comfort and send your spirit of healing to those who suffer from illness. >> martha: amen. that's "the story" for friday, october 2nd. see back on monday. have a safe weekend, everybody. take care. be well. ♪ >> tucker: good evening and welcome to "tucker carlson tonight." just a few hours ago, the president of the united states was taken by helicopter to the walter reed medical center in bethesda, maryland. we learned late last night the donald trump and his wife, melania, have tested positive for the coronavirus. today the president began showing symptoms, including a fever. white house doctors pushed them to go to a larger facility for treatment. before he left the white house, the president taped this message. >> i want to thank everybody for the tremendous support. i'm going to walter reed hospital. i think i'm doing very well. but we are going to make sure that things work out.

the first ladies doing very we well. thank you very much. i appreciate it. i will never forget it. thank you. >> tucker: how sick is the president tonight? sick enough to go to the hospital. how much should we read into it? how concerned should we be? we're going to spend the rest of this hour doing our best to find out. we will speak to a number of people close to the first family including the residence on. were going to start tonight with the white house correspondent kevin corke who joins us from outside walter reed. hey, kevin. >> good evening. there are three major angles on the story. obviously there is the health angle. there's also the governance angle and there's the political angle. first the health angle as we all have heard throughout the afternoon, the white house felt like out of an abundance of caution was important to get to the president here. doctors have said this gives them an opportunity to work in a facility that they are used to working in if they need to give them something, say, intravenously like ribbed is severe or something. they will have the facility

already set up. there is the governance angle. there is a huge office suite here specifically for the president of the united states. we also know that the president, let me take this out of my ear for a second, we also know that the president can continue to do the work of the american people. within the hour, i saw he approved an emergency declaration for the state of new york so the business of the people does continue. yes, there's also the political angle. what happens moving forward? we know that around the end of the 14 day quarantine, the president is supposed to be taking part in another town hall debate with the former vice president, joe biden. we heard from the campaign today that they're considering some changes in the format. perhaps that will move forward. perhaps not. we don't know. everyone is wondering, how was the president of the united states? we do know based on what we've heard from his doctors that he is resting comfortably. he has been feeling some symptoms. but as you also played in the video, he seems to be feeling fine. he is hoping to recover quickly.

one last thing that i can tell you, we also saw twitter a number of world leaders express their support for the president and the first lady. among them, boris johnson, the prime minister of the u.k. as you know, he also is recovering from covid-19. tucker. >> tucker: kevin corke outside walter reed and bethesda, maryland. thank you. the white house physician said today the president has received an experiment to antibody treatment fo from the biotech company regeneron. he's taking zinc, vitamin d, daily aspirin as well as a cocktail of other drugs. what do we know as of tonight, as of right now about the president's condition? we know that he's been moved to a hospital. what does that tell us if anything? dr. marc siegel is a fox news medical contributor. he's been following this since the beginning and joins us tonight. doctor, good to see you. >> tucker, i have to tell you that over the years i've watched people in terms of how they respond to illness when i'm training them. covid-19 is no exception to that. i've been watching the patient's

recover from it and i'm heartened today to see how the president is responding to begin with. with cheer, with strength, with courage. maybe we can get some national healing out of this. that would be really great, wouldn't it? in the hospital, we know he's taking monoclonal antibodies, regeneron product. early studies seems to show that it boosts your immune response and decreases the amount of virus. we know that people with low amounts of vitamin d don't do as well so he's taking vitamin d. we've heard and looks him in some studies that zinc helps. more zinc decreases the amount of virus in your body. also aspirin. we have had a lot of blood clotting problems with covid-19 which i have talked to you about. the fact that they cities on aspirin. looks like a lot of careful consideration went into it. what's he doing in the hospital? people worried about that. as kevin just said, it's a big sweet and it's a matter of precaution. he may be doing quite well. why would we want to observe him? we want to see what his oxygen level is. we want to see that his

heart rate is okay. as i mentioned already, want to make sure no blood clotting is forming and no inflammation is going on. all of that is a matter of precaution. it's not a sign of a severe illness. it may very well still be a mild illness. and a precautionary one. the whole country is looking here, and i'm hoping that both sides of the political aisle will say not criticism, not anything, that the president is standing up against illness. let's all be with him and wish and pray for a very quick recovery. >> tucker: amen. you've treated coronavirus patients. you've watched this disease since it first landed here in the united states. tell us the typical course of it in a man the president's age. at what point will we know he's on the upswing or the downswing? >> that's really important question. his age of 74, you know, even at the age of 74, about 95% get full recoveries.

less than 5% die from this, even at his age. a little bit on the overweight side, that concerns me but he doesn't have other pre-existing conditions which is great. doesn't have diabetes. doesn't have renal failure. doesn't have known heart disease or lung disease, all of which bodes well here. he came in with the initial symptoms of fatigue, reported fatigue, fever, and some cough. that's very classic. what i'm going to be looking for over the next several days is, do those things get worse? do those symptoms get worse? does the fever get worse? does the fatigue get worse? how are his lungs doing? how is his breathing? his heart and his kidneys and his brain also. the major organs of the body, how are they doing in the house his breathing going? that's what we will be watching. also his courage to fight illness which we are already sitting on display, tucker. >> tucker: right. i don't pick anyone is surprised by that. so by monday you think we will have a better sense of how this illness is progressing?

>> yes, because as we have talked about here extensively, this is not one illness. it's two illnesses. illness number one of the virus. illness number two is the damage it can do in terms of inflammation in the lungs and the other side of things. we should be able to know by about monday or tuesday whether those complications are kicking in or not. that's why he's there, for precautionary purposes. we should be able to tell by the beginning of next week. we will still want to see him monitored closely for days after that, but by the beginning of next week, we will see which direction. >> tucker: good, thank you for clarity on that, dr. siegel. great to see you. in a few moments will be joined by the president's oldest son, don jr.. across the world tonight people are praying that we will learn good news about the president's condition. at cnn we are told again and again that the president deserved the sickness that he got. they trotted out the usual hacks to explain why. >> a lot of people have been put

in jeopardy by the president's behavior and we learned of course this morning that one of those people is the president himself. >> he just couldn't get over the fact that in his mind the mask equals weakness equals i'm not on top of this virus. >> perhaps a bit of a shock this morning for americans but not necessarily a surprise. >> also the most vivid possible demonstration of the incompetence and the irresponsibility of the administration. >> in large part it's his own dereliction that's partly to blame for this. he chose to go out to rallies. >> tucker: imagine. he just announced he was infected. he just got to walter reed. he deserved it. they didn't wait long. of course million's of americans have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, probably people you know. probably people in your family. hundreds of thousands of died. cnn's expert panelists are saying they all deserved it.

they must have. they were careless. they were derelict in their duties. if there was a lesson from the coverage of this, it's a very familiar lesson. the media class is willing to attack the rest of the country if they think it will hurt the president they despise. if they think it will give them more applicable power. of course it wasn't just the media. in fact the official message of the democratic party is that donald trump had it coming. >> we all receive that news with great sadness. i always pray for the president and family, that they are safe. i continue to do so more intensified. this is tragic. it's very sad. but it also is something that, again, going into crowds unmasked in all the rest, it was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen. >> tucker: brazen invitation. he asked for it. he was dressed provocatively. that's what nancy pelosi just told you. many other democrats are echoing that sentiment. rick leventhal has been following the reaction of the democratic party he joins us tonight with claymore.

rick. >> hey, there's a lot of people wishing the president and first lady well on twitter, sending thoughts and prayers for speedy recovery. but no surprise the haters are not holding back. actually saying they hoped the first couple died. twitter says it's immediately removing those messages because they violate policy. here's one from former obama staffer who shared this and then self deleted a post reading "it's been against my moral identity to tweet this for the past four years but i hope he dies." then there is steve cox, independent candidate from california's 39th district two posted numerous tweets wishing death on the president and then wrote "i hope they both die. i was talking about trump and biden, not melania. she seems nice. because what former elizabeth warren staffer wrote trumpetrump has destroyed millif lives. he deserves none of our sympathy. twitter users have compiled a library of mean tweets. there are too many to count. in a statement, twitter says

content that wishes, hopes or expresses a desire for death, serious bodily harm or fatal disease against an individual is against our rules and twitter says it will prioritize the removal of content when i has a clear call to action that could cause real-world harm. that's a quote. meanwhile the president's tweet announcing he had a virus was. at last count, tallying 1.7 million likes. tucker. >> tucker: unbelievable. rick leventhal, thank you. if you find yourself rooting for someone's death, anyone staff, it's time to pause and take stock of how your own soul has rotted. we are all going to die in the end. trust me, as we do, we are going to regret thinking things like that about other people. we actually debated whether or not to put that on the air tonight. so ugly. in general we don't put things on tv that are that ugly but we thought we should because it's everywhere today. we want you to know why.

there are some who are rooting for the president's demise and the vice president's demise of that nancy pelosi might become president. that sounds insane. and it is. they put it on msnbc anyway. watch. >> this is a very serious health threat. you are second in line for the presidency. has the white house contacted you about the continuity of government? >> tucker: cnn had a similar message today. this is political opportunism obviously but it's more than that. it is spiritual sickness. hatred festering hatred has driven these people bananas. truly. on cnn today, connecticut senator chris murphy who sits on the united states senate, proved the point better than we ever could. here's what he said. >> if president trump can't be out there on the campaign trail for the next two weeks, then he's going to rely on his targets. unfortunately one of his surrogates as vladimir putin. you're likely going to see this campaign ramped up by a rush over the next few weeks to try to substitute for the president's absence on the

campaign trail. >> tucker: i'm sorry. again we apologize even for playing garbage like that. the president of the united states is in the hospital with a life-threatening illness. he seems to be fine but you don't know. that buffoon is on television saying vladimir putin is one of his surrogates. probably some teenage assistant rode that for him, think it's clever. we put that on the air because we want you to know what they are saying as the president was flown to walter reed tonight. what is that even mean by the way? mark steyn joins us tonight to decode what they are saying. as always, the clearest thinker we know. mark steyn, great to see you. what is this? >> well, i hadn't heard that thing from chris murphy until you played it just now, tucker. that's absolutely ridiculous, the idea that trump is in the hospital so his surrogate, putin, will have to do more interference. just to get back to reality, can i -- >> tucker: i would rather live in a country run by putin then chris murphy, i mean it.

i would rather live in a country run by anyone -- >> if chris murphy is in the line of succession, i'm on the first plane out of here. the real coders, the chinese communist party, has managed to7 leaders. they put my old chum boris in the intensive care unit and he's never been the same since. he's permanently damage. they put the prime minister of canada's wife, she's had this thing. now we have the president of the united states. this 37th of the g7. that's pretty impressive strike rate. chris murphy is talking about his clapped out stupid 4-year-old russia conspiracy that has nothing to do with anything real anywhere on the planet. >> tucker: that's a really deep point. i have to ask you, i wasn't

expecting to go here. what do you mean? you work, for our viewers the don't know, you worked with boris johnson. he currently runs great britain. he's the prime minister. what do you mean he hasn't been the same since? what of the effects then? >> one of the things i urge particularly is that when boris first was diagnosed, he stayed in 10 downing street, carried on tweeting and carried on doing his skype videos. he overworked. it wound up putting them in the hospital with more severe symptoms. he came out a changed man and in fact his ministry is changed. the entire government of the united kingdom is kind of listless and hasn't properly convalesced from his illness. my concern here, by the way, this is a remarkable series of events. the story has been moving through the day. if boris is anything to go by, even when you get over the

covid, let's not forget that the president is 20 years older than boris. even when you get over the covid, you can't then immediately go back on the campaign trail and be working 24/7. i'm concerned. if boris is the model here, that effectively the president will be out of combat from now until november 3rd. that's amazing. that actually is the october surprise to end them all. >> tucker: so we have evidenc evidence, scientific evidence from scientists. we don't know this definitively but we are not going to dismiss it. that this virus emerged from a chinese government lab in wuhan, china, central china. and yet we seem to have this kind of weird gentlemen's agreement never to mention that or never to mention chinese culpability in this scourge. why do you think that is? >> i think for a start, there are real, or real penalties for

annoying the chinese. the chinese invaded india in may while we were all in lockdown. nobody noticed it. then she got into a shooting war with india. what they have done in hong kong is basically a big "up yours" to boris. they threatened the australians. there on the rise. they are doing this every day. the chinese government newspaper was gloating within hours about the president and the first lady's diagnosis. and yet this buffoon who is one of the 300 million americans, one of 100 from 309 people who gets to sit in the united states senate thinks this is something to do with putin. this is orwellian, the fact that we has a have a rampant china threatening all manner of comp countries boasting about how it flies into airspace when

american cabinet officials were there just tell them who's really boss. chris murphy thinks the president being taken to the hospital is a great opportunity to dust off the old 4-year-old putin jokes. pathetic. >> tucker: we have been so inwardly focused that we are missing, and i don't want to overstate this because i don't want to be hysterical. effectively a massive expansion of chinese hegemony around the world. i don't want to say chinese take over but that's where we are moving it seems like. >> absolutely. it's like the beginning of the godzilla movie when there's a strange indentation in the ground and we are all standing around saying "what's going on" and then the camera pans out and you realize that it's a giant footprint. the giant footprint is china's. when you're like this buffoon, murphy, and you're doing your 4-year-old putin gags, you're wasting valuable time in public

discourse. this is my worry. actually the president, really the whole rise of china was a bipartisan racket in washington. president trump personally was the one who actually put it on the front burner and addressed it. my concern is actually there wasn't a single question around china in the debate a couple days ago. my concern is that with the president in hospital, there's not going to be any more talk about china. >> tucker: white supremacy, blm. yeah. we're missing the transformation of the world which is transforming to our disadvantage which will be the central fact of our grandchildren's lives. but we are kind of acting like it's not happening because, like, something happened in louisville. this is embarrassing. we are embarrassing ourselves. >> no, no. absolutely. as i said, three g7 governments have been hit at the highest level. 3 out of 7. that's a hell of a strike rate

for the chinese. >> tucker: yeah. it's time to break the spell of narcissism and wake up. there is the rest of the world out there. i really appreciate your sounding that call. mark steyn, good to see you. >> thanks a lot, tucker. >> tucker: as promised, donald trump jr. is here with an update on his father's condition. thanks for coming on. we are really sorry about this. what can you tell us about your father's condition right now? >> >> donald trump, can you hear me? we are going to go back to mark steyn really quick as we try and debug our audio. so mark, the one thing that nobody has mentioned here is sort of like the effect on the presidential race of this. we don't know that. you can kind of see it going in either direction. don't want to speculate too

much. we are effectively a month away. what do you think this does to the race? i can see it from both ends. >> what's interesting is he's a man in his early 70s. people have been saying he's a little bit overweight. there have been people of his age around the world who have had this thing and just taken a couple weeks off. that's why i think a lot of people who think this might just be a mild case will be a little rattled by the scenes of the helicopter on the south lawn taking off for the medical center. i wonder about putting aside the president's health for a moment, i wonder about the optics of it might rattle people a little bit more than you might wish to do. i'll be interested to hear what don jr. has to say about it and the reasons for it. it's very different.

i can't recall that situation, the drama of it, with any other world leader who's been afflicted by this thing. that's something new and abundance of caution is the catchphrase of the day but i'm not sure whether the optics won't actually alarm a lot of the president supporters and so don jr. i hope will be able to reassure us on that point. >> tucker: i hope so too. mark steyn, pq. we're going to have don jr. back in a minute, audio fix. as you may have heard, corey lewandowski was at the now famous fund-raiser in minnesota yesterday. he says he is self isolating out of an abundance of caution. he's not yet tested positive for the virus. we hope he never does. corey lewandowski, happy to have them on. since you are physically there, how to the presidency mother's day >> look, tucker, let me talk

through how it works. in order to gain access every person has to produce a negative covid test. that's a protocol in place regardless of the homeowner, the host of the event or somebody working. that's the first thing. secondly, there was rope and stanchion up everywhere. there is no one getting close to the president. even when he went to take pictures with people, they were standing eight or 9 feet apart. you can see that in the pictures. the recipients would've had the opportunity to take. there was an abundance of caution even in those confines where everyone in the room had a negative covid test. it's very, very important. the president was very upbeat. he seemed very happy. he was talking about the debate performance from a few nights beforehand. i can tell you there was no indication whatsoever that he was fatigued or tired in any way, shape, or form. >> tucker: the idea that -- i'm not running interference for trump. i'm running interference for the entire country.

we all go outside. we all go to the grocery store. you know, we are not super-spreader's. the idea that anybody who emerges from his basement is typhoid mary and putting everyone at risk is a line we should not allow that lida stand period. none of us want to be captive. how's he doing? i've got to be honest, we are rooting for him. because we like him and because he's human being. but he went to walter reed. maybe it's not a big deal. maybe it is. what's the truth? >> the truth is i've had the chance to speak with chief of staff meadows tonight about the president's current climate, his current situation. they took the president they are out of an abundance of caution and knowing the president the way that i do, knowing that he's a warrior, a fighter, for the seven years i've known him, never seen them spend a day in the hospital other than his routine physical since he's been the president. i can tell you i'm sure he didn't want to go. but the experts have said that once you have the coronavirus,

the faster you treated, the faster you recover, the more quickly they can combat the virus, the better it is for everybody. they moved him to walter reed probably against his own wishes. he succumbed to the advice of that medical professionals around him to ensure that he can recover as quickly as possible and continue to fight for america. >> tucker: i heard something recently from someone who would know, it was kind of heartening and it goes to the question of pre-existing conditions. according to someone i spoke to, the president only takes a daily aspirin, that's it. he's not not on any long-term medications, statin drugs. is that true question works to go to the best of my knowledge it's true and someone who's stood by this president for the better part of six years now, he outworked people who are 40 years younger than him. the staff is always had can you slow down. can you not to so much? there's no question when you're a member of the press corps or

near the general public, you see how hard this president works. no president has been able to accomplish more in his first four years than this president because he just continues to fight everything day. look, it's something special. when you have a politician, person like donald trump, they have a different gear than everybody else. great athletes rise to a different level than all other competitors. that's what donald trump does when he fights for this country. >> tucker: he's got quite a life force, you can feel it through the screen even. i think that's right. corey lewandowski, thanks for coming on tonight. >> thank you, tucker. >> tucker: we have fixed donald trump juniors audio problem. we are a tv network. we can do that. we're going to talk to him right after the break. see you in a minute. wedding day, huh boys? been there, done that. twice your cousin. from boston. karen, i'm just gonna say what everyone here is thinking. you look smokin. total smokeshow. and they never did find his finger.

they had to close the pool for like an hour. ♪ i brought a date. name's sam. dig in. love is like boston lager. rich, complex and it's over too soon. right, chrissy? oh my god. ♪

♪ >> tucker: donald trump jr. is here with an update on his father's condition.

don, thanks for joining us. first, we are really sorry about this news. have you spoken to your father since he was diagnosed? and how is he? >> i spoke to him this morning. obviously he's taking it seriously. really it's business as usual with my father. i have known him for a long time. i am 42 years old. i don't know that i've ever seen in sick. i don't know that i've ever seen and have the flu or anything like that. he's obviously taking it seriously but he's a fighter. i know he still working. i know he speaking with various senators about the stimulus package today. he's going to take it seriously. >> tucker: do we have any sense of how long he will be staying there or is it unknowable? >> it's unknowable. they are bringing him to walter reed not for anything in particular other than to have a an abundance of caution. they are going to have them there. they will be under more close observation than at the white house. the conspiracies i'm seeing. it wasn't anything more than

just that, an abundance of caution. >> tucker: it makes sense. by the way, he's the president of the united states, of course they're going to want to give him the best medical treatment they can prophylactically. what effect does this have on the work he's doing, running the country, and on his reelection campaign? >> obviously i would love him on the road for the campaign. it's something he does so well. he loves it and feeds off it. the enthusiasm is very palpable. as a relates to running the free world, i'm of the getty does anything. he's a worker. he's always been a worker. when i speak to my father it's usually after midnight and he is still in the oval office. he's working. whether it's boosting the economy, getting that going again, dealing with covid during the crisis, my father has always been a worker. he doesn't sleep much any works hard and he's going to keep fighting and that's what he's going to do right here right now for the american people. nothing is going to take a backseat.

obviously can't do the public appearances he'd otherwise be doing. he's going to take that very seriously. but he's going to be out there. he's going to be working hard. as i mentioned, he speaking with senators. he wants to be in the action. that's when he is. i know ivanka and jared tested negative earlier. i tested negative earlier since we were in proximity with him on tuesday. the rest of the family seems to be holding up great which is also good news. we look forward to sort of letting the incubation period macro throughout also getting back to work. >> tucker: this has been floating around on a pretty widescale since march. your dad has been pretty much out there since march. he hasn't been hiding anywhere. he's been talking to people, a lot of people and doing a lot of big rallies. he gets it a month before the election. it's a little weird. how does he get it, do you think? >> you know it, i don't know. the protocols around my father pretty amazing. kimberly got an earlier this summer. the only reason we knew she

actually had it was because we were getting in proximity to him. literally anyone who's in that close proximity is tested each and every day. so if he can get it, probably anyone can, for better or worse. i know they took really expensive protocols and it didn't seem to matter so i'm not sure where that would've come from or who. but the reality is there is something -- it is something that can spread. >> tucker: how is hope? hope hicks creates because she's doing well. i texted her earlier. checking on how she's doing. like all of those in the sort of inner circle of the term family, really wants to get back at it, taking it very seriously. wants to be in the game and still working from wherever they are quarantining. for an abundance of caution, looking to get back on the road and get back out there fighting for the american people. >> tucker: you haven't said partisan word in europe. political guy not afraid to hold back. you haven't seen anything like

that in the 3 minutes we've been talking and i don't want to beat you into saying anything you don't want to say but some of the reactions of been outside the bounds of political attacks. are you able to filter them out? >> i am pretty at that. i fight pretty hard. i got that gene from the trump family. there's a time in a place for all of it. you take it personal. some of the stuff is pretty disgusting but i've also had people who i know are not on our side, even people in the media who've reached out. they seemed at least genuinely sympathetic and understanding. it leads me to believe, makes me feel reasonably good about where things are. some of the stuff is way below the belt. it's not worth acknowledging that. it's okay. whatever it is. people can decide what that is. obviously as a son, family member, as an american, it's upsetting. but it is what it is in this world i guess these days. >> tucker: yeah, it is what it

is. i assume that i have to ask you, i assume this changes the debate schedule, right? do we know? >> you know what, i don't actually know. some of it depends on when he can get back at it. ten, 14 days whatever it might be. i defer to the white house doctors on the details of it. for me, i did cancel my stuff that i had planned for the weekend. we were doing a big bus tour around florida with the ufc fighter talking to hispanics around the state and had a bunch of other events for sunday and monday and tuesday. basically i'm going to take a week off until tuesday, get tested again then. that's basically the incubation period back as told to me by the white house doctors. if i am clear again. i'm going to get back to work again and fight. >> tucker: yeah. the timing of all that is very task i'm sure there's nothing to it but it's pretty weird. don jr., great to see you. speak i'm not going to get conspiratorial on that one. >> tucker: i am not a

conspiracy guy in the slightest, just noting that it's a little strange. anyway, thank you so much for coming on. we appreciate it. what's the best way to assess ththe presidents condition right now? given the pretty small set of facts we have going on. the doctor, a professor at johns hopkins university. someone that we go to to answer questions. thank you for coming on. how would you, given what we know the huge amount we don't know, how would you assess where the president's tonight? >> in medicine we talk about the eyeball test. the president looks pretty good. he looked strong. his gait is strong. his speech is normal. this is not a guy with a hacking cough. it's not a guy dealing with undulating pain or some intractable problem. this is someone who has a classic low viral load symptoms, fatigue and low energy and you feel like you got the wind knocked out of you. you might feel like it's the end of the day, five or 6:00 in the day instead of later at night.

that's the low viral symptoms we are seeing and let's be optimistic. does a lot of good things to be optimistic about. statistics are on his side, the survival rate is very good. best-case scenario, let's think about the best-case scenario. he gets better in a couple days and a week from saturday, week from sundays back to his normal healthy self. i think that's very feasible. >> tucker: so you think it is. the mortality risk seems low, at least statistically it is very low. you wonder about the aftereffects. he obviously has come as almost everyone who's been elected president does, enormous almost superhuman reserves of energy. how long, how tough is the recovery? how long does it take a person's age to get back up to fighting strength? >> typically people to go to the hospital or there about four or five days. there's a wide range. of course he's going to the hospital at a time when he may not have to go but we like calm.

we don't like the idea of a rush to the hospital the last second. even though it's a one and 100 chance that there might be a need to go to the hospital quickly, they'd rather just sort of have him recover and quarantine in a hospital. we've got to think about what we are learning. we are learning about how we have been oddly complacent about seasonal flu deaths each year. we are watching asymptomatic spread in a couple cases. the country is benefiting from the example of how basic precautions can help. i think there's a lot of benefits to what we are seeing here with his humility to go to the hospital, listen to the doctors and take that step. >> tucker: let me ask you a broader question about the coronavirus i've been wondering today. do you feel we know a lot about it? as a physician, you're treating a patient with coronavirus, do you feel confident you understand the course of the disease, what its effects are going to be? do we feel like we have a handle on what this is?

>> no, we don't. it's could have some degree of humility around a virus we've not yet fully understood. there are some things are very clear. we now understand viral shedding. we understand asymptomatic community transmission, cardiac and neurological threats, the long-term effects. there are somethings that still don't make sense. why does egypt have almost no coronavirus cases with no masks? is it because they are mostly in outdoor society? why is it that most of asia has been able to contain and have very limited outbreaks? there are some things that don't make sense. right now we are watching a big second wave in europe. the mortality is very low. two recent studies have suggested it's because of low viral load. people are not getting infected with a big dose of the virus. like being in an elevator this been crowded or congested or conference room where someone has been hacking and coughing. people are getting a low amount of virus and on average they are starting with a lower load of virus. they are fighting and more early. we're learning a fair bit. i think it's good to have some

degree of humility around a virus. we are getting the case fatality rate down to almost seasonal flu levels. i think once the therapeutics with the monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies come out, those trials will show that we can get that mortality down to seasonal flu levels. >> tucker: without a vaccine. >> without a vaccine. we were told hiv was going to be solved with a vaccine. it turned out it was therapeutics. china has already said that there are probably not going to vaccinate their whole population, only high-risk in the visuals. >> tucker: yeah. some of the vaccine talk is misleading. i agree. thank you, that was interesting. appreciate it. you probably saw the tape. the president walked onto marine one. he was on his own. we are told he's doing fairly well, staying at least overnight at the hospital. what are the procedures in place for the president at walter reed? rick leventhal has looked into all this and joins us tonight with an update. >> walter reed has presidential quarters set up like

air force one, it allows the president to carry out his duties while he recovers from his illness. if this condition deteriorates, the 25th amendment to the constitution would then provide the guidance. it was passed after the assassination of john f. kennedy. the 25th amendment allows the president to declare himself unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office and if he were to make that call, he would center root written note to the senate senate president pro tem, republican chuck grassley. and house speaker nancy pelosi. mike pence would assume the duties of the president and when he felt up to it mr. trump would write another note. presidents reagan and george w. bush use the amendment before planned surgeries. if trump falls severely ill and can't write a note to himself, his cabinet would meet and vote to confirm that he's unable to discharge his power and duties. vp pence would assume the oval office. if pence was also physically unable, speaker pelosi would be next in line for the job. if she can't do it,

senator grassley becomes president. then the secretary of state, treasury secretary, all this has never happened of course. chad pergram reports that multiple sources tell him there has been no discussion yet on executed a 20-foot amendment if the president is unable to his duties. we saw him walk onto air force e he's okay and we are hoping that remains the case. >> tucker: rick leventhal, thanks so much. one of the members of congress who knows the president best is one of the newest members of congress. that would be a congressman matt gaetz of florida. he joins us tonight to discuss all of his. congressman, thanks much for coming on. i have to hit you with something that just happen. apparently chuck schumer, senate minority leader, has just tweeted that it would be "irresponsible given the president's illness for the senate to move forward with confirmation hearings for amy coney barrett."

what would the president's coronavirus infection have to do with the supreme court nomination? >> chuck schumer might need to check his checks and balances. the senate judiciary does the work of these confirmation hearings. the president wouldn't necessarily need to be there. tucker, i have traveled with the president frequently. i am familiar with the testing and other coronavirus protocols that are around the oval office and air force one. what i can tell you is that if this virus can get into the oval, into the body of the president, there is no place where it could not possibly infect one of our fellow americans. that's why it's so important to continue executing on president trump's strategy to allow our country to open up but then to ensure that we protect vulnerable because there is no lockdown that can be a panacea to save everyone from everything. this is proof positive that's the case. i hope in a matter of days or weeks, we are not talking about how trump survived the coronavirus but maybe how the coronavirus survived trump. he's the hardest working man i have ever met. he's one of the strongest. i wish him all the best.

>> tucker: it such a smart point. if the president can get this virus, then it tells you a lot about our ability to protect ourselves from it. how many people watching have college aged kids suffering through the draconian restrictions but got covid anyway. maybe we should spend more time on therapeutics to help people once they are affected. >> it has occurred to the administration. there's been so much work on therapeutics. it's one of the reasons why in america we have one of the strongest survival rates against coronavirus in the world and i think it is the strongest even for someone in their 70s like president trump. the survivability rate is around 95%. very strong. again the answer is not to hunker down, shut down, hide under your bed and hope that the virus won't ever find you. the answer is to ensure that we live our lives, protect the vulnerable and recognize the critical importance of making sure we continue to make

progress on those therapeutics so we can continue to become more and more survivable against a virus. >> tucker: i'm so glad that you said that. it such an obvious point. i wish i'd said it first but you did. you are politically astute i think it's fair to say. what do you assess the political reaction? how do you assess that? what do you make of how washington responded to the ne news. >> whether it's the president of the united states where a beloved family member, would always want to show empathy for someone who in a moment as a little veiled or ill or in need of a be a weekend off to recover. instead what we have seen is vitriol, hatred. some of the things are so disgusting that people are willing to post online and social media. literally hoping that someone dies. i can't imagine there is any person i've disagreed with politically than i would wish that outcome on. i wish when the president does resume his campaign activities and his other activities that he

will be right back to winning again for the american people. talking to a number of white house officials, business as usual is trickle at the white house on the president is still making the decisions. it's one of the reasons he is so charming to the country. he's in command. he's in control. he's made a very clear that even from his offices at walter reed that will continue to be the case. >> tucker: yeah. you're right about the vitriol. we could've spent the entire hour tonight. i was almost tempted just airing the crap, the garbage, that heat online and i thought no, we don't want to make the country uglier. it was definitely out there. congressman matt gaetz of florida, great to see you tonight. thank you. >> good to see you. >> tucker: an update from walter reed. also a major new drug to treat the coronavirus is nearing fda approval. you will hear about it here first on the show in just a moment.

>> tucker: welcome back.

want to bring you a fox news alert. we got this from a source at the white house, this is what they're saying about the president. the president is in excellent health. he's in excellent spirits. we anticipate a complete return to the campaign trail very quickly. the future of the country is at stake. right now, kevin corke is live at walter reed in bethesda for an update there. >> the president is inside resting comfortably. as you heard him mention and other staffers mention, they feel very optimistic about his prognosis. there will be many tests moving forward. a great deal of support from world leaders across the globe. let me share some. beginning with israeli prime minister benjamin nettian -- netanyahu. he said he wishes his friends a

full and speedy recovery. this from boris johnson who was hospitalized with covid this spring. he said my best wishes to president trump and the first lady. hope they have a speedy recovery. very interesting. we've gotten reports that the president received well-wishes from kim jong-un, the hermit in north korea. tucker? >> tucker: i guess evidence that he's still alive supposedly. kevin corke for us outside walter reed. thanks a lot. dr. cameron durant is the ceo of humanogen, a bio company that could be the first pharmaceutical company to treat coronavirus. he joins us now. what is this drug and what does it do? >> well, tucker, lenz treats the

cause of the harmful inflammation that we see in patients with covid. it is the inflammation that kills people, not the virus itself. >> interesting. so when the organs of the body shut down, the lungs cease to work. that's the result of inflammation, correct? >> that's correct. so ordinarily the body and the immune system -- think of it like having a gas pedal and a brake pedal. when it gets overstimulated, it's like having the foot on the gas pedal and keeping it on the gas pedal. what lenz does, it helps alleviate that pressure by putting a foot on the brake. we've seen data, very exciting data, tucker. published from the mayo clinic that showed in patients that received lenz, the patients had

an 80% reduction in risk of ventilation or death. the patients on average left the hospital after five days which was less than half the period of time, 11 days for those patients that didn't receive lenz. including patients on the icu. >> the longer you stay in the hospital typically the longer lasting the effects and the worse the outcome. that is quite an advancement. so when will this do you believe become available to patients? >> well, we're at the final stretch, tucker, of conducting a phase 3 clinical study. we hope to have the data before the end of the year. you're absolutely correct about your comment about being in the hospital for a long period of time. just yesterday there was a publication of a patient in his 70s, he had been on the icu for

three months. he received lenz and just two weeks later he was discharged home. a remarkable story. >> tucker: it is remarkable. we're profoundly hopeful that it's everything you say it is and we can get it soon. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, tucker. >> tucker: well, before we go, let's go back to mark steyn for just a moment to close out the hour having had maybe the most interesting six minutes of tv i have done in awhile. mark, you've been watching this. i want you to put a bow on us for as we go out tonight. >> i was shocked by these people urging on the death of the president. i'd advise the president to pay no attention to it. for these people, if you're hoping -- if you live in a free society and you're hoping your political leadership dies, you've flown the coup of sel

self-governing society and wonder if you're fit to live in a self-governing society. the deputy premier in australia was doing trump detergent jokes. the next time i'm down under, i'm happy to sock his in the jaw. these people have lost it. >> tucker: we have an election in the month. if you don't care for your leadership, vote against it. why that hasn't occurred to anyone. >> because it's a political blood fest in the air. filling in a ballot doesn't satisfy them. it's a sickness. if you're doing this in the public, on the internet, think about what it says about you, not about the president and the first lady. >> tucker: that's right. says your soul is rotten. never root for anyone's death. we'll all die and you'll regret

it. mark steyn. great to see you. thanks so much for that. we're out of time. we'll be back monday. we hope that you spend the weekend with the ones you love, remembering what matters, which is always your family and your dogs. sean hannity is next. have a great weekend. >> sean: we begin this friday night at 9:00 in the east, 6:00 on the west coast with a fox news alert. thanks for being with fox news. welcome to "hannity." the president of the united states, donald trump and melania trump are experiencing some symptoms after testing positive for covid-19. our sources tell us it's mild. earlier out of caution, the president traveled to walter reed medical center and also received a cutting-edge anti-body treatment. the president is expected to work out of his designated office at walter reed the next few days while being monitored by the top health