I talked to the White House about possible assistance from the national stockpile or assistance in organizing the supply chain. I asked the president to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would allow the government to mandate that private manufacturers produce the reagents needed for tests as well as masks, gowns, and other PPE. Trump thought it was too heavy-handed to force the private sector to do something, that it would look like “big government,” which was anathema to conservatives. He insisted that this was not their responsibility, and he considered my request an intrusion.
The White House was still making every effort to further distance itself from any operational responsibility. President Trump’s abdication exacerbated states’ capacity to address the crisis, and this was a battle states could not win on our own. This left me no other option but to go public. Traditional discussion and negotiation never worked with Trump; nothing mattered to him other than the conversation in the media.
I’ve worked with government on every level for many years. Dealing with the Trump administration was a new experience. For all the interchange, there were very few policy or program discussions. In fact, the most relevant and effective conversations were those conducted in the press. For them, every issue was just another public relations issue.
So as the old saying goes, “When in Rome.” My briefings were garnering tremendous attention. They were broadcast live on national networks for up to two hours per day. We had tens of millions of viewers. I would then do one-on-one interviews with up to ten shows per day. This would get not only the president’s attention but also that of the people around him.
I was getting much more press attention in recent weeks—obviously because New York was a hot spot, but also because of the practical realities of COVID. Because the news shows were doing everything remotely, there was no need to travel to the studios, which was a major intrusion in the day. This meant that from my own office I could just do a digital connection with network after network. During COVID, we could book the interviews in an hour. And COVID was such an all-consuming topic that news stations were open for comment virtually twenty-four hours per day. So if the best way to communicate with the federal government was through the media, I would do just that.
Donald Trump did not have the only microphone. I had one too. And I had something else: credibility.
I had started by publishing an op-ed in The New York Times on March 15 that was a direct appeal to President Trump asking for a modicum of federal assistance. I argued for a national strategy, the deployment of the Army Corps of Engineers, assistance in increasing the nation’s testing capacity, and the institution of federal standards for cities and states to shut down. “The scarcity [of hospital beds in America] portends a greater failing and a worse situation than what we are seeing in Italy, where lives are being lost because the country doesn’t have the health care capacity,” I wrote. “States cannot build more hospitals, acquire ventilators or modify facilities quickly enough. At this point, our best hope is to utilize the Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise, equipment and people power to retrofit and equip existing facilities—like military bases or college dormitories—to serve as temporary medical centers. Then we can designate existing hospital beds for the acutely ill. We believe the use of active duty Army Corps personnel would not violate federal law because this is a national disaster. Doing so still won’t provide enough intensive care beds, but it is our best hope.” The article was widely covered, but the White House did not respond. They were clearly trying to let it pass. I had to make sure it didn’t.
I did a round of media appearances and then decided to do an appearance on my brother Christopher’s show on CNN. I knew this would attract attention in and of itself: both positive and negative. Trump allies would criticize us, saying that it wasn’t in keeping with objective journalistic ethics. I have no problem with that criticism because neither Chris nor I ever pretended that this was an objective interview. The conversation was between two brothers—what viewer would be confused?
I also found it laughable that Fox broadcasters would feign objectivity when the entire network was essentially an apparatus for the Trump campaign. The on-air dynamic between Chris and me was provocative. If other reporters were as direct and obnoxious in their questioning as Chris was, it would be unacceptable. But Chris didn’t have to be especially respectful, which generated a much more honest, candid, and hard-hitting discussion. Likewise, I could have a more forthright tone and be less politically sensitive. It was probably the most straightforward and informative discussion I had in the hundreds of media appearances that I did on COVID.
The show really did help get good information to people, but it also did something else. It made people smile, and a smile can be the best therapy. Chris is very funny. He’s the baby of the family and naturally irreverent. He could get away with it because by the time he was born, my father was much more tolerant than he had been with me. My father allowed himself to enjoy Chris and even encouraged his humor. My brother has never been in public service nor had to deal with the scrutiny of having every word and every action examined by a hostile press corps. I am funny. Many people don’t know that I’m funny. But I am. Actually, I am very funny. But you’re
