and thats extraordinary in kind of normal times. But i dont know, whatever is beyond extraordinary in a Public Health crisis. They are the nations Public Health authorities, and they are the ones who we should be hearing from. President trump stands at that podium every day and says things that are untrue. He says that cures are coming that arent really coming, vaccines are coming that arent really coming, that google has built some website that they havent really built, that you can get tests when you cant really get them. So people cant rely on that information. We need to hear cdc tell us Accurate Information on a timely basis. So far were using governors as subcontractors in all of this. Ron klain, were going to ask you to come on again many times, i know. Thank you very much for staying up late with us tonight after the day youve had already. And coming up for us, our next guest has his own take or takedown of the president s skill set on Crisis Management with all of us in the teeth of an emergency. Kids laughing,] [sfx bikes passing,] [sfx fire truck siren, ambient sounds] onstar, we see them. Okay. Mother and child in vehicle. Mother is unable to exit the vehicle. Injuries are unknown. Thank you, onstar. My son, is he okay . Your sons fine. Thank you. There was something in the road. Its okay. Youre safe now. Having dry skin is a struggle. Turns out, my body wash was the problem. But with olay ultra moisture body wash, my skin went from dry and dull to visibly healthy in just 14 days. Better skin from a body wash . You Better Believe it. With olay body. My schizophrenia for a while, and then my kids asked me why my body was rocking back and forth. My doctor said i have tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medications i take for my schizophrenia. I also felt my tongue darting and pushing against my cheeks. I was worried what others would think. Td can affect different parts of the body, and it may also affect people who take medications for depression and bipolar disorder. I know i shouldnt change or stop my medication so i was relieved there are Treatment Options for td. If this sounds like you or someone you know, visit talkabouttd. Com to sign up to receive a personalized doctor discussion guide to help start a conversation with you doctor about td. Youll also be able to access videos and a free brochure that show the different movements of td. Visit talkabouttd. Com or call to learn more. I was glad to learn there are treatments for td. Learn more at talkabouttd. Com. Do you consider the term chinese food racist because its food that originates in china or it has no, i dont think its racist. On that note i dont think its racist at all. On that note, major leftwing news media even in this room have teamed up with Chinese Communist party narratives, and theyre claiming youre racist for making these claims about chinese virus. Is it alarming that major Media Players are consistently siding with foreign state propaganda, islamic radicals, and latin gangs and cartels, and they work right here at the white house with direct access to you and your team . They are siding with they are siding with china. They are doing things that they shouldnt be doing. Theyre siding with many others. China is the least of it. What a moment that was today on Live National television, that question in the Briefing Room today immediately labeled a plant was from chanel ryan rion, forgive me, chief White House Correspondent for one america news network. Ms. Rion recently aired a story about a since debunked Conspiracy Theory that the coronavirus was hatched in a lab in North Carolina. That is a chinese talking point by the way. It was the good folks at oan who recently teamed up with Rudy Giuliani to televise his investigation into the bidens. That particular question there today was just one opportunity the president took to attack the news media in the midst of this crisis. I think with social distancing that the media has been much nicer. I dont know what it is. All these empty these inbetween chairs. Right now the economy has essentially ground to a halt. Thanks for telling us. We appreciate it. Stores have closed. Travel has slowed down. Go ahead. Whats the rest of your question . We know that. Everybody in the room knows that. Youre actually sitting too close. Really we should probably get rid of about another 75 , 80 of you. Ill have just two or three that i like in this room. I think thats a great way of doing it. It amazes me when i read the things that i read. But it is fake news. Its more than fake news. Its corrupt news. This administration has done a great job, but the press is very dishonest. Back with us tonight, Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National committee, former Lieutenant Governor of the great state of maryland, these days host of the Michael Steele podcast and happily at home the way so many of our guests are. Yeah. Michael, whats going on . And by the way, wheres the republicans . Oh, theyre theyre in a bunker somewhere, absolutely. No, look, trump was doing what he likes to do, riffing against the press, you know, taking little kernels of this and that and mixing together his own little stew. Hes talking about, oh, yeah, you know, we get rid of 80 of you that are left in the room. Okay, whatever. Thats trump. We know that. Of all the things he relishes in that more than he does standing there talking about coronavirus because thats the serious part of the job. Thats the part of the job that requires him to own up to what his administration has done and what it has failed to do, and that reality is something that hits home every day. You saw that little segment where the reporter is like, the stock market has crashed, the economy is imploding. It was like, no, we know that. I dont want to talk about it. Move on, move on. He feels if you dont say it, then we wont know it. If he doesnt hear it out loud, then it doesnt happen. And thats part of the problem that we see with this president is that he doesnt internalize things the way he should, as most president s in the past have, and take ownership of it and figure out, okay, this is what i need to do to fix it. The other attempts to tell us what we ourselves saw and heard or did not see and hear really has, at its core assumption, that we must be stupid. And the latest example ill play for you. Here is mr. Hannity. Theyre scaring the living hell out of people and i see it again as lets bludgeon trump with this new hoax. By the way, this program has always taken the coronavirus seriously, and weve never called the virus a hoax. Michael, the speed with which the entire crowd turned around just days ago. Yes. And awoke with new seriousness, fox coverage changed along with the president s verbiage. It was freaky to watch. Yeah. And the reason for that was a lot of what was happening in the country was happening to their audience. They were they were talking to their own folks who were telling them, i think we have a problem here. And the fact of the matter is, you know, this is not a west coast problem. This was not something that occurred just in california or in washington state. This was not something that happened in new york city. This is something that is happening in the heartland of the country as well, in the south as well. And so it is the entire nation that is in this coronavirus footing right now, and so the narrative has to change. You cant go out and claim that this is somehow Democratic Politics thats part of an antitrump narrative. The reality of it is its hitting everybody regardless of their ideology, their philosophy, or their party. And the country as a whole is looking to the man in the oval office, who right now really dont give a damn if hes a democrat or a republican. They just want to know what are you doing to prevent my family from getting sick . What are you doing so i dont have to fire my employees . What are you doing to make sure that my small business, my restaurant, can open in a few weeks . Thats the new reality. Michael steele, with thanks to you for being cameraman and guest. I cant believe this is where we are, but were facetiming on Cable Network television now. Thats where we are now, baby. I know, get used to it. Michael steele, always a pleasure. Thank you, my friend for coming on. And coming up for us, fighting a pandemic in Rural America when we come back. Another look tonight at las vegas, having just been out there, it is incredible to see. The city shut down. A financial disaster for a town built entirely around one industry, hospitality. Tens of thousands of people out of work just like that. Then there are the vast stretches of our country that are not in the shadow of a big city and the profound worries right about now about whether americas Community Hospitals are ready for what we know is coming when this virus settles in. Our report on this tonight from nbc news correspondent stephanie gosk. Reporter far from the densely populated cities, Rural America may seem better protected from the coronavirus. But Health Officials say it is a matter of time before it spreads everywhere, and people here could be especially vulnerable. You are dealing with a demographic that could be the hardest hit by this virus, arent you . We are. Reporter the rural population in the u. S. Tends to be older and generally less healthy than people in the cities while the number of hospitals providing services is dwindling. 126 have closed in the last decade, six so far this year. And now a pandemic. If you can imagine a huge tidal wave and we feel like were in the shadow, and were waiting for the wave to hit. Reporter steve kelly runs ellenville Regional Hospital in new yorks catskill mountains, where theyve been working around the clock to prepare. This is a triage station that is set up for patients that have flu symptoms. Reporter his facility has 25 beds for 28,000 people. A neighboring county has already asked visitors to stay away. How many ventilators do you have . We only have one ventilator. One ventilator . Mmhmm. So you can have one patient who needs a ventilator, and then what do you do after that . We transfer that patient. Reporter its the same situation at Holton Community hospital in kansas, where they already are reusing protective gear. Its very scary. In Rural America, staff wear a lot of different hats. Just take my safety officer. Shes my Infection Control nurse. Shes my safety officer. She also is my Employee Health nurse. Reporter a hospital in oklahoma is seeing respiratory problems but has no tests. One in wisconsin running out of swabs and masks. Another in indiana worried about money. The National RuralHealth Associations warning. The Rural Health Care safety net was already fragile. Now its being crippled by covid19. Stephanie gosk, nbc news, ellenville, new york. Unbelievable situation. Another break for us. And coming up, in our country where everything right about now seems broken or ready to break, the truth is its spring break that remains intact. Heres hoping they go home with just a mild sunburn. Do money. Without the commission fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Get it. Get it. Get it get it crowd chanting get it get it get it crowd groaning crowd cheering narrator give your town a reason to celebrate because every goodwill item you bring home, brings job training and more to your community. Goodwill. Bring good home. sensei a live bookkeeper quickbooks for me. Tomize live bookkeeper okay, youre all set up. sensei thanks that was my business gi, this ones casual. vo get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. You want to live . Get off the beach move go get the hell off the beach. The last thing before we go tonight, some of the more famous warnings over the years from the beaches of normandy to the beaches of new jersey, they now apply to florida. It is spring break for millions of students after all, and the older folks who have been following the rules and selfquarantining have been watching these pictures of spring break, just horrified at, should we call it, the opposite of social distancing . Something a lot closer to social intimacy among thousands who now go home with whatever theyve got to pass it along to whomever is in their household. Fueled by a combination of yolo and fomo and perhaps a beverage or two, here again a sampling of the lack of corona concern among the youngs. If i get corona, i get corona. At the end of the day, im not going to let it stop me from partying. Its good to take precautions, granted, but its spring break. Everyones going to be at the beach regardless. Whats spring break without a beach . The message, i think, for spring breakers is that the party is over in florida. So that last guy there is the governor. And, yes, he is several weeks too late. And while most florida beaches are by now shut down to crowds, clearwater, for one, is still open, and they are shutting down but right after one more weekend of partying, revelry, and revenue. Fun in the sun. Please remember, tourism is or used to be a 40 billion business in the state of florida. And beaches in georgia are still open, and some of them crowded. And for the record, we hope for everybodys sake that this cruel virus finds a way to be kind to all who were there. That is our broadcast for this thursday night from our temporary satellite studio. Thank you for being here with us and good night. Good evening from new york. Im chris hayes. A grim milestone. Italy recording 427 deaths since yesterday. This was the scene in italy where hospitals are so overwhelmed with deaths that a convoy of military trucks was used to transport bodies out of the city. The death toll is italy is now over 3,400 passing china for the most recorded deaths. Thats enormously more deaths per capita than china. The case fatality is just over 8 which is very, very high. And this is one of the richest regions in the eu, incredibly Good Health Care, high quality doctors, and higher hospital per capita than the United States. What we are desperately trying to avoid here is their fate. Thats possibly a look into our own future. Weve already seen Health Care Workers in this country infected, hospitals starting to run low on space and running out of space. We are many epidemiologists estimate probably ten days to two weeks behind where italy is. There are Health Care Workers in