Donald Trump Coronavirus Press Conference Transcript July 28: Talks Kodak, Vaccine, DACA

Donald Trump: (00:00)
-manufacturing back to the USA. We’ve been working on this for a long time. This is a core of our strategy to protect our people from the horrible China virus. It should have never happened. It should have never been here. They should have stopped it.

In the decades before I took office, foreign nations were allowed to freely plunder our factories and loot our industries, take our business out of the United States. Millions of jobs were vacuumed out, just taken out so easily. Our politicians let that happen, and our communities were stripped and shipped, in many cases to China and all over the world, countries all over the world.

Nearly four years ago, we launched a bold effort to revitalize American manufacturing, enact fair trade deals, and bring our industries back home, where they belong. When the China virus landed on our shores, it became clearer than ever before that restoring American manufacturing is a core matter of national security. We must never be reliant on a foreign nation for America’s medical or other needs, and that includes many other needs.

I just want to say that Pfizer just announced a little while ago that they’re combining Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials, and the vaccine looks like it’s really heading in a very rapid direction and very positive direction. First time that’s happened, and they’re many months ahead of any other trial. There’s never been anything like it. So it’s the fastest ever. To me, it’s very exciting.

Today I’m proud to announce one of the most important deals in the history of US pharmaceutical industries. My administration has reached a historic agreement with a great American company. You remember this company? It’s called, from the good old camera age, the old days, to begin producing critical pharmaceutical ingredients. It’s called Kodak, and it’s going to be right here in America. So I want to congratulate the people in Kodak. They’ve been working very hard.

Members of my administration are present in Rochester right now, Rochester, New York, good place, and they’re trying to finalize this groundbreaking deal. They will be announcing this deal. I want to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo and his representatives. We’ve worked really well together on this deal. It’s a big deal. It’s going to be a great deal and a great deal for New York and a great deal for Kodak.

90% of all prescriptions written in the United States are for generic drugs. We have approved more generic drugs than any other administration by far. Generic drugs can be just as good as the brand names, but cost much less. Yet less than 10% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients needed to make these drugs are currently manufactured in America. More than 50%, however, are made in India and China.

You’ll be seeing a lot of things that have happened. It’s been happening, but it’s happening at a more rapid pace right now. With this new agreement, my administration is using the Defense Production Act to provide a $765 million loan to support the launch of Kodak Pharmaceuticals. It’s a great name when you think of it, such a great name. Was one of the great brands in the world. Then people went digital, and Kodak didn’t follow. But now under very extraordinary leadership, they are following, and they’re doing something that’s a different field. It’s a field that they’ve really hired some of the best people in the world to be taking care of that company and watching that company, watching over it.

But it’s a breakthrough in bringing pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States under this contract, our 33rd use of the Defense Production Act. Remember when you were saying I didn’t use it enough? I didn’t use it enough? Then now you heard it’s the 33rd use. We don’t talk about it all the time. We used it, and we used it as a little bit of a threat, frankly, with certain companies that weren’t doing as we were asking them to do. It came through as both a threat and a usage, but this is our 33rd use of the Defense production Act.

Kodak will now produce generic active pharmaceutical ingredients, which is a big deal. Using advanced manufacturing techniques, Kodak will also make the key starting materials that are the building blocks for many drugs in a manner that is both cost-competitive and environmentally safe. We’ll be competitive with almost all countries and soon with all countries.

Once this new division is fully operational, in addition to all of the other plants that we’ve opened with other companies throughout the United States recently, it will produce as much as 25% of all active ingredients needed to make generic drugs in the USA. That’s a big number, 25%. This agreement will directly create 360 new jobs at Kodak’s factory in Rochester, that’s just in the initial phase, and in Minneapolis, a place I have gotten to know very well. It’s a great place, and I’m very happy that we’re able to help them with the problems that they’ve had recently. The National Guard, I want to thank the National Guard, both state and beyond. I want to thank them for the incredible job. They went in and they did some beautiful job. They cleaned it up. You didn’t hear about the problems anymore.

Indirectly, I want to create … We created thousands more jobs all across our pharmaceutical supply chains. We have now been building a very big pharmaceutical supply chain not only coming out of China, coming out of other countries also. I want to thank Peter Navarro, Adam Boehler, and Admiral Polowczyk for their tremendous work to make this deal possible.

Today’s action is our latest step to build the greatest medical arsenal in history. We’ll be able to do that through the Defense Production Act and other authorities. We have invested more than $3 billion in our nation’s industrial base. We’ve contracted with companies such as Ford, General Motors, Philips, and General Electric to produce more than 200,000 ventilators by the end of this year, nearly seven times more than we would ever do in a typical year. We’ve contracted with Honeywell, 3M, O&M, Halyard, Moldex, and Lidl to increase US production of N95 masks. We’ve brought it from less than 40 million a month to over 100 million a month by August, and we’ll have 160 million in a very short while, 160 million a month. That’s many times what we used to do, if you go back two years ago, many, many times.

We’re increasing domestic production of gloves by 1000%. That’s 1000%. We’ll be manufacturing 450 million gloves annually by next year. We’re finalizing contracts with our textile industry to make gowns in America with American fabric, which makes a lot of our businesses happy that produce the fabric. We have 13 million reusable gowns in the stockpile, and we’ll continue to grow that number to 72 million this fall, which is a rapid escalation indeed.

We made major investments in new rapid point of care tests. So there’s nothing like the rapid point, where you get your answer in 5 minutes to 15 minutes to maybe 20, 25 minutes at the max. We’re already at about a 50% level, and we’re bringing it up very substantially from there. We’re growing domestic production from less than 250,000 test kits per month in May to 8 million test kits per month. There is nothing like this that has ever taken place anywhere in the world or close.

Through our partnership with Puritan Manufacturing in the state of Maine, great state, we’ve increased production of test swabs from 30 million per month in June to 56 million per month now. As you remember, I went to Maine, I went to the plant where they do this. It was incredible. It was a great experience, and we’ll produce over 100 million swaps per month by January.

We’ve dramatically ramped up production of materials needed for a vaccine and are on track to rapidly produce 100 million doses as soon as a vaccine is approved, which could be very, very soon, and 500 million doses shortly thereafter. So we’ll have 500 million doses, and logistically we’re using our military, our great military group of people. Their whole life is based around logistics and bringing things to and from locations, and they’ll be able to take care of this locationally and bringing it where it has to go very, very quickly. They’re all mobilized. It’s been fully set up. A very, very talented general is in charge. When we have that vaccine, it will be discharged and taken care of. It’ll be a very, very rapid process all over the country. Perhaps we’ll be supplying a lot of the vaccine to other parts of the world, like we do with ventilators and other things that we all of a sudden have become very good at making.

When the China virus struck our nation, we mobilized the entire government and the private sector to acquire, source, and deliver lifesaving supplies. HHS, FEMA, and the private sector combined have coordinated the delivery of more than 196 million N95 respirators, 815 million surgical masks, 20 million gloves, 34 million face shields, and 354 million gowns. That’s a lot of gowns.

Last week, FEMA completed a second shipment of personal protective equipment to over 15,000 nursing homes in the United States. Our big focus has been on nursing homes and senior citizens. As you know, that’s where we want to take care. We have to take care of the most vulnerable, especially if they have a medical difficulty, a medical problem, in particular heart or diabetes.

We’ve provided a total of 1.2 million pairs of protective eyewear, 14 million masks, 66 million pairs of gloves, and 13 million gowns. We have replenished the long-neglected national stockpile. In January, the stockpile had 17.9 million N95 masks. Today the stockpile has over 50 million N95 masks, and we’ll be doubling that in a very short period of time and then doubling that number. We’ve shipped more than 14,000 ventilators to areas of need across the country, and we’ve more than 75,000 available to deploy.

Not a single American who has needed a ventilator has been denied a ventilator, and if you remember early on, when we were first hit with the virus, ventilators were very hard to come by. Now we’re the largest maker anywhere in the world by far, and not only are we fully supplied in stock, but we’re helping other nations, because ventilators are hard to build and hard to get.

This is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will continue the largest onshoring campaign in American history. We will bring back our jobs, and we will make America the world’s premier medical manufacturer and supplier. That’s what’s happening already. It’s been happening now for quite some time.

We’re seeing improvements across the major metro areas and most hotspots. You can look at large portions of our country. It’s corona-free, but we are watching very carefully California, Arizona, Texas, and most of Florida. It’s starting to head down in the right direction, and I think you’ll see it rapidly head down very soon. But if you look, California, Arizona, Texas, and for the most part, most of Florida starting to head down.

In the wake of the recent mass gatherings Americans have witnessed in the streets of Portland and Seattle, we are also tracking a significant rise in cases in both metropolitan areas because of what’s been going on. We, as you know, have done an excellent job of watching over Portland and watching our courthouse, where they wanted to burn it down. There were anarchists, nothing short of anarchists, agitators, and we have protected it very powerfully. If we didn’t go there, I will tell you, you wouldn’t have a courthouse. You’d have a billion-dollar burned out building.

We’re also working aggressively to combat the virus in Native American and Alaskan Native communities. Under the CARES Act, we provided $8 billion to address the coronavirus in tribal communities, and we’ve worked very hard with tribal communities. They’re very vulnerable to this horrible plague. That’s the largest investment in Indian country in US history. There has never been an investment that big in Indian country.

We need every American to help protect our fellow citizens and prevent the spread of the disease. It’s critical that younger Americans remember that even though they are at lower risk and in fact, some age groups are at extraordinary low risk themselves, they can unknowingly spread the virus to others who are at higher risk. I ask all Americans regardless of background or age to practice social distancing, which people have gotten very used to, but we have to keep doing it. Remain vigilant about hygiene. Avoid indoor gatherings and large gatherings, but especially indoor, especially where you have crowded bars, and that you wear a mask whenever appropriate.

Through the genius of our scientists, the devotion of our doctors, the skill of our workers, and the dedication of our people, we will achieve victory over the virus and emerge stronger than ever before. We’re looking at a very powerful year next year economically. The job numbers are looking outstanding, to put it mildly, setting records. The numbers on retail sales came in two weeks ago at the highest number in the history of our country. So we look like we’re heading to some very, very good economic times. That means jobs. That means stock market. Stock market is already doing very well. It’s getting to a point very close to where it was when we were hit with the plague. So I just want to thank everybody for being here. Steve, please, go ahead.

Steve: (15:23)
Could you clarify your acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, are you physically going to be in Charlotte, or will you give the speech here or somewhere else?

We’ll be doing a speech on Thursday, the main speech, the primary speech. Charlotte, they will be doing nominating on Monday. That’s a different period, a different thing happening, but they’ll be doing nominations on Monday. I speak on Thursday. Okay?

Steve: (15:51)
From where?

We’ll be announcing it soon.

Steve: (15:54)
So you could be going to Charlotte?

Does anybody have any ideas? We’ll be announcing it very soon.

Speaker 3: (16:02)
Mr. President, the negotiations are ongoing right now for the next relief measures. Senate Republicans have put forth their plan. Do you support what Senate Republicans have put forward, and are there certain aspects that they have put forward that you don’t support?

Yeah, there are, actually, and we’ll be talking about it. There are also things that I very much support, but we’ll be negotiating. It’s sort of semi-irrelevant, because the Democrats come with their needs and asks and the Republicans go with theirs. So we’ll be discussing it with Mitch and all of the other people involved. Kevin has been very active, as you know, all of the people involved. Steven Mnuchin has done a great job, keeps everybody together, both Democrat and Republican. We’ll see. We want to do what’s best for the people. I want to do what’s best with the people. I want to do what’s best for the economy, because that means jobs and lots of good things. All right?

Speaker 4: (16:58)
What Senate Republicans put forward, sir, what do you make of what Senate Republicans put forward?

Speaker 5: (17:01)
Mr. President, two questions. First, can you clarify your position on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine after you retweeted a video of making claims that it is effective?

I wasn’t making claims. The recommendations of many other people, including doctors, many doctors think it is extremely successful, the hydroxychloroquine coupled with the zinc and perhaps the Zithromycin. But many doctors think it’s extremely good, and some people don’t. Some people … I think it’s become very political. I happen to believe in it. I would take it. As you know, I took it for a 14-day period, and I’m here, right? I’m here.

I happen to think it works in the early stages. I think front line medical people believe that, too, some, many. So we’ll take a look at it, but the one thing we know, it’s been out for a long time, that particular formula, and that’s essentially what it is, the pill. It’s been for malaria, lupus, and other things. It’s safe. It doesn’t cause problems. I had no problem. I had absolutely no problem. Felt no different. Didn’t feel good, bad, or indifferent. I tested it, as you know. It didn’t get me, and it’s not going to hopefully hurt anybody.

So we know because it’s been so many years, from a safety standpoint, it’s safe. I happen to think, based on what I’ve read … I’ve read a lot about hydroxy. I happen to think that it has an impact, especially at the earlier use. There were some very good tests at Ford, and the doctor from Yale came up with a very, very strong testament to it.

There was a group of doctors yesterday, a large group that were put on the Internet. For some reason, the Internet wanted to take them down and took them off. I guess Twitter took them off, and I think Facebook took them off. I don’t know why. I think they’re very respected doctors. There was a woman who was spectacular in her statements about it, that she’s had tremendous success with it, and they took her voice. I don’t know why they took her off, but they took her off. Maybe they had a good reason. Maybe they didn’t. I don’t know.

I can only say that from my standpoint and based on a lot of reading and a lot of knowledge about it, I think it could have a very positive impact in the early stages. I don’t think you lose anything by doing it, other than politically, it doesn’t seem to be too popular. You know why? Because I recommend it. When I recommend something, they like to say, “Don’t use it.” John?

John: (19:45)
On that note, Mr. President, last night, you made tweets that were deleted by Twitter. You said that Dr. Fauci misled the country about hydroxychloroquine. How so?

No, not at all. I don’t even know what his stance is on it. He was at the task force meeting a little while ago. I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. It’s sort of interesting. We’ve listened to Dr. Fauci. I haven’t always agreed with him, and that’s, I think, pretty standard. That’s okay. He did not want us to put up the ban to China when China was heavily infected very badly, Wuhan. He didn’t want to do that, and I did and other things. He told me I was right, and he told me I saved tens of thousands of lives, which was generous, but I think it’s fact. Then I did the ban on Europe.

But I get along with him very well, and I agree with a lot of what he said. So it’s interesting. He’s got a very good approval rating, and I like that. It’s good, because remember, he’s working for this administration. He’s working with us, John. We could have gotten other people. We could have gotten somebody else. It didn’t have to be Dr. Fauci. He’s working with our administration, and for the most part, we’ve done pretty much what he and others, Dr. Birx and others who are terrific, recommended.

He’s got this high approval rating. So why don’t I have a high approval rating and the administration with respect to the virus? We should have a very high … because what we’ve done in terms of … I was just reading off about the masks and the gowns and the ventilators and numbers that nobody’s seen and the testing. At 55 million tests, we tested more than anybody in the world. I have a graph that I’d love to show you. Perhaps you’ve seen it, where we’re up here and the rest of the world is down at a level that’s just a tiny fraction of what we’ve done in terms of testing. So it sort of is curious. A man works for us, with us very closely, Dr. Fauci, and Dr. Birx also, highly thought of, and yet they’re highly thought of, but nobody likes me. It can only be my personality. That’s all. Go ahead.

Speaker 7: (21:51)
Could I just ask you, also, DHS announced today that it is going to undertake a thorough review of the DACA program to decide whether to continue it and, if not, how to disband it. You had mentioned after the Supreme Court ruling about DACA that you were thinking about a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Are you still thinking of it?

We’re going to work with a lot of people on DACA, and we’re also working on an immigration bill, a merit-based system, which is what I’ve wanted for a long time. That decision was an interesting decision, because it gave the President as a President more power than many people thought the President had. So the President is now, which happens to be me, in a position where I can do an immigration bill and a healthcare bill and some other bills. You’ve seen some of them come along. We’re going to do tremendous … We just signed it three days ago. We’re going to do tremendous prescription drug price reductions, tremendous. It could be over 50%. Whether it’s favored nations clauses or anything else, I mean, it’s tremendous numbers we’re talking about.

You go to some countries, and they’ll sell a pill for ten cents. In the United States, it costs $2. It’s the same basic factory. It’s the same everything. The United States bears the cost of all of these low prices that you see all over the world, where people go to Canada to buy a prescription drug from the United States. Not going to happen with me. It’s not going to happen with me.

So John, I think one of the exciting things got very little coverage, and that’s okay, but the people understand it. I think we will be reducing prescription drug prices by massive amounts, numbers that have never been done before. Other thing, in 51 years, we got, as you know, last year drug prices came down first time in 51 years that they came down. Now, with what I signed last week, I think that drug prices can come down by numbers like 50% and even greater in certain instances.

Speaker 7: (23:55)
I wonder if I could come back to where I originally started. Are you still considering a path to citizenship for current DACA recipients?

We are going to make DACA happy and the DACA people and representatives happy, and we’re also going to end up with a fantastic, merit-based immigration system. Please.

Speaker 8: (24:12)
Yeah. On the drug pricing, you had said that pharmaceutical representatives would be here today for a meeting to talk about bringing drug prices down or to negotiate. That meeting was canceled. Why?

I didn’t know a meeting was cancer. Oh, a meeting with the drug-

Speaker 8: (24:26)
You said there would be a meeting today with drug companies.

Well, I said there would be a meeting. Yeah, a meeting sometime this week, yeah. They want to meet. I mean, I don’t know that it was canceled. They want to meet. I thought the meeting was actually scheduled for tomorrow.

Speaker 8: (24:41)
Well, [crosstalk 00:24:41]-

I thought the meeting was scheduled tomorrow. Sorry about the dates. I see how upset you are by it.

Speaker 8: (24:45)
On the FBI headquarters, sir … On the FBI headquarters-

Go ahead, please, Bloomberg. Bloomberg, Mr. Bloomberg. You look like just a Mr. Bloomberg. Go ahead.

Mr. Bloomberg: (24:52)
Thank you, Mr. President.

[crosstalk 00:24:53].

Mr. Bloomberg: (24:53)
Do you support a separate extension of supplemental unemployment aid, if the deal that there has to be out of Congress isn’t completed by the end of this week?

We’ll do something. We’re going to take care of the people. Yeah. That’s a good question. We’re going to take care of the people.

Speaker 10: (25:06)
Mr. President, the woman that you said was a great doctor in that video that you retweeted last night said that masks don’t work and there is a cure for COVID-19, both of which health experts say is not true. She’s also made videos saying that doctors make medicine using DNA from aliens and that they’re trying to create a vaccine to make you immune from becoming religious.

Well, maybe it’s [inaudible 00:25:28]. Maybe it’s not, but I can tell you this.

Speaker 10: (25:31)
[crosstalk 00:25:31] that?

She was on air along with many other doctors. They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine. I thought she was very impressive in the sense that from where she came, I don’t know which country she comes from, but she said that she’s had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients. I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her. Yeah, go ahead, [crosstalk 00:25:53]. Go ahead.

Speaker 10: (25:51)
Well, real quick, last week, you said masks [crosstalk 00:25:55]-

Okay. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.

Donald Trump Coronavirus Press Conference Transcript July 28: Talks Kodak, Vaccine, DACA

Other Related Transcripts

Stay updated.