[♪] lou: good evening, everybody. president trump today made another major announcement directing the food and drug administration to make experimental drugs available to stop the spread of the wuhan virus. president trump: i directed the fda to lip state in outdated rules and bureaucracy so this working proceed rapidly, quickly, fast. we have to remove he barrier. there were a lot of barriers that were unnecessary. and they have done that to get the rapid deployment of safe, effective treatments, and i think we have good answers.

we'll find out very, very soon. clinical trials are already under way for' new therapies. we are work on scaling these to allow many more americans to access different drugs that have shown really good promise. lou: two of the drugs president trump mentioned, the anti-malarial drug, color quinn and recommend -- chloroquine and remdesivir, they have shown effective early results against the virus. the president called the drugs possible game changers. american scientific optimism and ingenuity running full tilt. the university of minnesota's medical school testing the blood pressure drug to treat the wuhan

virus. they say the results of the early tests are likely in weeks, not months. the virus killed 176 americans, infected more than 13,000. worldwide 242,000 people contracted the virus. nearly 5,000 people have died as a -- nearly 10,000 people have died as a result. 3,405 dead in italy, 3,249 in china. senate republicans releasing phase three of the wuhan relief package. among the proposals the gop package includes $300 billion for small business we leaf. direct cash payments of $1, 200

making under $75,000 a year. the plan would also waive the 10% penalty for withdrawals of $100,000 from qualified retirement accounts. my next guest recently completed his self-quarantine with a clean bill of health. joining me, dog collins, running for the senate in the great state of the georgia. you emerged healthy, thank goodness. your thoughts about what we are seeing, two additional congressmen who have tested positive, your thoughts. >> what we are seeing, lou, everybody needs to take this seriously and forcefully.

i take the leadership from the president on this. the president laid forth an aggressive agenda to folks suffering. and also working towards vaccines and making sure we are getting the resources out for testing and for a help to our hospitals, first responders and making sure in the long run though the numbers will go up in the short term, really flatten this curve out. i can't say enough about president trump's leadership. and our governors who have taken the steps to do this as well. we know that more people are going to be affected. can we make sure it's done in an effective way so our panic of people wondering what's going on can be assured people are doing what they can do to make sure it's good for everybody. lou: among the governors we are talking about, most who follow

politics would never have imagined standing shoulder to shoulder with the president. that would be governor gavin newsom of california. governor cuomo of new york, the nation's two largest populist states. >> i think it shows what we have always known. when we do come together, it's a time to put partisanship down. up glad to see that the governors in new york and california are working with president trump. they will still have disagreements. but at the end of the day it's about the americans. that's what i would love to hear from you when we talk about americans coming together to take this seriously. we'll not fail in this pursuit. lou: to your point about the president's strong approach as the leader of the nation. he's talking about anti-virals.

therapeutic drugs. he's talking about creating vaccines. he's created public-private partnerships, and he's making decisions based on his judgment of what needs to be done to protect americans to protect this country. and so far he has been i think extraordinary. >> for those of us who get to work with him on different issues. not just this issue. he's someone who does take an interest. he wants the best input. he doesn't always just want to hear what he wants to hear. but at the end of the day he makes his decisions and moves forward. we always heard so many years how the press wanted more access to the president. they could never have more access to a president man they do with this one. but they don't like what he says because he tells the truth and moves forward with it.

lou: i find it extraordinary that today he was joking with the members of the press with perhaps they should have better spacing and it might be better for them to reduce their numbers. there wasn't a single laugh among them. >> the sense of humor is gone. lou: the senate deal, 77-day extension on fisa. we are not getting reform. >> the senate failed. we gave them a bill they could have worked with and gained something. my concern is that we just put this down the line. there are some senators who just want this to go away. but for those of us like myself and jim jordan, mark meadows, john ratcliffe who fought so hard to find reforms. up not happy. i don't want to see this go

through the house. these are things we need to work on. lou: the trump administration moving swiftly to get the ventilators needed to stop the spread of the wuhan virus. the china virus if you prefer. also night, the "new york times" praising china while covering up their cover-up of the wuhan virus, and oh, yes, what about their reporters being thrown out of china? we take it up with the "wall street journal's" kimberley strassel next. stay with us. ♪ it's surprising how the bigger a city gets... the smaller it starts to feel. which makes it even more surprising, how big it feels in here. with sliding rear seats... and more available second row legroom than say...

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lou: hours after china expelled a number of american journalists including a "new york times" reporter. the "times" was pentagon over the communist party's efforts to fight the with you haab virus. they wrote quote, many in italy angrily pointed out that china was selling masks and respirators, and other equipment, and not donating them.

saying that much of it was meant for people within the country. the article describes a chinese official's lie saying the u.s. army was behind the virus. but they said it has emboldened officials and state media to push back harder, at times times clumsily. president trump: they are siding with china and doing things they shouldn't can doing. so why they are doing this, you will have to ask them. but if we had an honest media in this country our country would be an even greater place. lou: be sure to vote in our poll tonight. should the president create a

commission to investigate the wuhan virus cover-up. more of the left-wing national media and governors are applauding the president's efforts to contain the wuhan virus. >> if you look at the big picture. this was remarkable from the president of the united states. this is non-partisan. this is an important thing to note and applaud from an american standpoint and from a human standpoint. >> the president was sober. he did what a president is supposed to do. >> he's fully engaged on trying to help new york, and i thank him for his partnership. >> he said everything that i could have hoped for. and we had a very long conversation. and every single thing he said they followed through on. lou: joining us is kimberley

strassel, author of the new book, "resistance at all costs." great to have you with us. isn't it remarkable to see this movement from the left, some of the luminaries of the left, gavin newsom, andrew question mow, cnn dana bash? this is a positive development. >> yes. all it took was a global pandemic to make everybody understand they could work with donald j. trump. i only wish this had come about somewhat sooner. you have to stop and think what we might have accomplished in the country over the last three years if this had been the general approach. putting in mind we'll always have partisan and idea lodge cal differences -- and ideological differences. the at student this is someone

you can work with instead of impeachments and investigations. i think it's been an eye opener. lou: i want to take up some of the things china has done. the coronavirus cases are dwindling and china turns its focus outward. beijing is mounting a humanitarian aid blitz in countries struggling with their own outbreaks. in doing so it's stepping into a role the west once dominated. in the same article we find-that the chinese were selling the equipment they were lauded with donating to the italians. >> the u.s. still dominates the world in terms of our ingenuity and what we are doing to deal with this crisis. that puts all the more attention

on that "times" story which made little reference as to why china is engaging in this activity. its inept imagining of the virus in the beginning. it suppressed information about it. it took 7 weeks to lock down wuhan and spread this across the world. these are the questions that need to be asked of china. we don't have many western reporters in the country because they cracked down on them, expelling western reporters who happen to be asking difficult questions. lou: there were nasty questions, there were silly questions, and as i looked around the room, i noticed something. i probably will get into trouble for saying this because it's

straightforward. there appear to be some people in the room so young they couldn't have worked on a police beat, a fire beat, a city desk for very long. they are young and inexperienced and they ask bizarre questions. for example, wanting to chide the president for what they term racism. they couch it ever so carefully in calling it the china virus. i can't believe the quality of reporting by these people in the white house press corps. your thoughts? >> we are starting to get some pushback on that ludicrous idea blaming for this and putting culpability where it belongs is racist. and it's not racist to call out an authoritarian regime. no one is suggesting the average chinese citizen is responsible

for its government's handling of this. this has been in evidence for the last three years that whatever standards the press used to have and take pride in in its industry have completely gone away, and they have joibd one side of a -- they have joined one side of a partisan warfare. you named the democratic officials who are being far more open-minded on the progress we are making than even their allies in the press corps these days. lou: dana bash from cnn, a remarkable statement. let's turn to if we may, the slow testing supplies. we know there have been difficulties initially in getting test kits out. it's still a clumsy and almost -- it's not a pleasant

experience by those who have had the test up the nose kind of whatever procedure we can call it. why aren't we more answered than this at this particular time? >> this is an interesting point. i was watching bernie sanders at the debate last sunday saying if we just had a socialized health system we wouldn't have these problems. the reality is the federal and state governments are doing a much better job of coordinating their messages, coordinating resources, and taking the lead here. but we cannot forget the single biggest failure the united states has had fell on government. the cdc's decision to unilaterally handle testing. we see and it's incredibly reassuring who is coming to the rescue. it's the private sector. private labs ready to go.

retailer turning over their parking lots to make way for drive-thru testing. the "journal" just had a great story about the private sector and everything it's doing. this is what we have come to expect from capitalism in crises past and it will have an enormous impact on how we get through this. lou: certainly moving a public-private partnership forward in the pharmaceutical industry in the medical device manufacturing. across the board. what he has done and what he ordered up in clearing the path. dr. steven hahn of the fda. let's listen to what he said. i want to get your comments about whether you have ever heard a president referred to this way by the head of the fda. >> i want to thank you for your

leadership during the coronavirus outbreak and your comments about the fda staff. we have 10,000 doctors and scientists work around the clock to fight this coronavirus, and those words are have much appreciated, sir. lou: your reaction. >> you just put your finger on it. the strength of this country's response is going to be an administration that takes all the talents in the government and blends it with the ingenuity of a private sector that's unrivaled around the world. that's the strength of the american capitalist system. it always has been and always will be. lou: good to see you. kimberly strassel. share your comments, follow me on twitter @loudobbs. follow me on facebook and

instagram @loudobbstonight. dr. oz and jim banks among our guests tomorrow. hope you will be with us. mitch mcconnell releases a third coronavirus relief bill that will have checks moving to american families. kevin brady is with us after the break. stay with us. we are coming right back. liberty mutual customizes- wait... am i in one of those liberty mutual commercials where they stand in front of the statue of liberty and talk about how liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? uhhh... yes. huh... what happens in this one? seagulls. oh, i like it. how are you doing? (seagulls sounds) only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

lou: texas governor greg abbott's executive order shuts down all dine-in restaurants and bars across the state. and also ordering texas gyms to close. that order goes into effect at

midnight tonight. senator lindsey graham telling reporters he opposes direct payments to americans as a part of the virus relief program. >> it makes no sense for us. the best thing to do is create an income stream. two ways they can get income, from their employer who is borrowing the money from a system where it will be supplemented. lou: joining us is congressman kevin brady. let's -- let's start with this direct payment idea from the white house which frankly i think is a brilliant idea. >> we maded into this crisis with the strongest economy on the planet. the president believes it's worth fighting for. he knows for a lot of families and workers, businesses,

retirees, they are seeing their livelihoods threatened like never before. the president insists congress act now to help working families to help the small businesses get the financing help they need. that those major distress industries lend what they need so they can get through this crisis and rebound through the end of it. part of that bounce approach is helping families keep more of what they earn. the way the senate republicans have structured it -- lou: i wasn't talking about rebates. i was talking about direct payments to americans, men and women and their kids from the u.s. government. you are talking about rebates. >> well, however you call it, it is keeping more of what they earn and in this case the payments or rebecause, the senate structured them $1,200 a

person. a family of four would receive $3,400 by april 6 or thereabouts. that's done for a coup reasons. lou: i think everybody watching you understands what this country is going through. i can't believe some of the resistance to the president's idea of moving this forward. it's not clear where the senate is right now. is it clear where the house is? >> house republicans have been -- we have been weighing in with our senate counterparts there. to their credit they are moving quickly as the president asked. they have their proposals that just got unveiled a few moments before i got on the show, lou. and they hope they are negotiating with chuck schumer on a package, i think they hope they can do something this weekend and move it to the

house. again i think you have got to look at just one part of it, the rebates to families, direct help to those small business who need it. i think all of that is key. lou: are these rebates to small businesses, is that the way you style that as well? >> i would call that ending loans direct help for small businesses. right now they don't have anything coming in. lou: you all are aware of you a severe the problem is and you are following the president's leadership. i think getting hung up on as senator graham is about direct payments to american citizens who pay that money? i think the senator ought to be he bairsd. i would think anyone who thinks like he is will pause and reflect and do as the president is leading on this issue.

>> everyone may have different viewpoints of one element or the other. but the truth is we have got to attack this economy like we are this coronavirus. and that means straight on right now. you don't have to agree with he part of it. if you get it right for families and workers. you get it immediately for the small businesses and create the lending for the big guys. we'll be able to ride it out and rebound strongly which i'm confident we will. lou: the president feels strongly this is necessary. how soon do you believe the senate will be able? do you have a sense of where mcconnell is taking the senate? he said there will be no closing the session until there is action. >> to his credit, he's moving quickly. he had working groups developed immediately in each of these

areas. they put out their proposal today. i hope chuck schumer doesn't play a lot of games. lou: up sure he will. >> let's pray. what senator mcconnell and the republicans do is temporary. that approach is what senator schumer should do. lou: bailouts, the president seems to be very supportive of the idea of equity for any corporate bailout. some are talking about tax cuts, corporate tax cuts. i think that would be a mistake no matter how you style it. what do you think? >> i as think permanent tax cuts are as better for the economy than temporary. right now, there is no question, the 21% rate makes it competitive. it would be a huge mistake if

democrats want to raise it. we have to act immediately to help small businesses. what's important is they are delivering the medicines. you know how that works. lou: i do. the 21% rate, it would be a mistake to cut that rate. if you are going to bail them out, bail them out like we did in 2008, take equity positions and make sure there are no executive bonuses or bye backs with stock with that federal money. do you agree? >> you know, the good thing is because everyone knows the president, we haven't seen industries coming to us for bailouts. they are looking for lending, they are looking for taxes to be held off for a little while until they get their feet on the ground. things like that are common sense. they want to ride it out and

rebound. lou: this is the president of the working man and woman. the american family. up so thrilled that this proposal is about targeted relief for those very people. congressman, thanks so much. great to see you. lou: up next, the are * bringing public and private entrepreneur prize together to fight the wuhan virus. we'll square all of that up right after these quick words. announcer: there are everyday actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. wash your hands. avoid close contact with people who are sick. avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. stay home when you are sick. cover your cough or sneeze. clean and disinfect frequently touched objects with household cleaning spray.

for more information, visit cdc.gov/covid19. this message brought to you by the national association of broadcasters and this station.

lou: the former chairman of the house joe sight committee, former congressman jason chaffetz. let's start with that direct payment. i'm excited about that. i love seeing government act and cut out all the intermediaries and bull and get to the people. we had that opportunity in 2008. instead of sending money directly to those facing foreclosure, the government sent those checks to institutions and intermediaries. >> i would like to see it more targeted towards industries.

if you are working at the cold stone creamery outside of disneyland, it would be good. but i would much rather have cold stone stay in business. i think we ultimately want the right answer to this. but some industries are thriving. if you are in the packaging and shipping business, you are rocking right now. but the pen in the hospital i in in the whose i that or restaurant -- the hospitality or restaurant business they are closing the doors. lou: they are talking about targeted relief, whether it be the hotel industry, cruise industry. and the direct payments to the

individuals. and that to me is very exciting. small business as you well know. and as the president pointed out. small business is the essential drive of this economy. that and the american consumer. they are the say working men and would even and their families. this middle class and those who aspire to it who drive the economy as consumers. to me it's just a bright, wonderful response. >> i think they are moving swiftly. i think april 1 is the key deadline. i love the attitude of corporate america. they are stepping up and doing egg they can to waive fees. it's the pen month relies on tips. and they rely on and they wok

their butts off. they shouldn't by have nowhere to go and nothing to do and they have no income coming. lou: you do fay those direct payments. >> i think they should be targeted to specific industries. and i think people in certain industries will probably need more than $1,000 in one month. but other industries are thriving. lou: i like doing it based on income. people are lower income have greater needs generally speaking. it's helpful. it's this president's base and the republican party's. let's turn to mcconnell saying no -- they are going to stay in session until there is action.

>> good. it's tough being in congress. i understand that. i was talking to mike lee, the senator from utah. his whole family is in utah. i'd called his wife to thank her to tell her i appreciate hip being away. members of congress unless they need to be in quarantine, they have to stay in washington to get this done. lou: they don't want us to compare the president's hours spent per day and weeks and month to their schedules, do they? >> there isn't a trucker in this country taking time off. there are people working hard. congress can do the same. my guess is if you went to each member they would say the same thing. it would be totally wrong to go into recess at all. lou: i would like to see sound

we have with the reporter trying to take on the president of the united states and falling far short. >> you did say a few days ago you had a sense this was a pandemic that was coming. so why was the united states not prepared with more testing. president trump: we were very prepared. the on thing we have not been prepared for is the media not treating it fairly. i'd called for a ban of people coming in from china long before anybody -- it was your network, i believe they called me a racist because i did that. lou: the sound goes on to point out that the virus did originate in china. your thoughts about this nonsense and the president's extraordinary patience. >> i think the president press conferences have been help new to reassure the american people. business leaders and government

leaders. you hear the governor of california and the governor of new york praising the president. and i think that's warranted. the questions from the media are an he bear is the. but they happen all the time. he's referring to an nbc reporter. it's a ridiculous question. this is the wuhan virus. the china virus. it's where it originated from. the president is trying to be accurate. he put her back in her place. when the president did ban the people coming in from china. it was not politically correct and it was not popular. that's what we call leadership. i don't know how much lives he saved. but that was the single best move he made so far. lou: we have an estimate, nose precious three weeks that the cover-up extended into and that

the president's action, that cover-up had not occurred by the chinese, that would mean 5 -- 95:% of the cases we report he night would not be here. and we have idiot reporters talking nonsense. breaking news. massachusetts heath officials say because they are in a state of emergency, hospitals can put off non-essential procedures but they will continue to:perform abortions. the membership oh saying the it mat decision is based on clinical judgment by the caring:physician. china waged a propaganda war.

they are getting some help from a main globalist organization. we take that up with kt mcfarland.

lou: on wall street, stocks higher. volume on the big board 7.8 billion shares. a reminder to listen to my reports three times a day coast to coast on the salem radio network. joining us is kt mcfarland, former national security advisor to president trump. author of the book, "trump, washington and we the people." i want to start with the world health organization admonishing the united states to quit using the terms china virus and wuhan virus. what do you make of this effort on thought control by the world health organization? >> i think the world health organization has a lot of explaining to do. and it's not about donald trump

and what words he's using. the world health organization saw the problems happening in china and they didn't follow through. where was the world health organization saying to the chinese, what's going on here? what pandemic are you potentially unleashing on the world? i am not going to take any criticism from those people sitting down. lou: i think it's important enough for the president to create a presidential commission on the cover-up by the chinese of the wuhan virus. its impact on the world as i said earlier on the broadcast, 95% of those people in thatle tally -- and we know the numbers are much, much larger. 95:% would have -- 95:% would

have been untouched. china carrying out a disinformation campaign for what necessitwhat -- what they concea stupid western world that the wuhan virus didn't originate with them. >> who are these people? these are the democrats and really their allies in the media, and the globalists around the world. what was the russia hoax? whose interests were they advancing? it was a russian disinformation campaign to sow dissent and division in the united states. now they are taking the talking points from the communist party. trump is right. where did this virus originate?

china. when you had your timeline last night what did china know and what did they do, and how did they suppress that knowledge. they are killing the truth. they kicked out the worth efforts who were in the country telling the truth. lou: it's also interesting that the chinese were being given -- you talk about useful idiots. reporters giving them credit for charity as they send medical equipment and supplies to italians. then we find out from the "new york times" report, many in italy, for example, angrily pointing out china was selling masks, respirators and other

equipment and not donating them. and pointing out many of them were meant for chinese citizens in the country. >> look at the european union. five years ago people touted that as the future of the world. open borders and people and goods and information. i talked to friends around the european continent and the european union. there are militaries that have gone out enforcing border control. they are doing checkpoints if people try to travel. what has this pandemic done? it's going to kill a lot of people but it destroyed the world order. while the world keeps fighting for your attention. we'll keep building smarter suv's. to help keep you focused on the road ahead.

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[♪] lou: the president today proposing plans to first of all get money directly to working men and women, their families, and even their children. and also to push for more support for america's economic growth engine, that is, small business. president trump: we'll be helping the airline industry, we'll be helping the cruise ship industry. we probably will be helping the hotel industry. where jobs are created. you don't want to lose

industries like this. we'll be helping small businesses. that's where it's complicated. that's the engine of the country. we'll be helping small business. lou: and lauren: it is 5:00 a.m. here are your top stories at this hour. california on lockdown. governor gavin newsom telling 40 million residents to shelter in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. cheryl: more help is on the way. senate republicans are working on another round of relief for the outbreak. will they get bipartisan support in their efforts? lauren: if you're cooped up and quarantined this weekend, we have the best way to occupy your time. several tv marathons are planned for the weekend, it is friday, march 20th and "fbn: a.m." starts right now. ♪