The president gave a statement for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, in which he said:
– His administration is taking proposals to Congress about reducing the payroll tax, finding a solution to workers who do not have paid sick leave who might not want to self-quarantine for fear of losing paychecks, helping the cruise industry.
– He also said he has done a great job by closing the borders, something which had never been done.*
After Pence spoke for 7 minutes on these topics, Trump again stepped to the lectern, said he would have a press conference tomorrow about those issues, and repeated that he has done a great job — “This blindsided the world, and I think we’ve done a very, very good job.” — and then left.
He ignored a shouted question about whether he has been tested for the virus.
After he left, Pence said he didn’t know if Trump had been tested, but that he would find out.
[* This was not an accurate statement. Your pooler recommends due diligence.]
More quotes to come ASAP.
The briefing continues with members of the Coronavirus Task Force.