‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-hosts weigh in on President Trump and first lady Melania Trump testing positive for the coronavirus
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
The live report from d dot c
now, let us bring in our friends
who are normally on the weekend
couch and there they are right
there.
We have got PETE, Hegseth,
Jedediah, Bila and will Cain
good morning to all of you
good morning,
good morning,
good morning,
Steve, we will go ahead and go
through everybody.
Ladies first
Jed, your observations about the
president and First Lady Hope
Hicks all testing positively for
covid.
You had covid yourself,
you know what how this
impacts- people,
Jedediah, yeah, obviously, first
and foremost wants them all to
be: okay, hoping that they have
mild symptoms,
hoping that this goes away like
a bad dream.
What I learned from having it is
that this effects earns body
very differently.
I was not on any medications
prior,
we know the president was taking
some medication prior. That may
ease his symptomoms a bit
im, not a doctor, so im not
going to weigh in on that,
but you know we want them to
be okay.
We want all the steps taken,
obviously to make sure that
anyone that the president or
first lady or hope, Hicks came
into contact with is tested.
I think politically. This is a
moment where a lot of the
strategy we have been talking
about the strategy of campaigns,
fronts and center. A conversation
about these rallies.
Remember, the president of the
United States is thankfully,
luckily enough to have a team of
doctors around him who are going
to make sure, hopefully that he
is okay,
but that conversation will
become what about the people at
these rallies.
How is this managed?
Is this a good idea?
Obviously, for all event in the
future, we want to makes sure
they are safe and everyone
around them is safe and make
sure its taken seriously.
This virus can be a beast
its not for everyone
it can be,
and it can have lingering
symptoms that are odd for
people,
I hope thats, not the case for
the first family.
You just never know
that he was the bottom line.
You just never know.
Ainsley PETE you just sat down
with the put
last weekend. We washed your
interview with him.
What does that mean for you
today?
Pete, I dont know
I mean I feel fine.
First of all, I echo exactly
what Jedediah said that we pray
for the president and first lady,
hope, Hicks and thats the way
everyone should be feeling. This
morning
I havent felt any symptoms. I
guess I will get another test
and confirm that im still
negative.
I had gotten one the day before
for something unrelated.
I have been tested multiple
times as well.
I think, from the president wants
perspective. This is a guy who
has understood the risks from
the beginning. Just like a lot of
the Americans who have been
watching cable news understand
the severity of Covid 19.
His mentality has been im an
essential worker for the
american people.
I cant hide in a bunker.
You have got truck drivers and
nurses and police officers and
construction workers
going to do their job over a
zoom call.
They have to be done in person.
They have to be out there
working in proximity of people,
they understand that risk
and if they contract the virus
they will deal with it and be
responsible. In the meantime,
I think the president
demonstrated to people here and
pray is healthy.
He can keep working,
he will recover,
he will test negative,
he will move on
and the campaign will continue
now. There is all the political
ramifications that come from
this.
I actually think the same
applies to rally goers,
I think differently.
I think rally goers also Newt
risk.
They have been told a lot of
things true and untrue. Over six
months
they made their own risk
calculation as human beings, who
can make choices as free
individuals to go to a rally to
wear a mask or not.
There will be conversations
about that.
I get it,
but I like respecting people and
the president has respected
people at every turn. In this
case,
we wish him the best
and I think he will keep
working guys.
I have no doubt from wherever he
is.
He has a pen and a phone he will
keep going
Brian will? How important do
you think it would be not only
for the markets or american
people to see him today to have
him make an address to the
country? Do you think thats
something that will be
important?
Will I do
if not see him than hear from
him?
I want to echo again PETE and
Jedediahs wishes. We send our
best wishes and prayers to the
president and first lady.
As we have these conversations,
and I have been watching the
three of you throughout the
morning,
there is going to be a
temptation to draw big arching
narratives it about this.
We have a choice. Look at this
emotionally or factually.
We will have questions. Does this
reveal some vulnerability,
presidents choices or in our
nation,
or I believe we can look at the
facts
we can understand. As PETE
pointed out, every individual,
including the president of the
United States, makes their own
risk assessment about what is in
to their job and own life.
More importantly, also highlight
each if you are in the age,
demographic that the president
is your recovery rate is north
of ninety nine point: five percent.
I think its important that the
american people understand the
risk but also understand the
facts, and this is an opportunity
for everyone to see that, and
hopefully, as you point out
Brian hear, that from the
President
Steve, the presidents physician
Dr Conley says that the
President is doing well
and yet apparently, aides at
the White House will not say
whether or not the president has
any symptoms.
So you know what does well
mean regarding symptoms, and you
understand that,
but my question to you, though,
after the president has gotten
to within thirty two days of the
election, and he has tried to put
coronavirus framing it like we
are rounding. The corner on this
coronavirus is now once again
the number one issue in
politics.
Jedediah to your first point.
Yes,
asymptomatic is very subjective
and I have been arguing that
mild. The word mild is
subjective.
We talk about the coronavirus
oftentimes in terms of life and
death, which is important.
You need to also understand
sometimes what sounds like mild.
What doctors say is mild, doesnt
feel so mild to the individual.
This will be a front and center
issue, Steve to your point,
one hundred percent,
the fact that the two campaigns
handled this very differently
will be a front and center issue,
and you can argue that every
single rally goer has he the
right to make that decision for
themselves, and I think there is
some truth to that. You Columbus
have to know, though people look
to the president for leadership
on these issues.
Many people trust him on these
issues,
so if they feel that he has been
in any way wavering on the issue
of masks or in any way
minimizing the risk of these
crowds that will weigh in to
their decision not all, but to
some
thats something the
administration is going to have
to factor
in the primary story, though this
is the leader of the free world,
he is the president for all of
us.
We want him to be well.
If you are talking about
political implications, I think
that the Biden Camp right now is
strategically trying to figure
out how to both wish the
president well and wish him okay,
but highlight the discrepancy
between the two campaigns and
the reasons why the Biden
campaign has decided to follow
through with these virtual
rallies and with these virtual
events and not having the
president front and center. That
may be a talking point thats
used today. That would not
surprise me
Ainsley PETE. What do you make
of the critics, the awful things
being written on social media?
I told you so kind of comments
even worse than that plans for
the wore for him
PETE. Would you expect anything
else at this point,
the level of hatred for Thiss
President that they have
dehumanized him?
Could you thecould you the wild,
Cue Vitter, individual vitriol?
The best way forward for the put
is to im going through what a
lot of other people have gotten
through. Yes, I have more
doctors and access to more care
than most
but im going to take the same
precaution of others.
I urge you to do the same
im going to get back to work as
soon as I have that negative
test, which is hopefully very
soon
in the meantime, im going to do
the work that I can. I actually
think a lot of people who either
had it or know someone who had
it will relate to the reality
that no one is immune.
You cant put a bubble around
yourself. Despite how many tests
you may have
so working through it, proving
that as a 74 year old you are
going to have, as will said, a ninety nine percent
survival rate is demonstrating
that science and fact ultimately show we can go about our lives,
show we can go about our lives,
evened a mist this and Theed a
Brian NEWS, man, Brian Williams,
president, has been outwardly and
publicly from the start can be
called a covid. 19 denier did his
best publicly to diminish the
threat.
There is somebody delivering the
news with a lot of opinion and a
lot of inaccuracy
will. There is going to be a lot
of that today, Brian,
I suspect that will not bees
first
wasnt. The first and will not be
the last
and look everybody is going to
wants to draw their own
political narrative off of this.
They will look for confirmation
by it. We dont want anyone to
get Covid 19
much less the president of the
United States. The goal was never
to zero transmission rate.
That was never what anyone
espoused as the goal.
The goal was to balance the
spread of this disease against
the choices we have to make
business. The fact that the
President developed Covid 19 is
not proof of political point. It
is proof that you cant control
the spread of this disease.
Can you slow it and we can
control the mortality rate to
the best we can and science
allows?
But this is not proof in my mind
of any particular political
point,
its just proof that you cannot
control the virus,
Steve will and Jed and PETE.
Thank you very much.
We will be watching you all
weekend long.
Transcript generated on 2020-10-17.