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Trump Restricts Travel from Europe to U.S.; ECB Leaves Rates on Hold; Iranians Urged to Self-Isolate; Brazilian Official Tests Positive after Meeting with Trump; Trump Meeting with Irish PM; Trump Blames E.U. for Rising U.S. Cases. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 12, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared or more resilient of the
United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was dismissive of it. I think people within the administration have been dismissive of it. This was different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Hello and welcome to the show. I am Becky Anderson.
We have never quite seen anything like this. And it is making us all uneasy. This hour, we are connecting you to a world that itself is
connected by one thing, a virus starting to pervade every part of our lives. This show will bring you the facts.
A tremendous amount has changed over the last 24 hours, from an unprecedented travel ban from the United States to closing an opera houses
and canceling sporting events, things that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago.
We are all worried about ourselves, our kids, our friends, our parents. Every one of us, as we are watching our stock markets drop like a rock,
millions of people stuck in lockdowns and even fights over basic essentials.
It does all feel a little all over the place, so we are going to connect you through everything that is happening, the fundamentals of what we know
and the reaction to it, getting perspective from the experts and taking you everywhere that matters, like only CNN can.
A new travel ban imposed by the United States is tanking global markets. President Trump blaming the European Union for growing cases in the United
States, sparking confusion and chaos and ripping through the travel industry around the world. E.U. leaders blindsided by the ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC MARNER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION SPOKESPERSON: The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation rather
than unilateral action. The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without
consultation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We're going to talk about what was said and what we understand to be actually happening with that travel ban.
And the latest move from a European country, by the way, against the virus in the next few hours, Ireland will close all of its schools, colleges and
child care facilities through March 29th. The government insisting teaching will be carried out online. Cafes, restaurants and shops will stay open.
European stocks are taking a nosedive this Thursday trading session. There seems no relief, as exchanges get set to close. This is the story. Those
indices down as much as more than 10 percent. You can see that's what's going on in the Paris market.
Trading at the New York stock exchange halted for the second time this week for 15 minutes on the open, an extremely rare occurrence, a 7 percent drop
after the open triggered the circuit breaker.
In the last few moments, this is the story, President Trump ignoring questions on the virus but responding saying, quote, "The markets are going
to be just fine."
CNN's Julia Chatterley is in New York watching those markets. Fred Pleitgen is in Germany. Scott McLean at London Heathrow. Nick Valencia is at the
busiest airport in the world at Atlanta.
First, I want to get to Joe Johns at the White House.
And Joe, just explain what the president said last night with regard to this U.S. travel ban to Europe and what we now understand to be the facts.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: What the president said last night, essentially, is that he was cutting off travel from Europe to
the United States for 30 days. It turns out the president's travel restrictions were not as restrictive as was first thought.
For example, the U.K. is exempted from the president's restrictions. And it's also clear that Americans traveling here to the United States from
Europe certainly won't be affected. So that was one part of it that had to be corrected after the president's speech.
[11:05:00]
JOHNS: A second part of the speech that had to be corrected had to do with shipments of cargo from Europe to the United States. The president
suggested the shipments would be banned. He later had to go on to Twitter and correct that.
So two pieces of those, of the issue of travel from Europe as well as shipment of cargo and goods from Europe to the United States, they had to
amend it.
And, of course, the question is, whether a lot of confusion was created by all of this. The vice president this morning on CNN saying that in his
view, there was not confusion but it's clear the president was not concise in his words and had to be cleaned up.
ANDERSON: Well, it's clear that there is some confusion. And I want to get to Europe. Stand by for me, Joe, because I want to talk about testing, as
well, in the U.S. But I do want to get to across the pond, as it were. I want to get to Berlin in a moment.
First, though, to the U.K., not included in this travel ban. Scott McLean is standing by.
Britain's prime minister due to hold a meeting of the government's emergency committee called COBR some time this afternoon.
What action as we understand it is the U.K. taking at this point?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So from that meeting -- and we understand they are still in it, Becky -- they are expecting to move into
the delay phase of their plan to mitigate this coronavirus outbreak. That means they are likely to implement things against large gatherings and
other kind of social distancing policies.
Here in the U.K., as you mentioned, they are exempt from this travel ban or these travel restrictions, I should say. But it is still having a big
impact.
We're not allowed to film inside the terminal but we were just over there talking to travelers headed to the United States and we could not find a
single non-U.S. person who was traveling to the United States who had been to Europe.
There were a couple of Brits we had met who hadn't been to Europe, who were planning to go over. There were a couple of Americans that spent time in
Europe, a lot of Americans. We also met a lot of Americans who changed their flights, trying to avoid any harsh restrictions, any mandatory
quarantines they might face when we get there.
We met one woman who spent $2,800 buying a brand-new flight last minute, trying to get there before midnight. We met another man trying to get there
who spent $1,500 doing the same.
While many of these airlines are saying they're waiving any type of change or cancellation fees, it's still quite expensive to buy a flight last
minute, which is what a lot of people have ended up doing.
We've also reached out to the airlines themselves in Europe. We have heard radio silence from British Airways. We have heard back from a couple of
other airlines like Swiss Air Lines, Norwegian KLM, Lufthansa, Delta.
They have told us some version of the same thing. And that is that they are assessing the impact of these travel restrictions. But it is widely
expected that many of these carriers will cancel flights, just simply due to lack of demand. We've seen that elsewhere.
And Becky, if you're wondering, as well, if people may use the U.K. as a shortcut or a work around to get to the United States, I've spoken to
Heathrow Airport and they have made clear that that's not likely to happen.
The burden is on the airlines to make sure that no one who's been from Europe, who is just simply using the U.K. as a transit point -- and this is
also a test for government systems to make sure that they can track and they know who has been to Europe and who hasn't and who's cleared to fly to
the United States.
ANDERSON: That's the story in the U.K. Let's get to Germany and to Fred, who is in Berlin.
What has been the response there to this travel ban, Fred?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Germans are quite taken aback by it, Becky. You've heard some European
leaders. They're saying, look, they really disapprove of what President Trump has done.
The European Council right now is German; Ursula van der Leyen is very close to Angela Merkel. And the German government itself is very concerned
about these travel restrictions.
One of the things we have to keep in mind is that this is by far the biggest industrial nation in Europe. And if you look at a lot of the big
German companies that are out there, even some of the mid-sized companies, quite frankly, a lot of them have transformed their business over the past
15, maybe 20 years, to become transnational companies and a lot of that also means transatlantic companies, as well.
You look at the large German automakers, which are huge in this countries and quite frankly in Europe's economy as well. Many of them have moved
large parts of their production to the United States. Many of them have people flying back and forth between the United States and Europe all the
time.
If you look especially at the American South, if you look at big hubs, for instance, Charlotte, North Carolina, if you look at Atlanta, there are tons
of flights that have been instituted in the past couple of years from Lufthansa, from American carriers, as well, between there and Frankfurt,
because so many people were going back and forth.
[11:10:00]
PLEITGEN: Now of course, a lot of these companies over the past couple of weeks have already scaled that back. We've been talking a lot about it on
the air here, Becky, about companies stopping what they call non-essential travel.
But if you, for instance, look at highly skilled engineers who are in charge of production processes, there really is only so much that you can
do with teleconferencing, with Skype conferencing.
So it certainly does, as far as the German industry is concerned, as far as Europe is saying as well, is concerned, they believe that there will be an
economic impact to the fact that it will be much more difficult for Europeans to get to the United States.
And then, of course, Becky, there's that big question that I know you and Richard Quest have been talking about a lot, which is how long are these
airlines going to continue to service some of these routes if it becomes so difficult to travel.
There's already been a big decline. I think Scott was talking about Lufthansa just a couple of minutes ago. Lufthansa announced last night that
they're canceling 23,000 flights until the end of April.
Now of course, a lot of that is travel within Europe but some of that is transatlantic travel as well. Lufthansa is talking about putting out of
service its entire fleet of A-380 aircraft, those aircraft that travel those long, very profitable routes that go to the United States and Asia as
well.
ANDERSON: That's the story in Berlin, the economic fallout from what is a health crisis is as yet unclear.
What is clear is that there is a crisis of investor confidence. We've seen these European markets set to close at this point, no less than 9 percent
lower and the Dow Jones industrial average taking a cue from either the European markets or from a chaotic speech from the U.S. president last
night, significantly lower in U.S. trading. Let's get to Julia Chatterley.
What's the story there, Julia?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: All of the above, Becky. Everything that you just described and we were just discussing throughout the last 10 minutes
crystallized in what investors are doing now as far as stocks are concerned.
But it's a global story. There's real concern about leadership. We simply can't get a handle on the economic cost here of the sudden stops. Airlines
in particular have been absolutely pummeled once again in this session, because at least in terms of that sector, we can get a sense and we are
hearing what the economic cost of the capacity cuts that we're seeing are.
What we saw in the first five minutes of trading in the U.S. session today, again, unprecedented, a halting, a halt of trading. The circuit breakers
kicked in. We were instantly down 7 percent.
We had that 15-minute break, simply trying to strip the emotion, the fear out of the markets, give people a chance to rethink whether they want to
sell into what's already been, what, 20 sessions in total of severe weakness.
And now we've got more pressure. We don't have that protection mechanism kicking in again until stocks fall some 13 percent. So as you can see,
we're bouncing around the lows of the session today. It's going to be interesting to see whether we see further pressure as we push throughout
the session.
What the close of trading looks like today, Becky, your guess is as good as mine but investors are saying they disliked that press conference, they
disliked the lack of support and they're hoping, waiting for clarity in terms of the medical issue here, which is at the heart of it, clearly.
And we're simply not going to get it. And right now we're pricing recession, global recession.
ANDERSON: Yes. What is ironic is that, as somebody was pointing out the other day and we discussed that, 70 percent of trade is actually
algorithmic, electronic trade. So to a certain extent, doesn't have an emotion but is charged and is set to respond to, effectively, the kind of
wider atmosphere at any one time.
And this is what we are seeing, of course. But you know, there is human sentiment out there, as well. And that's clearly very, very weak, at the
moment.
In an unexpected move, Julia, the European Central Bank has left its interest rates steady today, amid the coronavirus outbreak. It did, though,
announce other stimulus measures.
Now this follows some fiscal measures by the U.K. yesterday and, indeed, 0.5 point drop to 0.25 percent on the U.K. base rate from the central bank
there. We've seen action from the U.S. on the Fed side, short on detail, on the fiscal side from the U.S. At the moment, we aren't seeing coordinated
action by these global authorities.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: We are seeing splinter action as it were. I mean, just how important -- you've talked about leadership, which is incredibly important
at this point. Leadership through action, of course, is what these markets need to see next.
What do they want?
CHATTERLEY: The world is not enough, Becky, at this point. I don't think central banks can cut rates enough. I think what the hope was from the
European Central Bank, they just buy assets, they buy bonds again. They would simply send the message that they'll do whatever it takes.
And we simply haven't seen that. It's really tough. My judgment on this, Becky, and it purely is mine, we're going to get to a point where it's
either a solution on the number of cases, we have a better sense of how quickly we can contain the coronavirus outbreak, or that, simply, stocks
and assets get so beaten up, everybody gets exhausted and says, you know, there's no point selling anymore.
We've priced Armageddon. And that's starting to -- you know, that's what it's starting to feel like, Becky. We've wiped a quarter of the value of
stock markets in the last 20 sessions. The speed of that is astonishing.
ANDERSON: That's interesting, isn't it?
The ECB running the sort of monetary environment for the Eurozone. The European Union, as a whole, doesn't have an awful lot of fiscal opportunity
in its tool box --
CHATTERLEY: All coordination.
ANDERSON: -- because that's run -- all coordination because, of course, we are talking about, you know, the 26-27 countries who are running their own
fiscal environment. So this is a really tough one.
It's the first big sort of big test, I guess, for the European Union, although it will feel that it's been tested in the past when it comes to
the Eurozone.
CHATTERLEY: Another one.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. We are living in uncertain times. And we don't have all the answers but we do have the facts as they stand. More than --
thank you, Julia -- 100 million passengers go through Atlanta's airport in Georgia where Nick Valencia now standing by.
And Nick, which has been the response there and the action there to what the president announced last night, which is that flights between or travel
between the U.S. and Europe will be banned?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think there were a lot of people, to and including the airline industry, the travel industry really as whole
that were caught off guard, blindsided by this.
We have also heard from several ambassadors, saying they were not given an advanced notice of what the president was going to say. And while the White
House has done their best this morning to try to, you know, if you will, sort of clean up the president's speech last night, it has sown a lot of
confusion.
People have come up asking us, you know, if they can still travel domestically. This, of course, does not impact domestic travel here in the
United States. But people certainly taking their precautions, some more than others, including this young man, who I interviewed earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like our little travel kit.
VALENCIA: That's not an everyday thing that you take?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not. Since she works at the CDC, she wants me to be safe. Hand sanitizer and everything.
VALENCIA: Show us what you have in there?
What do you have in that bag?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a mask, this looks like a construction mask, so Clorox wipes, gloves, hand sanitizer.
VALENCIA: Any second thoughts about getting on your flights?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I almost didn't come.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We almost just canceled because we were so scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: We've seen others here use protective gloves, protective eyewear, even some who are using scarves to cover their face.
While there is a bit of mixed reaction here, everyone that I've talked to is unsettled by this news that we're learning this morning, of a passenger
getting on a plane from New York's JFK airport to West Palm Beach International in Florida and notifying the airline, JetBlue, upon arrival
that they had tested positive for the coronavirus.
That's all we know at this point. We don't know exactly how long that individual had been feeling symptoms, if they were feeling symptoms at all.
But that is clearly unsettling to a lot of passengers here, highlighting that they really just don't know who they're flying next to, what kind of
exposure, if at all, they've had to this virus.
One thing clear, though, this morning, things just don't seem as normal as they did yesterday. Back to you.
ANDERSON: Yes. It's been a long 24 hours. Thank you, sir.
Here are some of the virus hot spots on our radar right now. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has announced transportation in and out of metro
Manila will be suspended on Sunday. That includes land, sea and air transport for the next month. At last check, the Philippines has 49
confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: Iran's health -- sorry, Iran's minister of health is urging residents of Tehran to isolate themselves. This as the number of
coronavirus cases there hit 10,000 on Thursday. Those traveling between provinces could face punishment. In all, 429 people have died from the
virus in Iran.
And back in the United States, I wanted to offer a brief reality check. We've been talking a lot about Mr. Trump's speech last night, reading from
a teleprompter, he had these solemn, dare I say, inspiring words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We are all in this together. We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship and unify together as one nation and one family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Wednesday night. This was Thursday morning, in a tweet, dragging Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama into the mix, saying, "I don't just
like his payroll tax cut, proposed response from him from the coronavirus economic shock simply because it's from him."
Mr. Trump also tagging "FOX & Friends" in the tweet.
Coming up, every day, we have new alarming information about the coronavirus pandemic. So to go over exactly what we know and what we don't
know, we're going to speak to the man in charge of advising the World Health Organization on this disease. That is next.
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ANDERSON: There is only one story this hour. And that is the massive global impact of the coronavirus. And there is no better person to get
insight from than my next guest, Dr. David Nabarro. He is advising the World Health Organization on everything COVID-19. What to do about the
virus, how to advise those at risk and what comes next.
He has extensive infectious disease expertise. He joins us now live from Geneva.
And you will not be surprised, sir, to know that I have an awful lot of questions. Let's start with the following.
What do we know about this virus at this point and what are we yet to learn?
DR. DAVID NABARRO, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Firstly, we know that this pandemic can be contained with the resources that are presently available
in our world. We do not need to be in a situation of conceiving that this will just get worse and worse and lead to a complete economic meltdown.
Here is the evidence.
[11:25:00]
NABARRO: China was able to get on top of the Wuhan outbreak and through an extraordinary effort involving multiple assets, prevented it from spreading
throughout the country and has still got the situation under control.
South Korea, after a difficult start, has managed to get on top of things through a huge disciplined effort that brought together people and
government.
If we look at Singapore, despite the fact that it's got considerable challenges, being at a crossroads in Southeast Asia, the effort of the
Singapore government and people has been outstanding.
So the first thing I must say to you and your listeners is this is a pandemic that can be beaten. And I want every businessperson who is
listening to me to hear that, because it's important that the business community and the investors start to recognize that we know that it can be
done and we've seen it being done in countries.
Now we've got terrible problems in certain parts of Europe and we're anticipating major issues in the United States. But these problems can be
tackled. And it's not too late if governments are able to just get organized and get on top of it and bring all the different assets that
they've got together to deal with it.
ANDERSON: All right.
NABARRO: Half-hearted, confused and fumbling measures will not work. The virus will beat us.
ANDERSON: Right. Well, let's talk about what is being done and what you believe should be done. The travel ban, the United States has just imposed
on Europe.
Do you believe that action will further help contain this virus or not?
NABARRO: The best way to look at it is, what is the strategy in the United States?
The strategy has to be sorting out hospitals, getting community health services right, getting people properly informed so they know what to do
and planning the economic so it can cope with hard times for the next six months. I don't think travel ban comes number one, not in my book.
ANDERSON: What does come number one, sir?
NABARRO: Number one is getting the public to understand what's going on and ensuring that they're able to be confident that they know what they
should do in order to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe.
ANDERSON: Yes.
NABARRO: That means regular communication from people in the know, who know the public health issues.
And we're seeing it happening. It's been slow but, in some states, we're seeing that things are really ramping up.
Number two, get your hospitals right. Some hospitals have to be preserved for people who have COVID to keep them from dying. Other hospitals need to
be kept going for people with other conditions.
Number three, make sure that you know where the virus is, who's sick, that they can get isolated and looked after and that people who are contacted
can be properly kept under surveillance.
All of that means having a testing standard throughout the country and making sure that all the data are properly collected and reported. It's
doable. China did it, South Korea did it. The U.S. can do it.
ANDERSON: Italy is on lockdown.
How far behind Italy are other parts of the world?
Do they need to, for example, close their schools, universities, child care facilities, as Ireland has just done?
Give us a sense of where we are at in Italy and what the lag is for other countries at this point?
NABARRO: Italy would not be in the present situation if, four weeks ago, they had been able to track and follow and properly isolate people with the
virus. But because, unfortunately, some got missed, they have now got this very serious outbreak and they've had to introduce movement restrictions.
So you can prevent having to have the movement restrictions and prevent having the suffering that there is now by early action.
The rest of Europe should be able to avoid the worst of the situations that Italy has. But it will only occur if there is much greater connection
between authorities and people about what everybody has to do and much better instructions, particularly on staying at home when you've got a
fever.
I just heard your correspondent saying that a passenger got off a plane, saying that they had had a positive COVID test. That should not be allowed.
ANDERSON: Correct.
NABARRO: And it's quite possible to create a situation where, every time a person has a positive test, authorities are notified and there's proper
isolation done with supervision from community wardens.
Next, I would --
ANDERSON: Let me ask you this -- go on. Go on. Carry on, sir.
NABARRO: Next, I would like to focus on the big sporting events.
ANDERSON: Correct. That is what I was going to bring up.
NABARRO: We should not be having sporting events now. We should not be having gatherings, because everybody should be focused.
[11:30:00]
NABARRO: Everybody should be focused on getting on top of this pandemic. It should be the business of every single human being in the countries
where we've got transmission occurring.
If we're not actually doing stuff, we should be rehearsing for when it comes. In addition, we need to be absolutely certain that we've made plans
for food, for energy, for water to be in proper supply, for prisons to be surviving, despite the fact that these problems are happening.
But people who are out of work and can't get employment to be able to be able to kept in employment so they're not out on the streets and destitute.
There's a whole raft of things that ought to be done in every community, everywhere.
Is it happening?
No. Because we've got government saying, in a kind of half-hearted way, we're going to keep the economy going, behaving as though things are normal
and, at the same time, we'll deal with this pandemic as a sideshow. If that happens, we will have the biggest global recession ever.
So I'm asking everybody to put this number one in their priorities and not to do things, to simply so they appear they're doing the job, but actually
to link everybody up so they're working together. That's how the countries that have succeeded have done it.
ANDERSON: Dr. Nabarro, I'm going to take a very short break. I'll keep you with me because this is important and we'll carry on this conversation.
Taking a short break. Back after this.
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ANDERSON: The press secretary for the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, after going on a trip with
the president to meet Donald Trump to look more at the global spread.
[11:35:00]
ANDERSON: Let me get you back to Dr. David Nabarro, special envoy for the WHO, back with us now from Geneva.
We've been talking about what we know, what we don't know, the general preparedness, what you believe is going on or may happen next in countries
around the world, not least those of Europe. A lot of criticism of the Trump administration, Doctor, at the lack of testing in the U.S. and
general preparedness.
Do you share that frustration?
NABARRO: I think most countries are not ready and most countries have struggled to get a proper testing and preparedness strategy in place. I
don't want to single out any one country.
But what I would like to say is that all countries now need to be sure that they've got standardized protocols for testing everybody with symptoms
quickly. That's so important to know where the virus is and where it's headed.
If you don't test and you don't know what's going on, you're doing this battle blind. And it is an epic battle. It's a battle for the future of all
of us. It's a battle in which business has a huge stake.
And that's why we're talking to so many business leaders who are coming and saying, can you tell us what the landscape looks like and what we need to
do?
And all the business leaders tell us, if only governments could get themselves organized, so that they get on top of this thing as quickly as
possible. If it means a short period of real hardship, we'll weather that in order to get back to things being in good shape in a few month's time.
What business does not want is half-hearted efforts now that lead to the whole process of the pandemic lasting lots of months, perhaps even years
and a real damage to confidence and the future.
So could I please encourage through you all governments to get their detection, testing and isolation and quarantining strategies up to scratch
everywhere standardized across the board because there will continue to be VIPs like ministers, like press secretaries to presidents and other senior
people infected.
This virus is going to go everywhere and we've got to all of us get ready and know what to do to contain it, including inside CNN, I would suggest.
ANDERSON: A Chinese expert seems to share your belief that the pandemic could end in weeks. He's talking about June, if enough measures are taken.
Is that your assessment?
NABARRO: It's all about whether we get organized to deal with it. I actually believe that we need to repurpose all of government in all
countries, so that the primary focus is only on defeating this pandemic.
It's not because I'm a health person; it's because I've seen the magnitude of the challenge that it can cause. Then we will get on top of it and we
will need to get advice from China, because they've done it, and advice from Korea.
ANDERSON: Finally, sir, what part of the world are you most concerned about right now?
NABARRO: Europe and North America. I'm worried that, if we get really big outbreaks, Wuhan plus-plus-plus happening in Europe and North America, they
will seed the infection into many more places in poorer countries.
These poorer countries, when they get outbreaks, will not be able to cope so well, because their hospitals will get overwhelmed and their people will
suffer hugely.
And it would be terrible if, actually, our inability to lead properly with full audacity and accountability in Europe and North America were actually
to lead to a much greater suffering in the rest of the world. It would be a cruel irony. And we've got to follow the example of the countries that have
done it right to get our own house in order.
ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there, incredibly valuable to speak to you, sir, today, thank you so much, indeed, for giving us your
time.
NABARRO: Anytime.
ANDERSON: If President Trump hopes to restore calm with his announcement on these travel restrictions to Europe, the fact his administration quickly
needed to clarify what he said didn't help.
Travel from 26 European countries will be suspended for a month, starting from midnight on Friday Eastern time. The United Kingdom and Ireland are
exempt. We did later learn the restrictions would not apply to U.S. citizens, nor to goods coming from the continent.
I know that we are standing by to hear from Donald Trump. I want to bring in Stephen Collins, who's in Washington, who is a friend of the show, to
provide analysis, as he always does. Nic Robertson standing by at Downing Street.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: The U.K. excluded from President Trump's new travel restrictions. I know we have a COBR meeting, an emergency meeting going on
at present.
Have we learned yet what the U.K.'s next action might be?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We haven't. Journalists are getting a briefing now. There'll be a press conference
later. That's the extent of what we know at the moment.
What we do know is there's been a strong pushback from the European Union. The European Council president and European Commission president are both
there at President Trump's unilateral action without consulting other countries to make those travel restrictions from Europe, 26 nations in
Europe is something that they disapprove of.
We've heard also from the British chancellor, saying that Britain works by analyzing the science in the situation and he doesn't believe that closing
borders is effective. This is how he framed it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
RISHI SUNAK, U.K. CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: With regard to flight bans, we are always guided by the science, as we make our decisions clear and the
advice we're getting is that there is evidence that closing borders or travel bans aren't going to have a material effect on the spread of the
infection.
That's why we've taken the decisions that we have.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So Becky, this is a scenario where I think the United States is acting alone. I don't think we're going to have anything like that sort of
announcement from the British today.
Certainly when the Irish prime minister spoke earlier today, he didn't talk about shutting down borders in that way. He was talking about shutting
down schools. At the moment, one third of all European schools and educational establishments in one-third of European countries --
(AUDIO GAP)
ANDERSON: All right. OK, sorry about that. We've lost Nic. He was outside of Downing Street. I've got Stephen with me. As we stand by to hear from
Donald Trump.
If you want to describe how many people are feeling today, this does a pretty good job, Stephen. The world turned upside down, that's the "New
York Post" headline this morning.
How do you see, describe developments in the past 24 hours?
Tell me.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think we've got to a pivot point both socially in the United States and politically. People are
scared that the pillars of American life, NBA basketball games are closing, schools are closing in various areas.
You know, a lot of officials are talking about more draconian measures that will soon need to be brought in. And at times like this, people look to the
president, whoever he is, not just to offer calm but to bring the country together and provide a sense of direction, to get everybody marching in the
same direction to get through a crisis.
And that is what was so remarkable at President Trump's speech from the Oval Office last night. He didn't give any of those assurances. And as soon
as it was over, the White House was forced to clear up a lot of the misconceptions.
You mentioned, of course, the issue that when the president said it wasn't just people from Europe that were banned, it was trade in goods, which, of
course, would send massive shock waves, even bigger than we've seen through the economy and the markets.
The administration had to clear that up very quickly. There was another issue about --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: One second. Let me just stop you. President Trump welcoming Ireland's prime minister to the White House for bilateral talks. He's just
made some comments. Let's listen in.
TRUMP: They can control individual arenas and individual things better. And it's different for different areas. Some areas have no problem
whatsoever in our country and others do. So we're working with the governors of the various states, and it's -- I think it's working very
well. I think the relationship has been very good with California and some others that in particular have been hit.
QUESTION: It looks like you'll be facing Joe Biden now in the presidential run-off. Are you happy that he is favored?
TRUMP: Yes, I'm happy. I -- whoever it is, I hope they make their choice soon. I thought it was going to be -- everybody thought it was going to be
Bernie. And I've said, Elizabeth Warren, if she waited for -- you know, she waited that extra three days, four days, and Super Tuesday was a disaster -
- he would've won every one of those states or almost -- I think almost every one of those states -- Maine, Massachusetts, Texas.
You take a look at the states that were very close, and many of her -- I would say most of her -- I would almost say all of her -- but many of her
votes would've gone to him. So had she left prior to Super Tuesday, with just a few days, he would right now been declared virtually the winner. It
would've been over.
But now we have Joe, and I'm very happy to run against Joe. You know, one of the reasons I ran for President is because of Joe and the job they did.
So it's one of the reasons. So in way, it's -- in a way, it's -- you know, it's maybe the way it should be.
[11:45:00]
TRUMP: But it looks to me like it would be Biden would win.
QUESTION: Are you considering travel restrictions within the United States, such as to Washington State or California?
TRUMP: We haven't discussed that yet. Is it a possibility? Yes. If somebody gets a little bit out of control, if an area gets too hot. You see
what they're doing in New Rochelle, which is -- which is good, frankly. It's the right thing. But they're not -- it's not enforced. It's not very
strong. But people know they're -- they're being watched.
New Rochelle. That's a hotspot.
QUESTION: Just a separate topic. You spoke to the Saudi Crown Prince the other day about --
TRUMP: I did.
QUESTION: -- what did you tell him about the oil market?
TRUMP: Well, I asked him what's going on. And they're having a dispute with Russia. This is something that drove oil prices down. And one thing I
can tell you is oil prices are at a point now that I would've dreamed about because the gasoline prices are going to be coming way down. They'll be
coming way down.
So with gasoline prices coming down, that's like a tax cut. Frankly, that's like a big tax cut, not a little tax cut for the consumer. So there's
something about that that I like. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press. We're finished. Let's go. We're done. We're finished. Let's go. Make your way out. Press, let's go. We're finished.
ANDERSON: Right. Let's get back to Stephen Collinson, who was listening in and -- do I have Stephen Collinson or Nic Robertson?
I've got both.
I know there's a possibility that we may get some news out of the U.K. in the next few moments, Nic. There's a COBR meeting, an emergency meeting
going on.
Anything yet?
ROBERTSON: There are some indications coming out from it. We're looking into those at the moment but we'll get a full update, a full blow-by-blow
expected a bit later this afternoon, Becky.
But you know, what the expectation had been that the country would move from -- move towards the delay phase.
And the question on a lot of people's mind, because the Irish government has decided to close down all Irish schools, will the British do the same?
And the early indications are that perhaps that is not the case. Other countries have been more forward leaning about restricting the gatherings
of people, the Irish saying indoor gatherings should be less than a hundred people, outdoor gatherings, less than 500.
We've heard similar from the Finnish, saying outdoor gatherings should be less than 500. They do seem to have been one of the not so forward-leaning
in terms of actions, again, specifically because they say that they are basing their decisions on the science and also on, if you will, a sort of
analysis of how people respond to measures that will control them, that will ask them to stay at home.
Perhaps ask them to look after their children rather than have the children at school. All these sorts of things are being evaluated. How that will
affect the population for how long it can be maintained. Important, they say, once they start such measures that they can be maintained all the way
through.
And if they call British people to isolate themselves too quickly, they simply won't hold to it. Of course, the government has been criticized for
that sort of thinking. But that's where we're at, at the moment, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. That's the story in the U.K., Nic, always a pleasure.
Stephen, let me bring you back in. Wednesday night's address from president Donald effectively blamed Europe for the spread of the coronavirus in the
United States. He said the E.U., the European Union has failed to restrict travel from China, resulting in new clusters from European passengers
coming to the United States.
We have spoken to expert after expert today. We just spoke to the WHO's envoy on COVID-19, who said, quite frankly, banning flights at this point
is not the answer. And not only is it not the answer, what it seems President Trump did last night was just sow chaos on confusion, which
needed to be mopped up by others in the administration today.
COLLINSON: And he basically came up with an America first solution to a global pandemic. He called it, for example, a foreign virus. That is why a
lot of people believe that, although the administration says that the decision to ban Europeans was based on science, it's got a lot more to do
with the political inclinations of an administration that's always looking to blame someone else and to demonize foreigners.
What the president didn't talk very much about was the big problem in the United States. And you can ban flights from Europe but we now have a huge
and emerging problem in the United States. The government doesn't even know how many cases there are of coronavirus in the U.S., because of a problem
with testing.
[11:50:00]
COLLINSON: There was a briefing on Capitol Hill this morning, where lawmakers were told by the administration that, despite their promises that
millions of testing kits are going out, there have only been a total of 11,000 coronavirus tests taken in the United States so far.
And senators and representatives are coming out of that meeting and saying, how is it that South Korea can test 10,000 people per day and the United
States has only tested 11,000?
There's great concern that they can't get a fix on this pandemic inside the United States. They don't know where it's going to go next. And, therefore,
you know, in the next few weeks, we're going to see a situation in the United States very similar to what we're seeing in Italy.
So the big takeaway from the address was not just the fact that the president didn't appear to have a fix on how to lead through this crisis.
The government doesn't seem to have the measures in place that your previous guest was talking about, the doctor from Geneva, to get a fix on
this and to stop its spread in the next few weeks. And that's the big worry.
ANDERSON: Stephen Collinson is in the House, out of Washington for you, always a pleasure, sir. Thank you.
We are taking a very short break. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson, where the facts come first. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Right. Donald Trump is with the Irish prime minister at the White House. He has been and will continue to speak on the coronavirus.
Let's listen in.
TRUMP: It's got the border; it's got very strong borders. And they're doing a very good job. They don't have very much infection at this point,
and hopefully they'll keep it that way.
QUESTION: Mr. President, there are many European leaders who are upset that they weren't consulted about the travel ban. Can you explain your
rationale for not consulting with them first before announcing it last night?
TRUMP: Well, we get along very well with the European leaders, but we had to make a decision, and I didn't want to take time and -- you know, it
takes a long time to make the individual calls. And we are calling, and we have spoken to some of them prior to -- some of the majors, prior to. But
we had to move quickly.
I mean, when they raise taxes on us, they don't consult us, and I think that's probably one in the same. They've done things -- the European Union,
as you know, has done some very big tax raises over the years, not so much with me because I won't put up with it. But they haven't consulted us. In
the case of the European Union, I consulted with many people.
QUESTION: Do you have any idea what the overall economic impact of these travel restrictions will be?
TRUMP: Well, it'll be a big impact, but it's a bigger impact, and it's also a human impact, which is more important, frankly, than the financial,
when you lose thousands of additional lives. As an example, if I didn't close very, very early, Leo -- you know, we closed very early with China,
and I took a lot of heat, including from you people.
A lot of heat. They called me everything from a "racist" to everything else. It was terrible. And the same people, then they say, "Oh, he closed
too fast. Why did he close." -- most of them said, "Why did he close with China?" That turned out to be a great move.
[11:55:00]
TRUMP: What we did with Europe is -- this was the time.
And China -- a lot of it came from -- when you think of what happened to Europe, because it was very fast and very furious, and what happened is a
lot of people went from China into Europe, and Europe suffered tremendously. You know, you see what's going on. And so I just wanted that
to stop as it pertains to the United States.
And that's what we've done -- we've stopped it.
QUESTION: What are your plans, Mr. President, about campaign rallies, about travel outside the White House? You originally had some travel on the
schedule for tonight.
TRUMP: Right, I did. We had some big rallies. We cancelled one that we were thinking about doing in Las Vegas, as you know, and one in Reno,
Nevada. We had one -- we had about three of them in Nevada, actually. And we had four or five of them that we were thinking about. We have a big one
in Tampa, all sold out.
We have over 100,000 requests for tickets, but I think we'll probably not do it because people would say it's better to not do. You know, we need a
little a separation until such time as this goes away. It's going to go away. It's going to go way. I was watching Scott -- I was watching Scott
this morning, and he was saying within two months.
But, you know, in the meantime, we want to lose as few people as possible. So important. And what is the number as of this morning? Is it 32? You
could tell me. Is it 32 deaths? Steve? Around that.
I mean, think of it: The United States, because of what I did and what the administration did with China, we have 32 deaths at this point. Other
countries that are smaller countries have many, many deaths. Thirty-two is a lot. Thirty-two is too many. But when you look at the kind of numbers
that you're seeing coming out of other countries, it's pretty amazing when you think of it. So, that's it.
QUESTION: Are you going to invoke the Stafford Act today, declaring a national emergency?
TRUMP: Well, we have things that I can do. We have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act. And we are -- we have it -- I mean, I have
it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. And if I need to do something, I'll do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that
people don't even know about.
QUESTION: Are you going to do that today or something today?
TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say that, but, you know, at some point, it may be some of the more minor things at this point. But, you know, look,
we're in -- we're in great shape. Compared to other places, we are in really good shape, and we want to keep it that way. That's why I did the
ban with respect to Europe.
QUESTION: Mr. President, (INAUDIBLE) emergency actions that you could take last night with regard to workers --
TRUMP: I have a lot of emergency actions that I can take.
QUESTION: But with regard to workers --
TRUMP: Yes.
QUESTION: -- what are you looking at to help American workers?
TRUMP: Well, we're looking at a lot of things, including paid leave, and - - we're looking at many things. We're also making sure they're going to get their salaries. We have other workers too, and those are people that work
for tips, and nobody thinks about them. And we're including them in a lot of our schedules.
We're also making sure that the companies, which are good companies, stay solvent, have the money necessary to keep functioning. So we have a lot of
things that we're working on with the financial markets. And it's going to work out fine. You know, we're --
QUESTION: When will you decide?
TRUMP: You have to remember, the stock market, as an example, is still much higher than when I got here. And it's taken a big hit, but it's going
to all bounce back and it's going to bounce back very big at the right time.
QUESTION: When will you decide, though, for the American workers, what steps you will take --
TRUMP: Well, we're deciding right now, and we're dealing also -- prior to even the Stafford Act, we're dealing with the Democrats in Congress and
we'll see what can be done. I happen to think that a payroll tax cut would be a very good idea. It very -- you know, it distributes it -- really
distributes it very evenly among middle class and other workers.
I mean, many workers. It would be a great thing. I happen to think it would be a great thing even beyond this, okay? So we're looking at the payroll
tax cut, and that won't come immediately because that's a stronger measure. But we are looking to do that. And I think, at the right time, Congress
will probably go along with it, because it really is the most sensible thing.
We had the biggest bankers in the world here yesterday, getting their opinions. They all thought payroll tax cut would be a great thing. It would
evenly and quickly distribute a lot of money.
QUESTION: Do you support the House bill -- the House Democrat bill?
TRUMP: No, because there are things in there that have nothing to do with what we're talking about. So, you know, it's not a way for them to get some
of the goodies that they haven't been able to get for the last 25 years.
QUESTION: Mr. President, will Irish citizens always be welcome to America throughout this coronavirus pandemic?
TRUMP: Always. Always. Always. Just like your Prime Minister, always. They will be not only welcome -- loved. We have millions -- what is the number
now, would you say? It changes every year. It gets actually bigger.
LEO VARADKAR, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: Yes, well, about 35 million are of Irish --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Can you imagine? It's got to be one of our --
VARADKAR: -- Irish blood.
TRUMP: -- it's got to be one of our biggest. No, we -- we love the Irish.
QUESTION: Do you support Irish citizens getting access to the E-3 visa?
TRUMP: We're going to be looking at that. We're going to be talking about that today. It's a very important part of our conversation. It's going to
be, actually, a very important part of our conversation today.
QUESTION: Are there concerns about Huawei, the Chinese telecoms company and its operations and its connections with countries like Ireland? Is that
going to come up today?
TRUMP: Well, I think there's a lack of security. If they use Huawei, there's a real problem with intelligence and intelligence security. And
we'll see what happens. We'll be discussing that point also.
QUESTION: Mr. President, can't an American still bring back coronavirus under these new travel restrictions?
TRUMP: Can it what?
QUESTION: Can't an American still bring back coronavirus?
TRUMP: Sure. But we have them very heavily tested. If an American is coming back or anybody is coming back, we're testing. We have a tremendous
testing set up where people coming in have to be tested. And if they are positive and if they're able to get through, because if they're, frankly,
if they're not -- we're not putting them on planes if they're -- if it shows positive.
[12:00:00]
END
