Tuesday, May 5, 2020

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICANS Honeywell International Inc. Phoenix, Arizona

Office of the Press Secretary
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
IN ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON SUPPORTING NATIVE AMERICANS

Honeywell International Inc.
Phoenix, Arizona

2:27 P.M. MST

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  We very much appreciate this time, and I’m with some very good friends.  We’ve been friends for a long time.  And we’re working together very closely.

I’m honored to be with you today to discuss the unprecedented actions my administration has taken to support our treasured Native American communities.  Together, we’re fighting for everybody, but we’re fighting this horrible coronavirus.  It’s a tough opponent, but we’re winning and we’re starting to see our country come back.  It’s been a very exciting few days.  We’re starting to see it all come back.  

We’re improving the lives of Native American families and tribes more than any administration has done by far.

We’re grateful to be joined by Governor Doug Ducey.  And thank you very much, Doug, for being with us.     

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Secretary Eugene Scalia.  Thank you, Eugene.

SECRETARY SCALIA:  My pleasure.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Senator Martha McSally, who’s doing very well.  I hear things are very good.  You’re doing great.  Thank you, Martha.

Vice President of Naho- -- Navajo Nation, Myron Liz- --  Lizer.  And -- and, by the way, we appreciate it very much.  And you know there is two ways of saying that name.  They told me outside, but I always think of it as “Lezer.”  So how do you like it?  How do you like it?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Lizer.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s what I thought.  Okay.  Thanks, Myron, very much.  And Second Lady, thank you very much for being here.  We really, really appreciate it.

The Navajo Nation has been very special to a lot of people.  And it’s certainly been very special to the state.  And the relationship, Doug, I think is extraordinary, isn’t it --

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  (Inaudible.)

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  -- when you get right down to it.  So thank you very much and we very much appreciate it.

Native Americans have been hit hard by the terrible pandemic.  Over 2,000 members of the Navajo Nation have tested positive for the coronavirus.  And tragically, more than 70 have lost their lives.

How is it looking right now?  How is it doing?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Well, the numbers are still rising.  We’re hoping it flattens.  Our health professionals have said that the peak will be in mid-May.  And it's kind of uncanny and it's fallen that -- that way.  So 2,400 infected; it was 73 that have succumbed.  And that’s too many.   

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s a lot.  Mitigation-wise, you're doing what?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  We have shut down the -- enacted a 57-hour curfew over the weekend.  Our people love to travel out to the border towns off the reservation.

Recently, the National Guard came in and shut down Gal- -- under a new mayor leadership in Gallup, New Mexico.  So they've been on lockdown for five, six days now.  And so that's helped.  But our people are readily going to other border towns, like
Flagstaff and Farmington, New Mexico.  So I think the super majority are obeying and staying home.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But what we’re doing, you know, we’re bringing these two -- these are very hard to come by, because they’re very popular.  This is done by Abbott Laboratories.  And we’re bringing them for you.  And these are the quick tests, and they’re very accurate and very fast.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So we’re doing that.  I think we have a thousand cartridges, too.  A thousand for a thousand tests.  So hopefully that'll be -- that'll be helpful to you.  Okay?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Yes.  Every little bit helps.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  We appreciate it because you’ve done a fantastic job.  You’ve been great friends.

Native Americans have been hit hard by this terrible pandemic.  Over 2,000 members of the Navajo Nation have really -- I mean, it's been incredible what's taken place, and there’s nothing we can say.  But the coronavirus is tragically -- as you just said, 70 people lost their lives.

The administration is deploying the full resources of the federal government to support and protect our Native American communities in this very grave time of need.  And I know that -- I think I can speak very strongly for Martha and for the governor: We're full hands on deck.  And you're working very hard.  I know that, Doug.  Very, very hard.  And even Department of Labor, it's -- it's been -- it's been working very hard with everybody that's in this room and everybody that's -- that needs to be.  Right?

Anything you'd have to say, by the way, Gene, while you’re here?  Please.

SECRETARY SCALIA:  It's a pleasure to be here.  It’s wonderful being on the road again, as you know, Mr. President.  And then great being in Arizona, which is such a spectacular state.  And the Native American communities here are such a great part of the state and really our nation and our nation's heritage.  So, it's so good to be here.

I know, Mr. President, you have an important announcement to make today about the additional things we're doing to help these tribal governments.  And we're certainly doing all we can at the Labor Department to implement the legislation that you signed, that you got enacted so incredibly quickly.  People forget: three weeks in March, three major pieces of legislation -- with paid leave, with unemployment benefits, and with the Paycheck Protection Program -- to put us in position to get going again.   And now, Governor Ducey and I were just talking about it, we're reopening.  And it's -- it's a wonderful thing to see.

I think we're well positioned.  And I think, Mr. President, with your leadership, we're going to get back to where we were.  Just a few weeks ago, things were going so well.  And we'll get there.

We had a nice conversation -- the governor, the Vice President, the Second Lady, and I -- a little while ago, talking about some of the things we're doing at the Department.  I mentioned these dislocated worker grants that are made available also to tribal governments.  So I urge you to look into that and see if we can help you with those, too.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I’d like to introduce also, the governor, Stephen Lewis, who’s been terrific and working with us very hard.  Thank you very much, Stephen.  That’s fantastic.  We appreciate it very much. 

How is it going?

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Well, it’s, you know, going to a point where we're trying to keep up above -- beyond the curve as well.  We're located just not far from here -- our traditional lands and our reservation land base.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s Gila.  Gila River.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Gila River.  Gila River, home to one of the flag raisers of -- on Mount Suribachi.  Ira Hayes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  And --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s beautiful territory, isn’t it?

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  It is.  It is.  Thank you.  Thank you, President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But it’s -- how are you -- how are you doing, in terms of the amount?  What are your numbers now?  As of today, what are your numbers?

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Our numbers: We’re -- we've tested over 1,000.  We've had about -- just over 1,100 tests.  We've had one fatality.  We have 44 positive tests.  Our tribal community is around 23,000 members.  So, we are keeping ahead of the curve.  But, I know testing is a big issue.  And also thank you for working with your administration on getting one of the Abbott analyzers as well.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  We were one of the first tribes to get one as well.  And then also, working with Governor Ducey, getting five ventilators as well.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  We run our own healthcare, independent of the Indian Health Service -- Gila River Health Care.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s great.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  And so we have hired our own doctors.  We put our own community’s members to work and from other tribes as well.  And so we're taking care of our own tribal members on this.  We have -- really, we have an incident command that we've started as well.  All of our departments are collaborating for one purpose, and that's to keep our community members safe, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s fantastic.  Good.  And you’ll have the ventilators very soon I know, right?

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Knowing Doug.  They’re good ventilators too, aren’t they?

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right?  They’re really good.

Weeks ago, I signed the CARES Act, which includes $8 billion to help tribal governments.  And I want to thank Senator McSally for fighting hard to get those funds and get them here and get them to a lot of different people all over the country, including to the folks in this room.  So I want to thank you, Martha.  You've done a fantastic job.

SENATOR MCSALLY:  Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  You really have.

This is the single largest investment in Indian country in our history.  So the amount of money that's being sent to “Indian country,” as we call it, is the largest amount in the history of the U.S.  And you deserve it.  And you've been through a lot.  The Navajo Nation will soon receive over $600 million.  That's a lot.  Should I renegotiate that?  Can we renegotiate that?  (Laughter.)  I don’t think so.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Only if we go up.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  (Laughs.)  He said, “Only if you go up.”  I understand.  I’ve heard that before.

The Gila River will receive, and -- and I think you probably know all about this, but we’re giving you some information: $40 million.  And you’re going to use that very well.  I know that because I know you.  You’re going to be given $40 million in initial funds to help protect their citizens from the scourge, from the plague, from what we're all fighting in this country.  Should have never happened.  Should have been contained from where it came.

Since I took office, my administration has also worked to repatriate precious Native American artifacts, to protect children in the care of the Indian Health and Indian Health Service, and to make eagle remains more easily accessible for cultural and religious purposes, and to highlight the contributions of Native American veterans throughout the history of our nation.

So you know all those elements.  And the eagle remains is a very important thing to you, right?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Very important.  Yeah.  That’s great.  That’s great.

Last year, I signed the first presidential proclamation recognizing the tragedy of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.  We also launched Operation Lady Justice and provided $273 million to improve public safety in Native American tribal communities.

At the end of this event, I will once again sign a proclamation recognizing Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Native Awareness Day.  It's been a tremendous problem: missing and murdered American Indians.  It's been a tre- -- could you discuss that for a second, please?

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  I don’t want to steal our Second Lady’s thunder here.  She’s been --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Good.  I’d like to have the Second Lady -- go ahead, please.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yeah, well, we’re -- Navajo Nation has been really hit hard by missing and murdered indigenous women. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Right.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  You know, it seems to be a growing -- a growing issue that's been happening with Navajo.  And so we -- you know, with the Ashlynne Mike case that came up in 2016, where she was kidnapped and raped and murdered in Shiprock, New Mexico -- May 2, 2016.  So that's kind of what opened the door for Navajo to start saying, “Okay, we need to do something,” because that became the forefront.

And so, since then, the amber alert on Navajo Nation has gotten better but still needs help with funding, still needs help with getting the data together.  Our First Lady, Phefelia Nez, is also part of the New Mexico task force that's getting together data.

And so we're just really needing help in that -- in that sense.  And so we don't want to lose any more of our -- our native sisters, our native mothers.  And so the cry is -- is, you know, to get the awareness out, because a lot of people don't know of the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.  And now it's hitting the LGBTQ community.  And so we just want to make that aware and known that, hey, you know, we're -- we're waving our arms here.

You know, I think there is a movie that came out with native women that have been --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, that’s right.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  -- murdered and missing.  And so it hit -- it hits close to home because we have a close family member, Patricia Platero, that went missing in 2015.  They found her two months later, murdered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  And so her case still remains unsolved.

We got to Tamicka Platero who is from Little -- Little Water, New Mexico, who went missing November 25, 2019, and is still missing.

And -- and so we have these girls out there that are missing and we don't know.  And, you know, there's that jurisdiction --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  So this has been far disproportionate to other people in other areas of the country, what you -- what you’ve gone through.  I mean, I've been hearing about this for a long time.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  For years and years.  This has been for many years, for many decades, right?

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yes.  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Disproportionate.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Disproportionate, yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, $273 million -- a lot of that's going to go toward trying to solve that problem.  It's a problem that can be solved. 

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Thank you, Mr. President.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  But I know you're going to use it well.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And you'll figure it out, right?

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It’s a horrible -- it’s a horrible thing.  So New Mexico versus Arizona.  What -- tell me, because we're here.  Where -- where are you going to be -- where -- where's the problem worse: New Mexico or Arizona?

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Well, Navajo Nation spans Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona.  And so, you know, I think all of us working collaboratively, that's going to really help, you know.  Because sometimes we get misclassified; we may get misclassified as Hispanic.  And so -- I think there was a Hopi girl that had been murdered here in Phoenix, and they classified her as Hispanic.

And so -- so a lot of times, you know, the people don't know.  So I think with the more talks out there, that people will, you know, start to understand --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Is there a certain area, though -- you have the four states -- is there a certain area where the problem is exacerbated or worse?  Or is it evenly spread?

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Well, it’s -- I think it’s just all Indian country.  You know --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It’s Indian country.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  -- Indian country, whether it's Alaskan Native or Navajo or Hopi or Gila River.  You know, it's -- it’s --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  -- all over.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It's a very big problem in Alaska.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Mr. President, if I could add to that.  Just recently, in Farmington, New Mexico, there was an Anglo woman who was abducted.  And I'm most certain she came across the Navajo Nation and was found murdered in Flags- -- near Flagstaff, Arizona.  And so I think it just speaks largely to the lack of public safety officers in such a vast land the size of West Virginia.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  It is a vast -- yeah, it’s a vast land.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  So not only Navajo and others, but there’s just an area that, I guess, because there's not as many public safety, that you get those kinds of --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I’m going to be signing something in a couple of moments, and I hope it helps a lot.  Not just a little bit, a lot.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Yes.  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I think you'll do a fantastic job.  I know you’re going to be watching it personally.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And between the three of you and everyone else that I know so well, I think you're going to do a great job.  And so, go get them.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Go do the job.  I'd like to maybe finish off with the governor.  A great governor.  You're doing a phenomenal job.  What do you have to say, Doug?

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  Well, my -- my mic, thankfully, is working.  First, I want to say thank you, Mr. President.  We're -- we're thrilled that you're back in Arizona, especially to talk these specific tribal issues.

I want to say to Second Lady Lizer, to Vice President Lizer, to -- to Governor Lewis: This focus that we've had on our tribal nations, first and foremost around the coronavirus -- with a special shoutout to Senator McSally, who advocated for these ventilators that were so needed on Navajo Nation.  Please extend my -- my best to -- to President Nez.

And I'm -- I’m so grateful, Mr. President that you took a personal interest in getting these ventilators to Navajo Nation.  And I'm -- I’m proud, Mr. Secretary, in Arizona, our -- our legislature, both Democrat and Republican, last year signed HB 2570.

And, Second Lady Lizer, I want to give a -- a personal thank you to you.  This was the bill to address missing and murdered indigenous people.  And what we hope to do in Arizona is to reduce and eliminate this scourge that we have on our native nations.  And in Arizona, we have 22 tribal nations and 75 percent of the Navajo people reside in the state of Arizona.  So that was a positive thing that we could get done last year.

And, Governor Lewis, I want to say to you: Another positive thing in addition to the HB 2570 that we passed that was also unanimous was the Drought Contingency Plan to address Arizona's water future.  You were a real leader on that, and for that I'm grateful.

Thank you for being here to celebrate these accomplishments, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, thank you very much.  And, you know, one of the other accomplishments we have is -- in Arizona and a lot of other states -- we’re building a wall.  And you’re finally getting what you need.

And interestingly, California is calling because, in a -- bordering towns, as you know, in Mexico, they have a very big outbreak of the coronavirus.  And California is calling saying, “You got to help us.”  Those are not calls that the media knows about, but that’s the facts.

And in Tijuana, right along the border, they have a tremendous outbreak.  And we have just completed 172 miles of wall.  And it’s real wall, not the kind you were having built over the years that were sort of scoffed at, right?

And we’ve done a lot in Arizona, and the people are letting us know.  They’re so happy.  They’re so thrilled about it.  It's made a tremendous difference.

And we've had one of the best months ever, in the history of our country, for not having people come in that we don't want -- that we don't want in our country.  We want to have the people that come in the right way.

So you see the numbers.  The numbers are about the best we've ever had in the history of the country.  So -- so it's good, but we’re getting that done.  I guess you see -- do you see where they're doing it?

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  Yes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, it’s been a big -- it’s a big thing.  A hundred and -- we’re up to 172 miles.  We’ll have it completed early next year.  So it’s been -- it's been something.

Okay, I'm going to sign this.  I want to just congratulate you, Myron.

VICE PRESIDENT LIZER:  Yes, sir.  Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  I want to congratulate you, Second Lady.  That’s so fantastic.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I want to congratulate you for -- also, because I’ve -- I’ve been in that vicinity.  And it’s one of the most beautiful places you can imagine.  So congratulations very much.

(The proclamation is signed.)

Thank you, Stephen.  (Applause.)

Okay.

Q    Mr. President, what are your thoughts on winding down the --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Wait one second, please.

Q    -- Coronavirus Task Force?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  One second, Jim.

Q    Yes, sir.  Oh, sorry.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Okay?  I want to make sure they -- everybody looks good, except me.  (Laughter.)  I’m going to hand this to -- I’m going to hand this to the Second Lady.  Okay?  If you don’t mind.

SECOND LADY LIZER:  Thank you, sir, Mr. President.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Mr. President, I want to thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, go ahead.  Please.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  I want to thank you again.  I’m wearing --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah, Stephen, go ahead.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  I’m wearing my red ribbon in remembrance of this significant moment for missing and murdered Native Americans.

And again, I want to thank you for making such an announcement today, and for signing an important document to commemorate the National Day of Awareness.

And I know that your administration also made another very important announcement today regarding the Coronavirus Relief Fund.  And thank you for that, and to take a few moments to comment about that as well.

I want to thank, of course, Governor Ducey and Senator McSally for advocating and for making sure that this is getting out to -- to the -- to Indian country -- these much-needed resources as well.  And, you know, so today your administration made a significant impact across Indian country.  And I want to thank you for getting some of the money out today.

I want to thank you also, because we need help now.  Indian tribes can't wait for that litigation to end before additional payments are made to us from the fund.  And if you can, please direct Treasury to make these payments as soon as possible.

And three, you know, we need to spread the limited resources currently available as far as we can, and to avoid allocating to a very few tribes and under-allocating to most others.  And this means that you should include a limit or cap on the total funding any one tribe receives.

And we need to have flexible guidance to allow us to use the funds we do to receive -- that we receive to keep our governments running, Mr. President.  And the current fund of $8 billion is going to be woefully inadequate to meet our -- our overall needs.  And we really need to work -- we will work with Senator McSally and your administration to take this to the next level.

And I look forward to working with Senator McSally, with the -- your Chief of Staff Meadows, Congress, and your administration on the next relief bill, Mr. President -- thank you -- to make sure that your investments in Indian country are going where they are needed the most.  And in a way, that shows that our governments and our economic entities can be part of that recovery that we are talking about here that will be critical as we come out of this crisis and rebuild our tribal state and national economy together with Indian country included, Mr. President.

I always end my -- my video messages to my community members: We're all in this together --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s right.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  -- and to continue to be Gila River strong.  And I think that is how that we can continue to be Gila River strong and to strengthen all tribal nations moving forward, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  That’s great.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Thank you.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much, Stephen.  I appreciate it.  And I have to say, Myron Lizer and I have dealt, and we've -- our people have dealt together very closely, and the Second Lady.  And a lot of progress has been made, and we’ll continue to make a lot of progress.  I think you'll see that.  And I think you’re going to see it not only here, but in the future.

Thank you very much, and I appreciate it very much.  Thank you.  Thank you, Governor.  Thank you.

GOVERNOR LEWIS:  Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I don’t have to thank you.  You’re with the administration.  (Laughter.)  He has good genes, though.  You know, he’s got good genes, right?  The Scalia genes.  (Laughter.)  You don’t get better than that, do you?

SECRETARY SCALIA:  They’re good.  They’re good. 

Q    Mr. President, on --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Go ahead, Jim.

Q    -- winding down the task force: Vice President Pence said there are discussions underway about winding down the task force.  Is that a good idea during a pandemic?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, I think we're looking at phase two, and we're looking at other phases.  The country is starting to open up.  The task force has done a phenomenal job.

We have a chart that I just showed somebody.  We just got it this morning, as I was getting off the plane.  The -- and Governor Ducey can explain it better than anybody.  When we came in, ventilators were a very, very big deal and very hard to produce.  It’s -- I say, but it is largely true -- the complexity is sort of like building a car.  We opened up operations all over the country to build them.

And we -- there was -- hasn’t been one person that needed a ventilator that didn't get it, which is amazing.  And now we're helping other countries, and we're stockpiling in case some tragedy like this happens again.

But this just came out on testing.  Because I think we are at the point or maybe we'll soon be at the point where I can say the exact same thing on testing.  These numbers were just released.  And this is the United States: the amount of testing and our level of testing and the quality of testing.  This is just from Abbott Laboratories.

This is -- you know what this one is, Jim, it’s a five-minute test.  It’s a great test.  So it’s something people like because you don’t have to go through a laboratory.  You don’t have to send it in and send it back, and it takes a couple of days if they do a good job.  So this is the testing.

So this is the testing, and the line here is the United States; we’re over 7 million tests.  Germany is at two and a half.  Italy is less than that.  Japan is down here.  And South Korea, which we talk about -- and again, I'm very friendly with South Korea and with the President of South Korea, and he calls to congratulate us on our great testing -- South Korea is over here.

One of the reasons we have more cases than any other country by far is because we test much more.  So if you test, you’re going to have more cases.  If we tested down here, we wouldn’t have very many cases.  You know, they like to say we have more cases than anybody.  But the fact is, when you look at these numbers -- and this is the official count.  Now, I can't tell you whether or not other countries are giving us the straight deal, but I can say that I know one thing: It's only going to be on the high side.  It’s not going to be on the low side.

So this is the other countries.  These are the United States.  And it's incredible.  Remember this, and I think it's important to say this, Jim: The quality of our test is also the best.  I mean, it's acknowledged to be the best.

So again, when we have cases -- we have more cases than anybody else -- does anybody really believe that we have more cases than China?  But they don't talk about numbers like this.  And other countries.  But we report everything.

Q    But don’t you want to hear from the experts?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  And I just -- I just want to say that we've done an incredible job on testing.  With that being said, we have some additional, including antibody tests, coming out that will even blow these numbers away.  But nobody has done the job we’ve done.

Go ahead.

Q    But don’t you need to continue to meet with the task force to get this scientific expertise on this pandemic?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well -- well, yeah.  We will have certain people -- as an example, we have hospitals that we built.  We have medical centers that we built.  We have people on the task force that focus on that.  We have people in the task force that's focused exclusively on ventilators.  Well, we have more ventilators now than anybody in the world, and we're helping France, as you know.  We're helping France, Italy, Spain, Nigeria.  We just -- we’re giving, I think, 250 to Nigeria.  We have many countries that we're helping.  But the ventilator problem is solved, so you don’t need that.

We have now a different -- it’s sort of a combination of safety and reopening.  So we'll have something in a different form.  But the task force, for what we've done -- I think everybody out there, when they're being very honest, I think the job we've done on testing will shortly be -- and maybe even supersede, Doug -- the job that we've done on ventilators, which people can't even believe.

We had a call the other day with the governors.  Mike Pence took the call.  And they had, I believe, all 50 governors.  And it was, they say, the best call we've had thus far.  We're working closely with the governors.  They have everything they need.  And if they don't have it, and if they don't need it, or if they can't get it locally, then they know that we are stocked and we are ready.

And we can have -- as an example, we won’t need this, but we were ready for weeks to have -- we had 10,000 ventilators sitting in various locations with people by the ventilators ready to have those ventilators roll, if they needed them in, as an example, Detroit or various other places all over the country.

So I think that, as far as the task force, Mike Pence and the task force have done a great job.  But we're now looking at a little bit of a different form, and that form is safety and opening.  And we'll -- we'll have a different group probably set up for that.

Q    Are you saying “mission accomplished”?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  No, no.  Not at all.  The mission accomplished is when it's over.  When it's over, Jim, mission accomplished.  No, I wouldn’t say that at all.

Q    Are you certain you’ll get the advice you need, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What?

Q    Are you certain you will get the advice you need, health-wise, in a sense?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  What does that mean?  Go ahead.  Repeat your question.  Say it?

Q    Are you certain you’ll get the advice that you need, in terms of --

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Oh, yeah.  We have great advice.  We have great people.  We have great people.  Yeah, we have great doctors.  We have great medical people, laboratory people.

I have to say, I think tremendous progress is being made on vaccines, which everybody should be very happy to hear.  And therapeutically, I think we're making very good progress too.  We're making tremendous progress.

We have the greatest doctors in the world, the greatest laboratories in the world.  And I have to say, we’re working with other nations.  We're working with UK.  We're working with Germany.  We're working with various other nations who are very advanced and doing a good job.

I think therapeutically and also from the standpoint of laboratories, we are -- laboratories, as it pertains to vaccines -- we're doing very well.  I'd love to see a therapeutic answer, even before the vaccine, because we could take care of, you know, people that have a current -- a current problem or dilemma.

But therapeutically and for the vaccines, a tremendous amount of progress.  Oxford, Johnson & Johnson -- incredible places -- are doing, I think, a really good job.  And they're very advanced, but we have to now see.  We're going up to that very delicate final stage with a number.  I think a number of other countries that are also doing quite well, my people say.

And just so you know, working very closely with other countries.  And whoever gets it first, my hat is off to them.  We're not looking for first, second, or third.  We're looking to get a vaccine that works.  And progress has been made.

Q    Mr. President, just to follow up on Jim’s question: With the doctors saying that there might be a recurrence of coronavirus in the fall, why -- can you just explain why is now the time to wind down that task force?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Well, because we can't keep our country closed for the next five years, you know.  You could say there might be a recurrence, and there might be.  And, you know, most doctors or some doctors say that it will happen and it'll be a flame and we're going to put the flame out.

We've learned a lot.  You know, we've learned a lot about the coronavirus.  We've learned a lot about this hidden enemy.  It's a dangerous enemy; it's a bad enemy.  You see what it does, especially for people over a certain age and people that have an infirmity.  If you have diabetes, if you have a bad heart, if you have a certain problem, it just -- Myron, it just goes after you.  It’s vicious.

And we're saying that people that are over 60, 65 -- but over 60, we’re even saying -- sort of stay back for a while.  We recommend you staying back for a while.  At the same time, with young children and children, we'd like to see the schools open early next season and on time.  It's incredible how the -- it's very unique how the children aren’t affected, but people that have problems and older people are -- can be very badly hurt, injured, or die from this problem.

Q    Mr. President, would you --

Q    But even if --

Q    Would you --

Q    Hold on, I just want to finish a follow-up.  If -- I understand you don’t want to keep the country closed for five years, but don't you want your advisors to keep looking at this closely, the way you have for the last few months?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Oh, they are looking at it very closely.  They are looking at it very closely.  And I tell -- I just said it today.  I used the word for the first time, I think, in terms of what we're doing.  I'm viewing our great citizens of this country, to a certain extent and to a large extent, as warriors.  They’re warriors.  We can't keep our country closed.  We have to open our country.

Somebody said, “Oh, we could keep it for the next 18 months.  We could keep it for the next two years.”  Doug Ducey has done an incredible job as the governor of Arizona.  The people aren't going to accept it.  They won't accept it, and they shouldn't accept it.  We have a great country.  We can't keep it closed.  I mean, I've had doctors say, “Well, why don't we close it for a couple of years?”  This is the United States of America.

I created, with a lot of other very talented people and the people of our country, the greatest economy in the history of the world, the greatest that we've ever had.  The greatest employment numbers.  The best numbers we've ever had.  The best stock markets.  I think we had 144 days of record stock markets.

And then, one day, they said we have to close our country.  Well, now it's time to open it up.  And you know what?  The people of our country are warriors, and I'm looking at it.  I'm not saying anything is perfect.  And, yes, will some people be affected?  Yes.  Will some people be affected badly?  Yes.  But we have to get our country open, and we have to get it open soon.

Maybe I could ask, Doug, if you'd like to address that point.

GOVERNOR DUCEY:  Well, I just want to say: In Arizona, we have put public health first.  We have looked at the numbers that your medical experts put forward in the Opening Up America Again plan, in terms of our symptoms, our cases, our hospital capacity, our ability to surge on our testing.

And we're going to continue to put public health first, but we know so much more today than we did six or eight weeks ago.  So we believe that we want to protect our most vulnerable.  Those are the folks that are of a certain age, with the underlying health condition.  But the first objective was that the largest places were shut down.  Major League Baseball made the decision to shut down spring training.  Those are some of the best weeks of the year in the state of Arizona.  Major League Baseball has delayed Opening Day.  Schools are not in session.  So these large gathering places have dispersed.

We've been able to address the fact that we have hospital capacity, ICU capacity, and ventilator capacity if it's necessary.  Today, it doesn't look as it will be.

So we have our arms around the public health emergency in Arizona.  And the President, the Vice President, and the medical experts, along with the Cabinet Secretaries, have given the latitude to governors to make decisions on what's in the best public health interest of their state.

Arizona is not New York State.  It wasn't hit first.  It wasn't hit that hard.  We've learned a lot from what those states have gone through, and we're going to apply it to protect our citizens.

Q    Mr. President, do you still want the advice of Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx?  Will they still be involved even once the task force is disbanded?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Oh, sure.  Yeah.  They will be, and so will other doctors and so will other experts in the field.

But we've learned a lot.  As Doug said, we've learned a lot.  It's -- you’re going to probably have fires here, Doug; you'll put them out.  You’re going to put them out, and you’ll put them out fast.

So, yeah, we -- we’re bringing our country back.  And I think what is going to happen -- just said it a little while ago -- you’re going to have a third quarter where you're going to have transition.  You'll have a big, beautiful -- hopefully a very good transition, a very successful transition back into the real world.  And then you're going to have a fourth quarter that I think is going to do very well.  And then I think next year, I think we're going to have one of the best years we've ever had, because we have stimulus and we have a pent-up demand like I have never seen before.

You know, today is a very interesting day because it's my first day out.  And Doug reminded me of something.  I didn't do it for that reason, but you said, “This the first place you stopped when you ran,” when I ran for something that turned out to be a very successful run.  And we had tremendous crowds -- remember? -- at the convention center in Phoenix.  And it was pretty incredible.  And I didn't do it for that reason, interestingly, but here we are.  And it was great that you reminded us of that fact.

But, look, we're going to have a very interesting transition period into the fourth quarter.  I think your fourth quarter is going to be very good, and I think next year is going to be one of the best years, economically, we've ever had.

With that said, for those people that have lost somebody, for the people that have lost a loved one, even a close friend, you know, nothing can ever happen that's going to replace that. You know, I don't care what kind of a year you have from an economic standpoint, nobody is ever going to replace that.

But I think, from an economic standpoint -- purely an economic standpoint -- I think next year is potentially going to be one of the best years we've had.  There’s tremendous stimulus out there.  And people want to get out.  They want to go and they want to go to town.  This country was founded on certain principles, and those principles are at work like you've never seen before.

So I want to thank you all very much.  Thank you.  And we'll see you perhaps at the next stop.  Thank you.

Q    Mr. President, if there’s a vaccine, will you take one?  Will you get it?

AIDE:  Thank you, press.

Q    If there’s a vaccine, will you get it -- a coronavirus vaccine?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Yeah.  What about it, Jim?

Q    If there’s a coronavirus vaccine, will you get it?  Will you take it?

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Will I take it?

Q    Yeah.

PRESIDENT TRUMP:  If they would like me to, I’d go the first one or I’d go the last one.  I don't want to waste it.

But he's just saying, “If there's a vaccine, would you take it?”  And she might like it that it didn't work too well, okay?  But that's okay.

I would absolutely, Jim.  If there's a vaccine and if they wanted me to be first on line, I’d be first on line, or I'd be last on line, or I wouldn't take it at all -- whatever is best for the country.

Okay?  Thank you.

                        END                2:04 P.M. MST

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP AT HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. MASK PRODUCTION FACILITY Honeywell International Inc. Phoenix, Arizona

Office of the Press Secretary

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
AT HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. MASK PRODUCTION FACILITY

Honeywell International Inc.
Phoenix, Arizona

2:32 P.M. MST

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, everybody.  It's a great company, and it's an honor to be with you.  And we traveled with Darius.  He's a great chief executive.  He is a -- he’s a great businessman.  Done a tremendous job with your company.

But I'm thrilled to be here in the fantastic state of Arizona -- I love Arizona -- with the incredible -- (applause) -- true.  I had some good moments here, especially on Election Day.  It was a good moment, right?

But they're incredible patriotic and hardworking men and women of Honeywell.  Moments ago, we saw the brand-new production lines where you're making high-quality N95 respirators.  And they are made to perfection.  There’s no bad masks, like various countries have been sent -- some very bad masks from other places.  There's nothing like that at Honeywell.

Respirators are there to protect our heroic doctors and nurses as they fight the unseen enemy.  More than 150 Honeywell employees are working around the clock, three shifts a day, six days a week.  You are the greatest industrial -- and think of this, what you've done: You're part of this incredible industrial mobilization.  The biggest since World War Two.  Hard to believe for an invisible enemy.  But it's a vicious enemy, a smart enemy.

Like generations of patriots before you, the workers of this factory are pouring their heart and their soul and their blood into defending our nation and keeping our people healthy and safe.  You make America proud.  You really do.  And I want to thank you very much.  That's why I'm here.

I want to thank also the entire leadership team at Honeywell, including Darius -- who’s, again, a fantastic man -- Anne Madden, Mike Madsen, John Waldron, Jim Carroll, Brian Rudick, William Lange, Tony Stallings, and Romina Khananisho.

In normal times, it would take nine months to stand up one facility like this.  But Honeywell has built this in less than five weeks, creating 500 new jobs in Arizona and another 500 jobs in Rhode Island.  Together, these new factories will soon produce more than 20 million N95 respirators every single month.  A truly miraculous achievement.

We're grateful to be joined by Secretary of Labor Gene Scalia and Governor Doug Ducey.  What a fantastic governor he is.  Where is Doug?  (Applause.)  Where is Doug?  Thank you, Doug.  (Applause.)   You're doing a fantastic job.  And he already won his election by, like, 17 points.  So I don’t have to praise him too much, but I will say that he has been a fantastic governor.  And that's -- you people recognize it.  That’s why he had what they say is a walk.  That’s very good, and we're proud of you, Doug.  And anything we can do, you're going to call me.  We don’t have to worry about that.  He calls me plenty.  He calls me plenty because he's doing his job.

But I want to thank you both.  And, Gene, the job you're doing is fantastic.  Thank you both very much.  We appreciate it.  Thank you, Gene.  (Applause.)

And I also want to express my appreciation to Senator Martha McSally -- a fantastic person.  Fantastic person.  (Applause.)  She's fighting to uncover the full truth about the China situation and how the World Health Organization handled the outbreak and what happened.  There must be transparency and accountability.  Martha is also somebody that is bringing tremendous amounts of dollars back to her state that she loves so much -- the state of Arizona.  And I know the Governor appreciates it very much, Martha.  And I appreciate it very much too.  You're doing a fantastic job, and good luck.  Good luck.

Thank you as well to Betty and Jorge Rivas at Sammy's Mexican Grill in Catalina.  Where are they?  They're around here someplace.  (Applause.)  They're great.  Where is the -- come on up here.  Come on up here.  Come on.  Say a couple of words.  (Laughter.)  Say -- these people.  You know, I saw them on television.  (Applause.)  I saw them on television.  They were being devastated by what happened.  And I put out a simple tweet saying what wonderful people they are, and they became very rich.  They had lines that went around the block.

Say a few words, please.  Come on.  There's a mic right over here.  I can't believe I have to socially distance myself from these two people.  (Laughter.)  They're probably the ones that want it from me.

Please, say a few words.

MR. RIVAS:  Mr. President, we thank you very much.  I think you're doing a great job.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. RIVAS:  I think we represent a lot of the Latino community that is very proud of the job that you're doing.  And I think most of us, all of us, all the Latinos are going to vote for you because we think you're doing a -- like I said, a very good job.

And I thank you for all the support that you've given us. And my wife and I are very happy.  And what else can I say? Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  I really appreciate it.  That's beau- -- that's beautiful.  Go ahead.  (Applause.)  Oh, that’s right.  Would you like -- would like to say?  Go ahead.  Please.  You can pull that down.

MS. RIVAS:  (Speaks Spanish.)  Latinos love Trump.

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, that’s great.  (Applause.)

MS. RIVAS:  Yes.

THE PRESIDENT:  Great people.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  We'll see you.  That's fantastic.

So, today, they took care of 150 healthcare workers at Devon Gables Assisted Living Facility in Tucson.  And they've been helping a lot of the people here get some good food.  And they're sending Donald Trump the bill.  I can't write it off to the government because they wouldn't like that.  But we -- we're paying for it.  So make sure you get me that bill.  But we have -- they are just two terrific people.  Again, I saw them on television and they were having a rough time.  And now they're doing great.  Everybody knows who they are, and they have lines of people wanting to get in.  The food is supposed to be fantastic.

To defeat the virus, we are harnessing the unrivaled power of American industry.  We're using the Defense Production Act to manufacture over 100,000 additional ventilators on top of our fast-growing national supply.  We've mobilized our country. Ventilators are very hard to make.  Very complex.  Big.  Very expensive.  And we are now at a point where everybody in this country that's needed a ventilator -- right, Doug? -- has gotten it, especially here in Arizona.  Everywhere.

And Doug has had some extra ones, and he sent them to other places where they needed some help.  But we have gotten ventilators to everybody, and now we're actually helping other nations and we're using them for stockpiles, in case this horror show ever happens again.

But not a single American who's needed it -- I mean, I'm so proud of that -- has -- because when people -- when we started, we started with -- I use the expression, "The cupboards were bare."  That means ventilators.  It means a lot of other things.

So we're doing something very dramatic, and there's never been -- there hasn't been anything like what we've done since -- this a mobilization -- since World War Two.

We've dramatically accelerated development of new therapies and potential vaccines.  Johnson & Johnson, Oxford -- great places.  And we have 90 clinical trials underway and hundreds more on the way.  And something is going to happen.  Tremendous progress is being made.  I don't want to talk about it until it's there.  We don't want to talk too soon, but I will say, Doug, they really are -- they really -- Darius, they're really making progress.  You know some of the companies.  They're great companies.  You know, the Johnson & Johnson folks have been really fantastic.  They want to get to it fast.  So, we'll see how it all comes out.  And we'll all know very soon, and I think it's going to be a very positive event.

Through FEMA, HHS, and our private sector partners, we're equipping our frontline medical workers with more than 70 million N95 respirators, 112 million surgical masks, 7 million face shields, 18 million gowns, and nearly 1 billion gloves. Today we hear from a few of Honeywell's extraordinary workers who are leading the charge to equip our healthcare heroes and marshal our manufacturing might.  That's what it is: It's a manufacturing might that we haven't seen for a long time.

Bruno Aguinaga worked at another company for 22 years, but he jumped at the chance to support America, and America's war against the virus, right here at Honeywell.  He's wanted to work at Honeywell always, and he had his chance.  Now he is a first-shift team leader.

Bruno, please come up and say a few words.  Bruno.  (Applause.)  Thanks, Bruno.

MR. AGUINAGA:  First off, we want to say thank you, Mr. President, from the Aguinaga family.

THE PRESIDENT:  Good.

MR. AGUINAGA:  Folks, so I'm here today to just, kind of, let you know a little bit of my background and the company that I left to support the N95 masks and the fight against COVID-19 with Honeywell.

I was employed with Boeing for 22 years, out in California.  I relocated out here in Arizona.  I got a little chance to work with the folks out at Boeing Mesa on the Apache helicopter as well.  It's when I resigned with the Boeing Company, after so many years, to be a part of the Honeywell team.

Here at the Honeywell team, they treat you right.  It's a great culture, great people.  (Applause.)  Mr. President, God bless America, right?  (Applause.)  Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Bruno.  Great job.  Thank you, Bruno.  Appreciate it.  Thank you very much, Bruno.

And the next time I'm here, I think we'll -- we'll shake hands and we'll hug each other with the job he is doing.  Okay, Bruno?  (Laughter.)  Thank you very much.

Ursula Warner is a proud Air Force veteran who courageously served her nation in Afghanistan and all around the world.  Now she is continuing her legacy of service right here in Phoenix.  Ursula, please come up and tell us how you chose Honeywell and why did you do that.  (Applause.)

MS. WARNER:  Good afternoon.  My name is Ursula Warner.  I am an operations supervisor here at Honeywell for the N95 site.  I have spent 20 years -- over 20 years serving our country, the United States Air Force.  (Applause.)  Thank you.

Of those 20 years, I spent 15 years in leadership and management positions.  Like the President said, I served a tour in Afghanistan and a couple of tours in Iraq and was highlighted by the United States Department of Army and Air Force for that.

I just retired this past March, and I actually had a different plan.  But after my retirement ceremony -- and I saw that the site -- the N95 site was standing up and what the purpose of it was for: for the first responders and our medical personnel on the frontlines -- I decided I wanted to be a part of that, a part of something bigger to continue to serve this country in a different facet.

I'd just like to thank the leadership and also Honeywell for the opportunity to provide different jobs and things like that for the people in Phoenix, and also me specifically, the opportunity to continue to serve my country on a bigger aspect.

Thank you.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  She was retired for about two days.  (Laughter.)  Retired?  Look how young you are.  Retired.  Thank you very much.  It's a great job, Ursula.

Eric Parks is a Marine Corps veteran and the operations manager at Honeywell's new facility.  This is a highly personal mission for Eric.  His mother is a nurse, his mother-in-law is a nurse, his brother is a paramedic, and his daughter is about to start her first year of medical school at the University of Arizona.  That's one of the great schools.

Eric, please come up.  Please.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Eric.

MR. PARKS:  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Eric Parks.  And like Mr. Trump said, I am the Operations Manager here at this facility.  First and foremost, I'd like to thank Mr. Trump for giving this nation the resources, leadership, and guidance that we've needed to navigate through these unprecedented times.

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. PARKS:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

Secondly, and more personally to me, I want to thank Honeywell for giving me the opportunity to serve my country again.  It fills me with pride to know that the masks that we are going to be producing off of this facility are going to go to first-line responders to help them combat the war against COVID-19.

Like Mr. Trump said, this is very personal for me.  My mother is a nurse.  My mother-in-law is a nurse.  My brother is a combat veteran and a paramedic in Tucson.  And my daughter has decided that she, too, is going to carry forward the family tradition of serving.

The black shirts that the team down here is wearing says, "The future is what you make it."  And I am very honored to be a part of the team that is going to make the future safer not only for my family, but for many others as well.

Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much.  Thank you.

As you know, this terrible plague has inflicted grave hardships on our people.  We mourn for every life lost.  We pray for every victim.  And we shoulder this burden together as one people, one family, and one great American nation.

Thanks to the profound commitment of our citizens, we've flattened the curve, and countless American lives have been saved.  Our country is now in the next stage of the battle, a very safe phased and gradual reopening.  So, reopening of our country -- who would have ever thought we were going to be saying that?  A reopening.  Reopening.

One day they came to us and they said, "Sir, we're going to have to close it down."  We had the greatest economy in history. Darius can tell you about that.  Greatest economy we've ever had.  Best employment numbers in the history of our country.  The best stock market in the history of our country.  Most number of jobs.  Almost 160 million jobs.  We were never even close to that.  And they said, "Sir, we have to close it down."  It's a terrible thing, but we did what was right.

And now we're reopening our country, and it's going to be something very special.  I was saying before that we're going to have a transition period, the third quarter.  It's going to transition.  Fourth quarter is going to be very good -- we think very good.  And I think next year we're going to have one of the strongest years we've had in a long time, and that's my ambition: to get it back to not only where it was, but to beyond where it was.

And I just want to thank all of the people at this incredible company and this incredible plant.  This pandemic has underscored the vital importance of reshoring our supply chains and constructing a powerful domestic manufacturing base.  I've been talking about that for a long time.  Oftentimes, you'd see a plant like this in a different country, doing the work you could be doing.  And you'll do it better.

The United States declared its independence nearly 250 years ago, but in recent decades, Washington politicians allowed our independence to be offshored, outsourced, and ceded to foreign countries.

But we're taking it back, and we've been taking it back.  When you look at our job numbers, you knew that -- we were taking it back.  When we got up to almost 160 million, something had to be happening.  One of the things that happened was we were taking it back.  We know it matters where something is made, and we want essential medicines, supplies, and equipment to be manufactured, produced, and made right here in the good old USA.

My administration believes in two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.  In the 20th century, Honeywell workers helped make America the world's greatest manufacturing superpower.  This is a great company, and it played a very big role.

Now in the 21st century, right here in Phoenix, Arizona, you're reclaiming the noble heritage and writing the next chapter of this incredible American story.  And you have a great governor to lead your way, and you have a great senator to lead your way.  You have a lot of people that are leading your way.

It was the men and women of Honeywell whose craftsmanship made it possible for Charles Lindbergh to fly across the Atlantic and for Amelia Earhart to break boundaries in the sky.

It was the men and women of Honeywell who built the periscopes, mortar sites, and autopilot systems that powered American warriors as they battled the forces of tyranny and fought to victory in the Second World War.

And it was the unstoppable workers right here at Honeywell that helped our brave astronauts plant our American flag on the face of the Moon.  And we're getting ready to do it again.  But we're really using the Moon as a landing pad for its journey and our journey together to Mars.  It's happening very soon.

Now it is one more time for the men and women of Honeywell who are supplying the weapons, the armor, the sweat, and the scale in a war to defeat the new invisible enemy -- a tough enemy, a smart enemy.  But nobody is like us, and nobody is tough like us.  And I said it before and I'll say it again: The people of our country are warriors.

With your help, we will vanquish the virus and build a future of greatness and glory with American heart, American hands, American pride, and American soul.

Thank you very much for the incredible job you do.  Thank you to Honeywell, to our senator, to our governor.  Thank you so much for the incredible job you do.  And thank you to the people of Arizona.  We will never forget.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

                                   END                 2:52 P.M.

1600 Daily The White House • May 5, 2020 WATCH: President Trump Visits Repurposed Factory in Arizona

1600 Daily
The White House • May 5, 2020

WATCH: President Trump visits repurposed factory in Arizona


American manufacturing is at the heart of our battle against the Coronavirus. Companies across the country have heeded President Trump’s call and repurposed entire factories to make personal protective equipment and other needed supplies.

Honeywell is one such business with an incredible story to tell. Today, President Trump saw firsthand how the company transformed an aerospace facility in Arizona—one that designed and manufactured aircraft propulsion engines and auxiliary power units—into a nimble face-mask production line.

As a result, Honeywell is expected to produce more than 20 million N95 masks per month. This expanded operation has allowed the firm to begin hiring 500 additional workers at its Phoenix facility, creating jobs during a tough time for many Americans.

🎬 President Trump: “You make America proud!”

America’s private sector, the best on Earth, is too valuable to leave on the sidelines during this global pandemic. Rather than rely on government alone, President Trump has led the largest mobilization of both public and private sectors since World War II, using every resource available to stop this invisible enemy.

That mobilization includes leveraging the Defense Production Act to secure massive amounts of needed supplies. In one agreement alone, 3M agreed to produce 166.5 million masks in just 3 months. The Administration is also procuring 100,000 ventilators in 100 days—three times more than the country normally makes in a year.

“The people of our country are warriors,” President Trump said.

Watch: Honeywell did a 9-month job in less than 5 weeks!

Historic support for our Native American communities


President Trump’s first stop in Arizona was a roundtable discussion on support for Native Americans during this difficult time. Meeting with local and tribal leaders, the President said that no community will be left behind as we unite against this virus.

🎬 President Trump: We will do everything possible to support Native Americans!

The CARES Act, signed by President Trump in March, authorizes $8 billion to support tribal governments with response and recovery needs. Today, the Trump Administration announced that it is disbursing the first $4.8 billion batch of those funds, which make for the largest investment in a single program for Indian Country in our history.

President Trump is uniquely committed to supporting the wellbeing of our American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Last year, he signed the first-ever presidential proclamation recognizing the grave issue of missing and murdered Native Americans.

How President Trump is protecting Native Americans as we fight Coronavirus

Photo of the Day

President Trump disembarks Air Force One in Phoenix, Arizona | May 5, 2020 

Proclamation on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day, 2020

Office of the Press Secretary
MISSING AND MURDERED AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES AWARENESS DAY, 2020

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION
 

     The American Indian and Alaska Native people have endured generations of injustice.  They experience domestic violence, homicide, sexual assault, and abuse far more frequently than other groups.  These horrific acts, committed predominantly against women and girls, are egregious and unconscionable.  During Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day, we reaffirm our commitment to ending the disturbing violence against these Americans and to honoring those whose lives have been shattered and lost.

     Resiliency, collaboration, and resourcefulness are all necessary to eradicate the heartbreaking incidents of missing persons and fatal violence experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native communities across our country.  My Administration stands squarely behind the tribal governments that are leading the efforts to address this pattern of violence so that their people can live in peace and thrive.  The Yakama Nation in southern Washington is using the State's major violent crime database to track the disappearance of tribal members.  On the Navajo Reservation, the Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives Work Group is working to end sex trafficking, child abductions, and other challenges within the largest tribal jurisdiction in the Nation.  In Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are engaged with State officials to prioritize cases of missing and murdered tribal citizens.  Beyond these and other efforts, tribal communities are leveraging rich cultural traditions of healing ceremonies and spiritual practices to offer refuge, compassion, and comfort to individuals and families in crisis.

     Under my Administration, tribal governments are not alone in fighting the epidemic of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native people.  In October of 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded more than $270 million in grants to improve public safety, serve victims of crime, combat violence against women, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  The DOJ's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative is placing coordinators in 11 United States Attorneys' offices to develop comprehensive law enforcement responses to missing persons cases.  These responses also include the use of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's advanced capabilities, enhanced data collection, and analysis to support local efforts when required.

     The Department of the Interior (DOI) is also taking action to address the critical concerns of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs has launched a series of "Reclaiming Our Native Communities" roundtables focused on domestic violence prevention of missing or murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women, children, and men.  The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) is equipping officers to handle long-standing cold cases and child abduction investigations, including positioning Special Agents on cold‑case task forces in strategic locations throughout the country.  BIA-OJS has partnered with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to aid in identifying missing persons cases involving Native Americans.

     Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made the health and safety of American Indian and Alaska Native communities a priority.  HHS is developing a comprehensive, whole-person approach for strengthening these vulnerable populations through prevention, health, and education activities.  The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) partners with tribes and tribal organizations to strengthen responses to Native American victims of domestic violence.  ACF will soon disburse $22 million to increase the public health response and expand shelter and supportive services to victims of family violence, domestic violence, and dating abuse in tribal communities.

     To help bolster these efforts to address this terrible crisis, last November, I was proud to sign an Executive Order establishing Operation Lady Justice.  This interagency task force is developing an aggressive government-wide strategy for ending the cycle of violence and providing grants to improve public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.  The task force is consulting with tribal leaders to develop and strengthen investigative protocols to resolve new and unsolved cases, improve information and data sharing, establish best practices for communicating with families throughout an investigation, and raise public awareness through outreach to affected communities.

     Tragically, violence is prevalent in tribal communities, but we are determined to reverse this unacceptable trend.  Through partnerships across Federal, State, and tribal governments, we are aggressively working to ensure that members of tribal communities can live lives free from fear of violence.  We will not waver in our mission to bring healing, justice, hope, and restoration to our American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 5, 2020, as Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day.  I call upon all Americans and all Federal, State, tribal, and local governments to increase awareness of the crisis of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives through appropriate programs and activities.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
 


                              DONALD J. TRUMP

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS PROTECTING THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY AS WE COMBAT THE CORONAVIRUS

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP IS PROTECTING THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY AS WE COMBAT THE CORONAVIRUS

“We will leverage every resource we have to bring safety to our tribal communities, and we will not waver in this mission.” – President Donald J. Trump


COMBATING CORONAVIRUS IN NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: President Donald J. Trump is supporting Native American communities impacted by the coronavirus.

  • President Trump is working to make sure Native American communities have the support they need to combat the coronavirus.
  • The President signed the CARES Act into law, providing $8 billion to address coronavirus preparedness, response, and recovery for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
    • The initial allocation of this funding, totaling nearly $5 billion, will be one of the largest programmatic investments in Indian Country in our Nation’s history.
  • The Administration has also allocated over $1 billion through the Indian Health Service (IHS), to support tribes, tribal organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations in their coronavirus response efforts.
  • In early March, the Trump Administration established a multi-agency coordinating group tasked with ensuring effective Federal coordination on tribal issues.
  • The President has also acted to expand telehealth capacity and availability across IHS regions, allowing patients to get the care they need, while staying at home.
DELIVERING VITAL SUPPLIES: The Trump Administration has rapidly delivered critical medical supplies to Native Americans communities in need.
  • Unprecedented supplies of critically needed medical equipment have been delivered by the Trump Administration to Native American communities.
  • The Federal Government delivered 250 Abbott testing systems to IHS and they have been distributed to IHS and tribal healthcare facilities throughout Indian Country.
    • These systems allow for rapid testing at the time and place of patient care and expands testing capacity, especially important for harder to reach and vulnerable populations.
  • The Administration sent 100 ventilators to Arizona to support Indian Country.
  • The Trump Administration has worked closely to provide relief—including the delivery of 50 ventilators—to the Navajo Nation, which has seen significant impacts from the coronavirus.
    • The Federal Government has also deployed two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and constructed three 50-bed Federal Medical Stations for the Navajo Nation.
SUPPORTING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES: President Trump remains committed to supporting the wellbeing of our American Indians and Alaska Natives.
  • President Trump signed the first-ever presidential proclamation officially recognizing the grave issue of missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives.
    • The President issued the first ever Executive Order establishing a task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives whose work is underway.
  • To examine systemic problems at IHS, the President launched his Presidential Task Force on Protecting Native American Children served by the IHS.
  • President Trump has also worked to enhance coordination between the Federal Government and tribal leaders on promoting economic growth and improving standards of living.
  • President Trump re-activated the White House Council on Native American Affairs to promote economic development and rural prosperity in Indian Country.