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Full Measure: May 24, 2020 - Interview with President Trump
Twenty-three minute video with transcript, for those of us who prefer reading to listening.
[SharylAttkisson] Sharyl: Thank you for being on our program.

President Trump: Well, thank you.

Sharyl: Do you think that coronavirus has been as transformative to our country as 9/11 was?

President Trump: Well, I think the concept of 9/11 was, it was a little more direct. It was a hit by terrorists. But this is a hit. It came out of China, whether we like it or not, it came out of China. It could have been stopped. It came all over the world, but it didn't really go to China. They stopped their planes going into China, but they didn't stop their planes and their traffic going into the rest of the world, including the United States and Europe, and Europe is decimated. And you look at what happened all over the world, 186 countries. So now it's a very terrible thing and they could have stopped it if they wanted to, they could have stopped it. Either it was incompetent or they didn't want to, both are not very acceptable, by the way.

Sharyl: Can you take us to the moment when you remember first hearing about the highest projections? We're talking millions, and we had not been told that yet in the public, but I assume you were told that first. Were you thinking, how is this to be believed? Was it startling and frightening?

President Trump: So I was hearing millions of people, and it would have been millions of people if we didn't shut down. Now, would I shut it down again? No, because we understand it now much better. We didn't know anything about it, it was new, it was fresh.

Sharyl: You mean you would not have, in retrospect, shut down the-

President Trump: I would have done exactly. We've done the exact moves that I would have done. And I did it early. Tony Fauci, Dr. Birx, they all said what I did was incredible. In retrospect, Tony, as you know, never thought he was going to be as severe as it was. And we're talking about months later, a long time after I did the ban. I did a ban and nobody thought I should do it. I mean, literally I don't think anybody thought I should do it. I made that decision by myself and it turned out to be a great decision. Hundreds of thousands of lives are saved.

Sharyl: About four months ago, almost to the day, the first coronavirus victim in the United States was officially diagnosed.

President Trump: Right.
Posted by: trailing wife 2020-05-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=572579