[♪] lou: good evening. we join president trump holding a news conference on the coronavirus. that news conference is in progress. here is the president. president trump: we would rather talk about this right now. >> the cdc said yesterday they believe it's inevitable that the virus will spread in the united states. it's if not when. president trump: i don't think it's inevitable. but whatever happens we are totally prepared. we have the best people in the world. the best prepared people, the

best people in the world. congress is willing to give us much more than we have been asking for, that's nice for a change. but we are ready, willing and able. we have -- it's going to be well under control. it may make it a little bigger, it may not get bigger. but regardless of what happens, we are totally prepared. >> travel restrictions from china, it has spread to italy and other countries. president trump: i'm the president of the united states, i'm not the president of other countries. they are respected in what they do in terms of what we are talking about. but i want to be responsible for this country placing a strong situation on the border so people can't come in from a

country that's infected. but we have to focus on this country. i don't think it's right for us to impose ourselves on others. but if we think they are doing it incorrectly. we are dealing with world health. and cdc does give other countries recommendations. they are work on their countries and we are working on our countries. from our standpoint it's worked out well. >> are you considering restricting travel to and from south korea, italy and other countries? president trump: right now it's not the right time. but at the right time. we are checking people as they come through for the problem we are dealing with. south korea and italy has been hit hard. but the numbers seem to be leveling off and going down in china which is good news.

>> the white house is denying you will appoint a czar. secretary azar said it wasn't necessary. so why are you now selecting the vice president. president trump: the vice president is in the administration. i'm having everybody report to mike. mike has been very adept. anybody who knows anything about healthcare, they look at the indiana model in terms of healthcare. this an offshoot of that. i don't view mike as a czar. mike is part of the administration. they will report to mike. mike will report to me. and they will be going to meetings quite a bit depending on what they want to do and what message we want to get out. but we have done an extraordinary job. with a country this size with people coming into a country by

far, we have a total of 15 cases,' of which within a day, i'll tell you most of whom are fully recovered. i think that's an impressive mark. we did take in 40 people who are americans and they are also recovering. but we felt we had an obligation to american citizens outside the country who were trying to get back in. >> the stock market has taken a big hit the last few days. what can you do about that. if the cdc is right that the spread is inevitable will you be dealing with stock market issues for a long time to come? president trump: i think it took a hit for two reasons. they watched the people debating lathe night and they say if there is a possibility it could happen, it took a hit because of that, and it took a hit because of this, supply chains and

various things, and people coming in. but i think the stock market will recover. the consumer is the strongest it's ever been. that's why we are doing well and other countries have not been doing great. our consumer is very strong, very powerful economically. >> have you been presented any plan that would involve quarantining cities like they did in china. president trump: we have plans on a larger scale should we need that. we are working with individual states. we don't think we'll night but you have to be prepared. congress is talking to us about funding and we are getting far more than what we asked for. i guess the best thing to do is take it. we'll take it. >> how much money are you willing to give congress? >> we'll see.

we'll take care of states. states are working very hard. hospitals in states are making looms avail cobbler and they are building quarantine areas. we are working well with states. that's a big part of it. if congress wants to give us the money so easy. it wasn't that easy for the wall, but we got that one done. but if they want to give us the manny we'll take it and do a good job. >> should americans be getting protective equipment such as masks and so. president trump: we can ordered a lot of it in case we need it. we may not need it. we are look at worst case scenario. but i don't think we'll ever be anywhere near that. our borders are very control. our flights in from certain areas are very controlled. i don't think we'll ever be

anywhere near that. >> is travel-related stocks especially hammered in the last couple days. what would you say to americans looking forward to the summer and upcoming months and saying should i make my summer plans and travel abroad? president trump: hopefully they will be able to do that. but they will have to remain flexible. i would say travel-related companies would be hurt. at the same time, this is going to end. hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. i think the business they lost will be picked up at a later date. they are probably not going to be going to china. they aren't going to certain countries where the problem is far greater than it is in the united states. way it's going to do is keep people home and they will travel to places we have. we have the greatest tourism

country in the world. instead of leaving our country, they will stay here. when you have 15 people and the 15 in a couple days will be close to zero, that's a pretty good job. >> what is the response of speaker pelosi earlier today when she said you don't know what you are talking about when it cops to the coronavirus. president trump: i think speaker pelosi is incompetent. she lost the congress once. i think she'll lose it again. she lifted my poll numbers up 10 points. i didn't think i would see that so quickly and easily. i didn't want to do it that way. it's almost unfair if you think about it. but i think she is incompetent and not thinking about the country. instead of making a statement like that where i have been beating her routinely.

she should be saying we have to work together because we have a big problem potentially. i hope it will be a little problem. but we have to work together. the same thing with crying chuck schumer. he says the president only asked for $2.5 billion. this is the first time i have been told we should take more. we should be work together. he shouldn't be making statements like that. nancy pelosi should go back to her district and clean it up. if you look at percentage down, that was one of the finest in the world. now, you look at what's happening. i am just saying we should all be work together. she is trying to create a panic and there is no reason to panic. these professionals behind me and over here and over there and back here in some conference rooms i just left a group of 45 people that are the most

talented in the world. parts of the world are asking us if they can partake and help them. nancy pelosi knows it's not true. all they are trying to do is get a political advantage. this isn't about political advantage. we are all trying to do the right thing. they shouldn't be saying this is terrible, president trump isn't asking for enough money. how stupid a thing to say. if they want to give us more money we'll take more money. some republicans think we should have more money. they are not demeaning me, they are demeaning the greatest healthcare professionals in the world, and people who do exactly what we are talking about. >> your campaign today sued the "new york times" for an opinion. is it your opinion or contention if people have scene opinion contrary to yours they should be sued. president trump: when they get the opinion wrong as the "new york times" did.

so we'll let that work its way through the courts. if you read it, you will see it's beyond scene opinion. they did a bad thing. and there will be more coming. >> do you think [inaudible] president trump: i hope so. shinzo abe is a good friend of mine and i lot of people of japan. you have a number of people in japan who have been infected. i hear they are doing a professional job which doesn't surprise me. i know japan very well. i think they will handle it very well. it's a little tight. they spent billions of dollars building one of the most beautiful convenient yiews i have ever seen. your. he is proud of it.

your prime minister thinks it will be fine. i hope it will. >> the doctor talks about dusting off preparedness plans. do you think u.s. schools should be preparing for a coronavirus spreading? president trump: i would think so, yes. every aspect of our society should be prepared. i don't think it's going to come to that given we are going down not up. but i think schools should be repairing and get ready just in case. the words with just in case. we don't think we are going to be there, but if you look at some countries they are coming down. they are starting to go in the other direction. this will end. you look at flu season. 26,000 people, i never heard of a number like that. going up to 69,000 people, doctor, you told me before.

69,000 peopleoo -- people die every year from the flu. the results of all this that everybody is reading about. you don't want to see panic. there is no reason to be panicked. but when i mentioned the flu, i asked the various doctors, i said is this like flu? people die from the flu. and this is very unusual. it is a little bit different. in some ways it's easier and in some ways it's a little bit tougher. we have done a very good -- job. >> the dow jones dropped more than 2,000 points this week. are you suggesting it's overblown and financial markets from overreacting? president trump: i think the markets are upset when they look

at the democrat candidates standing on the stage making fools of themselves. who knows what will happen. i think we'll win by a lot. but when they look at the statements by the people standing behind those podiums, i think it's a huge effect. >> did have it to do with the coronavirus? president trump: i think it did. they are seeing the potential. i think we are going to win. we have done everything and much more than i said we were going to do. what we have done with the tax cuts and regulation cuts taking care of our vets and getting them choice and accountability. all of the things we have done, protecting our second amendment. they are going to destroy the second amendment. when people look at that, they say this is not good. i believe that's a factor. but this is what we are talking

about is the virus. that's what we are talking about. i do believe in terms of msnbc and fox business, i believe that's at factor. i think the stock market will boom after i win the election. just like the last time after if i wouldn't election the stock market went up like a rocket ship. >> when are you going to lift the travel restrictions? president trump: when we no longer have a problem. had i thought made a decision early on not to take people from a certain area we wouldn't be talking this way. we would have talked about a lot more people infected. i took a lot of heat. some peeled called me racist. it wassed a bold decision.

it turned out to be a good decision. i was criticized by the democrats. they called me a racist because i made that decision. we have to work together. we can't say bad things, especially when we have the best team in the world. we gave it a veril -- gave it ae veriy early start. >> we can get money and increase staff. we know all the good people. some of the people we have got, they haven't been used for many many years. if we have a need we can get them very quickly. i'm a business person. i don't like having thousands of people around when you don't need them. when we need them we can get them back quickly. we are bringing some people back tomorrow that are already in

this great government we have, and very specifically for this. we can build up very, very quickly. we have a great staff, and using mike, i am doing that because he's in the administration and he's very good at doing what he does as it relates to this. >> so far -- so far your administration is testing less than 500 people, and health officials are questioning whether that's enough compared to other countries who tested tens of thousands of people. president trump: we are testing everybody we need to test and we are finding very little problem. you treat this like a flu. i might ask one of the doctors to come up and explain it. you want to wash your hands a lot. if you are not feeling well, if you feel you have a flu, stay

inside. sort of quarantine yourself. don't go outside. there are certain steps you can take that won't even be necessary. in certain cases when you catch this, you don't know there is a problem. sometimes they just don't feel quite right. and sometimes they feel really bad. but that's like the regular flu. we'll essentially have a flu shot for this. >> two weeks ago your acting omb director was talking about the the gdp growth for this coming year. he said 3%. we talked about the effects of the coronavirus on the supply chain. are you still confident in the gdp growth. president trump: we'll have tremendously low unemployment. the lowest average unemployment

in any administration in history. our numbers are very good. 3.5, 3.6. you can't see how this does in terms of gdp. but that's irrelevant compared to what we are talking about. safety number one. but this will have an impact on gdp. we are doing great. but i will tell you what has a big impact. boeing has a big impact. that took away a half a point to a point. it's a massive company. we had the general motors strike. that was a big impact on gdp. we are paying interest rates. i disagree with the head of the fed. i'm not happy with what that is. president obama didn't have near the numbers and he was paying zero. we are paying interest. people who put their money away

are getting a return on their money as opposed to not getting anything. we are the greatest of them all, we should be paying low interest rates. germ -- germany has neglect -- e interest rates. i think our fed made a terrible mistake. even without the 2,000 points. we started out at 16,000 and we are going to crack 30,000. the 2,000 points is very little compared to what we have gone up. we were hurt by general motors and boeing. we have been hurt in my opinion

very badly by our own federal reserve. there is something nice about a strong dollar and it makes it harder to do business outside of this country. >> a number of your supporters online have he braced the theories that the cdc may be exaggerating the threat of the coronavirus to hurt you politically. president trump: you mean people who are not my supporters. i would like to it stop. i think people know when chuck schumer gets upset -- he did the same thing with a couple of trade deals that are phenomenal deals. before he even saw the deal. they said what do you think of the deal with china. he said, i don't like the, i don't like it.

he said he took the tariffs off. he didn't know the deal and he was out there knocking it. but when you are talking about something like this, we have to be on the same team. >> what about the cdc is trying to hurt you. president trump: no, they are professional. they are beyond this. they want this to go away and they don't want to lose life. i see the way they are working. these people behind me and others in the other room. they are incredible people. i don't see that at all. >> thank you, mr. president. tonight you are minimizing the risk of danger of the virus. are you telling the americans except for the ones who are sick not to change any of their

behaviors? president trump: i do it a lot as you probably heard. don't shake hands. stay clean. you don't have to grab every hand grabber. when somebody sneezes, i try to bail out as much as possible with the sneezing. i had a man couple to me a week agene i hadn't seen him in a long time. he hugs me. i said are you well? he says no. i have the worst fever and the worst flu, and he's hugging and kissing me. i said excuse me. i started washing my hands. you know, it's going to be. it was knives you to say thank you very much. give me a nice question. don't right with a bad question.

go ahead. >> i want to talk to you about 2014. during the ebola crisis you said you wanted a full travel ban and said obama was a dolt for not stopping the flights. you said he was a joke to appoint someone to had no experience in the medical field. president trump: this is a different problem than ebola. with ebola we were talking about it. you got ebola. that was it. this one is much different. this is a flu. this is like a flu. this is a much different situation than ebola. and we are work on he beale right now, by the way. we are work on certain areas of the congo.

we can now treat ebola. at that time was infectious and you can't treat it. so it's a much different situation. >> in the course of the last couple minutes you disputed some of what the officials have said about the risk of coronavirus and its spread. do you trust your heath officials to give you information? president trump: i don't think i have. they said it could be worse and i said it could be worse. i don't think it's inevitable. i think we are doing a good job in terms of letting people in and checking people. that's one of the reasons i'm here today so people will know. they are going to know. i don't think it's inevitable. there is a chance it could get fairly substantially worse.

but nothing is inevitable. >> mr. president, brazil has its first case. and you have many americans now in brazil for carnivale. are you concerned? what are the procedures and practices. president trump: with people coming in from brazil. it's a case. we deal with brazil very well. the president is a very good friend of mine. he ran on exactly, make brazil great again. we get along very well. i know you are thrilled to hear that. and we are work with brazil. but we have worst instances than brazil. they have one person right now as of now, as of just a little while ago. italy is a deeper problem. and we are check people coming

in strongly from those. at some point we may cut that off. depending on what happens we may cut certain additional countries off. we hope we can open it up to china as soon as possible. we hope the numbers we are getting on china are true where it has leveled off and is starting to go down. >> you said repeatedly you think the federal government is prepared and you are ready for that. if you think secretary azairs such a great job, why did you feel the need to make vice president mike pence as the head of the coronavirus. president trump: if you look at his schedule of what he's doing, including drug prices, it's the most complicated job we have in government. and mike is really good at it.

they are going to work closely together. and they are both in the administration. i see them all the time. this isn't a czar. this isn't getting somebody who hasser in been in the administration. i have two people who are very talented. i don't want the spare the horses. i have two talented people and i want to use them. >> at the beginning of this outbreak the chinese cop tonight party covered it up. that's been the general consensus. how can you legitimately trust president xi and the communist regime to be forthcoming and forthright with this pandemic. president trump: i speak with

him. i talked with him recently. he's work so hard on this problem. they are very tough and very smart. and it's a significant group of very talented people that are working. they are calling up dr. fauci and calling up our people. we are dealing with them and giving them certain advice. through world health we have a lot of our people. he's working very hard. it would be easy for me to say, it doesn't matter what i say. i had a long talk with hip the other need. -- with him the other night. he wants it to go away fast and get back to business as usual. >> a fatality of [inaudible]

president trump: we don't know what the up in is. the flu is much higher than that. >> it's going to spread maybe within communities. does that worry you? president trump: no, because we are ready for it. it is what it is. we are ready for it. we are prepared. we have the greatest people in the world. we are ready for it. we hope it won't spread. there is a chance it won't spread and there is a chance it will. it's a matter of what level. the 15 people in the whole world coming into the united states, and they are getting better. we'll do one more. go ahead. >> there have bench cases of price gouging on the sales of medical equipment masks. should the government be investigating that. president trump: if you tell me

that's happening we'll definitely investigate. we don't want that. >> are you working with china right now. president trump: yes we are work with china. we just did the biggest trade deal in history. between the usmca and the china deal is the biggest in history. the relationship with china is a good one. president xi is working hard. he wants this problem solved. >> are you going to do this more often? president trump: yes. lou: president trump and vice president mike pence wrapping up the news conference on the coronavirus from the white house press briefing room, the corona task force. the president began by saying

the actions taken by his administration have resulted in the risk of this country of the viral contagion remain low. president trump: because of all we have done, the risk to the american people remains very low. we have the greatest experts in the world right here. the people that are called upon by other countries when things like this happen. we are ready to adapt and ready to do whatever we have to as the disease spreads, if it spreads. lou: the president tonight appointing vice president pence to lead the government response to the coronavirus outbreak. his explanation right now. president trump: i am going to be putting our vice president mike pence in charge. and mike will be working with the professionals, doctors, everybody else that's work. the team is brilliant. i spent a lot of time with the

team the last couple weeks. we are doing really well. mike will report back to me. lou: the president's news conference coming on the say day as the updated report revealing 81,000 cases confirmed. 96:% of those cases are in china. 30,000 people have recovered. and that's good news to see that recovery rate rising above 30%. we are going to go out to nebraska to the national quarantine center to meet a man on the front lines of the coronavirus threat. he's the infectious disease director at the university of the nebraska medical center.

15 patients from the cruise ship are being treated there. we appreciate the work you are doing. you and your staff. give us a condition report on those 15, if you will. >> we have 15 patients at our facility straight ahead between the national quarantine and bio containment unit. it's designed to observe people and watch them. if they develop the need for medical care we transfer them to the bio containment unit, whatever the patient may need. lou: what number are in the bio containment unit? >> there are two patients in the bio contain the unit. the rest are in the quarantine unit. two people in the quarantine unit have tested negative for

the virus. we think we just need to watch them through the quarantine period. the other patients in the quarantine unit are exhibiting mild symptoms, a cough or low-grade fever. the two people transferred to the bio containment unit were showing signs of lower respiratory tract illness. everybody is stable and doing well at the present. lou: that's wonderful news. you are there and as i said on the front lines of this threat. there is -- the judgment is by everyone on the task force and the president just mentioned it, very low in the country. we had remarks from the cdc that this outbreak is absolutely inevitable. the president disputing that. where do you cop down?

>> the fact of the matter is the virus has shown the ability to spread far and wide and fast. that was clearly demonstrated in china. in addition it has spread to 30 countries throughout the world. the assessment that we'll see more cases in the united states is probably accurate. we need to be doing expanded testing so we can find those patients more quickly and get them into the care setting that they need. we will be seeing more of this. we'll take measures to stem its spread so we can develop therapeutic and a vaccine. lou: dr. fauci the head of the infectious disease at the nih. he was condensing the amount of time to move toward a vaccine.

>> we have a vaccine to put into trial to see if it's safe. if it produces results, it will probably be closer to two months. lou: your reaction to that announcement? >> this is a quick response in the vaccine development world. however, it still will take months and months prior to having a vaccine that is available at the front lines and being able to be used. the first steps are to make sure it's safe and you develop an immune response. and you have to make sure it' effective before you bring it in to mass production and distribute it. so we are talking months if not a year or more before it's

available to the american public. lou: is it your judge the that can't -- judgment that it can't be hour yesterday by heroic efforts? >> we can't go too fast. we have to be careful with all these endeavors. lou: your reaction to the response of the u.s. government at this point. >> we welcome the increased u.s. response. there is additional work that needs to be done to prepare this country for the probable outbreak or pandemic. we need a greater testing capability. right now there is a limited amount of places where testing can occur. we need to make sure we are picking up those people who are potentially infected just as

quickly as we possibly can, put them into the appropriate setting so they don't spread this virus from person to person. unfortunately because we don't have a vaccine and medications for it. we'll have to rely upon old school infection control measures, public health measures to try to slow the progression. lou: as americans we are used to having ready answers and easy decision making in our response to crises. often they are military responses. and the military will be involved in this as well. but i think this country -- if this does turn out to be a contagion. we'll be left with american guts, strength and faith to deal with it. your thoughts about the country's preparedness psychologically and emotionally to meet a test of the kind this

may bring us. >> you know, as you alluded to, infectious diseases don't respect political announcements or geographic borders. we'll see a spread in the united states. it will test our resolve. this is not an existential threat to human kinds. we are talking about a disease that spreads have much like the flu. my guess is the mortality rate of this will be less than 1%. the estimates are probably a little high. so this is still nothing to trifle with if you are talking about a disease that spreads like the flu and has hah mortality of some -- has a more taflt less than 1% -- a mortality rate of less than 1. mercedes: . lou: the president reminding us

of the number of deaths each year just from the influenza. doctor, we appreciate your time tonight. be sure to vote in our poll tonight. do you believe americans will stand strong against the coronavirus if it does spread throughout the country. joining us tonight, former reagan white house political director the savant, ed rollins. this puts into perspective how juvenile partisan politics can be. but nothing reminds everyone more than to hear the senate majority leader and the house speaker being so partisan in a moment of crisis. it's such ignorance. it's beyond the pale. >> the country i think is getting fed up with partisan

politics. at a time of national emergency and a crisis. a plan that might paint the former governor and the former house republican leader taking charge of it. you expect everybody in the political process to rally around it. lou: do you think the president talking about this threat the way he did it. one moment with the president maintaining his sense of humor about it all. and it was a moment i think most americans will appreciate. president trump: view this the same as the flu. when somebody sneezes. i try to bail out as much as possible with the sneezing. i had a man come up to me a week ago. i hadn't seen him in a long time. i said how are you doing? he said fine fine. he hugs me. i said are you well?

he said no. he said i have the worst fever and the worst flu and he's hugging and kissing me. i said excuse me and i started washing my hands. lou: the president's self-deprecating humor. there is no one i think we would rather have leading this country in any country than this man. >> he has a strong team around him. and presidents have to rise to the occasion and he certainly has. lou: i have no doubt about his rising to the occasion or the american people rising to the occasion. i do worry about some portions of the media who thinker american is a daffodil or buttercup. we know better. >> maybe judging by their fellow press members. lou: up next. china's pharmaceutical monopoly

globally. may limit the ability of the united states to fight the coronavirus in important ways. we'll be joined next by health expert rosemary gibson. she has been warning for years about our overwhelming dependency on china or pharmaceuticals and antibiotics. i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424.

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lou: joining us tonight, rosemary gibson. exposing the risk of america's dependence on china for medicine. the dependency is extraordinary. what are we going to do about it? most people don't realize 80% of medicine production and medical supplies is in china's hands. what can we do? >> we can't make penicillin anymore in the united states. we can't make it generic antibiotics parents give to

their kids for ear infections or pneumonia. we need to bring some of that manufacturing back home to the united states so in the event of another coronavirus or something worse, we are prepared and have the medicines we need. lou: we don't have time to change our suppliers of those ingredients and antibiotics. the ingredients and the antibiotics themselves. 97% come from china as you well know. what are we to do in the midst of this crisis in which china is in the midst of hah raging outbreak, a pandemic. >> that's right. production is being shut down for many industries. transportation and logistics is being snarled.

china has been keeping protective masks for healthcare workers. lou: i think any country would do the same thing. my view is china is not the problem. the problem is the coronavirus they unleashed on the world and that's what we have to focus on. how do we respond within the time frame of this crisis which is of the moment. we think it will take a year to get to a vaccine. what do we do in the interim? >> the good news is that rates are low. we don't see that much transmission. it could creep up and there could be an issue for our country. but in the mean type we have to use our resources and great talent in our country to bring some of this manufacturing back home and start make it in real-time. we can start making the active ingredients and hold them to

make the finished drugs. lou: do you think we could organize and establish a manufacturing facility that could produce sufficient volumes of antibiotics and anti-virals for this country? >> it will take a while to build up that capacity. our manufacturing base, 90% of our medicines are generic. western companies have gotten out of the business because it's not profitable. we have to incentivize that manufacturing at some basic level here in this country. lou: i appreciate and thanks for your early was on this. perhaps soon corporate america will begin to listen to the urgent need for national security above their profits. >> people are popping up saying

i want to set up a company to make this for our national security, the department of defense, the va. 80% of our stockpile depends on china. lou: we'll be right back with tammy bruce and the "wall street tammy bruce and the "wall street journwhile the world keeps fighting for your attention. we'll keep building smarter suv's. to help keep you focused on the road ahead. and. the road beside. did we mention the road ahead.

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lou: we are joined about it "wall street journal's" kimberly strals and tammy bruce. tammy, let's begin with you. bernie on cuba. could you roll the video and audio. we don't have it. what he said was, what i said was barack obama said in terms of cuba that cuba made progress on education. then he heard booing and he said are you booing literacy? then embracing chinese communists. tammy: americans realize it's great to be literal and how to read as you are standing in front of a firing squad because you are a professor or teacher. barack obama did a lot of things the american people didn't like which is why donald trump is

president. the american people have learnd few things and we don't like tore tall tea -- wedon't like t. lou: bernie sanders seems to be spreading the word successfully. kimberly: one of the issues he gets away with constantly and it's so frustrating is making the argument that somehow you can divorce you a mor authoritam from socialism. but they go hand in hands. his competitors do not call him out for this. on the literacy point, by the way. a fallacy. the idea that you can't have literacy unless you have a socialist regime. plenty of countries have literal people without the horrible

things castro brought along with it. lou: let's turn to fisa. i have to say i'm not a big fan of zoe loughrin. >> we have seen the abuse. this was a big education we have, how fisa is abused with spying on its own people. clearly it needs to go. we rebuild it with what we need to have in minds is what just occurred to us. lou: kimberly, your thoughts? >> i think it's important to make a distinction. why do we have surveillance tools? to allow hard-working

individuals to protect us against terrorist threats. why don't we have these tools in we don't have them so corrupt actors can use them to snoop on political campaigns. to the extent we are talking about a fisa surveillance reform, it has to be aimed at prohibiting that kind of behavior and punishing those who recklessly or politically motivated misuse these tools. they are work to undermine our intelligence professionals. lou: you don't reauthorize. this is just crazy. both parties trying to gift a bumps rush after what this president and this nation as gone through for 3 1/years is outrageous -- 3 1/2 years. is outrageous.

thanks for being with us. good night from new york. lauren: it's 5*u 5:00 a.m. here are your top stories at this hour. the first american who isn't linked to china has been diagnosed with the coronavirus. cheryl: joe biden leading in south carolina. can he stop bernie sanders's early wave of success or he is one and done. lauren: we know pro athletes hit the gym but what about a gym for e-sports players. the new trend sweeping the nation. it is thursday, february 27th. "fbn: a.m." starts right now. ♪ ♪ time to begin, isn't it. ♪ i get