CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Governor JB Pritzker

Interview

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[09:35:11]

TAPPER: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Jake Tapper.

It is the last thing anyone wants to hear, but coronavirus cases in the U.S. are going in the wrong direction.

Let's take Illinois, which broke two of their own records this week for the highest number of cases recorded in a single day, with coronavirus deaths in the state at their highest level since this June.

Joining me now, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Governor Pritzker, President Trump had some thoughts about you at his rally last night across the border in Wisconsin. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. TRUMP: I'll tell you what.

Illinois could use a new governor.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That guy doesn't know what's happening. They got to open up that state. They got open up that state.

You watch what happens. On November 4, they will all say, all right, now everybody -- they're only doing this for politics. I really believe that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: You heard a similar argument from the president's daughter- in-law, Lara Trump, earlier on the show, that people are frustrated; they want the state to open up.

What's your response?

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): Well, frankly, the president has made it nearly impossible for states to open up any more than they are now.

We have the -- this pandemic has been around now for seven to eight months. And without much help from the federal government, we have been fighting it off. Illinois has one of the lowest positivity rates among the Midwest, but we're bordered by Wisconsin, where he was speaking, which has a 27 percent positivity rate. Ours is about a fourth of that.

We're bordered by Iowa. We're bordered by Indiana. All three of those are in the top seven or eight states for positivity rates. So, it is dangerous right now.

We want people to wear masks. We want people to socially distance. We need to make sure that we have certain mitigations in place. And, of course, we have already opened up much of our economy. But we have to maintain certain capacity limits and make sure that our people are safe and healthy.

TAPPER: All right, now in the interest of fairness, let's talk about a couple things that President Trump and his administration have done well.

They have been able to help with ventilators. Operation Warp Speed to find a vaccine has been going well. There is this hunt that's been going well with therapeutics. So, it's not that everything has been going wrong.

But, obviously, there are issues you have with the Trump administration, and specifically President Trump.

What is he doing to -- that makes it more difficult for you to do your job, given that I just told you -- I just told the viewers some things that he's doing to make it easier?

PRITZKER: Well, you just saw one of them, which is, he's modeling bad behavior. He doesn't wear a mask in public. He has rallies where they don't encourage people to wear masks in public.

Truly, this is now rhetoric that people understand, and particularly in rural areas in my state, that, well, the president doesn't wear a mask, we don't need to wear a mask, it's not that dangerous.

The truth of the matter is that it is very dangerous. And even if there are therapeutics that are coming online that are helping people, our hospitalizations are going up. People are having long-hauler syndrome once they're out of the hospital, even if they survive.

And, of course, as you just said, our death rate is increasing. We're now headed into a new wave of coronavirus all over the country. And it's very, very dangerous.

TAPPER: Yes. On Friday, your state reported more than 4,500 new cases, breaking its single-day case record.

By every measure, frankly, Illinois appears headed in the wrong direction. Why? What's going wrong in your state?

PRITZKER: Well, I don't think it's so much that things are going wrong specifically in our state.

I mean, we are having a national wave of coronavirus.

TAPPER: Right.

PRITZKER: But I will say to you that we also are the third highest testing state in the country. So, when you see the case numbers, it is because we're testing much more.

Still, our positivity rate, which is going up, is far below most other states.

TAPPER: OK, but why?

PRITZKER: And we're proud of that fact. But -- yes.

TAPPER: You agree that you're going in the wrong -- you agree you're going in the wrong direction. Why is that? PRITZKER: I do.

And that's because people are not following the mitigations, because the modeling is so bad at the leadership level at the federal level. We are trying to get the word out. We're trying to continue to convince people to do the right thing.

But it is the president's allies in our state, all across the state, who are simply saying to people, don't pay any attention to the mitigations, don't follow the rules. Indeed, there are bars and restaurants which are restricted from expanding their indoor service that are just ignoring the rules, and they're just filling the place up.

And when people stop by, and they see that, well, no one else is wearing a mask, maybe that's OK.

TAPPER: Yes.

PRITZKER: It's not OK.

TAPPER: Illinois is currently in phase four of your recovery plan. That means -- quote -- "There is a continued decline in the rate of infection in new COVID cases."

That's not true, frankly, anymore in any of the 11 regions of your state. They're all seeing cases rise. Are you going to roll back to an earlier phase and reimpose further restrictions?

[09:40:05]

PRITZKER: Well, we have already done that.

We have resurgence mitigations, as we call them, on a regional basis. When regions have rising hospitalizations, rising cases, that's one area where we will increase mitigations.

The other is passing an 8 percent positivity rate, which, of course, is very, very high. In either of those circumstances, we impose additional mitigations on a regional basis.

On a statewide basis, we haven't looked at increasing mitigations. But, as regions flip over and need these resurgence mitigations more and more, we may end up in a situation where a majority of our regions, or even all of them, are in these resurgences.

TAPPER: You have warned residents of your state that the virus is not taking a holiday.

What's your message to Illinois residents on the fence about whether or not it's safe for them to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families? As you know, there's a lot of emotional and psychological stress that has come from this pandemic, as well as physically ailing, health issues.

PRITZKER: That's certainly true for everyone. Let me just say that our public health professionals have recommended

that people find ways to gather virtually, continue to gather virtually. We're heading into multiple holidays. And we know that people want to get together, and we know that there's some fatigue out there.

But the reality is that this virus hasn't gone away. We do need to continue to keep ourselves safe from it. And that means that, if you can gather virtually, I urge you, please do that.

To the extent that you decide you want to get together with certain of your relatives or friends, please keep distance, wear a mask. Even Halloween, whether you're wearing a mask for Halloween, wear a surgical mask underneath that. Make sure that you're maintaining some distance. Wait for other kids and parents to go through the line at somebody's house to get candy before you go.

We just have to be extra careful. And especially as we get into colder weather now...

TAPPER: Right.

PRITZKER: ... we have got to keep the virus numbers down.

TAPPER: Governor Pritzker, Speaker Pelosi just said on another network that they have effectively -- they have to reach a deal in the next 48 hours if they want to pass some sort of stimulus, some sort of relief bill before the election, but that she, the White House, and Senate Republicans are still far apart on an acceptable price tag.

Is it fair to say that anything, including Majority Leader McConnell's bill, in your view, would be better than nothing? Would $500 billion be better than nothing?

PRITZKER: Well, certainly, that's true.

But let's also realize that Speaker Pelosi is negotiating on two fronts. One is with the White House's representative. And that's Mnuchin. And the other is with McConnell in the Senate.

And the reality is, they need to get together on whatever they're going to agree upon, and then come to the table with Speaker Pelosi.

But, yes, it is true that people, average working people out here, need help.

TAPPER: All right, Governor Pritzker, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.

And our thoughts are with the people of Illinois.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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