Hello, everyone, and welcome to our live prime-time special "A Closer Look Thursday." Now, normally,
on our show every night, we do a segment called
"A Closer Look" that's about 15 minutes long. But, since so much
has happened this week, we decided to supersize it
from 15 minutes to 21 minutes. It might not sound like a lot, but those extra
six minutes, man, they're gonna blow your mind. Also, this will be
the first time we're doing "A Closer Look" with commercial breaks and I, for one,
can't wait to see which ads for prescription drugs NBC thinks pair best
with a rundown of today's news. Xanex, Dramamine, Regeneron? Sorry, just trying
to help the president pump up the stock price. And, speaking
of the president -- That's a segue. We're incredibly good at those. There's so much to get to, from the president's ongoing
election-induced meltdown to the White House attempt
to cover up its expanding COVID outbreak. So, for more on all of that,
it's time for "A Closer Look" prime time! ♪♪ I forgot -- NBC wouldn't pay
for the second camera. This week, our addled president
has been sitting around in a mostly deserted
White House infectious zone, watching TV
and angrily scream-tweeting at all hours of the night. The place is turning
into Grey Gardens. If Trump gets reelected,
he's gonna be holed up in there with long hair and fingernails, while flies buzz
around Mike Pence's head. Trump's apparently just been
watching TV and stewing as the White House
COVID outbreak spirals further out of control
and his poll numbers continue to tank, with less than
four weeks until the election. And, plus, he's been
on a combination of powerful steroids
and experimental drugs, while frying his brain
with hours of cable news. So, exactly what you want
from the guy in charge
of the nuclear arsenal. They're gonna have to keep
that briefcase away from him the way you hide
a tennis ball from a dog. For example, today he called in
for yet another one of his televised
therapy sessions with Fox Business host
Maria Bartiromo, where he, once again,
rambled incoherently about, honestly, God knows what. It's impossible to follow, unless you're deeply immersed in the Fox News
cinematic universe of gripes
and conspiracy theories. Basically, it was just
two crazy people yelling over the phone
like divorced parents Facetiming each other
on Thanksgiving. -I'm not gonna waste my time
on a virtual debate. That's not what debating's
all about. You sit behind a computer
and do a debate. It's ridiculous. For six months,
he was fracking. He was raising his very thin
hand and he was fracking. I don't think
I'm contagious, at all. It's particles of dust. It's tiny stuff. I'm back because I'm
a perfect physical specimen. They want to hug me and they
want to kiss me, and they do. These people should be indicted. This was the greatest
political crime in the history of our country, and that includes Obama
and it includes Biden. Mailmen are being,
as you know, indicted. One was indicted yesterday
in New Jersey. -Wow.
-They found traces of ballots in a river. I killed Soleimani. I killed al-Baghdadi. Names that everybody -- bigger names
than Osama bin Laden. She's a Communist. They have a boat,
saying they have 5,000 boats. They have thousands of trucks
all over the country. I'm essentially very clean. -Oh, settle down, my man. Can we cut his steroids
with some of that Xanax or maybe, I don't know,
a full Thanksgiving turkey? Listening to one of these
interviews with Trump is like taking a bunch of your
racist uncle's Facebook posts and putting them in a blender. He's talking about boats, indited mailmen,
rivers full of ballots, calling himself
a "perfect physical specimen," all of which are lies,
obviously. He sounds like he's
writing a YA novel after burying his face
in a mound of Adderall. [ As Trump ]
The rivers are full of ballots. Mailmen have been indicted. Tiny dust particles
are everywhere! Everyone is contagious,
except for me, your hero, the perfect physical specimen. Krr!
Hrrrr! Aaah! Even Bartiromo, one of Trump's
most obsequious sycophants, who spends most of the interview
goading him on, tried to get him
off the phone at one point and, as she was wrapping up, he screamed something incoherent
about indicting Hillary Clinton. -Well, I'd like to go back
to the White House soon to do another interview,
Mr. President. -Oh, we'll do that, Maria.
-I'd like to come back
to the White House. -I saw it up close
-Well, why isn't Hillary Clinton -and personal.
-being indicted? -That's just how
he says goodbye now. "Bye, Donald! Have a good why
isn't Hillary being indicted." [ As Trump ]
And a good why isn't Hillary
being indicted to you. Trump has concocted
an elaborate fantasy in which his political opponents
committed treason against him and has called
for his predecessor, his previous opponent,
and his current opponent to all be prosecuted and jailed. This is how erratic and unstable our political system has been
under Trump and the GOP. In fact,
today the president released yet another one of his
bizarre Twitter videos, where he stands
outside the White House and rambles in a way
that would make you think the drugs are kicking in,
except, you know, he's Donald Trump. Here he is addressing seniors. -You're not vulnerable, but they
like to say the vulnerable, but you're the least vulnerable. But for this one thing,
you are vulnerable. -[ Laughing ] Oh, thanks
for clearing it up. So -- I'm sorry.
Are they vulnerable or not? [ As Trump ]
They say you're vulnerable,
but you're not. But, for this, you are. Even though, in general,
you're not. You're invulnerable
to being vulnerable, which means
you're not vulnerable, unless you're vulnerable. It's like an ancient riddle
scrawled on an Egyptian cave. If you're a senior watching that
and you want to know if you're vulnerable now,
you need a decoder ring. Also, why is he so far away? You know, you're contagious
when they make you stand multiple football fields
away from the White House. Did the White House get
a restraining order against him? [ As Trump ]
Judge says I need to stay
at least 200 feet away. So the Trump White House
is a pandemic hot zone, staffers and journalists
are either quarantined or working from home,
and the ones who are there have to wear gowns, masks,
and eye covers. Right now, the White House
is more deserted than a CVS at midnight. "Hello!
Hello, does anybody work here? Sir, do you work here?" [ As Pence ]
I do work here and I -- and I want to thank you
for the opportunity to answer that question. "You know, I'm just looking
for some toilet paper." I keep in my heart
every customer who's looking for toilet paper. "So it would be where?" Soleimani is responsible
for the deaths of -- "Oh, that's -- no, that's not
an answer to my question. So you're just gonna --
you're just gonna answer the question
you want to answer?" Seriously, by the time
Trump's term ends, the West Wing's gonna be like one of those spooky
abandoned houses at the end of your cul-de-sac your parents tell you
to stay away from. Kids are gonna dare
each other to go inside and, occasionally,
we'll see Steven Miller walk out into the backyard
with a garbage bag and a shovel. In fact -- this is real --
the White House is so abandoned, it's been infested
with raccoons. A CNN reporter was even
captured fighting one off right before a live shot. -Where? Get! There he is. [ Thud ] Aaaah! [ Laughter ] -That do it?
-Now, no events on the president's
schedule today. -[ Laughing ]
Good Lord. The White House has turned
into a video game level from "Resident Evil." "I just got to kill
five radioactive raccoons and then I get another
health pack." Every day, it seems,
the number of people connected to the White House cluster who test positive
for coronavirus grows and, now, even the agency
in charge of federal disaster response
is getting involved. -This morning,
the coronavirus outbreak on the grounds
of the White House even worse than the Trump
administration has admitted. ABC News obtained
an internal memo sent Wednesday
to top officials at FEMA, listing the total number
of infected White House staffers and other contacts at 34. That's 10 more than had been
previously known. -That's right, FEMA -- FEMA -- is writing memos
about the White House now. I know there's a lot about the
Trump era that's on the nose, but even I never imagined
the White House would become
a literal disaster zone. Soon, we're gonna see
Trump sleeping on a cot in a high school gymnasium.
He's gonna film his next "Everything is going great"
video wrapped in a tinfoil blanket, eating beans from a can
with a plastic spoon. [ As Trump ]
We beat it, folks. Corona's on the run and I think
we can all agree that is cool beans. And think
about how crazy that is. At least 34 people have now been infected
with the coronavirus and it's not just the staffers
inside the White House or Trump's inner circle. A shocking report published
yesterday by USA Today found that the White House
coronavirus outbreak may have exposed
thousands of people across multiple states. He's Typhoid Mary,
if she held rallies. Of course, it seems like this
can all be traced back to what appears to have been
a superspreader event at the White House last month
to introduce Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court,
Amy Coney Barrett. And this whole episode has been
a perfect encapsulation of the criminal negligence, ineptitude, secrecy,
and recklessness with which
the Trump administration has handled the pandemic,
as a whole. For one thing,
people were hugging and talking in close
proximity to each other, and they even held indoor events without masks
or social distancing. It's not just your own health. You're putting others
at risk. Engaging in this kind
of behavior during a pandemic is like slathering
in yourself in honey and whacking a hornet's nest
with a baseball bat, which I guess would explain
why Trump's face always looks like he just
pulled it out of a beehive. [ As Trump ]
What can I say?
Daddy's got a sweet tooth. And, by the way,
the only reason they rushed to hold this superspreader
gala, in the first place, was so they could pack the court with a 6-3 supermajority
before an election. Trump is actively trying
to undermine and to rule on a case
in November in which
the Trump administration is suing to destroy Obamacare and rip healthcare
away from 20 million, including those
with preexisting conditions and, in doing so, they ended up
getting themselves sick. The irony is almost
Shakespearean. All this thing needed was Trump delivering a monologue
to a skull. [ As Trump ]
Alas, poor Yorick! His doctor was out-of-network. But as bad as the
outbreak itself was, the attempt to cover it up
was egregious. We'll tell you all about that
when we come back. -[ Snarling ]
-Oh! The raccoons are here. I thought we sprayed. Oh, they're drawn to his voice? Okay, well, that's on us, then. Alright.
We'll be right back after I take care of this.
Shoo! ♪♪ Welcome back, everybody. Now, the White House's
reckless behavior is especially galling
when we know there are basic
public health measures that work and that would help stop the spread of this disease
and save lives, as Dr. Anthony Fauci
explained this week. -It occurs because of the lack
of implementation of simple
public health measures. It's so frustrating because
it's not rocket science. You almost want to say,
"Okay, country, you know, maybe 50% of you hate me because you think I'm trying
to destroy the country, but do me a favor. Listen to me for like
maybe six weeks or so and do these things. You would see the level
of infection go down." -Okay, first of all,
it's much less than 50%. Polls show as much
as three-fourths of Americans regularly wear masks
and support mask mandates. The people who are opposed
are really only like 20%. You know, the modern-day
wannabe Minutemen you see in viral videos, who think
they're standing up for freedom by screaming
at a teenage employee in the frozen aisle at Costco. "Oh, what's next,
you're gonna tell me I can't run my hands
through the ground beef?" [ Squeakily ]
Oh, yeah. You should
never do that. "Well, I guess we're living
in Nazi Russia now! Kyle!" Second, you're right.
It's not rocket science, except to Donald Trump, because, to him,
everything is rocket science. Explaining how viral
transmission works to this guy is like explaining
the mechanics of the internal
combustion engine to a capuchin monkey.
He's just gonna get bored and start picking flies
out of Pence's hair. [ As Pence ]
How do you think
I did last night, sir? [ As Trump ]
You were great, Mike. But, as we've said many times,
it's not just Trump. He's not unique
among Republicans. For example, the president's
lawyer Rudy Giuliani literally showed up maskless to a crowded indoor fundraiser
in Manhattan this week, a day after coughing so much
in a Fox News interview that even the anchor
expressed concern. And, by the way,
as he was doing this interview, he was waiting
for his COVID test results. -Mayor, you heard
Joe Biden there. He says, if the scientists -[ Coughs ]
-say it's okay. -When I hear that response --
[ Coughs ] -You know, everybody
questions the polls. -[ Coughs ]
-We'll look forward to having you back
and I hope that cough is not anything bad. You're waiting for your test
to come back, so, we hope you're gonna
be healthy and well. -I hope so, too! -[ As Giuliani ]
I hope so, too! I don't wanna die! Again! There's only so many times
they can Jon Snow you! How far did they push that swab
up your nose, Rudy? is it possible they
left it in there? "Mr. Giuliani,
we do need to remove the swab to test the sample." [ As Giuliani ]
Hey, finders keepers, guys. Free swab for Rudy. It's insane that someone
who traveled with Trump just days before his
positive COVID test feels comfortable showing up
to a TV studio without a mask and coughing like
a high school sophomore who just got bullied into
smoking their first cigarette. Now, it would be great
to know more about the timeline of the White House
COVID outbreak, but the administration
has repeatedly lied about what happened and refused
to provide basic information about when Trump
last tested negative, which is important
because the president attended or traveled to a slew of events in the days before his
positive diagnosis, from the first presidential
debate to a rally in Minnesota, to an indoor fundraiser
in New Jersey, all without masks
or social distancing. He's like the
Johnny Appleseed of COVID. He's a one-man superspreader. And, no, I'm not talking
about that weird, superspreading, accordion thing
he does with his hands, you know,
where he puts his arms out like he's being
patted down by the TSA. "Sir, do you know why
we pulled you out of the line?" [ As Trump ]
Is it because my coat is
loaded up with office supplies I borrowed from the Oval Office? "Hey, man, I heard you're
the guy selling staplers." Not now, buddy. We need to know when Trump
was potentially infected, for the sake of all the people
who could've been exposed, and yet, for some reason, the White House refuses
to just tell us when Trump's
last negative test was. But, as always,
with this White House, if they're not giving us
an answer, it's probably because
that answer is damning. There's almost no chance
Trump has been getting tested. If Trump tested negative
even once, he'd be holding up
the test results the way Henry Winkler holds up
fish on Twitter. For real. You've got to follow the guy.
It's a good time. There's a good chance
Trump wasn't tested at all, which would contradict
all the bragging they did, just months ago, about how
often they tested Trump and everyone around him. -As I've made clear
from this podium, the president is the most
tested man in America. -I do take, probably on average, a test every two days,
three days. -I'm sorry. Why not every day?
You're the president. I mean, I get tested
three days a week and I'm hardly
an essential worker. The only reason I'm even
on prime time right now is because they had
to shut down production on "Superstore"
for a few months. Come back, "Superstore." I like my normal time slot,
where I can say the F-word and they can bleep it in post. So, now, it turns out
Trump was not "the most tested man
in America." Also, it wouldn't surprise me if Trump just refused
to be tested, since he's openly complained about how much he dislikes
the nasal swab test. -Uh -- Not something I wanna do
every day. I can tell you that. it's a test.
it's a test. It's a medical test. Nothing pleasant about it. -It's not pleasant for you,
with those nostrils? I mean, come on. Those things are like mainsails. They probably had to tape
two swabs together to get all the way up there. "[ Grunt ]
I'm not hitting anything, but I'm afraid to keep going." So it's not surprising
Trump would try to cover up a COVID outbreak,
but even for him, the last few days have been
especially unhinged, and we'll tell you all about
the president's latest outburst when we come right back. ♪♪ Welcome back.
Now, we don't really know anything
about the president's health, other than what he tells us in those weird,
one-take Twitter videos he keeps posting
from the White House grounds. You know, the ones
with weird jump cuts and trucks backing up
in the background. -Firefighters, everybody,
they're just great. We have great people.
This is a great country. I wanted to get
out of the hospital [ Alert beeping ]
and that's what I want
for everybody. -Where is he,
a construction site? He couldn't tape his message
to the country after garbage collection? Who knows, though? Maybe the
beeps are coming from him. It makes sense because,
every time he talks, he's basically backing up
a truck full of BS. Also, what is up with the
terrible production quality? He's the president. I feel like he's trying
to sell me a reverse mortgage
or an above-ground pool. It's not good when the
White House films the president in the same style
as the "Cloverfield" monster. Now, we know the coronaviruses
taken a visible toll on Trump's physical health,
but there's also been some speculation
about his mental health, given that the steroids
he's taking can reportedly have
psychological side effects. And I'm no mental health expert, but I can tell the difference
between bad and worse, although I don't really know
how you'd know. Taking the drugs
made Trump crazier is like saying the Nikes
made Usain Bolt faster. Dude can't get much faster
than he already did. But don't worry --
Trump put any questions about his state of mind
to rest with this video. -Hi.
Perhaps you recognize me. It's your favorite president and I'm standing in front of the
Oval Office at the White House, which is always
an exciting place to be. -When he says, "Hi. It's me,
your favorite president," it almost sounds like
he's being ironic, like even he knows how much
people don't like him. Like he's expecting
the Debbie Downer music. -Hi.
Perhaps you recognize me. It's your favorite president. [ Sad trombone plays ] [ Laughing ]
Thank you, Dratch. Now, ever since
his positive test, Trump has been telling people
not to be afraid of COVID and that we shouldn't let it
dominate our lives, which, of course,
is easy for him to say, since he lives in a mansion
with an in-house clinic and was literally flown
by helicopter to a premier
medical institution, where he received the best taxpayer-funded health care
in the world. Trump hates universal,
single-payer healthcare, until he needs it,
then, he turns into a socialist. He's gonna show up
to his next press conference in a headband and Karl Marx
T-shirt, shouting -- [ As Trump ]
We must pass Medicare for All
Who Are Named Donald Trump. In fact, The New York Times
did the math and estimated that Trump's care would've cost the average
American $100,000. And something tells me
you still wouldn't hit your out-of-pocket limit. "What's my deductible? A billion dollars?!
That can't be right. Let me get my insurance card. Oh, oh, I apologize. It is a billion dollars." And, of course,
it's an especially sweet deal for Trump, given that,
in 2016 and '17, he paid only $750 in federal
income taxes per year. If Trump loses in November,
it would be great if Biden sent him a bill
for $99,250, just to watch him sweat. [ As Trump ] I'll get you
the money, Joe. I swear. I just need one more hit
of dexamethasone. Daddy's gotta get his dex on.
Gotta get on that ♪ Highway to ♪ ♪ Dexamethasone ♪ [ Laughter ] So Trump got the best
medical care in the world, at taxpayer expense, medical care no other
American has access to, including an experimental drug made by a company called
Regeneron. And, yes, before you even ask, the CEO is a member
of Trump's golf course and, yes, Trump has owned
stock in the past and, yes, they got a giant
$450 million grant from the Trump
administration in July because, of course, why else
would Trump go out of his way to repeatedly brag about it
in his video? -They gave me Regeneron. It's called Regeneron. And other things, too,
but I think this was the key. [ Alert beeping ]
But they gave me Regeneron and it was like unbelievable. I felt good immediately. I felt as good three days ago
as I do now. -Okay, first of all,
Regeneron sounds like a drug an evil corporation
in the movie would use to make an army of soldiers or genetically engineer
dinosaurs. All it's missing is the word
industries at the end. "Here at Regeneron Industries, we're using
the latest technology to create an army
of servant clones that definitely will not
rise up against -- What's that banging
on the door? Oh, the servant clones? Oh, they're rising up?
We'll turn them off. They won't turn off?
Well, I don't know." [ Static crackling ]
Krrrrrrr! That was static. Krrrrrrr! They wouldn't pay
for the second camera. They wouldn't give us this.
And, look, the drug might genuinely work
and be a major breakthrough, which would be great,
but the president shouldn't be talking it up
like he's filming a testimonial for a prescription
drug commercial. All that's missing are shots
of him walking on the beach and playing guitar with a bunch
of other 70-somethings. [ As Trump ]
Yeah, good jam session, fellas. You know,
when you get to my age, physical intimacy
can be a struggle. That's why I take Regeneron. Oh, where are they? Where? You guys -- Melania, where's the Regeneron? Mel?!
[ Laughter ] Mel, I can't find
my intimacy pills. Where you --
Where you threw them -- You flushed them down the
toilet by accident? That keeps happening. Well, Mel, I can't be
intimate with -- I'm not mad, Mel. I'm not --
I love you, Mel. So Trump's once again
bragging about miracle cures he had the luxury of receiving during his $100,000
taxpayer-funded hospital stay. Meanwhile, his administration
is in court right now, suing to rip healthcare
away for millions, an outcome they could achieve if they get their 6-3
Supreme Court supermajority. Trump has left
the country in ruins and, now, it's up to us
to put it back together. More on that when we come back. -[ Snarling ]
-Oh! Raccoons are here. ♪♪ Welcome back.
So, before we go, let's just quickly take stock of where we're at right now. The White House is emptier than an abandoned
Hollywood Video after a COVID outbreak infected
the president and his aides and exposed potentially
thousands of others; cases are, once again,
on the rise, while just three states
report declines; the president scream-tweeted
that he was unilaterally ending stimulus talks,
then reversed himself; Some of the country's
senior military leadership, including members of the
Joint Chiefs are in quarantines; raccoons have taken over
the White House; and staffers have to wear masks,
gowns, and face shields to enter the Oval Office,
like they're performing an alien autopsy at Area 51. Or, as the president put it... -We have enthusiasm like probably nobody's ever had. Our people that love
the job we're doing. We have more enthusiasm
than maybe anybody. -[ As Trump ]
So much enthusiasm, I guess you could say
it's contagious. We're spreading it
across the country. Everyone's got it and they're
giving it to their neighbors. What all this shows is that
defeating Trump is the first and most urgent step
to fixing our economy and restoring our democracy,
but it can't be the only step. We need systemic changes
to our political system and a sustained moment
to push for them. That starts with all of us
doing everything we can, pitching in
and, most importantly -- most importantly --
voting. We have the power to repudiate
Trump in November. We can end the cruelty
and criminal negligence, the cronyism, the incompetence, and we're on the verge
of doing it. We just have to see it through. It's a nerve-racking place to be, but it's also an... -Exciting place to be. -This has been
"A Closer Look Thursday." Watch our show every night
at 12:35, right here on NBC. Stay safe.
Wash your hands. Wear a mask.
Vote. We love you.
Good night. ♪♪ Oh, no! Don't you -- I swear, of all the times! We went, we bought
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