knowing their dad was well-taken care of up until the end. their dad was 65 years old. that's it for us. i want to hand it over to chris for "cuomo primetime." thank you, anderson. i am chris cuomo. welcome to "prime time." please join me tonight not spending anymore time about this nonsense about the president refusing to acknowledge anything should have been done differently in the handling of the pandemic. why is the media going after it, who cares? have you ever heard him take responsibility for any mistake? he has three tools in the face of criticism, deny, lie and defy. and then he has a rotation of robotic mouthpieces that parrot the same thing that he says. look, in november this president will be weighed and measured by you. that's then. right now forget about what he says. what matters is how we're reopening and what needs to be

done to make it faster and safer. let's focus obthn that, all rig? i've got the governor of new york here today. he says if you want to do that stop talking about the president, fogbcus on congress because they hold our reopening in their hands and he says there's one big thing they need to do and he's doing it already in new york. we'll tell you. we also have the state official refusing to bow to the president's demand that mail-in voting be stopped even if states and their citizens want it because a lot of us are worried about going to vote in a pandemic. the interesting thing is trump's threat. if you have mail-in voting i'll defund you. we have the truth of what a president can do and the reality why trump is doing all of this in the first place. get ready to fight the good fight. let's get after it.

>> mr. president, with 4% of the world's population and 30% of the outbreak what would you have done differently in this crisis? >> well, nothing. if you take new york and new jersey hard hit we were very, very low. in terms of morbidity and in terms of -- you look at the death relatively speaking we're at the lowest level along with germany. >> this is how easily he dispensed with this. relatively speaking to use the president's own phraseology, we're third from the bottom. trump doesn't know the truth about covid from covfefe. and who defines the truth about the virus as the least deaths, how about the least cases, how about the best and fast response. let's bring in my brother governor andrew cuomo. are you sick? >> boy, you're fired up today but i don't want to be sick, i

don't want to make other people sick. hence where a mask. it's a sign of respect. i respect you, you respect me, i thank the health care workers. why you don't like it? matches my suit. >> no, i do like it and i get the statement you're make. this is what leaders should be making. i get it. i appreciate it. i don't think you need it right now, though, guv. >> does it bother you? >> no, i think the more that's covered the better for my audience but i think in terms of what's coming out -- you can take it off. >> if you like it i'm taking it off. >> no, i don't want to deny my audience that beautiful visage they like and that logo. the president says you take new york state and new jersey out of the mix and america crushed the covid response. there's just a couple of laggers

where you guys got hit hard but the rest of the country was great. >> yeah, well, look, first where do you begin, right? but let's take the first point about new york and new jersey. why did new york and new jersey get hit is what you want to say. the reason new york and got new jersey got hit is there was nothing about new york and new jersey. because by the time we closed the door on china the virus had left china and was already in europe and then our coronavirus cases came from europe and nobody even knew. so the china travel ban which seemed early at the time was actually late. the europe travel ban mid-march was late january, february, march we have 3 million europeans land at jfk and new york airports in new york and new jersey. that's where the virus came from. if you want to do a

retrospective what did we learn? first we learned the whole early warning system did not work. the buzzer did not go off. china had the virus last november, december. we don't act until february, march. by that time the virus was gone. it got a plane in china, went to upper europe, went to the workers, went to the lombardy region of italy and then it came to new york and new jersey because that's where the flights come. that was the first point where we have to go back to come up with a system that correct that. >> all right, so now you say let's look forward. don't be so obsessed with the president. look to congress. they hold tremendous power in terms of what the reopening is going to look pick. what is your concern what's going to happen with this bill? it seems it's dead in the senate unless these few senators can push mcconnell. what are you worried about in terms of the politics and policy in place? >> look, going forward there's two big questions, right?

what are we going to be talking about eight months from now, nine months from now that was determined? first, have states figured out these reopening mechanism? do you have enough testing, tracing in place? can you calibrate the opening, the economic reopening by the public health data? . it's never been done before and have the states put that system together so if there's a bump they can react? that's one cluster of questions. second cluster of questions, what does washington do? they passed legislation, the cares act. they took care of a lot of businesses, airlines. what's good for general motors is good for america. states are dying, local governments are dying. you want these states to do all the reopening, you should do testing, tracing. you have to have this, you have to have that. states have significant budget

deficits because the economy collapsed through no fault of the state. if they don't pass legislation, chris, that provides funding to state and local governments you're going to see hospitals have reduced funding, police reduced funding, fire reduced funding, school reduced funding and it's going to be a significant drain on the economy. so you tell me what happens with that congressional bill where they're now just playing pure blunt politics. they literally say why should we bail out blue states. how disgusting is that? you want to talk about americans who died and you want to classify them as democrats or republicans, but it's pure partisan politics. i was afraid of this. it's rearing its ugly head. but if they play politics with this bill and you starve the states and local governments this is going to be a very different course for this nation. it's going to take much longer to come out of it.

>> quickly, what is the provision you want about putting people first? >> well, the -- what i fear 8 months from now we're going to look back and we're going to say look at all these corp rations got all this money from the federal government and then laid off workers. that is what is going to happen. the corporations are now talking to the analysts on wall street and their proficizing this. they need to show profits up. how do you get payroll down? you cut labor. they had a labor force, they didn't want to lay it off but now it's home so they cannot just rehire it. and they'll take corporate money to subsidize their layoff strategy. my law says very simple if you take government money you cannot layoff workers, you must rehire the same number you had pre-pandemic. you want to layoff workers, you want to get lean, restructure, do it on your own dime. the taxpayers are not going to

subsidize you to layoff workers and then have to pay unemployment for those workers. full me once. that was the 2008 bail out. i was attorney general. i spent two years chasing aigs, chasing bank of america. they got those bail outs from the federal government because they were too big to fail and they gave themselves a bonus and they gave themselves a party, right? this time they're going to layoff workers. you watch. >> hopefully it doesn't happen and they put in a provision like that and we start protecting the right people this time. obviously the major prophylaxis here, masks as you wore tonight -- testing. you said the state actually has more testing capacity that it can use. how when i still hear people always saying they can't get a test, they don't know if they should get the covid test or antibody test. how do you have more testing than you can use? yeah, let me just give you the context because i really want to be a nice and sweet and

cooperative guest for you and i don't want to challenge you. well, that's not exactly what i said but i don't want to challenge you on your show. >> it's a little late for that, but go ahead, please, the stage is yours. >> okay, i said when testing first we do about a million tests per week now in new york. new york is doing more testing per capita than any state in the united states. new york is doing more testing per capita than any country on the globe. i know that makes you proud. we do about a million a week. there's an unlimited need for tests that we administer of certain populations. tests at all nursing home residents, all people at congregant facilities, people in prisons, et cetera.

we opened up about 700 sites across the state and we have now so many sites that we actually have more sites than we have public demand in some places. and i'm trying to get the public to come up and actually understand that the sites are now open and they can get tests. we have some drive-in sites that can do 50,000 tests a day. we're doing 5,000. so we need to get up that public awareness to come out and go to the sites. >> good. and it's good you've allocated testing in minority communities and housing projects because those communities are going to get hit hard. people forget about them too often. it's important you put them first. now, you had video come out before we go to break where you wanted to encourage people to get tested and some people are afraid it's going to hurt. so you had video of it that i want to show the audience of you actually getting tested. here it is. there's you. you were kind of funny, and they were testing you. now, a few questions about this

process. first of all, is it true that when you are having the test administered you inhaled and the doctor's finger went all the way up your nose and got stuck and had to be released with a tool? is that true just to deal with the issue? >> no, she wanted to comment i have a little button nose and she was afraid the swab would actually hurt because it extended my nasal cavity. she was speaking about the delicacy of the nose. >> i understand. this is the normal swab i'm holding up here now for everybody at home. a very valuable object. there's only one company in the entire country that makes these up in maine. is it true that this was the swab that the nurse was actually using on you and that at first it went into your nose and disappeared so that in scale

this was the actual swab that was being used to fit up that double shotgun that you have mounted on the front of your pretty face? >> see, i said i was going to be nice and sweet -- i was trying -- >> was it this or was it this? which was it? >> you know, first i thought i did so well on that nasal test standing up there. she did the swab, i did not flinch. i was a cool dude in a loose mood, didn't move. >> of course you were. that swab is like a piece of lint going in that thing in your face. how could it have collected anything? it was like throwing a rock around a cave. >> that is so not right. >> was it this or was it this? tell people the truth. come on, which was it? >> this is not love.

>> listen, i just want to get -- i'm going to take a break because if you're not going to answer questions i'm going to have to reset. i thought there'd be a little transparency to the audience. this is the regular swab. this is what we're told appeared in the governors nose and we're told this is what it took. when we come back something that everybody wants to know second to what i just asked. what is reopening going to look like in new york state, and what would be the triggers for the state to say, no, this is what we were worried about? is it a number, a feel, a political calculus? what is this going to look like and what changes might come going forward? important for everybody to know. we'll be right back. hey mama, what's up? i only see one price on my phone bill. you're on t-mobile, taxes and fees are included. why can't all my bills be like this?

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with governor andrew cuomo of new york. of course some faqs, frequently asked questions. when it comes to testing thank you for clar feeing how you're districting around the state, how you're focus now on needs of minority communities. when people ask should i still get a test to see if i'm positive or negative or should i get the antibody test, what's your guidance? >> my guidance? first, i want you to know i'm glad you moved on. i have a screen here and i can see what you do on that screen. >> what are you referring to? >> oh, i see. well, that happened. >> i don't know what you're talking about. just please continue. >> faq, you don't know. we'll take it up. >> go ahead. >> the antibody test tells you if you had the virus and if you recovered. theoretically for those people who believe there's an immunity

if you have the antibodies then that theory would pertain if you take the antibody test. you have the antibodies -- at one time they said if you have theablies you can't get the virus again. now they're changing the facts on that and there's an ambiguity. the diagnostic test tells you whether you have it again today. there's two different purposes. we use both obviously depending on what you're trying to determine. if you use the positive level of a given community who has had it or an individual who wants to know whether or not they've had it today. >> so the context becomes how people best equip themselves for reopening, social acceptance, when you want to go somewhere. does it matter if you say i'm negative or versus if i have the antibodies. when you're looking at what this summer will look like, let's call it a temporary new normal,

what is your description for people about what you think will phase-in throughout the course of this summer, kind of a look forward between now and let's say labor day. >> well, we are now reopening regions all across the state, right, except for basically new york city, long island, westchester and a little bit behind that. and we do it all on the numbers. there's no politics, no theory, i believe this, i believe that. who cares? we have an equation and formula where we start to open up the economy, start with construction, manufacturing, agriculture, retail -- curbside pickup for retail and then you watch the testing, right? you watch the diagnostic testing. you watch the hospitalization rate, set raet cetera and calibt that way. you see very little increase in the numbers, then you continue to increase --

>> hold on right there. i get it. i get the number principle. you said if people get arrogant and casual about the distancing practices, then the rate will go up, so what does that look like to you in terms of what kind of rate going up would be enough for you to reassess whether or not you have to take remedial action, slow down, back off? do you have any markers? how do you measure that? >> yeah, that's a good question. first thing we have -- i was just being kind. >> it was rhetorical i know, but i take it when i get it. go ahead, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to interrupt. >> we have experts who are -- we have experts literally international experts, we have domestic experts, and they will watch the calibration. you start to see numbers go up. first of all you want to make sure it's not a normal

deviation, because this whole system was put in place and you have a day to day deviation. second, you want to make sure it's not a cluster situation where you have a hot spot or one cluster that's raising the numbers which is actually better than just a community spread. and then you would attack that cluster. >> that's why you keep emphasizing tracing. you need tracing for that. go ahead, continue. >> i haven't emphasized tracing, but you do. it's testing and you see the increase in the testing, and then what is the percentage of the increase? can you handle that increase visa vi your hospital capacity, right? because that's the number on the other side of the equation. and then can you tamp it down or do you need to dial back? and that's on a case by case basis. obviously, we haven't been here before and obviously nobody's done this before. so you watch it day to day on the numbers. >> how dangerous a political calculation is that?

all joking aside you start to see hospitalization rates, i think that's the mechric thtric makes sense. so it starts to go up and the number is appreciable enough that the clinician in that community start talking about it, local leaders start talking about it. they come to you. if you back off reopening that is a dangerous political decision especially during the summertime. you know people are so desperate to get back. and to have things taken away from them can come with a cost. how do you calibrate that? >> yeah. first the hospitalization rate not to be difficult is one of the indicators, but remember there's a lag on the hospitalization rate. there's about a two-week lag. you get infected today you don't wind up in a hospital for about two weeks. so actually the diagnostic testing is the primary device. but, look, the politics on all of this are treacherous. this is one of those situations where you say forget the

politics. politics be damned. just do the right thing, save as many lives as you can, understand the practical reality about economic activity and people have to work and people have to have a paycheck and just do the right thing. this is not about politics, you know, this is about being able to sleep for the rest of your life looking back on this moment and being able to say i did the right thing. i saved lives. i saved as many lives as i could. you're going to get hit by both sides anyway. there is no win in this, right? you're going to have the people on one side saying you should have opened faster. you're going to have the other side saying if you didn't open you would have saved lives. that's the way it's going to be. so forget what they say. there is no they. it's this, it's this. and when it's over then i can

say we did everything we could, the government did everything it should, we performed, we stepped up, we got the hospital beds built, we got the ventilators, we got the staff and we saved lives. and that's what we're going to do. so i don't really care, frankly, if the numbers say we should dial back the economic activity and the experts say we should dial it back then we will do that. but, chris, i i'll say to the people of this state you have no one to blame but the person in the mirror. because the economic activity will not increase the virus rate if people are smart. the mask -- you want to hear a fascinating fact. first responders have a lower infection rate than the general population. nurses in emergency rooms, doctors in emergency rooms, transit workers, nypd, fire department, emt, they have a lower -- they have a lower

infection rate than the general population. how can that be? they're the ones who are in the emergency room with the covid-positive people. the masks, the ppe works. and the sanitizer works, the hand sanitizer. if people do that the infection rate will be fine. if we get undisciplined or sloppy then you're going to see it go up. >> i appreciate your candor on what's happening. it's going to be a very tough summer for people. there's a lot of frustration. there's a lot of expectation, but there's also a lot of fear and that's a lot to balance as leaders. thank you for coming on, thank you for having a good sense of humor about what is a very important public service message. a lot of people aren't getting tested because they're worried about it. thank you for showing people how easy it is to get tested. you're shaking your head in the negative. i'm not sure why. >> that was not -- don't call me, i'll call you.

>> what's wrong? i love you. i want you to know that. have a good night. what are you looking at? >> i have the screen right here because i don't trust you. >> i'm not doing anything. look at the screen. it's nothing. i'll see you later. have a good night, gov. voting by mail. some red states do it. the president voted by mail, so did the first lady, but now it's a bad, dangerous and illegal thing according to the president. why? is this a matter of fact or is this once again about a feeling that he's projecting? threatening to defund states that want to offer mail-in ballot applications, not even ballots themselves during a pandemic because people are afraid of being able to exercise their franchise safely. at the center of the ire is the secretary of state you're about to hear from, a message tonight straight ahead. when the world gets complicated,

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anyway you look at it the pandemic is going to transform our life including our elections. and that's why states are expanding voting by mail or at least the opportunity of it. now, the president sees this as a horrible thing. >> mail-in ballots are very dangerous. there's tremendous fraud involved and tremendous illegality. >> is that true? no. there is no evidence of widespread fraud in either regular voting which he said in the past, and that was wrong. and he was told it was wrong and he kept saying it. and the same is true with mail-in voting. by the way, the president himself along with the first lady both voted by mail in florida's presidential primary in march. i guess that didn't bother him. the brennen center for justice looked into this noting mail ballot fraud is incredibly rare

and that in the five states where male balloting have been the primary method of voting, none has had any voter fraud scandals. the most recent case of an absentee ballot fraud scheme by the way was in north carolina's 9th district. it was a republican not a good morning who was at the center of it. and for the president and his allies to make it as if the democrats are going to try and run something here look at california earlier this month. what happened? a republican candidate was declared the victor in an election done almost entirely by mail. so where's the there there? here it is. the president seems to think that anything that makes it easier for people to vote is going to hurt him. more people voting, less chance he wins in his mind, which is why he went after two key swing states today. nevada where the republican secretary of state made the decision to send out absentee ballots, and michigan.

inaccurately tweeting the state was sending out ballots to residents. that was untrue. then they corrected his tweet to "ballot applications" and threatening to with hold federal funding as punish ment. the michigan secretary of state responded to both tweets. quote, every registered michigan voter has the right to vote by mail. i have the authority and responsibility to make sure they know how to exercise this right just like my gop colleagues are doing in georgia, iowa, nebraska and west virginia. also my name is jocelyn benson, and benson is here tonight. welcome to "primetime." >> thanks for having me and so great to see you feeling better. >> thanks very much. i'm one of the lucky ones. so for those who are monitoring this situation in your state, one, aren't you worried that there's going to be massive fraud if you do this because there's so much fraud all the time when people do mail-in

voting. don't you know that? >> well, we've got provisions in place to ensure just like in states that have been doing this for decades that the vote by mail system is secure, verified by voter signature. really as we know the data shows voter fraud is infanttezmal. and what we also know is dangerous for our democracy is chaos and misinformation. that's what we're really trying to cut through today as we've responded to clarify the president's misinformation about how elections work in michigan. >> but you must have a bad motive because this is all a boogeyman because covid is not that bad and people can go out and vote just like they always have. it will be fine. the president says so. >> well, citizens have a choice in michigan how they vote regardless of a pandemic or not. but we know they can vote by mail. they have a right to vote by mail or they can vote in person. but we also know this is a time of true great uncertainty. what we did by mailing every

registered voter an application to vote by mail in our state is to give them an ounce of certainty that our elections will happen this year and when they do regardless of the health situation they will have a protected right to vote by mail. >> are you worried that this decision will lose you federal funding as the president threatened? >> well, we have used federal funding that we've received through cares to mail these absentee ballot apllkzs oplicat out. so we've received that funding. and no state -- the president should not predicate funding and certainly no state should do that based on a political agenda. but my focus is making sure every citizen can participate in our elections securely and effectively regardless of who they vote for or what side of the political spectrum they're on. >> have you found any basis in law for the president to pull

back money that has been appropriated by congress for a specific use because he doesn't like how a state is using it? >> no. and it's important for us to also focus on the fact that we're in the midst of a time of great uncertainty and a true pandemic as we all know. we've got to work together to ensure especially in a state like michigan whereas you know there have been residents affected by flooding today and in the past few days, 10,000 residents displaced. we need the support of our federal government not just to ensure our elections proceed securely and effectively but our people, all people are protected and served effectively. >> do you feel rogue? >> i feel that i'm committed to doing my job, and that's ensuring that we meet voters where they are, communicate effectively how they can participate in this year's elections and cut through the misinformation that we know is quite frankly probably going to escalate in the months ahead because of the preeminate role

michigan plays in the elections this year. may job is to ensure they can do that effectively and efficiently. >> has your legislator passed anything that you are rogue? has the governor said to you, secretary of state i believe you are rogue on this? you should not be doing it this way, we don't like what you're doing. >> no, in fact they've said the chief election officer of the state of michigan it's very clear especially with the constitutional right that voters gave themselves in michigan to vote by mail that it's our responsibility, my responsibility to help them exercise that right. that's really all we're doing here as you mentioned just like our republican colleagues in other states. it's not a partisan issue. it's a democracy issue, and i'm proud to be fulfilling my responsible as a secretary of state to ensure every citizen has that right to vote protected and secured. >> and there has been no push of

an inspector general in what you've done so far. half of the 2.3 million people who voted used absentee ballots. in local elections may 5th 99% of voters used absentee ballots increasing turnout to 25% from an average of 12% in the last nine may elections. that tells us two things, one good, one bad. the good thing is people want to vote and they're worried, so they're going to use this option. the bad thing is more people voted than usual. and that is something that is a very scary proposition with the presidential election coming and your state mattering so much. how big a factor do you think that is in what you're dealing with right now having to stare at my big face? >> well, look, we know two things. one, yes, voters enthusia

enthusiastically embrace in michigan their right to vote by mail. in that election where our office mailed every registered voter an application to vote by mail. this is also a new right in our state. this is the first series of statewide elections where this right is in place. it's incumbent upon us to make sure our citizens know how to exercise it. look, if turn out increases and turn out continues to double as it did in local elections on may 5th that's an amazing great thing in our democracy. and my lives work has been ensuring we inform voter engagement and that's precisely what enabling vote by mail in our state for every citizen allows us to do. >> have you had a single actionable allegation or suggestion yet of abuse or fraud based on the first two primaries? >> no, we have not. no evidence of fraud but plenty of evidence that people want to vote and they want to vote by mail. >> secretary of state jocelyn benson of michigan, thank you very much for being on

"primetime." good luck to you. i hope the elections are all easy for the people to vote and accurate. >> as do i. thanks. >> all right, take care. thank you for coming on. >> look, it's all about how we deal with the pandemic effectively, safely. we need a strategy, and that's really what's missing. how do we know? a group of top health leaders and former politicians from both parties are now saying we've got to fill the vacuum. there's no plan, we have to have one. we have the former government officials leading this mission. what's not being done, what could be done next. every financial plan needs a cfp® professional -- confident financial plans, calming financial plans,

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because they never quit. big news here. a bipartisan group including top former federal health officials they're not satisfied with how re-openings are rolling out.

they want to see re-openings, but how you do is the key and there's not attention to that in their opinion. here's the coordinated response they want to see. bipartisan, remember adequate diagnostic testing and tracing. what does that mean? we'll ask. continuous monitoring. what does that mean? we'll ask. improved safety standards, same. a surge in health care capacity, we get that. masks. controls at airports and train stations, neighboring states working in sync. now, some of these goals have also been put out by the feds even the president ignores them. so what makes any of these people think there's a plan to be executed here? the coauthors are here. andy slavitt back with us tonight along with former fda commission commission commissioner dr. mark mcclennen. thank you for making the effort, third allow me to attack it. andy slavitt, the reason there's no plan that approximates

anything like this on a federal level. even the cdc had to secrete their plans out under cover of night with no fanfare is they don't want to own the reopening protocols. they want to put it on the states because they don't want to pretend covid is such a big deal which is why trump won't wear a mask but he'll take a magic pill, and they don't want to have the controls you'll put in their domain. so andy, why would they do this? >> well, chris, look the most important thing i think we have right now is for all of us to go back and try to enter the workplace and move to the next stage in the safest way possible. we don't think there's a lot of americans that sit around saying, gosh, i hope more people die or, gosh, i hope this economy stalls. i think governors may have different methods, different approaches, different teams. but in the main they're all trying to figure this out. and there is i think a vocal

people who would say i think at the extreme we should be opening at all costs or we should never be reopening the economy again. we think there's in effect a silent majority of people who don't go out and protest that have an articulated view that would encourage the governors and the states to take a methodical approach. we know they're not going to get it exactly right, but we think there's a lane to run through that a majority of people want to take the course on and we want to be able to help. >> dr. mcclennen, there's two points of push back from a policy acceptance standpoint. one is the people who say to me this doesn't apply to me. why do have to go at the same rate as a new jersey or new york or california? and the second one is all the states are doing all this stuff already. they all say they're testing enough and there's plenty of testing, we don't need to change anything.

deal with those two points. >> well, chris, on the first point there are a lot of states unfortunate unfortunately for those states have a to try out steps in reopening, and we think the steps that we outlined in their bipartisan report are the evidence based ones, experts support it, the most effective ways to do that. it doesn't mean that they're immune from covid-19 spreading, it just means that they have an opportunity to get this right without having a big increase in cases. and it is true that there are a lot of resources out there now, the testing capacity is up -- i wish it had been up sooner, but it's getting up now. it still is a lot of work, though, for states to get those tests to the people who need them in every single community, particularly in high-risk areas like nursing homes, in low-income communities were people are often in housing with lots of other folks together, and makes it easier for the

virus to spread. so we need to place extra effort in those areas in order to keep from seeing a surge in cases in these states where they've been lucky so far. >> the surge in cases, andy, is a co-efficient of people's concern about the surge. your idea of the silent majority. what if the silent and vocal majority is, you know what? we're okay with the numbers. we understand the realities now. nobody wants more death, but we understand people are going to die and we're making trade-offs. we get it. we'll do it as safely as we can, but we're going to do it now and we're going to do it no matter what people tell us about waiting. what do you say? >> there is a bit of a risk or a concern that we get -- we start to get immune to these numbers, these death tolls which were once shocking are less shocking now because we're getting used to them. but i think underneath that people put their own safety, the safety of their families and the

safety of their communities higher even than they put other things in their lives that they traditionally have been very, very important to them and are still important. and so we know, for example, that, you know, 9 out of 10 people say they don't feel comfortable gathering in crowds of 10 or more. we know that -- and, you know? your conversation with your brother, the governor of new york, i think was exactly right. which is people have always had the freedom to behave in any way that they want. we think nothing, you know, with governors saying you're now allowed to play in parks or go to in limited cases stores and restaurants, we don't think that has to change the equation. mark and i and others who worked on this letter think that people will still be cautious and there is nobody that should be rooting against any state or any governor to make a mis-step. there will be mis-steps, but we hope to be able to contain those mis-steps through some of the smart programs we're recommending. >> and just to be very clear,

let me plead your guys' case for a second. thank you very much for being on tonight. this is an actual plan. they have lists of recommendations for how to reopen and where and areas that are open more safely and how you should deal with what choices you'll have to make about what you need to do to keep yourself and your family safe based on where you're thinking about going. so it's all in the plan. we'll put the plan out online, as will they. we thank them for making the case to you tonight. all right. ameri-cans are tonight serving. they live over 600 miles from each other, but they are each working on special ways of helping those who need it most even more powerful, listen to this. it's not even the coolest part. you know what? i'm not going to give it away. this story, just when you see who the ameri-cans are, it's going to warm your hart. just their age and their stage and what they're doing. i promise. next. xfinity watchathon week has come to an end.

but you can still keep up with the shows everyone has been talking about from hulu. like that one your not-so-funny neighbor keeps stealing jokes from. or the one your commitment-shy girlfriend seems easily committed to. even the one that one person on twitter says is fire emoji, fie emoji, random cupcake emoji. everyone's got a show to recommend. say "add hulu" into your voice remote to keep up with the hulu shows everyone's been talking about.

all right. the good news. while old people in washington fight, young people are doing what's right. meet 12-year-old jahkeele jackson of chicago. he was honored as a cnn hero last year for starting a nonprofit that helps the homeless. now he's expanding his reach, giving more than 300 of his blessing bags to senior citizens. he leaves them outside to avoid adding to the risk of spread. in maryland, 7-year-old kavanaugh belle used $600 of his savings to buy food and supplies for the elderly. he's also opened up a community

pantry. the kid is 7. for families in need to pick up care packages with food and household items. a gofundme page run by his nonprofit has raised more than 14 grand. now those two kids far from each other are teaming up. each is sending the other their care packages and blessing bags to reach even more people. you see, there's a lot of bad, but there's a lot of good as well. i'm telling you, ordinary people rise to do the extraordinary in times of crisis. i've seen it in natural disasters. i've seen it in manmade disasters and we're seeing it now. you don't look up except for guidance from above, but you don't look to leadership that way, you look to yourselves. if you want to keep one another safe, you will. if you want to do what is best for one another, just like these kids, and let's bless their parents, right, for putting this in them and inculcating these values in them and helping them

develop this love for one another and for humanity. that's our greatest strength here. our diversity, our determination to be interconnected, interdependent, especially in a time of need. thank you for watching. "cnn tonight" with d. lemon right now. oh, going full love gov. i see. or did they finally tell you to be quiet? >> i saw your brother do it and it made me think of something. it's actually serious. everyone should be wearing these, right? because you're doing it for other people. and, by the way, they're designer now -- >> that is a nooice one. >> that robach, you know i always wear. the reason i have this on is because i remember the first day i saw you after you tested negative and gave you a big hug and i kissed yount