Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Appears Live On NBC’s the Today Show

March 18, 2020

Savannah Guthrie: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joins us now from City Hall. Mr. Mayor, good morning. Thank you for your time, sir.

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you, Savannah.

Guthrie: You mentioned, I believe, yesterday that New York City residents should be prepared potentially to have to shelter in place, something like we're seeing happening in San Francisco. Then New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said, no, no, something like that is not going to happen. Can you clear it up? Where does that stand?

Mayor: Savannah, I was very clear yesterday that could only be done with the State of New York. What I was trying to say to people is, this disease is moving so rapidly. Yesterday, we had over 100 new cases in New York City. We're at almost a thousand cases right now, Savannah. We've lost 10 people already. It's increasing in a way – I don't even think our leaders in Washington begin to understand this. But here in New York, we have the most cases of any state in the country. So, what I was saying to people is get ready for the possibility. It's a decision we would only make with the State of New York, of course. But people have to realize at this point that this disease is going to put many, many people, thousands and tens of thousands of people's lives in danger and we're going to have to do things very differently. And if we even get to shelter in place, we're going to have to come up with huge new approaches to make sure that people have enough food and medicine because they sure as hell don't have income right now. One of the things you heard Secretary Mnuchin – $1,000 in people's pockets is not enough. It's not going to allow people to stay whole and be able to afford the basics in life. Washington has to get real. If we're going to have an unemployment level that looks like the Great Depression, we need a massive federal relief program that looks like the Great Depression, so people are kept whole economically or they will not have money for food or medicine. That's what I fear.

Guthrie: Well, these are the early days. I mean, there's so much to fear right now. You talked about if you had to do a shelter in place, that question of how people get those critical needs. The other issue, as you well know, is our capacity in hospitals, the supplies, the ventilators, the respirators, the protective equipment. Where does that stand in your mind right now in terms of your own needs and whether there is sufficient resources in the city right now?

Mayor: Savannah, you know, I spent a few weeks trying to reassure New Yorkers, because we did have a lot of capacity. We do have a lot of capacity. But, at this point, with the trajectory of the disease, we have to be honest, if there is not a profound federal intervention quickly to ensure that we have more ventilators, we have more surgical masks, all the basic supplies. If the federal government does not get involved quickly, and specifically the United States military – and I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday – the military has extraordinary medical capacity. It's needed in places like New York right now. But it's quite clear that the administration in Washington has not mobilized the American military. There are still – there are American military officers right now still building a wall at the southern border when all they should be doing domestically is addressing coronavirus. We need their medical resources, their logistical know-how. We need them to help ensure that food and medicine moves around this country and our supply chain is not disrupted. Right now, we are in the midst of a crisis we have not seen for generations, Savannah, and yet the American military is being sidelined when they should be given the chance to get in this game and help us all.

Guthrie: Can I ask you about the figure that you mentioned at the, at the top of this interview, you said something – I think you said there were a hundred new cases in New York City. I know you've been doing a lot of math. Is there anything about that rate – the rate of increase just recently that gives you pause or suggests that the social distancing that we're all trying to practice isn't bending the curve as much as you want it to?

Mayor: I think that's the exact problem. So, a hundred plus new cases yesterday, Savannah, that's the – that is what I'm seeing as a kind of a gallop now. This morning, the latest news, 923 cases, but we're going to top a thousand today undoubtedly. We're going to be at 10,000 not so long from now. When you think about that, Savannah, that kind of rate of increase, what that's going to do to our hospitals, particularly our ICU’s – look, this is something that needs urgent intervention by the federal government and I think we're all going to have to go deeper in changing our approach, which is why I think an honest conversation about shelter in place has to happen. Again, this is a decision that can only be made with the State of New York. I will be speaking with the Governor about it later on today. But I think the time is –

Guthrie: Real quick, please, sir, because I’m almost out of time. I'm almost out of time, but just in a word, are you going to recommend to the Governor that New York City do shelter in place?

Mayor: I'm almost to that point. We have a little bit more we have to make sense of – how we're going to get people food and medicine – but I have to say, it has to be considered as seriously starting today.

Guthrie: All right. Mayor de Blasio, thank you so much.

Mayor: Thank you.