CNN "State of the Union with Jake Tapper" - Interview with Michelle Lujan Grisham

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

And joining me now the Democratic governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham. Governor Lujan Grisham, thanks so much for joining us and happy Easter to you during this very difficult time.

President Trump is considering calling for Americans to go back to work, easing federal, social and physical distancing guidelines as soon as May 1st. You predicted the peak in New Mexico could come as late as the end of May. What will you do if the president calls for an easing of those guidelines on May 1st?

GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (D-NM): We're going to make the decisions that safeguard New Mexicans. Everything we do is about protecting live and first responders or health care workers.

I think this is the problem with not having a national strategy. This virus is blind to state borders. And if we had better national strategies and better national (INAUDIBLE) and universal testing and software-based (ph) contract tracing then we can really figure out when opening makes sense and we could actually start to do that in the country.

So I'm going to do whatever is right for New Mexico. And we've began looking at recovery options but we aren't going to anything until that peak occurs and we're clear about not having hospitalizations and reducing the number of people that are positive every day in our surveillance and testing efforts.

TAPPER: Your office has been relying on data from a company called Descartes Labs to track New Mexicans' movements, to see whether New Mexicans as a whole are adhering to social distancing guidelines. You've said the data come from millions of cell phones and you don't know whose cell phone is whose.

For your constituents out there who might have privacy concerns about this, can you explain exactly how this data collection is happening and what oversight there is in the process?

LUJAN GRISHAM: Well, a couple of things. I think that some folks got confused that somehow this is state data and state effort, and it isn't. It's also aggregate cell phone data for the entire country.

And Descartes Labs is a data -- large data firm. And they do incredible work managing any huge types of information that can be beneficial. So we treat this as a tool that allows us to figure out whether our social distancing, more than just looking at the cases, but look at where people are traveling, how long they're traveling, and get a sense about whether or not we need to do something else that limits person to person contact and enhances our social distancing.

In terms of oversight, if there was anything that we thought in this company or anybody else that was breaching already robust federal or state laws protecting privacy, A, we wouldn't have a relationship and, B, we would do the appropriate accountability. But they're just using aggregate data. We don't have any idea who any of the cell phone numbers belong to, not just in New Mexico but nowhere in the country. But it is a very useful tool to get a sense about how social distancing works and what the benefits of that are.

TAPPER: I want you to take a listen to the surgeon general at the White House task force briefing on Friday where he addressed racial disparities in coronavirus cases and deaths. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: The chronic burden of medical ills is likely to make people of color especially less resilient to the ravages of COVID-19 and if possibly, in fact likely, that the burden of social ills is also contributing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now the surgeon general said that the administration is taking steps to -- quote -- "reach, protect, and strengthen all communities impacted by this disease especially communities of color." Nearly half your state's population is Hispanic. Are you seeing the same trend in your state, and if so, how are you dealing with that?

LUJAN GRISHAM: So, absolutely. And we know that the social determinants of health, poverty, lack of access to adequate shelter, food, health care, is an aspect that makes this virus and our efforts to combat it and provide productive treatment incredibly challenging. Add that that we also have 6 percent of our population is Native American. We have 23 distinct sovereign nations.

A couple of days ago 25 percent of our cases, positive COVID-19 cases are Native American. Some of these areas, particularly in the Navajo nation, you're in a situation where you've got folks living without access to water and electricity. And this creates unique challenges.

I do think actually the administration is clear that they need to do more. We're looking at a regional strategy to support the leadership of the Navajo nation between Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. We're putting out field hospitals, triage centers.

[09:50:01]

And I will tell you that the pueblo nations in New Mexico have really looked at containment strategies for their community, and we're supporting that, right? Where we have road blocks -- nobody in, nobody out. We're delivering food through the National Guard, and we hope this not only slows the spread but gives us better support to the individuals living in these remote areas in New Mexico. But it's concerning. Huge number, percentage of the cases, a number of individuals with, say, coexisting disorders that are really problematic with COVID-19, like diabetes.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Permit me one question that doesn't have to do with this pandemic. Permit me one question, if I could. Your name has been floated as a potential vice presidential pick for Vice President Biden. Do you want to be the vice president? Do you think you'd be good at it?

LUJAN GRISHAM: Well, I will do this. I think that you want a vice president that was much like former Vice President Biden.

He knew how to govern. He had done a ton of work as a senator and in local government as well, and I think that those are incredible attributes.

I want to be the governor of New Mexico. I will do whatever it takes to support a Biden administration, and I'm looking forward to a federal administration that can do a national strategy in good times and in bad times both.

TAPPER: All right. God bless you, Governor, and the citizens of New Mexico. Appreciate it. Happy Easter to you and thanks for talking to us.

LUJAN GRISHAM: Thank you, Jake. Thanks for having me this morning.

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