"The president never downplayed the virus." — Kayleigh McEnany
"I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down." — Donald Trump
"I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down." — Donald Trump
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00:00He's tested more than anyone, multiple times a day.
00:02I don't know of any time I've taken two tests in one day.
00:05The president will accept the results
00:08of a free and fair election.
00:10There won't be a transfer, frankly.
00:11There'll be a continuation.
00:19How can a president bear no responsibility
00:21for the almost 200,000 lives lost
00:24when he downplayed the virus initially
00:27and he knew how contagious and deadly it was?
00:30I don't understand how that can.
00:32The president never downplayed the virus.
00:46I wanted to always play it down.
00:48I still like playing it down.
00:50Yes, sir.
00:50Because I don't want to create a panic.
00:53Kelly, if I could start off,
00:56I'd like to ask you for a definitive
00:58and declarative statement without ambiguity or deflection.
01:03As the person who speaks for the president,
01:05does the president denounce white supremacism
01:09and groups that espouse it in all their forms?
01:12This has been answered yesterday by the president himself.
01:15The day before, by the president himself.
01:17On the debate stage, the president was asked this.
01:19He said, sure, three times.
01:21He has condemned white supremacy
01:23more than any president in modern history.
01:26Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists
01:30and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down
01:35and not add to the violence in a number of these cities,
01:38as we saw in Kenosha and as we've seen in Portland?
01:41Sure, I'm willing to do that.
01:43But I would say almost everything I see
01:46is from the left wing.
01:47Do you want to call them?
01:49What do you want to call them?
01:49Give me a name.
01:50Give me a name.
01:50White supremacists and white militias.
01:52White supremacists and white militias.
01:55Stand back and stand by.
01:57But as I've made clear from this podium,
01:58the president is the most tested man in America.
02:01He's tested more than anyone multiple times a day.
02:05Mr. President, first, I just wanted to get a clarification.
02:08Your press secretary said today
02:09that you sometimes take more than one test a day.
02:12Why is that and how often?
02:14Well, I didn't know about more than one.
02:15I do take probably, on average, a test every two days,
02:19three days, and I don't know of any time
02:22I've taken two tests in one day, but I could see that happening.
02:24Has the president actually directed officials
02:26to slow down the rate of coronavirus testing?
02:29No, he has not directed that.
02:31And when he said Saturday that he told his people
02:32to slow it down, what did he mean by that?
02:34The president was trying to expose
02:36what the media oftentimes does,
02:38is they ignore the fact that the United States has more cases
02:41because we have more testing.
02:44You know, testing is a double-edged sword.
02:48We've tested now 25 million people.
02:53It's probably 20 million people more than anybody else.
02:58Germany's done a lot.
03:01South Korea's done a lot.
03:02They call me, they say, the job you're doing.
03:04Here's the bad part.
03:05When you do testing to that extent,
03:09you're gonna find more people, you're gonna find more cases.
03:12So I said to my people, slow the testing down, please.
03:17Very direct and very simple question.
03:19If the president loses this election,
03:22will this White House, will this president assure us
03:24that there will be a peaceful transfer of power?
03:26It's a very simple question.
03:29The president will accept the results
03:31of a free and fair election.
03:35Will you commit to making sure that there is a peaceful
03:37transfer of power after the election?
03:40Well, we're gonna have to see what happens.
03:41You know that I've been complaining very strongly
03:44about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.
03:47I understand that, but people are rioting.
03:49Do you commit to making sure
03:51that there's a peaceful transfer of power?
03:52We want to get rid of the ballots,
03:54and you'll have a very peaceful.
03:57There won't be a transfer, frankly.
03:58There'll be a continuation.
04:00We acknowledge testing is not preventative.
04:02What is preventative is wearing this mask.
04:05What is preventative is social distancing.
04:07What is preventative is washing your hands.
04:09These are the measures we need to take to safely reopen.
04:14Why are you opposed to wearing one yourself?
04:16Well, I just don't want to wear one myself.
04:17It's a recommendation.
04:19They recommend it.
04:21I'm feeling good.
04:23I just don't want to be doing, I don't know,
04:24somehow sitting in the Oval Office
04:27behind that beautiful Resolute Desk,
04:30the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask
04:34as I greet presidents, prime ministers,
04:37dictators, kings, queens.
04:40I don't know.
04:40Somehow, I don't see it for myself.
04:42I just don't.
04:44Maybe I'll change my mind.