CNN "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Mazie Hirono
Interview
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Just before airtime, I spoke about all this with Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono.
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COOPER: Senator Hirono, the president is saying that the coronavirus is very well under control. Larry Kudlow is saying it's very contained in his words. A CDC official says a U.S. outbreak is inevitable.
Is the administration taking this threat seriously?
SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): No. In fact, they are expressing -- no, they're engaging in wishful thinking. Notice that people who are saying everything is OK are the political people. And then you have the people who are actually having to deal with this virus and what could happen, and those would be the people who are actually doing the work.
So, today's briefing, although it was in a classified setting, anything that we learned can be discussed. And, certainly, that is not what we were told.
COOPER: Minority Leader Schumer today said that forwards describe the administration's response to the coronavirus, quoting, towering and dangerous incompetence. Would you go that far?
I mean, the president says, look, we are putting more than $2 billion towards this. He has also said he thinks maybe by April, it may just go down as it gets warmer, which is what happened with SARS, but there's no -- this is a novel coronavirus. We have never seen this kind before.
HIRONO: Yes, it's also very easily transmitted.
So, there are a lot of things about the coronavirus that we do not know about. And so, we need to be prepared. And what we were told today in our briefing is that while the United States is engaged right now in containment of the virus, soon, we need to get into mitigation mode, which means that we should be pushing forward with a creation of a vaccine as soon as possible. Although no matter how much you fast- track it, it will still take a year, a year and a half.
We need to develop a valid test, which we are still waiting for to test whether or not somebody has this virus. And in my opinion, and that of other Democrats, we should have a czar appointed to pretty much coordinate the administration's response to this potential onset of a pandemic virus.
COOPER: It's interesting. I was talking to Dr. Sanjay Gupta earlier today for another show we're doing online, "Full Circle", and one thing he said is that, you know, while there is focused on getting a vaccine for the coronavirus, which is certainly understandable, there is a vaccine already for the flu virus that only about half of Americans get every year, which is really kind of amazing when you think about it.
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And, you know, while obviously the coronavirus is a serious concern and easily spread, as you said, some 70,000 I think Americans die every year from the flu.
HIRONO: Yes.
COOPER: So people don't even get vaccinated with vaccines that already exist.
HIRONO: I think, though, there is a tremendous concern about the coronavirus. And so, I would say if there's a vaccine developed for it, that it will be given to the people who need it -- to have that vaccination.
There's a lot of fear going on regarding the spread of this virus. And so, I know we were told, and I think the president is basically focused on the impact of this virus in the situation on the stock market and the effect it would have on his reelection chances.
That is not where the health professionals are coming from where -- the health professionals are focusing on what's going to happen to the people of our country and what can we do to make sure that this virus does not spread in a way that we lose control. And so, they're focused on what we need to do.
And as I mentioned, as we did for the Ebola crisis, there was a czar appointed so that all of these various agencies involved right now in the coronavirus, we have many of them. You have Homeland Security, you have Health and Human Services, you have OMB, you have CDC, you have DOD.
So, there should be somebody in charge. And right now, there is not any such person. We also spent something in the order of $6 billion during the Ebola situation. And we are only being asked to fund about $1.2 billion of new money to contend with what could be a rapidly spreading disease and illness.
COOPER: Do you think the president's focus on this really is the stock market?
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COOPER: The effect the virus may have on the stock market as opposed to effect on lives of Americans?
HIRONO: Oh, he said -- he said as much. He is very concerned about
the stock market because he said the stock market is recovering and is doing fine, and this whole thing will be over. You know, everything is under control.
I think it's very clear where the president's head is at, and his head is always all about him, and what he can do to protect himself.
So, I think that -- I certainly not going to take the lead from what the president's pronouncements are, and rhetorical pronouncements. I'm going to listen to the professionals in the CDC and others who have experience with these kinds of diseases.
COOPER: Senator Hirono, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
HIRONO: Sure.
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