joining me now, kristen welker, white house correspondent peter baker, the senior scholar at johns hopkins health and security and leon panetta at the pentagon and cia. kristen, president trump backing down under pressure for the talk he was going to dismantle the white house task force. the task force that included all of those health care officials, now saying also that more lives will be lost with the reopening, but that is what we're going to have to deal with, the price we're paying i guess for reopening, for returning to normal. how does he weigh that balance, saying more people will die? >> andrea, i think it underscores the pressure the president feels as though he's under to try to get the economy and parts of the country back up and running again. this is a president who was planning to run on re-election on the economy, to tout the strong economy, and now deep concerns within this administration and within his campaign frankly that this crisis will undoubtedly undermine that argument, and that's in part why he feels so much urgency to try to turn the corner, and in part why you

but let me start, kristen welker, with you. there's a report this morning that staffers in the white house are a bit rattled. two positive tests in the last week. suddenly, a sobering reminder the virus is even still inside their house. >> that's right, chuck. this is the week that everything changed at the white house. this is the week that they went from fighting an invisible enemy, as the president has dubbed it, to an enemy that landed squarely on the steps of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. and so there's a lot of discussion about how many more officials may need to be in quarantine. of course, we saw that the head of the fda, as well as the cdc, dr. anthony fauci, is going to be quarantining in a measured form. but really, it put on display the sharp disconnect, chuck, the fact that the white house is essentially urging the country to reopen cities and states, yet those same cities and states do not have the same level of testing that exists at the white house. we know the administration is ramping up testing, 8 million tests s

bright has been testifying to, kristen welker rejoining me. we're waiting also to see the president's comments because so far we've seen his press secretary sort of showing us a pamphlet they say is their response but there's been plenty of evidence that they disbanded the pandemic office in the white house and withdrew officials who had been involved in preparations. this goes well beyond and before dr. bright's allegations. a lot of testimony from current and former officials. let's talk for a minute about what the president has been saying until we hear his actual answers to the questions of the day. kristen? >> well, and you're right. and i think what you saw there was a defense of the administration's -- what they would argue preparedness against the backdrop of all of that criticism that you just laid out, andrea and against the backdrop of dr. bright testifying that there is no plan. he said that in stark terms. i think that's why you're seeing that very forceful pushback there. again, president trump referring to dr. bright as disgrunt

. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker at the white house in an appeal to supporters evangelicals, president trump demanding governors demand places of worship to open immediately across the country. >> the governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now. for this weekend. >> reporter: arguing those locations are essential. >> some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship. it's not right. >> reporter: but unlike liquor stores, people gather in large numbers for an extended period of time at houses of worship increasing the risk of spreading the virus and his claim it's up to governors to reopen the states, the president insists he has the ultimate authority. >> if they don't do it, i will over ride the governors. in america, we need more prayer, not less. >> reporter: under the constitution a president cannot over ride a governor's police powers the president said he's going to over ride the governors. under what authority would he do that >> i

the decision to take any drug is ultimately one between a patient and their doctor lester >> kristen welker at the white house. thank you. >>> the governor of new jersey said today officials are war gaming what a return to school might look like next fall, whether to reopen, how to reopen. some of the toughest decisions facing states and parents are understandably nervous. here's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: she's a single mom in the bronx and she's worried. >> it's stressful. there are times i find myself having to close myself in the bathroom and cry. i feel like i'm living in a whole naightmare >> reporter: when the pandemic hit she quit her job to take care of her three kids. two have special needs. for her it's crit criminal whether new york schools reopen this fall. >> what we're worried about especially parents with students with disabilities is regression >> reporter: across the country the future of k-12 education is up in the air especially with new reports out of france where dozens of new coronavirus cases have beenpossible classroom exposure shortly after schools there reopened

lester >> kristen welker tonight, thanks. >>> this evening with 49 states partially reopened, americans are slowly venturing back out to stores and restaurants, but in some places, there is alarm over the size of crowds as the virus threatens to silently spread here is sam brock. >> reporter: this evening more americans getting a fresh taste of freedom. >> i think it's good for the mental health of everyone to be able to go to the beach. >> reporter: as every state except connecticut partially reopened in new jersey, construction sites back in business, but gyms remain closed as protesters demand the state lift the bans while tonight in texas, offices and gyms are back online at 25% capacity michigan moving forward reopening auto plants as california's governor announces big news for sports fans. >> prosports in that first week or so of june without spectators, also can begin to move forward if we hold these trend lines. >> reporter: in florida, what leaders hope will not be a trend, a full on flouting of social distancing. this block party outside orlando teaming with 3,000 people whil

what could be his first appearance in weeks as speculation swirls about his health kristen welker at the white house. kristen, what do we know >> reporter: lester, good evening. this appears to be major news what could be the end of the mystery over the whereabouts of kim jong-un. all of this is coming from north korea's state media and we have not seen any of the purported images yet this is file video north korea is announcing kim made a public appearance at a feilizer pnt he's not bn seen in 20 days and missed two k celebrations promptinspeculation he was having major health issues tonight president trump who met with kim three times was asked if he's alive, the president responded i don't want to talk about it we'll have something to say about it at the appropriate time lester >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> tonight, former vice president joe biden is denying an allegation of sexual assault by a former senate staffer who says it happened 27 years ago. biden speaking out for the first time on this and we should warn you some of the details as alleged are graphic. here is andrea m

defended his decision to take hydroxychloroquine brushing aside potentially serious side effects kristen welker has late details >> reporter: tonight president trump increasingly defiant about his decision to take the controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine despite no evidence yet that it prevents coronavirus. >> i think it gives you an additional level of safety, but you can ask many doctors are in favor of it. many front line workers won't go there unless they have the hydroxy. >> reporter: a point he doubled down on later in the day >> hydroxychloroquine is used by thousands and thousands of front line workers >> reporter: but the country's largest medical association says it is not aware of any data showing front line workers are taking the drug. the fda has warned against using hydroxychloroquine outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems and in some cases even death and similar findings in another study funded by the university of virginia and the nih, which use data from patients at veterans medical centers, a study which the president attacked today

white house correspondent kristen welker has been following some of the president's response. kristen, some of his comments have been characterized as not helpful in the community of minneapolis right now. lester. this is a real leadership test for president trump. he's obviously watching what is happening in minneapolis at this hour quite closely. we know he did speak with his attorney general and urged for a swift investigation into exactly what happened. but as you note, the president has come under scrutiny for his handling of this crisis, including a recent tweet, lester, and i'll read you the tweet in question earlier today, tweeting, "these thugs are dishonoring the memory of george floyd and i won't let that happen. just spoke to governor tim walz and told him the military is with him all wait. any difficulty and we will assume control, but when the looting starts, the shooting starts." and it's the last part of the tweet, lester, that has a lot of people criticizing president trump. they say that it sounds a lot like something that we heard back in 1967 from a miami po

here is nbc bay area's kristen welker. >> i'm taking it. hydroxychloroquine. right now. >> reporter: overnight, new reaction to president trump's bombshell admission that he's taking the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine to protect against coronavirus. >> i heard a lot of good stories. and if it's not good, i'll tell you right. i'm not going to get hurt by it. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi weighing in. >> he's our president, and i would rather he not be taking that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his -- shall we say, weight group. morbidly obese. >> reporter: fox news host neal cavuto also expressing surprise. >> and you're taking this as a prevent treatment to ward off the virus or in a worst case scenario you're dealing with the virus, and you are in this vulnerable population, it will kill you. i cannot stress enough, this will kill you. >> reporter: the fda has warned against the drug's use for covid-19 outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems and in some cases even death. an

. >>> joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker. white house correspondent peter baker and bill kristols, director of the democracy group. welcome all. i know you're waiting for the president to approach the white house and flies to florida, but you have been zeroing in on the president's twitter attacks and in particular the front page of "the new york times" time, the scandalous smear against our colleague joe scarborough for a completely debunked accusation that goes back 19 years. >> yeah, it's hard to think, andrea, and you and i have covered a lot of presidents, it's hard to think of any president who sort of publicly hurled a sensational allegation against his critics as unfounded, untrue murder allegation. it just goes to show the change in tone of conversation and politics we see now these last two years. it's never been gentle as they say in washington. but this is a different kind of level here i think. what's striking is just not the president continued to double down on it after the president was called on it, it's how

joining me nbc white house and "today" co-host kristen welker and michael steele. any details we know about the disturbing news from the vice president's office that a staff member did test positive? >> well, we're trying to drill down on more details, andrea. but we have confirmed that a staffer tested positive. and as you pointed out, that delayed the vice president's trip to iowa significantly by as much as an hour. and the reason why it's so disconcerting, of course, is because it comes on the heels of the news that we learned yesterday. that one of the president's valets tested positive as well. that was someone who served food to president trump. the president was asked about it by our own peter alexander and he seemed to downplay it. he said look, i have been tested, the vice president has been tested. we both tested negative. he also said in the wake of these revelations that anyone who was near him or the vice president would be wearing a match. we will have to see if that's the case as the vice president travels to iowa and we continue to track the presid

thank you very much. [ inaudible question ] >> and joining us now is kristen welker at the white house on this busy day. kristen, let's talk about president trump's stunning admission to the nation, the declaration he's been taking that controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine for more than a week. that announcement got an equally stunning response from house speaker nancy pelosi. let's watch this together. we're going to have that in a moment. kristen, joining us now and let's talk about this. we will play that sound in a minute. >> andrea, you're right. >> what have we learned? >> it's an announcement that caught some of even his top advisers off guard. i will tell you we got a letter from his doctor overnight that said he discussed the pros and cons of taking hydroxychloroquine with the president but notably that letter did not explicitly say he prescribed it. we did follow up with the white house, and we're told yes, in fact, after a conversation president trump said that he wanted to start taking the drug after he was concerned he had been exposed. remember, his valet t

adalja, kristen welker, of course, and peter baker. house speaker nancy pelosi joins me now from capitol hill. madam speaker, thank you very much for being with us today. it's good to see you. >> thank you. >> the president said there would be more deaths but the virus will pass, that it's time to reopen the economy. as we see hotspots spreading across the country, do you agree with him now that it's time to focus more on what he sees as getting back to normal? >> what i think we must do as science tells us, we must have testing, testing, testing, tracing, tracing, tracing, and have a number of an idea of how our country has been affected in all communities across the country. that's why i'm so all here working on putting again the next c.a.r.e.s. 2 bill. it's about testing, tracing, treatment and isolation, social distancing and the rest. right away, rapid and robust testing so we can see and take a measure of what's there and not to do so in a way one day they have a task force, next day they don't. one year they have a volunteer cor

but let me start, kristen welker, with you.here's a report this morning that staffers in the white house are a bit rattled. two positive tests in the last week. suddenly, a sobering reminder the virus is even still inside their house. >> that's right, chuck. this is the week that everything changed at the white house. this is the week that they went from fighting an invisible enemy, as the president has dubbed it, to an enemy that landed squarely on the steps of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. and so there's a lot of discussion about how many more officials may need to be in quarantine. of course, we saw that the head of the fda, as well as the cdc, dr. anthony fauci, is going to be quarantining in a measured form. but really, it put on display the sharp disconnect, chuck, the fact that the white house is essentially urging the country to reopen cities and states, yet those same cities and states do not have the same level of testing that exists at the white house. we know the administration is ramping up testing, 8 million tests so

let me ask kristen welker, on the politics side, we saw the president go to the senate republican lunch yesterday, senate lunch. according to all of our reporting from our hill team, most of the messaging was all about the campaign. it wasn't going as had been advertised to talk about the pandemic and responses. also the vice president in the battleground state of florida today, another trip planned, and michigan is tomorrow. what about also threatening to withhold money from michigan because of their medical procedures and their restrictions on reopening in some areas? >> everything that you just talked about, andrea, underscores the fact we're increasingly seeing this president pivot to trying to reopen the economy and to his re-election campaign in the fall. as you point out, that threat today to withhold funds for michigan, a battleground state, remember, michigan is dealing with floods right now that have displaced some 10,000 people. this is what president trump tweeted. he said michigan sends absentee ballots to 17.7 million people ahead of the primaries and general election. thi

joining me now with these headlines nbc white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker and dr. zeke emanuel, vice provost of the global initiatives at the university of pennsylvania. first, kristen, where things stand at the white house from a political and safety perspective, we have not from the time i sat down in the chair any white house reaction to the stern warnings yesterday from the public health advisers, especially dr. fauci. what is the concern though, private as well as public, in the white house? >> well, you're absolutely right. the assessment was stark from dr. fauci, who warned that if states start to reopen too quickly, more lives will be lost. he also said he believes the death toll is likely higher than the 80,000 figure that has been recorded. no reaction from president trump, and speaking with some senior administration officials, they indicated, look, they weren't surprised dr. fauci said what he said yesterday, that it's consistent with other statements that he's made and they tried to argue it's also consistent with what the president has said, f

. >>> joining me now is nbc white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker and dr. christian hamburg. kristen, the latest on fighting the virus, you raised questions with the president last night or yesterday afternoon at his briefing about all of the deaths, more than 63,000 people died and he's doing a victory lap. let's play a little bit of that exchange. >> about leading the country though in a moment of mourning for all of the lives lost, the more than 60,000 lives. >> i don't think anybody can feel any worse than i do about all of the death and destruction that's so needless, nobody. but i also have to make sure that we handle the situation well. nobody's thinking about it nor nobody -- nobody has spent more time late in the evening thinking about what's happened to this country in a short period of time. but at the same time we have to get our country open again. >> kristen, to my ears he was talking about his feelings, him staying up late. he was not talking about the grief, the suffering of all of those families who lost -- who lost so many loved ones. >

joining me now, nbc white house correspondent and "weekend today" co-host kristen welker and "washington post" national political reporter robert acosta, moderator of "washington week." welcome, both. kristen, we really seem to see peter navarro and other economic advisers taking, you know, front stage, whereas we haven't really heard from dr. birx or dr. fauci in quite a while. >> reporter: you're absolutely right, andrea. we are seeing this pivot away from hearing from the top doctors here who are on the controversy task force, and instead, this real focus on the economic recovery. president trump, as you pointed out, tweeting in all caps. he's obviously been traveling. we expect him to head to michigan a little bit later on this week as he tries to put the focus on these states that are starting to reopen. of course, the pressure is on. there is a risk to some of these states reopening. the president, though, knows that his re-election chances, andrea, are tied up in the economy, this economic recovery. so, in addition to the pivot that you just mapped out, we also know that president

kristen welker, thank you. >>> let's break down what all of this means. i want to bring in jason fuhrman and chris lu, former deputy labor secretary and senior fellow at the university of virginia's miller center. jason, to you first. what do you make of the unemployment number? >> it's, obviously, terrible. terrible, terrible. like nothing we've ever seen. i want to title two points from it. first of all, state and local job loss just by itself was 900,000. worse than the entire economy in any month in our history with the exception of the demobilization from world war ii. that is a harbinger of what is to come. nearly 400,000 local education job losses. so that by itself would have just been an awful month. second, about two-thirds of the people who have lost their jobs or given up looking for work are on temporary layoff. even if all of them were called back to work, the unemployment rate would still be 9%. and so we're in for something long here. we need to stay at it in terms of policy and do more. >> but, chris, can we actually compare this to any o

thank you so much, john barry, ashley parker, kristen welker, and, of course, chris lu. thank you all. >>> coming up -- shortages and surpluses. coronavirus complications are really testing the food supply chain. next we're live at a farm with 12 million -- that's million -- pounds of surplus potatoes. >>> plus, later in the show as states start to reopen and people go back to work, who's going to watch the kids? wild childcare is key to getting the economy back on track. stay with us, you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. for small prices, you can build big dreams. spend less, get way more. shop everything home at wayfair today. for adults with moderately to severely active crohn's disease, stelara® works differently. studies showed relief and remission, with dosing every 8 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections and cancer. some serious infections require hospitalization. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection or flu-like symptoms or sores, have had cancer,

after catastrophic flooding and visiting a ford plant, now engaged in the battle against covid-19 kristen welker has details. >> reporter: president trump in hard hit michigan, a state reeling from historic flooding and 5,000 deaths from covid-19, touring a ford plant that's now manufacturing ventilators. >> you made really america proud and you made ford proud. >> reporter: the president flouting the company's guidelines that require everyone to wear a mask, but said he did wear one during the private tour. >> here is my mask here. >> reporter: ford says the executive chairman says the executive chairman encouraged the president to wear a mask the president explained why he took it off, even as everyone around him kept it on. >> i didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it. >> reporter: earlier touting negative test results. >> i tested positively toward negative right? no i tested perfectly this morning, meaning i tested negative >> reporter: it is mr. trump's third visit to a battleground state in as many weeks, aiming to energize his base, he has been feuding with the state's de

. >>> good evening i'm kristen welker in tonight for lester s everywhere that this is the memorial day unlike any other. across the country, eager crowds taking advantage of the unofficial start to summer, prompting stern warnings from health officials but at arlington national cemetery where the president spent part of his day, there were no crowds, instead solum and socially distant tributes to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. we have it all covered and begin with nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: as americans mark memorial day, crowds gathered across the country, a troubling celebration during a national health crisis. at lakes of the ozarks in missouri, little social distancing and few were wears masks. this waterfront community now the center of outrage after a party during a pandemic >> my buddy said i heard it's packed let's check it out we walked through a crowd, go upstairs and look over to the pool, absolutely packed. >> reporter: as a restless nation battles quarantine fatigue, more states are easing restrictions but for some, it came too fast. >> this is truly the w

thank you kristen welker. we will all be watching for the president's departure and anything he might say about all of this. and speaking about michigan and his trip and as to whether or not he will wear a face mask, we should also point out the vice president in florida yesterday was at the coke machine with governor desantis not wearing a face mask. he was surrounded by people. joining us now, michigan's attorney general joining me ahead of president trump's arrival in her state. to the ford plant. thank you very much. let's talk about the letter you've written to president trump asking him to comply with the state orders as well as that plant's order to wear a mask today. have you gotten any response or have you gotten any indication from the white house as to what he's going to do? >> the last i heard about it is that he was taking the matter under advisement, as we say in the legal community. he had not committed to following our state law or following the counsel of ford. he was asked specifically to wea

. >> and joining us now, nbc's shaq brewster in minneapolis, nbc correspondent kristen welker, bill bratton, michael steele, claire mccaskill, and cheriln eiffel. kristen, i want to come to you first because the president's role in this has been controversial. his tweet overnight mirroring a racist phrase that was used back in the '60s by a white supremacist mayor of miami talking about when the looting starts the chashooting starts. the looting and shooting tweet was blocked by twitter which gets into the second day of twitter jumping in and saying it was glorifying violence. then the white house doubling down and putting it on the white house website. what about the president's role here? >> reporter: well, andrea, this is a real leadership test for president trump coming against the backdrop against another leadership test, his handling of the global pandemic. we have put that question to the white house. was president trump intentionally quoting from that police chief who you mentioned? no response there. no reaction about where that tweet about when the looting starts, the shooting sta

. >>> joining me now, nbc news white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker and nbc news political reporter vaughn hillyard in phoenix, awaiting the president's arrival there. kristen, first to you, the president has been sending a lot of mixed messages and we have been hearing from dr. gupta and dr. emanuel today there is, of course, "the washington post" poll that people are concerned, they're afraid for more infections and reopening too soon. they don't want to end restaurant dining. and yet the president keeps pushing, pushing, pushing, as goe he talks about doing that and going to arizona? >> yes, the president's been really, andrea, downplaying some of the projections we've seen, including the one by johns hopkins which said by june 1st you could see the daily death rate of 3,000. president trump, as you said, making the argument those figures are based on a nonmitigate strategy. he's trying to make the case, look, we have this mitigation strategy in place. people have been adhering to it for weeks and therefore really trying to downplay those figures. but

as a very public feud is playing out over the federal response nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with that story this morning. hey, kristen, good morning. >> hey, savannah, good monday morning to you president trump is starting this week again defending his administration's response to the coronavirus crisis with his predecessor, as you say, openly criticizing the handling of the pandemic with the economy still in free fall, the chairman of the federal reserve warning the nation's unemployment rate could soar to the worst numbers in a century. bi jerome powell sayin ultimately he thinks the country will recover federal reserve chairman jerome powell showing some optimism on "60 minutes" sunday. when asked about the grim number, the unemployment rate possibly hitting 25%. >> 25% is the estimated height of unemployment during the great depression do you think history will look back on this time and call this the second great depression? >> no, i don't i don't think that's a likely outcome at all we had a very healthy economy two months ago, our financial system is strong.

kristen welker, let me get your thoughts on this.here was a lot of politics that led up to this point. the president has been very blunt, if you will, about not wanting some of these health experts to testify on the house side of congress, but they're appearing in front of the senate. >> reporter: well, ayman, that's right. president trump saying that he believes they'll get a more fairer hearing in front of the republican-led senate. i talked to white house officials about the message that we are expecting from dr. anthony fauci and they said, look, it's not inconsistent with the broader messaging we've heard from president trump. they point to the fact that, for example, he warned the governor of georgia against moving too quickly. but it's different than what we heard from the president himself in the rose garden yesterday when he said that he feels as though the u.s. has prevailed on the issue of testing. the administration announcing that so far, more than 9 million tests have been administered. that is certainly an uptick in te

kristen welker, most folks given the day off.the day off. >> so nice to be with you, craig. we hope people are getting their day started slowly. great to see crowd plaza folks with their family as well. we do have a lot to get to this morning, including special my "today" plaza crowd. we can't wait to chat with them. plus they will help with the cooking segment. craig, you'll help with the cooking segment. >> i like to eat. i done joy chef sunny anderson who is going to be joining us. and tomorrow, two words jennifer lopez. hoda is going to catch up with the superstar and talk about her wedding plans with a-rod and how the families are doing hunkered down there in miami and the return of jennifer's hit show "world of dance" all tomorrow on "today." right now the news today at 8:00. president trump is taking part in traditional memorial day ceremonies today while millions head to holiday gatherings that could put some social distancing to the test. nbc's kelly o'donnell has three things to watch this morning. kelly o, good morning

trump travels to michigan today to visit a ford plant that now manufactures ventilators hoda >> kristen welkeranks. >>> now to an issue that's become really polarizing, wearing masks when you head to places where social distancing is not possible. it is recommended by the cdc, but not everyone appears eager to follow those guidelines, leading to some confrontations and in some extreme cases, violence gadi schwartz has the story. >> reporter: caught on camera inside a costco. >> hi, everyone, i work for costco and i'm asking this member to put on a mask. that is our company policy. >> that employee's reaction seen by millions. the video actually posted by the man without the mask but most on social media applauding the workers' polite shutdown, the latest instance of people refusing to wear masks in places of business. >> i have a doctor's note so i don't have to wear one, i'll show you. >> reporter: at a trader joe's, this woman taunting others while being asked to leave the store. >> you are nuts wearing that mask a 99% survival rate, you're all wearing masks like sheep. >> other confrontatio

nbc white house correspondent kristen welker watching this morning. savannah, good morning to you there's new fallout after top doctors delivered unfiltered view of coronavirus during a senate hearing tuesday appearing remotely dr. anthony fauci warned reopening the country too quickly could cost more lives. >> there is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak you may not be able to control, which, in fact, paradoxically will set you back, not only leading to some suffering and death that could be avoided but could even set you back on the road to trying to get economic recovery. >>> now, fauci also said the actual death toll is likely even higher than the 80,000 deaths that have been officially recorded now, also this morning, despite early reports suggesting covid-19 does not seriously impact children, a new study from children's national showed one in four children who tested positive had to be hospitalized. that was also a focus of the senate hearing tuesday with dr. fauci warning some children developed a strange inflammatory symptoms. high f

nbc's kristen welker joins us from the white house. kristen, good morning. >> hi, savannah, good morning. that image of purchase wearing a face mask is a striking one. after all he once said of wearing a mask, i won't be doing it personally. it comes as the president aims to strike a note of confidence about opening the country as he hit one of the hardest hit states. as americans gear up for summer, president trump is downplaying the chances of a second wave of the coronavirus insisting states will not need to lock down if the virus flares up again. >> people say it's a possibility, standard. we're going to put out the fires, not close the country. >> the comments come during a visit to the ford plant thursday, which is now manufacturing ventilators. for the first time the president pictured in this photo obtained by nbc wearing a mask during a tour, a mask he removed before talking to reporters, flouting the guidelines requiring everyone to wear a mask and the state attorney general who said it's the law. >> here is my mask right here

kristen welker with things to watch. hey, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you.n one pill per day of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in a statement overnight, the white house doctor saying he discussed using the drug with the president after one of the staffers here, a valet, tested positive for covid-19. mr. trump says his rational for taking it is, what do you have to lose? >> i'm taking it, hydroxychloroquine right now, yeah. i've heard a lot of good stories. if it's not good, i'll tell you right. i'm not going to get hurt by it. >> reporter: the fda has warned against the drug's use for covid-19 outside of a hospital setting due to a risk of serious heart problems the white house doctor also said overnight the president receives regular covid-19 tests and all has been negative to date. also this morning there is some optimism about a coronavirus clinical trial, moderna, a massachusetts biotech company, says preliminary data indicates 8 out of 45 patients they tested developed antibodies that neutralized the virus potentially providing some level of i

and i want to start with my colleague kristen welker at the white house. cri kristen, why can't the white house and cdc get on the same page. >> overnight a senior administration official confirming there is a hold on the cdc guidelines for places of worship because the white house and the cdc are not on the same page. it essentially boils down to this, steph. the idea that the white house feels as though the cdc's guidelines would be too restrictive. ultimately, they want the power to be in the hands of the states. this official told me overnight, sometimes the cdc's recommendations can be overly bureaucratic. so we're doing our best to rein in the cdc and empower states to make their own decisions. this has been an ongoing back and forth, steph. we know the cdc did release their guidelines over the weekend very quietly by the way. not too much fanfare. guidelines for things like schools as well as other public places, including restaurants. but this has been an ongoing debate. now counselor kellyanne conway was asked about this delay yesterday. she said s

joining me now is white house correspondent and weekend "today" co-host kristen welker. the president ironically is talking about being censored on twitter when it was his false claims against joe scarborough, his attacks against nancy pelosi, who's coming up next, and also a lot of other democratic officeholders, stacey abrams and others, all of his false k4r5iclaims that are fina being fact-checked on twitter, belatedly 134 woul belatedly some would say. >> that's right. and we see this deranged reaction from president trump when twitter started fact checking some of his tweets. he accused twitter of bias against conservatives. this is a long-standing criticism of the president and his allies had against not only twitter but facebook as well, despite the fact there is no evidence of specific bias against conservatives. what we are watching for today, andrea, we expect president trump to sign an executive order that would effectively roll back the legal immunity that is given to immediate ymedia companies lk and twitter for their content, which protects them from being

hans nicolles also with us with more insights and kristen welker and robert casta from "the washingtonost" and the moderator of washington week. also an nbc political analyst. hans, i would like to get a break down and report of what we've heard a lot from the president today. we just heard from his press secretary. it does seem as if the -- this is the president realizing shutting down the task force was a bad idea as far as apparently enough republican politicians called him to say that. so he changes course, but did he? >> reporter: we'll have to see to see how frequently the task force meets, who ends up being on it. the president indicated there are additionals on there. he hasn't teased those out. he said we might get those monday. in the most recent appearance he said that dr. fauci and dr. birx will remain on the task force. even yesterday when officials said this is starting to wind down they were clear that birx and fauci would continue to play a role in advising and informing the president. if gets down to the question of what is next for the country at the federal response.

we saw it when -- i think it was kristen welker who asked him in the rose garden months ago now it seems, did he take personal responsibility, he said, no, i don't take personal responsibility. and so that so-called national plan that they have is not a federal plan. it's one that puts all of the responsibility on the governors so that it gives the president an out, a way to say the spikes in cases in cities and states across the nation have nothing to do with me, has everything to do with those governors, and if that governor or if that mayor is -- happens to be a democrat where things are going wrong, he is going to use that, and we've seen it. he's going to use that as a way to beat up on democrats for his own political purposes. and that's not what's needed now. >> i want to get a quick reaction from both of you. we're running low on time. we saw joe biden today. we haven't seen him in months. he came out and did another traditional wreath laying ceremony, the same place he went last year, and his campaign released an ad that's pretty pointed against the way the president has been ha

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today" and thank you so much for joining us on this saturday morning. it is a difficult start to the weekend. of course, we're waking up after those protests overnight in cities all across the country. demonstrators out in the wake of the death of george floyd and, of course, peter, you were at the white house as some of the tensions were escalating here in d.c. >> yeah. that violence, that chaos reverberating across the country. i was in the white house, the secret service locking down the building, the campus for more than 90 minutes. we were inside. but outside you could hear the echoes of the protesters clashing with police and secret service officers. we'll have more on that this morning as well. >> we certainly will. that's the top story. the growing unrest in dozens of cities around the country as protesters took to the streets enraged by the death of george floyd in minneapolis. >> it happened in new york, atlanta, los angeles, as well as many smaller ones like

. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >>> welcome to "today." we thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. as long as we're speaking about elvis, i think the alexander family weekend will feel like jailhouse rock where everybody stays home and maybe we try to entertain one another. >> that's one way to put it. my husband said let's barbecue. that's what we've been doing for the past four saturdays. good times. dylan, do you have any big plans? >> our new thing is just finding a patch of grass and having a picnic. i think we'll be doing that again too. not much else to do. >> a good option for a lot of folks this weekend. we'll have the memorial day forecast for you in a moment. first, we want to get to the latest on the coronavirus. yet another sign of these times. hertz filed for bankruptcy protection overnight. the rental car giant saying this pandemic dealt it a rapid, sudden and dramatic blow. >> the justice department is warning the mayor of los angeles and the governor of illinois about their extended stay-

. >>> from nbc news this is "today" with peter alexander, kristen welker and dylan dreyer. >> welcomeo "today". thank you for joining us on this saturday morning. it is the weekend, whatever that means anymore. we are glad to have our friend dylan back of course as well. >> the days are all blending together these days. this is only your second weekend back but we are putting you to work. last weekend you were tracking the cold weather. this weekend it is a tropical system off the coast of florida. what can you tell us about it? >> i know. the hurricane season doesn't start until june 1st and here we are talking about what could be the first named storm. it would become arthur, which is possible in the next possibly 24 to 48 hours, 80% chance of that happening. we will break down the details and what it means for the southeastern parts of the u.s. in a bit. >> we look forward to that. good to see you again. first though let's get to all of the breaking news we have overnight on the coronavirus. >>> by the end of this weekend 48 states will have partially reopened in some form. mass ch

nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has the latest on this hey, kristen, good morning. >>ter: hey, hoda, good morning to you the top doctors on the coronavirus task force will testify by video conference before a key senate committee today because they're all self-quarantining in some fashion after coming into contact with a white house staffer who's tested positive. among them is dr. anthony fauci, who's expected to make a blunt assessment, reopening the country too soon will cost lives. today a stark warning from the country's top infectious disease expert "the new york times" reporting that dr. anthony fauci will tell the senate today that americans will experience, quote, needless suffering and death if the country opens up too quickly, saying the move would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal that report is coming as president trump is aiming to project confidence about the road ahead the rose garden monday, appearing to declare victory wem >>> this is an nbc news special report. here's lester holt. >> good morning. we're coming on the air with live