joining me now, weekend today co-host kristen welker and steve kornacki at the big board. kristen, first to you, you've been with the bidens throughout this whole really incredible 72 hours. this comeback, first of all, what is their strategy going forward? are they likely to make the kinds of changes that jim clyburn has been pushing for? will they accept mike bloomberg's help? >> reporter: well, i think they're taking a hard look at that advice that jim clyburn is giving them, the fact that he is saying they do need to in some aspects retool their campaign. there's no doubt that his endorsement was hugely significant in terms of that win that we saw in south carolina which really turned this entire race around. you saw that tweet from biden praising bloomberg, his candidacy, and bloomberg saying he's going to endorse joe biden. that is hugely significant. and there's the tweet there

>> kristen welker at the white house, as i mentioned. the commander in chief is calling on the pentagon to combat the virus. courtney kuby joins us from the pentagon. the president deploying two hospital ships and assigned the defense production act. talk about the new developments and how realistically are they going to possibly tip the scale in the ongoing fight one way or the other? >> the defense production act we don't have a good sense exactly what that will do immediately. the assumption is it's used for encouraging or for really giving the federal government more authority that private industry could help produce equipment and things that are needed for overall national security. there are shortages of ventilators and masks. those are the two most obvious things that private industry would be used to produce more of. as far as the way the pentagon stands in this, the u.s. military has already released some things from their strategic reserves, in this case it's been about 2,000 of these breathing machines that are so needed all t

here is kristen welker >> reporter: tonight with the next round of primaries just days away the battlechigan is intensifying. today bernie sanders really sharpening his attacks against biden. >> biden has been on the floor of the senate in years past calling for cuts to social security, medicare, medicaid and veterans' programs. >> reporter: sanders made similar comments last night prompting this fiery response from biden, the only person who is going to cut social security if he's elected is donald trump. biden has denied he ever supported cuts to social security though at one point he did favor trimming the deficit, which could have frozen some spending for the program. the bitter back and forth comes as both candidates are trying to win elizabeth warren's support warren told rachel maddow she's not ready to endorse anyone yet but sharply criticizing some sanders' supporters for online attacks >> we are responsible for the people who claim to be our supporters, and do really threatening ugly, dangerous things. >> reporter: for sanders who is trailing biden, michigan is critical in fa

lester >> kristen welker at the white house. thank you. >>> and now to that situation in italy it's a country on unprecedented lock down officials taking that step to try and stop the spread of coronavirus leading to scenes tonight, iconic scenes dejserted >> reporter: now facing perhaps its toughest test with coronavirus deaths jumping to 631 now over 10,000 testing positive nationwide. officials placing an entire nation of 60 million people in lock down restaurants and bars deserted, ordered closed after 6:00 p.m. people mandated to keep tooes 3 feet away from anyone else or face-up to 3 months in jail though people are allowed to go to work and public transportation is still run, now iconic landmarks are eerily empty. this whole area should be filled with tourists, but every place from the colosseum to here at the fountain normally you'd barely be able to walk here italy's government hopes to follow china's lead where tonight there's good news in the country where the coronavirus originated three months ago that outbreak now

period. >> reporter: kristen welker, nbc news, los angeles. >> reporter: this is andrea mitchell in new york where former mayor and billionaire mike bloomberg's campaign is over but not his pledge to defeat donald trump by backing joe biden. >> i hope you will join me in working to make him the next president of the united states of america. >> reporter: he and biden talked this morning with bloomberg offering his help. >> i see mini mike just got out and he's going to try and save face by putting somebody into biden's campaign and we'll see what happens have an impact. >> reporter: bloomberg cannot legally donate more than $2,800 to biden but he can start a super pac and provide boots on the ground in battleground states and help biden's online fund raising. >> sorry we didn't win but it is still the best day of my life and tomorrow's going to be even better. >> reporter: bloomberg proved money alone can't deliver votes having spent nearly $500 million on ads and winning no states getting only 24 delegates so far at a cost of $18.5 million per delegate bloomberg first got into the race

joining me for insight and analysis are nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker, former homelandsecurity secretary jeh johnson, presidential historian doris kearns goodwin, and david french, columnist for "time" magazine. welcome to sunday and a special edition of "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news in washington, the longest running show in television history, this is a special edition of "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. unlike with some crises this country has faced, pearl harbor, the kennedy assassination, 9/11, it's doubtful americans will remember where they were when they first heard the news about the coronavirus, but this crisis has also done what those couldn't do, empty the american landscape. new york state is essentially shutting down and with it the nation's largest city. the same with illinois and chicago. this is the scene at the iconic santa monica pier outside of the nation's second largest city, los angeles. other states are doing the same. is it enough? are americans willing to endure a full national shutdown to stop the sprea

. >>> good evening i am kristen welker in for kate snow. as the coronavirus tightens its group across the country, president trump told the nation tonight he is pledging more help to governors from the hardest hit states who have been demanding the federal government stup up its response the president now saying he will send in more life saving medical supplies and in washington as lawmakers work frantically to strike a deal to address the crisis, revelations that rand paul the senator from kentucky testing positive, spaing concerns whether the senate will be able to finish the job. all of this while the u.s. death toll tops 394. we begin with kathy park in new york. >> reporter: tonight a medical emergency as doctors fighting the coronavirus warn supplies of personal protective equipment, mask, gowns, and gloves, are running critically low night does keep me up at night. we are running low, very low can't afford to have our health care workers get sick and be out of work. >> reporter: as the crisis deepens, governors are demanding more hel

tonight president trump will address the nation in prime time our kristen welker is at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, with coronavirus cases mounting, president trump says he will announce new steps to address the crisis. >> i'll be making a statement later on tonight as to what i've decided to do and what our country will be doing. >> reporter: the president saying he is looking at the possibility of new travel restrictions to europe, as well as possibly declaring a national disaster, which could free up as much as $40 billion in federal funds. something the president seemed to hint at earlier in the day, tweeting i'm fully prepared to use the full power of the federal government to deal with our current challenge of the coronavirus. the administration has also been working with house democrats on a plan to help americans impacted, including expanding paid sick leave, lunches for kids in need and bolstering unemployment insurance. >> if we get rid of the problem quickly, everything solves itself we don't need stimulus that will be good but we are talking about various forms of

lester >> all right kristen welker at the white house, thank you. hospitals really have no chance but to prepare for worst-case scenarios and some questioning whether the system is ready to athlete a flood of parmts if that's what this comes down to here's tom costello. >> reporter: in the incident command center at johns hopkins medicine they're preparing for a sudden surge of patients who need immediate care today, big news. >> we have our in-house tests that are microbiology colleagues developed. >> reporter: hopkins has its own coronavirus test, no longer reliant on the cdc. for months hopkins coronavirus website has been tracking realtime every case worldwide. like all hospitals, it's now ensuring it's ready, enough beds, medicine, ventilators, protective clothing and personnel. one big challenge, planning for a scenario in which doctors and nurses, hospital staff become sick and then need care themselves. >> we are on the front lines. >> reporter: today nurses in several california cities complained their hospitals aren't prepared some hospita

first to you, kristen welker, the president is already on board. we're not going to have a repeat what happened previously with legislation agreed to in a bipartisan way where he would balk at the end of the day? >> the president is on board based on my conversations with white house officials and treasury secretary steve mnuchin, andrea, indicated as much. he is eager to get this passed. he's feeling the heat. he wants to, of course, prevent what is becoming an economic downturn from becoming a recession or one that is a grave recession. so he wants congress to act quickly. he has been saying that for the past several days so we do anticipate once this passes that he will absolutely be on board with signing it as quickly as possible. remember, the economy, andrea, obviously key to his re-election and he, of course, yesterday talked about his goal, his new timeline. he would like to see things start to reopen by easter. of course, medical official, tho anthony fauci, for example, tempering that kind of language but the president feeling the heat to

let es go to kristen welker. >> this is a fired up joe biden who took the podium earlier tonight and energized the crowd touting the results which have exceeded his expectations in this campaign, and expectations, and he is trying to make the case tonight that he is the candidate to bring out a more diverse electorate, and to frankly get people excited and energize and enthused about this election. take a listen to what he had to say to the audience tonight. >> just a few days ago, the press and the pundits had declared the campaign dead. and then came south carolina, and they had something to say about it. and so when i got to super tuesday, i was told it is over. but maybe it is over for the other guy. and so tell that to the folks who from virginia. north carolina. alabama. tennessee. oklahoma. arkansas. minnesota. and maybe even massachusetts, because it is too close the call. so, we are still waiting for texas and california and a few other small states to come in. but it is looking good. so i am here to report that we are very much alive. >> reporter: now we should mention that

let's go now to kristen welker at the white house. kristen, this travel ban drew u strong reaction to from the european union who say you know, they were not aware of this beforehand and they say quote, the european union disapproves of the fact that the u.s. decision to impose a travel ban was taken without consultation. what are we hearing frg the white house at this hour? you also heard david mentioning that the markets are nervous because he didn't talk at all about the testing. >> right, the white house clearly keeping a close eye on the market, casey. so far, no official response to that pushback by the european union, but privately, officials here insisting that that suspension of travel from foreign nationals from europe is necessary. that it's the best way to try to stem the flow of those who are coming into the country who may be infected with the virus. now we know that the vice president was out on the "today" show earlier today defending the administration's policies, the steps that were taken by president trump and annou

nbc's kristen welker says some are demanding an investigation into several members' trades. >> reporter: good day to you. the top republican on the senate intelligence committee, richard burr, is under pressure from democrats and even some republicans after his decision to sell off hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock just one week before the market started its historic slide because of the coronavirus. also under fire, georgia's republican senator kelly loeffler who also sold off large amounts of stocks recently. both senators received regular briefings since january that included information from the administration about the epidemic. burr's office says he was deeply concerned about the steep and sudden concern the pandemic has meant for our economy. loeffler said she did not make decisions about her portfolio. we haven't gotten any response from senator inhofe but spokesperson for feinstein said that all of senator feinstein's assets are in a blind trust. kristen welker, nbc bay area news. >>> workers at a los altos senior facility are taking new precautions to protect patients

kristen welker is at the white house for us, kasie hunt is capitol hill and david gura is on the floor of the stock exchange. we're seeing a surge in the markets because of what the president had to say last night, announcing something, quote, dramatic, to be exact with his words, that is expected today. but our colleagues at cnbc have new reporting that is white house is really far away from rolling out any specific details. what have you learned? >> reporter: based on my conversations, it would appear that that's the case. officials here say they're still working out the details about when and if the president is going to be meeting with congressional leaders as he said he would be yesterday. and when pressed on the details of that press conference that the president said he was going to have, they're still working through that as well. here is what we know. we know that president trump yesterday floated the idea that he's working on a plan to stimulate the economy which would include some type of payroll tax cut, would include relief for hourly workers. the devil is in the details.

. >> joining me now is nbc white house correspondent kristen welker. what do we know about the news conference, and what does a national emergency mean? what force does that have? >> andrea, we know president trump at that 3:00 p.m. press conference he announced a short time ago is expected to announce a national emergency. that would essentially trigger the stafford act, which would unleash $40 billion this funds to deal with this growing crisis. this would give aid to not only those who have been impacted by the virus but for those who are trying to fight the crisis as well. the question though, andrea, will he unleash that full $40 billion? will there be a component piece to this? in addition to the president's news conference later today, of course, andrea, all eyes are on capitol hill because we know they have been negotiating a deal that would also provide aid to those who have been impacted by the virus. i'm told based on my conversations they're close to a deal, they would like to vote on a deal in the house by the end of day. will that happen

we' let me bring in kristen welker at the white house. just moments ago the president announcing plans to shut down the border with canada. we are expecting to hear from the prime minister of canada justin trudeau in a little bit, probably within this hour. we'll bring that to you live when that happens. what have you learned, kristen, about the reasoning behind this? what does it entail? >> reporter: we want to point out, we're going to hear from president trump as well a little bit later on today. potentially at that 11:30 task force briefing, ayman. here's the quote by president trump, we will be closing our northern border canada to nonessential traffic. trade will not be affected. details to follow. that is part of the key section there, ayman, that trade will not be impacted because of course that is something that could rattle the markets and rattle the business world more. we know the administration is poised to likely shut down parts of the southern border as well to really try to stop the amount and limit the amount of people wh

joining me now is "today" co-host kristen welker and robert costa, moderator of "washington week" on pbs. we saw carol maloney on the house say opening the hearing and saying we understand, dr. fauci, dr. redfield, you have to speak quickly, shorten your opening statements because you have been called to an emergency meeting at the white house. another meeting with the vice president pence group. is there something we didn't know about? >> andrea, it was a previously scheduled meeting according to officials at the white house. they say this was something scheduled yesterday. look, having said that, they're downplaying this word emergency, but the bottom line is they're responding to what is -- >> sars was also a coronavirus. >> we apologize. there was a little bit -- dr. fauci's audio interrupting you. let's go back to you, kristen. >> so this was yet another meeting here that they are holding, andrea, to deal with this ongoing crisis. they are downplaying the word emergency but they don't dispute the fact these meetings have been ongoing daily, ever since they started to respond to

>> kristen welker is at the white house. of course, was part of that briefing. kristen, we have a number of issues to cover, but i also wanted to just touch base with you on the state department announcing this professional alert which is stage 4 as i understand it, and it's to come home or stay in place, but telling americans not to travel. you want to clarify if you have that there? >> and that's right. that is what we are hearing. what we have learned at this hour now. you saw president trump got a question about that. he says he's going to be talking to the state department a little bit later on this afternoon. so he declined to comment but that is our understanding at this hour and certainly a significant move by the state department, andrea. >> and also, i want to ask you about your questions. your last question to dr. murthy, whether the vaccine, which is really the gold standard here is to get a vaccine and begin to immunize our country, whether it can be accelerated. i've not heard anyone, official or unofficial medical field, saying it can be done quick

joining me no insight and analysis are nbc news whout correspondent kristen welker. eddie glaude jr., peggy noonan and former white house press secretary robert gibbs. welcome to sunday and a special edition of "meet the press." >> announcer: from nbc news headquarters in new york, the longest running show in television history, this is a special edition of "meet the press" with chuck todd. >>> good sunday morning from our election headquarters right here at rockefeller center in new york city. we have so much to talk about. yesterday south carolina's primary, our look ahead to super tuesday and the growing fears over the coronavirus which has now claimed its first victim in the united states. so let's get right to it. we'll start with presidential politics. while he's not yet the comeback kid, joe biden got the win he so desperately needed yesterday. biden's south carolina firewall held and then some. with almost all the votes counted, joe biden won every single county in the state, crushing bernie sanders by a 2-1 margin with everyone else trailing badly. biden's b

kristen welker is at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent talks intensifying as house speaker nancy pelosi and treasury secretary steven mnuchin work furiously to strike a deal to help those impacted by the coronavirus. it would likely include new funding for paid sick days and shoring up safety programs like food assistance, and funding for free coronavirus testing. and while some sticking points remain, sources say they are close to an agreement. >> we should not just take a rush just because there's a bill we want to make sure it works in the process of where we're going. >> we are here to pass a bill. >> reporter: administration officials also say the president is still seriously considering an emergency declaration that could free up billions of dollars. >> i have a lot of emergency actions that i can take. >> reporter: the president has been under pressure to do more including from some republicans who say his administration did not move quickly enough to address the crisis today, the democratic presidential candidates pouncing. >> public fears are being compounded by a

kristen welker with more on the president's new plans. >> reporter: tonight, a show of force from the rose garden as president trump flanked by major ceos and his task force announced a national emergency. >> i am officially declaring a national emergency, two very big words. the action i am taking will open up access to up to 50 billion. >> reporter: the president saying he will also urge states to set up emergency operation centers, call on hospitals to enact emergency preparedness plans and partner with private companies to increase testing abilities and set up drive through test sites >> the goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car. >> reporter: the markets rebounded after suffering their worst day thursday since 1987, but the president has come under harsh criticism for failing to act quickly enough with reports of test ki shortages across the country, something his own top dr. anthony fauci said was a failing this week. >> it is a failing let's admit it. >> reporter: president trump responding when pressed by nbc news. >> do

and for that, robert costa, jonathan capehart, dan balz, and of course kristen welker.ki at the big board. this is all about math. >> yeah. >> never my strong point. i know politics. i'm not that great at math. it clearly is, if you don't reach 15% viability, you get zero delegates and they're counted by congressional districts and there are 50 congressional districts in california alone, as well as statewide. >> it is a complicated formula and the other variable there of course in california, you mentioned the mail-in voting. it may take a week to count everything up there and to get all those numbers. but everybody there was talking about how the world has changed in this democratic race since saturday and that is absolutely true. the prospect a week ago of what dan balz was just describing, biden coming out of tonight potentially down only 50 or so delegates to sanders was unimaginable a week ago. now it's not that hard to envision. the biggest one, california, a third of all delegates up tonight are going to be there in california. a week ago, it was a question whet

nbc news kristen welker has more. >> reporter: president trump tried to calm fears during a visit tool hill. >> we're doing a great job. it will go away, stay calm. >> reporter: the president's message as he publicly pitched republican senators on his ideas to bolster the economy. among the measures floated a payroll tax cut through the end of the year and expanding paid leave. >> it was a great meeting. there's great unity within the republican party. >> reporter: and while some republicans have traditionally opposed a payroll tax cut because of cuts on social security, some seem to be open to it. >> well, i think the package needs to be negotiated. >> reporter: but the president could be on a collision course with democrats who argue a tax cut would not help everyone. >> we can only support an initiative that puts families first. and not trickle-down solutions. >> reporter: the president did not provide specific information about when the plan will be finalized. or how much it will cost, only to say he will announce new details soon. >> thank you for that. >>> the coronavirus is ca

nbc news this is a special edition of "today," the coronavirus pandemic, with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today" and thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. peter and i are joining you once again from our bureau in washington, d.c. and are keeping the appropriate social distance from one another. >> i got the tape measure out it's a strong 6 feet separating us today. we thank you for joining us. a lot of the news you're hearing these days will be overwhelming, we will do you our best to bring you the latest headlines and also some stories that we hope will make you smile. nice to be here in d.c. near our families. >> that's right, we hope everyone's families staying together and staying safe as well. there are so many overnight developments to get to this morning. we do want to get you caught up on the very latest. 75 million people are now or will soon be staying home. the governors in new york and illinois now joining california issuing orders for residents to stay inside, except for activities like going to the grocery store or exercising al

with savannah off and hoda recovering from the flu, kristen welker in the house. good to see you, as always. >> great to be here on a very big day. >> yes. >> a lot of exciting things planned. international women's day. >> let's look at the crowd, outside gathering to celebrate women from all walks of life. >> trail blazers. >> we're going to do that later. karlie kloss is here, as well, and will help us honor them. >>> first, the very latest on the coronavirus and where things stand right now. passengers on that cruise ship off of the coast of california, now tested for the virus after the coast guard air-lifted test kits to the ship. >> mike pence, in charge of the government's response, says america doesn't have enough tests to meet anticipated demands. >> with travel bans and flight cancellations mounting, analysts worry the virus could cause airlines to lose $113 billion this year. >> and breaking news just this morning, the vatican is reporting its first case of coronavirus. we should point out, pope francis has tested negative. >> we're going to talk to dr.

scandal that involves the coronavirus and members of congress nbc's white house correspondent kristen welkerkristen, what can you tell us? >> hi, savannah, good morning to you. the top republican on the senate intelligent committee richard burns under pressure from democrats and some republicans after his decision to sell hundreds of thousands of stocks one week before the stock started its historic slide under the coronavirus. also under fire, kelly loeffler who also sold off large amounts of stock recently. both senators received regular briefings since january that included nonpublic information from the information about the pandemic before more drastic measures were put in place a spokesperson for burr said he's deeply concerned about the toll it's taken on the economy loeffler tweeted, i do not make investment decisions for my portfolio. other senators including james inhofe and democrat dianne feinstein. so far no response from inhofe a spokesperson for feinstein saying all of senator feinstein's assets are in a blind trust. savannah, back to you. >> all right kristen welker, i know y

with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today." thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. you might notice our digs look different this morning. to try to limit our travel for us and our team, we decided to stay put in washington, d.c. for today's show. >> that's right. we wanted to follow the advice of health officials and do our part. most important,ly, we want to make sure you have your information. the way we're greeting each other. >> we've got a lot of news to get to. we want to start with the overnight headlines. a few hours ago, the house passing an emergency relief bill by an overwhelming majority. that bill cluds paid emergency leave, free coronavirus testing and other unemployment benefits. the senate still needs to approve it, likely not until monday the earliest. the president is ready to sign it. >> coronavirus cases in the u.s. topped 2200 with 50 deaths. right now, west virginia is the only state that has not reported a case and apple ceo tim cook took an unprecedented step overnight, announcing all apple s

. >>> joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker and nbc's rehema ellis outside bellevue hospital, one of the hospitals literally under siege. thank you very much. kristen, let's talk about president trump and the economy. the fed chair made a rare appearance right before the jobless claims, of course, in anticipation of that clearly. he knew ahead of time what was coming, that this clear message, the fed will do whatever it takes. the fed is prepared to, you know, open the floodgates of money and thinks there will be a robust rebound. but he said very clearly that this is a health crisis, not a financial crisis. and that the health care crisis as dr. fauci quoted or paraphrased, will dictate what the economy is going to do in terms of the timing. we're not talking about any easter reopening. >> that's right. he clearly, andrea, sided with dr. fauci when it comes to the timeline of reopening the economy and said the virus is going to dictate the timeline. very different message from president trump, who has really leaned into this easter dead

he seemed to take offense at two of the questioners in particular, both of them, kristen welker and yamichedor, both of them women of color, which has happened before. take a look at kristen's question. and by the way, both of them had their mics cut by the white house, which controls the microphones when they try to ask follow-up questions. >> dr. fauci said earlier this week that the lag in testing was, in fact, a failing. do you take responsibility for that? and when can you guarantee that every single american who needs a test will be able to have a test? what's the date of that? >> yeah, no, i don't take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time. it wasn't meant for this kind of an event with the kind of numbers that we're talking about. >> you said that you don't take responsibility, but you did disband the white house pandemic office and the officials that were working in that office left this administration abruptly. so what responsibility do you take to that? and the officials th

. >> he was asked my nbc's kristen welker if he takes responsibility for what his expert testified toer oath in congress. here is what trump said. >> dr. fauchi said earlier this week the lag in testing was, in fact, a failing. do you take responsibility for that and when can you guarantee that every single american who needs a test will be able to have a test? what's the date of that? >> yeah, no, i don't take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time. >> i don't take responsibility at all. and there it is. except that a president's job is to take responsibility. it is to be where the buck stops. particularly where your administration fails and to recognize the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak are pretty evident, even after it had become a global pandemic, that is why we're here. trump is why we barely have tested americans and don't know how many are infected and how many have been exposed. there are 50 deaths. health officials predict those numbers are low because, because

we're going to start with kristen welker, who spent the night in los angeles with the biden campaign. good morning to you. >> reporter: what a night, savannah. good morning to you. joe biden pulled off one of the biggest upsets in modern political history and the comeback of his career, winning so big last night, he exceeded the expectations of his own campaign. a defiant bernie sanders saying his movement goes on in what is increasingly becoming a two-person race. >> they don't call it super tuesday for nothing. >> reporter: a fired-up joe biden, celebrating his historic night, wracking up a clean sweep of states in the south, and a stunning win in delegate-rich texas. >> they declared the campaign dead. tell that to the folks in virginia. north carolina. alabama. tennessee. oklahoma. arkansas. minnesota. and maybe even massachusetts. >> reporter: biden exceeding even his campaign's expectations. >> i'm here to report, we are very much alive. and make no mistake about it, this campaign will send donald trump packing. >> reporter: just 72 hours after his resounding win in south caroli

joining us from the white house, kristen welker.ve heard from several governors asking why the president a has not yet used the manufacture act to clean up the medical slploo supplies out the. what do you know? >> reporter: we've heard from top officials who say it's just not necessary right now. all of these companies are coming out, volunteering to manufacture those critically needed goods. but there's two things i want to note about that. the first is that on wednesday when president trump invoked that defense production act we know business leaders, the business community, pushed back to the white house. he did not want to be government controlled companies, the sentiment, we'll do whatever it is you ask. don't put us under that defense production act. what we're kind of seeing now actually play out. the other side of this, and you heard it from governor cuomo is that it's no longer just about manufacturing but also about distribution to the states. getting those critically needed goods from the manufacturer to the people who ne

joining me now nbc white house correspondent weekend "today" co-host kristen welker. jason furman, chairman of the economic advisers during the obama administration. gene sperling, former director of the national economic council for both president clinton and obama and white house reporter ashley parker. welcome all. you have seen the president joining the vice president. these were last-minute changes. at the end of the photo opportunity there was a multitude of shouted questions, among them apparently, are you going to hill today? and he mouthed the words yet. we may have a meeting perhaps going to the republican luncheon held every tuesday. and maybe you can clarify that. >> that's the big headline, in addition to what you just mapped out, andrea, the fact president trump nodded yes twice when asked if he was going to the hill to meet with republicans there, to try to hammer out some details of what he put out yesterday, some type of stimulus package to help the economy. we spoke to white house officials after the fact. they wouldn't give any more specifics but it

. >> and with that perspective from stephanie, kristen welker, there was a briefing on the hill today and there was a remarkable response, bipartisan response, in fact, to the briefing, tony fauci was praised because dr. fauci is well known for being a truth teller. but the rest of the administration briefed the whole of the house. take a look at this. >> that was simply the worst briefing i have ever received for seven, eight years in congress. the administration has no real answers, no plan, no real leadership. i think members in both parties are frustrated and angry and they have every right to be. >> i think people are frustrated because of the inability -- we all want a date. we all want to be told by friday, there will be 10 million tests available. the problem is they can't tell us that. >> and, kristen, the white house is not yet signing on but nancy pelosi is trying to craft something that can be be acceptable to senate republicans coming out of the house that will have more of the intermediatation for people hard hit. the president didn't announce anything domestically last

steven hahn was trying to, in answer to kristen welker's questions and other questions, was trying to moderate the president's very hopeful signs that this could be done almost immediately. this not only this malaria drug but also when asked about remdesivir and the ebola drug and whether that canning u inni used. he was assuring the usual procedures will be followed while doing it as quickly and expeditiously as possible as the president has ordered. doctor? >> thanks for that question, andrea. i think commissioner hahn was trying to level set and make sure people had accurate expectations about how quickly these drugs will be tested and made available. right now the reality is you cannot go into any hospital and expect that you'll be treated with remdesivir or hydroxychloroquine if you have covid-19 infection. there are a number of steps that have to happen between now and that reality. the drugs have to be studied and assessed for their safety and efficacy. it's helpful some of these drugs have been out there already so we have a much better sense of their safety profile but we don

we're going to kick it off with kristen welker. we saw the press conference yesterday.we're about to get another update from the coronavirus task force. this obviously comes on a day we saw shifts in the tone of the president that some are saying is more sober, realistic. we're learning about another major stimulus package from the administration. what more is at play this morning? >> reporter: well, i think you're absolutely right, ayman. you laid it out well. we are keeping our eyes on capitol hill and the fact that steven mnuchin is going to unveil that proposal for an $850 billion stimulus package that would help to reboot the economy, fuel the airline industry, other key industries that might be struggling and suffering at this time. and it does come on the heels of that big package that the house passed over the weekend for about a hundred billion dollar. that would be funds that would go toward trying to stem the tied of the coronavirus. helping with things like testing for people who need it, making sure that hospitals have the supplies they need. the question b

. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker, and dylan dreyer live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. peter is taking some time off today, and we are so happy to have the great jose diaz-balart here. >> nice to see you this morning. >> it's great to see you as well. you're pulling double duty. busy day. >> and peter alexander taking a day off, what a rarity that is. it's great to see him home today. >> exactly. and we do want to get right to our top story and that is the overnight developments in the coronavirus outbreak as the number of cases and deaths jump once again. here's the very latest. there are now 334 confirmed cases of coronavirus here in the u.s. overnight two more deaths were reported this time in florida. these are the first deaths outside of the west coast and brings the total deaths to 17. >> 900,000 test kits have been delivered and another 200,000 are expected to be handed out later today. this does fall short of the 1.5 million that had bee

nbc news, this is a special edition of "today," the coronavirus pandemic with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan drier. >> welcome to today we thank you for joining us onhi morning, my friend kristen and i in d.c. this morning, maintaining our proper social distance and staying close to our families like everyone is these days. >> we're looking forward to paying tri responders, the true heroes in this. >> these days we know the heroes wear masks and gloves and gear. we're going to help celebrate them in a little bit. we'll begin with the latest headlines. the number of cases in the u.s. jumped again overnight to at least 102,000, with 1600 deaths now. the u.s. now has more reported cases than any other country in the world. nearly 45,000 of the cases are in new york state. >> some good news for the tens of millions struggling because of coronavirus. those relief checks from the federal government could be in your hands in just three weeks. president trump is signing a $2 trillion relief bill on friday. some states are resorting to more drastic measures to stop the spread. in owed islan