Donald Trump says asking him about disbanding the White House pandemic office is a “nasty question”

Yamiche Alcindor: “You said that you don’t take responsibility but you did disband the White House pandemic office”

Video file

Citation From the March 13, 2020, edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

YAMICHE ALCINDOR (PBS NEWSHOUR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT): My first question is 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 that worked in that office said that you -- that the White House lost valuable time because that office was disbanded? What do you make of that?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I just think it's a nasty question, because what we've done is -- and Tony had said numerous times that we saved thousands of lives because of the quick closing.

And when you say me, I didn't do it. We have a group of people.

ALCINDOR: It's your administration.

TRUMP: I could ask, perhaps -- my administration, but I could perhaps ask Tony about that, because I don't know anything about it. I mean, you say we did that. I don't know anything about it.

ALCINDOR: You don't know about the --

TRUMP: We're spending --

ALCINDOR: -- About the reorganization that happened in the National Security Council?

TRUMP: No, I don't know. It's the  -- it's the administration, perhaps they do that. You know, people let people go. You know, you used to be with a different newspaper than you are now. You know, things like that happen.