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Remarks by President Trump in Press Briefing - September 23, 2020
(Crosstalk.)
Go ahead.
Q Dr. Atlas, is there any bad blood between you and Dr. Deborah Birx?
DR. ATLAS: No. I saw the story - and, really, a super journalism story. Dr. Birx speaks for herself, but that's a completely false story, and she denied it today. So, I mean, it's completely false.
Q It's been seven - it's been seven weeks since we've heard from her in a press briefing.
Q When do you expect a vaccine?
DR. ATLAS: Yeah. So this is a very important question. The vaccine is proceeding at an extremely rapid pace, as we know. Everything is being done simultaneously so that the logistics and the technology in place to deliver it is ready to go, as everyone knows.
And it depends on the data, okay? The data is being monitored by an external group of experts called the daty- - data safety monitoring board. And when we have enough cases, the - when they see enough cases that have shown a statistically significant difference, they will tell the company and then the company will say - look at it, and say, "Yes, we have it." And we think that that has a good chance of happening in October.
Q Just a quick follow - you did say that last week, in this room - pretty much the same thing. But you said it could be -
DR. ATLAS: Because it's the truth. That's why.
Q Yeah, I understand. But I want to clear it up because you said it could be as late as January, it could be after the election - that there's no clear-cut time, and that's what I want to make sure that - that you're saying that now.
DR. ATLAS: This is the current thinking that I have been told. I'm not in charge of the vaccine development; I'm relaying information. And what I've been told is exactly what I said, and there will be 100 million-plus doses available by the end of this year, it is highly likely we will have a vaccine before the end of the year, and it is also likely that we will say, "The data is good; we have the vaccine." And then it will be submitted, of course, for approval and authorization sometime in October.
But it depends on the - on the data. No one can really say with certainty when it's coming. That's just impossible. I don't see the data until the data happens.
Q Dr. Atlas -
DR. ATLAS: Yes.
Q Dr. Redfield today said that more than 90 percent of the population remains susceptible to coronavirus. Do you agree with that assessment?
DR. ATLAS: Yeah, I think that Dr. Redfield misstated something there. And the rea- -
Q So he misstated last time and today?
DR. ATLAS: I'm going to answer your question if you'll let me finish.
Q Okay, please.
DR. ATLAS: The data on the susceptible that he was talking about was his surveillance data that showed that roughly 9 percent of the country has antibodies. But when you look at the CDC data state by state, much of that data is old. Some of it goes back to March or April, before many of these states had the cases. That's point number one.
Point number two is that the immunity to the infection is not solely determined by the percent of people who have antibodies. If you look at the research - and there's been about 24 papers at least on the immunity from T-cells - that's a different type of immunity than antibodies. And without being boring, the reality is that - according to the papers from Sweden, Singapore, and elsewhere - there is cross-immunity, highly likely from other infections, and there is also T-cell immunity. And the combination of those makes the antibodies a small fraction of the people that have immunity.
So the answer is no, it is not 90 percent of people that are susceptible to the infection.
Q So I guess my question is for - I'm not a doctor; I defer to your expertise on this and to his. But so, Americans hear one thing from the CDC Director and another thing from you. Who are we to believe?
DR. ATLAS: You're supposed to believe the science, and I'm telling you the science.
Q So he's not telling us science?
DR. ATLAS: I'm telling you the science, and that's the answer. And if you want to look up all the data, you're free to. You can also talk to the following epidemiologists -
Q I guess, why is he still going out before Congress and speaking if you say he's misstated it today and the President said he misstated last time? Americans are looking for the best information right now.
DR. ATLAS: Yeah. And I'm giving you the best information, and it's confirmed by people like Martin Kulldorff, who's a Harvard epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School -
Q So should we now -
DR. ATLAS: Let me finish, please.
Q Please. Please.
DR. ATLAS: Jay Bhattacharya and John Ioannides, both epidemiologists at Stanford; Professor Gupta, University of Oxford. These are people who know the latest data on the immunology and what's happening. And I just recited it to you.
(Crosstalk.)
MR. KUDLOW: I'm going to give - I'm going to give Scott a little time off. I'm just going to give Scott a little time off.
I want to reinforce some of the things that President Trump said about the economy because that's very much a key part of this story. We've got some new numbers out late last week and this week, and I wanted to underscore that.
If we can get the charts back up, I want to show you some more examples of the "V"-shaped recovery. I - actually, I can jump in here.
This is from the Census Bureau Report: change in the number of people living in poverty. During President Trump's first three years, pre-pandemic, 6.6 million fewer people - 6.6 million fewer people are living in poverty.
Q What's the number post-pandemic?
MR. KUDLOW: And the -
Q What's the number post-pandemic?
MR. KUDLOW: Well, we'll have to wait and see on that. We're just beginning -
Q Well, wouldn't that be more accurate - wouldn't that be a more accurate chart?
MR. KUDLOW: Let me go to the - under the Obama years, 787,000 people moved into poverty, so that's a problem.
And we have the second chart -
Q Isn't that an old chart, though?
MR. KUDLOW: - if we get - no, this a brand-new - this stuff just came out late last week.
Q But when you look -
Q It says through 2019.
MR. KUDLOW: If I - if I may, okay?
Q I just like accurate information.
MR. KUDLOW: This is the accurate information. This is -
Q It's not 2020.
Q Doesn't it say through 2019, Larry?
MR. KUDLOW: This is from the Census Bureau, and it just -
Q It's not 2020. It's like right now.
MR. KUDLOW: - came back.
Well, let me just go back into this. Three years into President Trump's presidency, under his policies, real family income - this is probably the best measure of living standards there is - real median household income grew by $6,000 - over $6,000. That is five times the rate of the eight years of the Obama administration.
I hear people ask me - legitimate questions, I respect that - that this is some kind of - has been a "K"-shaped recovery, where only the wealthy did well, and the bottom did not do well.
In fact, this is the middle: real family income. And I will add to that - not only was this five times higher, but the biggest gains came in the lower-income levels, significantly higher than top 1 percent or the top 10 percent.
Now, let me hit another chart - put this up, see where it - sort of doing this by feel. Go ahead. More charts. There we go. Back to the "V"-shaped recovery.
You've heard me speak about this and I just want to underscore: We got new production numbers this week. This is a "V"-shaped recovery in automobiles, a key sector of the economy. And we have additional numbers on housing that I'd like to show, confirming the "V"-shaped recovery. Housing, housing - there we go. We're at an all-time high in homebuilder sentiment. All right? That's a very important - leading indicator - to a clear, "V"-shaped recovery. And if anything, it's strengthening.
And finally, I think the last chart is on existing home sales. Here it is. Their highest reading in 14 years.
So I just want to say, we have more work to do with respect to the - to the recovery and return to economic health. We have more work to do. There is still hardship, and there is still heartbreak.
Q Do you know how many Americans -
MR. KUDLOW: But the numbers coming in -
Q Do you know how many Americans are living in poverty, right now, today?
MR. KUDLOW: The numbers - actually, that won't be reported -
Q Do you know the answer to that question?
MR. KUDLOW: That won't be reported -
Q Do you know the answer to that question?
MR. KUDLOW: I can only wait until the Census Bureau - I don't know if you cover this beat or not.
Q The most recent number of the - number of Americans living in poverty right now - do you happen to know that answer?
MR. KUDLOW: No.
Go Back
Go ahead.
Q Dr. Atlas, is there any bad blood between you and Dr. Deborah Birx?
DR. ATLAS: No. I saw the story - and, really, a super journalism story. Dr. Birx speaks for herself, but that's a completely false story, and she denied it today. So, I mean, it's completely false.
Q It's been seven - it's been seven weeks since we've heard from her in a press briefing.
Q When do you expect a vaccine?
DR. ATLAS: Yeah. So this is a very important question. The vaccine is proceeding at an extremely rapid pace, as we know. Everything is being done simultaneously so that the logistics and the technology in place to deliver it is ready to go, as everyone knows.
And it depends on the data, okay? The data is being monitored by an external group of experts called the daty- - data safety monitoring board. And when we have enough cases, the - when they see enough cases that have shown a statistically significant difference, they will tell the company and then the company will say - look at it, and say, "Yes, we have it." And we think that that has a good chance of happening in October.
Q Just a quick follow - you did say that last week, in this room - pretty much the same thing. But you said it could be -
DR. ATLAS: Because it's the truth. That's why.
Q Yeah, I understand. But I want to clear it up because you said it could be as late as January, it could be after the election - that there's no clear-cut time, and that's what I want to make sure that - that you're saying that now.
DR. ATLAS: This is the current thinking that I have been told. I'm not in charge of the vaccine development; I'm relaying information. And what I've been told is exactly what I said, and there will be 100 million-plus doses available by the end of this year, it is highly likely we will have a vaccine before the end of the year, and it is also likely that we will say, "The data is good; we have the vaccine." And then it will be submitted, of course, for approval and authorization sometime in October.
But it depends on the - on the data. No one can really say with certainty when it's coming. That's just impossible. I don't see the data until the data happens.
Q Dr. Atlas -
DR. ATLAS: Yes.
Q Dr. Redfield today said that more than 90 percent of the population remains susceptible to coronavirus. Do you agree with that assessment?
DR. ATLAS: Yeah, I think that Dr. Redfield misstated something there. And the rea- -
Q So he misstated last time and today?
DR. ATLAS: I'm going to answer your question if you'll let me finish.
Q Okay, please.
DR. ATLAS: The data on the susceptible that he was talking about was his surveillance data that showed that roughly 9 percent of the country has antibodies. But when you look at the CDC data state by state, much of that data is old. Some of it goes back to March or April, before many of these states had the cases. That's point number one.
Point number two is that the immunity to the infection is not solely determined by the percent of people who have antibodies. If you look at the research - and there's been about 24 papers at least on the immunity from T-cells - that's a different type of immunity than antibodies. And without being boring, the reality is that - according to the papers from Sweden, Singapore, and elsewhere - there is cross-immunity, highly likely from other infections, and there is also T-cell immunity. And the combination of those makes the antibodies a small fraction of the people that have immunity.
So the answer is no, it is not 90 percent of people that are susceptible to the infection.
Q So I guess my question is for - I'm not a doctor; I defer to your expertise on this and to his. But so, Americans hear one thing from the CDC Director and another thing from you. Who are we to believe?
DR. ATLAS: You're supposed to believe the science, and I'm telling you the science.
Q So he's not telling us science?
DR. ATLAS: I'm telling you the science, and that's the answer. And if you want to look up all the data, you're free to. You can also talk to the following epidemiologists -
Q I guess, why is he still going out before Congress and speaking if you say he's misstated it today and the President said he misstated last time? Americans are looking for the best information right now.
DR. ATLAS: Yeah. And I'm giving you the best information, and it's confirmed by people like Martin Kulldorff, who's a Harvard epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School -
Q So should we now -
DR. ATLAS: Let me finish, please.
Q Please. Please.
DR. ATLAS: Jay Bhattacharya and John Ioannides, both epidemiologists at Stanford; Professor Gupta, University of Oxford. These are people who know the latest data on the immunology and what's happening. And I just recited it to you.
(Crosstalk.)
MR. KUDLOW: I'm going to give - I'm going to give Scott a little time off. I'm just going to give Scott a little time off.
I want to reinforce some of the things that President Trump said about the economy because that's very much a key part of this story. We've got some new numbers out late last week and this week, and I wanted to underscore that.
If we can get the charts back up, I want to show you some more examples of the "V"-shaped recovery. I - actually, I can jump in here.
This is from the Census Bureau Report: change in the number of people living in poverty. During President Trump's first three years, pre-pandemic, 6.6 million fewer people - 6.6 million fewer people are living in poverty.
Q What's the number post-pandemic?
MR. KUDLOW: And the -
Q What's the number post-pandemic?
MR. KUDLOW: Well, we'll have to wait and see on that. We're just beginning -
Q Well, wouldn't that be more accurate - wouldn't that be a more accurate chart?
MR. KUDLOW: Let me go to the - under the Obama years, 787,000 people moved into poverty, so that's a problem.
And we have the second chart -
Q Isn't that an old chart, though?
MR. KUDLOW: - if we get - no, this a brand-new - this stuff just came out late last week.
Q But when you look -
Q It says through 2019.
MR. KUDLOW: If I - if I may, okay?
Q I just like accurate information.
MR. KUDLOW: This is the accurate information. This is -
Q It's not 2020.
Q Doesn't it say through 2019, Larry?
MR. KUDLOW: This is from the Census Bureau, and it just -
Q It's not 2020. It's like right now.
MR. KUDLOW: - came back.
Well, let me just go back into this. Three years into President Trump's presidency, under his policies, real family income - this is probably the best measure of living standards there is - real median household income grew by $6,000 - over $6,000. That is five times the rate of the eight years of the Obama administration.
I hear people ask me - legitimate questions, I respect that - that this is some kind of - has been a "K"-shaped recovery, where only the wealthy did well, and the bottom did not do well.
In fact, this is the middle: real family income. And I will add to that - not only was this five times higher, but the biggest gains came in the lower-income levels, significantly higher than top 1 percent or the top 10 percent.
Now, let me hit another chart - put this up, see where it - sort of doing this by feel. Go ahead. More charts. There we go. Back to the "V"-shaped recovery.
You've heard me speak about this and I just want to underscore: We got new production numbers this week. This is a "V"-shaped recovery in automobiles, a key sector of the economy. And we have additional numbers on housing that I'd like to show, confirming the "V"-shaped recovery. Housing, housing - there we go. We're at an all-time high in homebuilder sentiment. All right? That's a very important - leading indicator - to a clear, "V"-shaped recovery. And if anything, it's strengthening.
And finally, I think the last chart is on existing home sales. Here it is. Their highest reading in 14 years.
So I just want to say, we have more work to do with respect to the - to the recovery and return to economic health. We have more work to do. There is still hardship, and there is still heartbreak.
Q Do you know how many Americans -
MR. KUDLOW: But the numbers coming in -
Q Do you know how many Americans are living in poverty, right now, today?
MR. KUDLOW: The numbers - actually, that won't be reported -
Q Do you know the answer to that question?
MR. KUDLOW: That won't be reported -
Q Do you know the answer to that question?
MR. KUDLOW: I can only wait until the Census Bureau - I don't know if you cover this beat or not.
Q The most recent number of the - number of Americans living in poverty right now - do you happen to know that answer?
MR. KUDLOW: No.
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