Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

New York Times, AP Report: White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows Told Reporters "Last 24 Hours Very Concerning. Next 48 Hours Critical"; President In New Video: Coming Days Will Be Real Test; President Donald Trump Post New Video On His Twitter Feed; White House Sows Confusion About Trump's Condition; Source: Trump Received Supplemental Oxygen Friday. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 03, 2020 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[19:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of "The Situation Room."

We begin tonight with the top doctor at the White House and the White House Chief of Staff giving the public very different takes on the president's health right now, leaving the rest of us in the dark, not sure who to believe at all.

Earlier today, his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the president is, "Doing very well". That news conference was encouraging, but what we heard only minutes later was anything but, with "The New York Times" and "The Associated Press" quoting the White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is saying the President of the United States is still, "Not on a clear path to a full recovery and that the next 48 hours are critical for the president's health".

So, let's break everything down with our CNN panel. Joining us our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta our White House Correspondent John Harwoods he is outside the Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland our Political Analyst and National Politics Reporter at "The Wall Street Journal" Sabrina Siddiqui also our Chief Medical Correspondent of course Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

John, let me start with you. Today, the president's physician, he was vague about the president's condition. He dodged a lot of questions on whether he actually received - the president received supplemental oxygen. Give us the latest because we're getting a lot of confusing answers from the president as opposed to the White House Chief of Staff? JOHN HARWOODSS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we had a master class in bad communications from the White House today because they belatedly, after an extended period, which we did not get any official briefing from the White House, they sent out the president's doctor and other doctors who had been treating the president here at Walter Reed and gave an extremely evasive news conference at which Sean Conley, the doctor, wouldn't say how high the president's fever had been, wouldn't specify whether he had ever gotten supplemental oxygen?

We've subsequently confirmed that he has got supplemental oxygen. Would not say whether they had detected lung damage in the president they said we're monitoring that closely. Gave an upbeat assessment that was then contradicted by a source familiar with the president's condition, later identified by the AP and "The New York Times" as the president's Chief of Staff at the White House Mark Meadows saying the that the next 48 hours were going to be critical and there were very concerning indications about the president's vital signs yesterday.

So, this has not been anything close to clear transparent satisfying communications for the American people about the status of the president. Now, he just recently in the last few minutes put out a video, which I understand we're going to play shortly, where the president said I'm starting to feel well, and he was trying to encourage people about how he was doing? But we did not get that encouraging message in a clear way from doctors today.

BLITZER: Speaking of that video that the doctor just posted, about four minutes on Twitter let me play it for our viewers right now, and then we'll all discuss. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I want to begin by thanking all of the incredible medical professionals, doctors, the nurses, everybody at Walter Reed Medical Center. I think it's the finest in the world. For the incredible job they've been doing. I came here, wasn't feeling so well.

I feel much better now. We're working hard to get me all the way back. I have to be back because we still have to make America great again. We've done an awfully good job of that. But we still have steps to go, and we have to finish that job.

And I'll be back - I think I'll be back soon. I look forward to finishing up the campaign the way it was started and the way we've been doing and the kind of numbers we've been doing, we've been so proud of it.

But that was something that happened and it's happened to millions of people around the world. And I'm fighting for them not just in the U.S. I'm fighting for them all over the world. We're going to beat this Coronavirus or whatever you want to call it and we're going beat it soundly. So many things have happened.

If you look at the therapeutics which I'm taking right now, some of them, and others are coming out soon that are looking like frankly they're miracles if you want to know the truth. They're miracles. People criticize me when I say that. But we have things happening that look like they're miracles coming down from God.

[19:05:00]

TRUMP: So, I just want to tell you that I'm starting to feel good. You don't know over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test. So we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days? I just want to be so thankful for all of the support I've seen, whether it's on television or reading about it.

I most of all appreciate what's been said by the American people, by almost a bipartisan consensus of American people. It's a beautiful thing to see. And I very much appreciate it, and I won't forget it. I promise you that.

I also want to thank the leaders of the world for their condolences and their - they know what we're going through. They know what, as your leader, what I have to go through. But I had no choice because I just didn't want to stay in the White House.

I was given that alternative. Stay in the White House, lock yourself in, don't ever leave, don't even go in the Oval Office. Just stay upstairs and enjoy it. Don't see people, don't talk to people and just be done with it. And I can't do that. I had to be out front.

This is America, this is the United States. This is the greatest country in the world. This is the most powerful country in the world. I can't be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe and just say hey, whatever happens it happens. I can't do that.

We have to confront problems. As a leader, you have to confront problems. There's never been a great leader that would have done that. So, that's where it is. I'm doing well. I want to thank everybody. Our First Lady is doing very well.

Melania asked me to say something as to the respect that she has for our country, the love that she has for our country. And we're both doing well. Melania is really handling very nicely. As you've probably read, she's slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit, and therefore just - we know the disease.

We know the situation with age versus younger people, and Melania is handling it statistically like it's supposed to be handled. And that makes me very happy, and it makes the country very happy. But I'm also doing well and I think we're going to have a very good result.

Again, over the next few days we're going to probably know for sure. So, I just want to thank everybody out there, everybody. All over the world, specifically the United States, the outpouring of love has been incredible. I will never forget it. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right. So, that's the video the president posted on Twitter just a few moments ago, 4 minutes, as I said. Let's get reaction right now. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us as well. What did you see? What did you hear? What do you think, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, you know, he's talked for several minutes there obviously just extemporaneously. He's saying giving some, frankly a few more details sort of about how he was not feeling very well at all yesterday and that he seems to be improving.

There's not a lot to read into you know that in terms of overall - his overall health. He looks good. He didn't seem very winded to me. He's obviously sitting down. But there was - it was good to see him and good to hear him like that. I don't know that we can read more into it, Wolf.

BLITZER: He said, I'm starting to feel good. He said the next couple of days will be important. He said I'll be back soon. Something that happened, and then he said we're going beat this Coronavirus. Specifically he also praised what he called the therapeutics that he's receiving. He insisted they were like miracles. Tell us about that, Sanjay.

DR. GUPTA: Yes, that's an interesting point. He's received a couple of different therapeutics. One is a pretty very experimental - hasn't even been authorized under the Emergency Use Act called monoclonal antibodies and he received that.

It sounds like going back to the doctor's press conference we've seen that on Thursday, 48 hours ago they said this morning. So that is a type of therapy that is giving you antibodies. Antibodies are which you're trying to create when you get a vaccine.

Another way to have them at least temporarily is to get the antibody therapy, in this case monoclonal antibody therapy it's called. Even though there's a lot of data around it there's a lot of enthusiasm because it is basically this idea you have the infection. You need to basically beat back the infection, and if you have enough antibody, that's easier for it to happen.

So maybe it's a benefit of these antibodies. He also got Remdesivir, which is emergency use authorized medication, which typically just inhibits how fast the virus can replicate? So, he got both these medications Wolf. We don't know if they had an impact. Maybe he would have gotten better on his own.

[19:10:00]

DR. GUPTA: That's the thing. When you have such limited data, it's hard to tell. But he does seem better now compared to what was described yesterday.

BLITZER: Let me get Jim Acosta, our Chief White House Correspondent into this. The president at one point said he could have stayed at the White House, but he said it was better for him to go to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. What was your reaction when you saw the president's video?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes Wolf, it sounds as though the president is trying to say in that video that he wanted to get out in front of this. He is almost is saying that it was his decision to go to Walter Reed, saying he couldn't stay confined inside a room inside the White House.

I mean, that does seem to be an indication that he is listening to medical advice. I will tell you, you know, jumping off of what John Harwoods was just saying a few moments ago, the mixed messaging come from Dr. Conley, the White House physician, and this White House official who's been identified by the AP and "New York Times" as Mark Meadows being on two totally different pages in terms of the president's health.

I mean, it is a good sign that the president is appearing on video. I assume that is why the president and top White House aides wanted to get him out in front of this camera, recording this message this evening to sort of calm what is a very jittery nation's capital right now Wolf because as you know there are people inside the Republican Party, inside the White House, inside Trump World who were very nervous over the last 24 hours.

I can tell you from talking to my sources that inside the White House and inside the Trump Campaign. They were very concerned about the president's health. I talked to a senior White House official earlier today who said, you know, there were signs yesterday that indicated that, you know, his bout with the Coronavirus could take a turn for the worse.

So, it sounds as though all of that was weighing down on the president, on top officials over here at the White House, and that compelled the president to go over to Walter Reed. Wolf, that is just diametrically opposed to what we were hearing from White House officials yesterday who were trying to paint a rosy picture of the president's health and also diametrically opposed to the rosy picture offered by Dr. Conley, the White House physician.

I will say in addition to that, Wolf, I talked to a separate source administration source earlier this evening familiar with the situation who said, listen, it is a good thing that the president is at Walter Reed right now. The way and Sanjay Gupta can talk about this as well.

The way the Coronavirus progresses in terms of the illness, the disease, things can change and go downhill very quickly according to this source. So, it's a good thing the president is at Walter Reed. One other thing I'll point out from talking to this source just a few moments ago is that the fact the president is on Remdesivir also is an indication that why the president is on supplemental oxygen or that he was given supplemental oxygen on Friday?

Typically when you're placed on Remdesivir, you are also at the same time being administered supplemental oxygen. Those two treatments go hand in hand according to the source I spoke with a short while ago Wolf.

BLITZER: Well let me get Sanjay to weight in, is that right Sanjay? If you're on Remdesivir, the drug that the president has now started a five-day process of over at the Walter Reed Hospital, is it a result of what low oxygen or an oxygen problem?

DR. GUPTA: Well, yes. So, first of all, it is a five-day course. It has to be given in the hospital. As I mentioned, the way that this medication works is basically by blocking the virus' ability to replicate as quickly. I think with regard to the oxygen, it's one of these interesting things.

You'll remember that there wasn't enough Remdesivir for some time. We heard from Gilead that the amount of Remdesivir has certainly been ramped up. But for a while there wasn't enough. So as part of the guidelines for that should get Remdesivir and this is earlier days they said they wanted to sort of keep it for people who were having slightly more problems.

So they said if your blood oxygenation drops below 94 percent and you need supplemental oxygen that became criteria for prescribing the Remdesivir. So that's where that sort of came from. It's supposed to help. We know now that he was taking supplemental oxygen, he needed that. I'm sure his oxygen dropped a dropped into that mid-90 and lower 90 who knows how low they got but that sort of tracks with the prescribing of the Remdesivir.

BLITZER: That's very important. Sabrina Siddiqui is with us as well. Sabrina, you listened closely to what the president said. He said he's anxious to get back out there on the campaign trail very soon. He said he'll be back soon. He says he's got to make America continue to make America great again. He would love to get out there, but he's not going anywhere at least over the next several days.

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, certainly not. It was quite clear that this video we saw from the president was an effort to try and down play concerns about his condition, project the sense of confidence.

[19:15:00]

SIDDIQUI: The challenge, of course, is that we simply haven't had a fully transparent accounting of what the president's diagnosis as well as his condition. Of course it can fluctuate, but you had the White House medical team's physician earlier today Dr. Sean Conley paint this very rosy assessment before the public about how the president was doing?

Only to be undercut by reportedly White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows who said that actually over the last 24 hours his vitals were deeply concerning, that's why he went to Walter Reed, and the next 24 hours are going to be very critical. They are on a clear path of recovery.

And so did he go to Walter Reed in an abundance of caution as the White House had initially said or was it that was much more concerning? We've heard these mixed messages. We're unsure of course how this will unfold in the next couple of days?

The president of course is talking about getting out on the campaign trail which again is a separate question about whether or not you're going to see any kind of shift in behavior from this president as well as his campaign.

That of course has not followed the social distancing guidelines that continued to hold both indoor and outdoor rallies where there haven't been masks and hasn't been much social distancing in place.

It seems from his tone today especially he's eager to get back out on the campaign trail despite his diagnosis and despite having apparently exposed many people around him who are now testing positive as well that we're not going to see some shift in his posture with respect to the virus, at least certainly not right now.

BLITZER: You know Jim Acosta, we did hear the president, this was encouraging, say that the First Lady Melania Trump is doing well. And he pointed out she's obviously a lot younger than he is. What else are you saying about the First Lady? Clearly she's still at the White House. She didn't go with the president over to the Walter Reed Hospital.

ACOSTA: Yes Wolf, we do understand from talking to our sources that the First Lady has been experiencing symptoms, but that her symptoms are not as severe as those suffered by the president. That is part of the reason why President Trump had to go to Walter Reed and the First Lady did not.

So, at this point, what you're hearing from the president there in that video, he's sort of explaining why he's at Walter Reed and she's not in the hospital right now saying well there's a slight age difference between two of them. He's being acute there.

I do think it's just extraordinary and you kind of lose sight of it sometimes as we're just talking through the, just how extraordinary it is to have the president and the First Lady of the United States in this situation where things could suddenly tack suddenly take a turn for the worse?

Obviously the First Lady is in better health just clinically when compared to the president. But make no mistake, from what we're hearing from our sources, she's tired, she's dealing with this virus in her own way and has been experiencing some of the symptoms.

So, you know, she's going to have to deal with this as well. We're going to have to monitor her progress through all of this as the days go on. The source I was speaking with just a short while ago was saying, and it can't be emphasized enough.

How important it is for the president to be hospitalized right now at Walter Reed receiving this kind of top level medical care because obviously as we've seen in other cases with the Coronavirus afflicting people in his age group, this is why you're told to wear a mask. This is why you're told to social distance and avoid crowds so you don't wind up in a situation like this.

BLITZER: That's absolutely true. Everybody stand by. Of course we wish the president and the First Lady only the best. We wish that they both have a very speedy recovery. So, what happens though if the president does become too sick to perform his duties? We're going to examine what could happen and how? That's next. Our special coverage continues right here in "The Situation Room."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:00]

BLITZER: The president hospitalized with COVID-19 amid a fierce election campaign that's going on right now as the Coronavirus pandemic rages across the country. So, what if President Trump becomes too sick to actually govern? There is the 25th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

It's a possible remedy, this amendment, created after the assassination of John F. Kennedy put a system in place to ensure continuity of government if a president is simply unable to fulfill his or down the potentially her duties. When and how could that happen?

Our Senior Legal Analyst, Former U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara is joining us right now. The president can temporarily seek power if he gets too sick, he can't work.

George W. Bush by the way did it twice in office but only when he was undergoing specific medical procedures. Can you imagine Preet President Trump willingly turning over power, even briefly?

PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, that's an interesting question that you ask. There's been a lot of speculation before this diagnosis that the President of the United States wouldn't willingly turn over power and have a peaceful transition of powerful even if it looked like he lost the election. So I think that's a legitimate question.

I do think that for medical reasons it's different. Unlike in other circumstances that have never been seen before, there had indications obviously the COVID virus is novel and has never occurred before.

But there have been and you just pointed out a number of occasions when presidents as a matter of routine, if they're going to undergo general anesthesia they temporarily turn over the reins to the vice president. And then when they've recovered they take the reins back.

I would like to think that after the president has tested positive for COVID and has experienced some fairly rough symptoms and got supplemental oxygen according to some reports, that he takes it seriously and he takes the continuity of government seriously.

And if there comes a time he has to undergo more serious treatment or he takes a bad time, which people hope, I hope that doesn't happen but if it does happen, that he'll use the powers of the 25th amendment to have a natural and normal and effective transition to Vice President Pence.

[19:25:00]

BHARARA: And by the way, the other thing to be mentioned here is Vice President Pence is in a particularly interesting spot, given the diagnosis of Donald Trump. So far he has tested negative, and there have been reports that Mike Pence is going to go on the road and have in-person political events.

For purposes of continuity of the government, from my humble position as a citizen who wants to make sure that the government appears strong and effective he should not do that.

BLITZER: I think you're right. In fact, I spoke to the Former Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, yesterday who served during the Obama Administration. He thinks that the vice president, the speaker of the house, the president pro tem of the senate and half of the cabinet, all the line of secession, all of them should go into voluntary quarantine right now just to err on the side of caution, God forbid if any of this is necessary. What do you think of that idea that Jeh Johnson put forward?

BHARARA: Well, Jeh Johnson served in a particular spot so I wouldn't second guess and I don't know if we have to go as far as all of that. But at a minimum, at a minimum you would think that the next in line in succession for the constitution would take precautions.

Maybe they will completely quarantine and go into a bunker, but it should be contemplated, but at a minimum, shouldn't be doing the exact same thing that got us into this mess in the first place. I'll give you another example Attorney General Bill Barr who you have been showing and television stations have been showing the footage from the Amy Coney Barrett nomination announcement being in close proximity to multiple people very close proximity to multiple people who have since tested positive for COVID.

I've seen the reports that the Attorney General who you and I talk about a bunch on this show refuses to quarantine. And it's astonishing to me given the predicament that we're in multiple senators in the last few days' three senators--

BLITZER: By the way we're showing the Attorney General at that event a week ago with Kellyanne Conway over there that has now tested positive for Coronavirus. And elsewhere the vice president was sitting right in front of Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who has tested positive.

They were literally within a couple of feet of each other at this event. It's very disturbing when you see that. And you wonder shouldn't you err on the side of caution and go into some little quarantine, maybe for 14 days, as is recommended, Preet, by the CDC?

BHARARA: Yes, I think so. And what's astonishing is I've understood for months and months that people had a particular view. Maybe they seem that they're invincible and they're not going to get it and it's all overblown. The president has said multiple times that he intentionally down played it and he told that to Bob Woodward.

But now the president has it. The First Lady has it. Kellyanne Conway has it. Three senators have it. In that circumstance and you realize how troubling that can be for the nation and our projection of force and power and calm to the world. You would think that at that point some macho instinct not to have to be cautious would give way to, you know, being a normal, reasonable person. These people have important functions to execute. And, you know, the more people who end up getting sick from COVID, the less strong we look internally and externally.

So, quite frankly I don't understand why the continued resistance? There's - I think Congressman Gaetz has suggested something like this is all proof that people shouldn't wear masks at all and they're not effective. It's completely contrary to the medicine and I'm not an expert on that but I believe in common sense. It's contrary to the oath that they gave to be able to do their jobs even during a pandemic.

BLITZER: Especially the sensitive moment like this when the President of the United States is in the hospital, he's getting treated with all sorts of experimental drugs, obviously a very serious situation. You've got to always err if you're the vice president or the attorney general, you've been in contact with people who have tested positive in recent days you've got to err on the side of caution and go into quarantine. Preet Bharara as you usual thanks very much.

BHARARA: Thanks Wolf.

BLITZER: The presidential election happens one month from today. So, how will President Trump's COVID infection affect the campaign and what be the impact on undecided voters? We're going take a closer look when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:34:10]

BLITZER: So right now, we're exactly one month away from Election Day, November 3rd, here in the United States and with the President off the campaign trail, and instead he is in the hospital, there is a renewed focus on safety during campaign events and debates.

Just today the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that going forward, audience members will all -- all -- be required to wear masks at the debates. Those who don't comply will be escorted out.

The host of CNN's "Smerconish," Michael Smerconish is joining us right now. Michael, is it surprising to you that the Commission did not enforce these rules in the first debate?

SMERCONISH, CNN HOST: Yes, it is. You would think that given the climate in the country, the necessity of protecting everybody, especially in that room, which contains the next President of the United States, I am surprised but I'm glad that they're doing it in time for the next debate the vice presidential debate which is this Wednesday.

[19:35:09]

You know, Wolf, we're in unchartered waters. It's really not clear how this all is going to impact the campaign. On one hand, I guess you could say that there's a possibility that it will evoke sympathy for the President. Presidents in crises in the past have had people rally around the flag.

On the other hand, I can understand how some voters will say, well, this is kind of the embodiment of the way in which the President has handled or mishandled the pandemic up until now. The third possibility is that, like so many other things, it really won't move the needle, because people are so dug in already.

It may motivate one side or the other, but probably won't change minds.

BLITZER: There's exactly one month left until Election Day, Michael, the President, as we just heard in that video that he posted, he is looking forward to getting back out there on the campaign trail, although it's clearly unclear if he is going to be able to do so after what he's going through right now, given the fact that he does -- he has been confirmed to have the coronavirus.

You know, he's so desperately -- he and his campaign wanted the final month to be focusing in on the economy, let's say, or law and order, or the Supreme Court and turn away from coronavirus. But exactly the opposite has now happened.

How is that going to impact those few undecided voters out there?

SMERCONISH: I'm not sure they exist, but to the extent that they do. I think you're right that now the pandemic will be the number one issue, not the economy, not the elevation, the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, it's hard to escape the conclusion that it's all going to be about the coronavirus. And you know, something else that occurs to me is October 15 is the date of the next presidential debate, and I think we can assume that okay, he gets out of Walter Reed and therefore he can go on that day.

You know, we hope that he is healthy and he is able to compete in the next presidential debate, but for some individuals, there's a recovery time period. I watched the video that you just aired. He looks strong. I hope that he is strong. But should he stay hospitalized? The idea that he goes from Walter Reed right into the debate arena could be a stretch.

BLITZER: Yes, that's a very important point as well, and sometimes there are lasting, you know, problems even if you get better as a result of coronavirus. Weeks down the road, you may still have some other issues that -- what about Wednesday night? The vice presidential debate is supposed to take place, do you think it should?

SMERCONISH: I think that it should. I think they should be socially distant. I think that the crowd should act in a different fashion that they treated in the prior debate.

I like the idea of them being further apart than we saw a Vice President Biden and President Trump but frankly, I have to say this Wolf, there's all the more reason I think we need to see the two vice presidential candidates.

I want to be delicate about this, but both of the presidential candidates are older men. And consequently, we need to take a look and make sure that whoever is going to be the number two is equipped for the responsibilities of that top job.

BLITZER: Yes, former Vice President Biden is 77 years old and the President is 74 years old and the vice presidential candidates, they are a lot younger.

Michael Smerconish as usual. Thank you very, very much.

And an important note to our viewers, you could always catch his excellent, truly excellent programs Saturday mornings here on CNN 9:00 a.m. Eastern. I watch it every Saturday morning and enjoy it.

SMERCONISH: Thank you, Wolf.

A source meanwhile is saying that the next 48 hours will be critical in the President's treatment. Why is that? And what kind of treatment might doctors be using? Our medical experts are standing by with new information. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:57]

BLITZER: So many questions today about when and where the President was infected with COVID what his actual condition is right now. His doctors gave a few details today in a briefing over at the Walter Reed Hospital, but let's focus in on some of the treatment we know he is getting.

Joining us now. Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Dr. Patrice Harris, the immediate past President of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Offit, you have had a lot of experience with developing vaccines. You're on the Vaccine Advisory Committee for the F.D.A. But what does it tell you that the President is getting remdesivir over at Walter Reed and while he was still at the White House, he got this experimental antibody treatment made by the company Regeneron, which has only been clear for what's called compassionate use.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR OF THE VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Well, that he is receiving remdesivir says that at some point, he likely either received oxygen or has an abnormal chest x-ray or both. I mean that's the indication for remdesivir.

But I think what should be instructive here is that it's hard to treat viral infections. I mean, remdesivir will shorten the length of illness by about four days, but won't save your life as has been shown in an N.I.H. study. And Regeneron, which is basically two monoclonal antibodies directed

against the spike protein on the virus has never been shown to work. And frankly, historically, if you look at antibody treatments of viral infections, what those can do is prevent infections, but there's really no good data that antibody treatments can treat infections like measles or rabies or chickenpox, and I doubt frankly, we treat this one.

So the key is in prevention. Vaccines obviously are preventive, but we don't have a vaccine. So the second thing is wear a mask. It's really the only thing we can do because treating viral infections is hard.

BLITZER: As you know, Dr. Harris, the President just put out this four-minute video. How much does it actually tell us about how he is doing when you watch it and listen to his words.

DR. PATRICE HARRIS, FORMER PRESIDENT, AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: Well, Wolf, thank you for having me, and I do wish the President and the First Lady and all those who are battling COVID-19 an uneventful recovery and certainly, it is good to see the President say that he is feeling well. He did not appear to be in any distress.

[19:45:20]

HARRIS: But I think one of the things we have to remember is that during the course of COVID-19, patients can suddenly take a turn for the worse. So that's, I believe, all the more reason that he should have been admitted, and he should and will be, I'm sure, monitored closely, because again, that is the worry that patients can suddenly take a turn for the worse.

BLITZER: You know, Dr. Offit, about two years or so ago, the First Lady Melania, Trump underwent what was called an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. She was at the Walter Reed Hospital as well for several days. Does a procedure like that present any issues when it comes to treating a COVID case, specifically, preexisting conditions?

The President in his video statement said Melania, is really handling it very nicely, we certainly hope she is.

OFFIT: Right, I honestly don't know her medical history, but what I would say is that as long as she is not on immune suppressive therapy, it doesn't sound like that's the kind of procedure that would end up in that, that she should be able to handle this virus as well as anybody her age and she has advantage of being a woman, which is an advantage these days regarding this virus.

BLITZER: And as the President said, Dr. Harris, she is younger, a lot younger than he is. And she is apparently doing well enough, she didn't have to leave the White House and go with him over to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Harris, that's encouraging in and of itself, right?

HARRIS: That is encouraging that she is able to stay at home. And of course, I'm sure she is being monitored as well. But we know that certainly, if you are over 65, if you are a male, if you are overweight, and certainly if you have underlying medical conditions, you are at greater risk for hospitalizations, and more tragic consequences of COVID.

And so certainly, the younger you are, there is less risk. However, Wolf, and we've said this, on your show many times, there is no zero risk, and we have seen young children even and teenagers die from this. So no one is immune as we have seen.

This has reached the White House, and so it's important that all of us continue to wear a mask. We know that a testing strategy is necessary, but not sufficient. We need adequate testing, which includes surveillance testing, but that does not mean you can stop wearing your mask or keeping safe distances, and so we still need to continue those basic public health measures that we know work.

BLITZER: We certainly do. You know, Dr. Offit, you saw the President's appearance in this four-minute video that he posted on Twitter. How does that square with what we've heard from a source identified by "The New York Times" and the Associated Press, by the way, as the White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, who said that the President's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours will be critical.

OFFIT: So again, I mean, we're trying to read the tea leaves here, because you hear one thing from the doctor and you hear other things from people at the White House, I would say this, as Dr. Harris said, he is not out of the woods yet. There are the worry about this particular illness is there is sort of a biphasic nature to it in that the virus actually induces your body to make an immune response against the lining of your blood vessels called you know, which is called vasculitis.

I mean, no virus does this that I know of, and therefore, because every organ in your body has a blood supply, it can affect every organ in your body. It can cause strokes, heart attacks, liver disease, or kidney disease.

What amazes me about this virus is despite all the disease, despite all the death, we still don't take it seriously enough. I mean, if you look at that White House ceremony, where you have all these people who are literate adults. I mean, they read, they know that this is a bad virus, yet they're all there without masks on.

Do they think they're in a protective bubble? They're not. I mean, the NBA, they're in a protective bubble, but these people aren't and yet, they just ignore it as if it's just all going to bounce off them and that's obviously not true. I just don't get it. It's not that hard to wear a mask.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. I don't get it either. I don't know what these people, all adults, all intelligent were thinking when they hung out as they did in the Rose Garden during that ceremony one week ago.

Dr. Offit, thank you so much. Dr. Harris, thanks to you as well. We really are grateful to both of you.

The next 48 hours are set to be critical for President Trump's COVID treatment. CNN has reporters at the White House and at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center, we're going to bring you updates as all of this unfolds. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:54:34]

BLITZER: I am Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I'll be back tomorrow 8:00 p.m. Eastern for another special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM.

Anderson Cooper by the way, is going to be picking up our special coverage right after a quick break.

But before I go I want to just remind our viewers that this coronavirus continues to kill so many Americans each week. Just yesterday, by the way, 906 Americans died from the virus and while we focus in on the President as we should and we wish him a speedy recovery, we also want to remember some of the Americans who passed away this week.

[19:55:08]

BLITZER: Victor Daniel Martinez of California was only 36 years old. He worked as a State Safety Consultant. He was a popular DJ on the side, often volunteering to provide music at community events.

His mother-in-law tells us he was someone his wife, two children, and entire family could always count on.

Clifford McAfee of Michigan was 77. He was a truck driver for 30 years, known for his generosity and funny stories. He leaves behind five children, 13 grandchildren, five great grandchildren who affectionately called him "Superman."

May they rest in peace, and may their memories be a blessing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:00]