CNN "Erin Burnett Outfront" - Transcript Interview with Michelle Lujan Grisham
Interview
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The Governor acknowledging the trend lines are 'going in the wrong direction' and she's OUTFRONT now, the New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. I appreciate your time, Governor. What is the biggest factor in your state that is leading you to make this decision, shutting back down is the right thing to do?
GOV. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM (D-NM): Well, Erin, thank you very much for having me on. The numbers speak for themselves. When you're tracking the data every day, the number of infections and positive cases, the number of hospitalizations and deaths, it's pretty clear.
So our rolling five day average, for example, right now, at about 259 is twice what it was a month ago. So New Mexico flattened, crushed that curve and we were really managing. So we split our opening phase one into two parts, I wanted to go really slow, because when you introduce risk, you got to make sure that you can mitigate that risk.
You only have two tools, people's personal behaviors or limiting their access to goods and services. And we don't want limited access, so you have to rely on personal behaviors. But what's going on around the country and people coming into the state and I think far too many New Mexicans who were getting mixed messages nationally about mask wearing, even though we had a mandate and then it really is safer than it is because it's not safe I think very lackadaisical.
And I've asked New Mexicans to go exactly where they were more than a month ago; stay home, stay at gatherings no more than five, only leave if you have to, mandatory masks including for exercise, no one really from out of state is supposed to be here and no indoor dining. We never opened up ours.
BURNETT: Wow. OK. Well, this is - I mean, look, I think this gives people a sense of how things could go, no one from out of state, mask even while exercising. I mean, you do still plan to open schools in the fall, I believe, Governor. But you've said that if you don't go back to flattening your curve, if you aren't able to see that, you can't do it safely. Of course, you saw the President's tweet this morning with the threat, "Schools must be open in the Fall. If not open, why would the Federal Government give funding? It won't."
And then Larry Kudlow, his top economic adviser said this later this afternoon, I want to play it for you.
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KUDLOW: Just go back to school, we can do that. And you can social distance, you can get your temperature taken, you can be tested, you could have distancing, come on, it's not that hard.
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BURNETT: What do you say to them? Not that hard, you can just keep getting tested, no big deal.
GRISHAM: It is another indication that the federal government has no plan, has no concept of what it takes to safely reopen to protect kids and their families or has any interest in doing so. And frankly, it's the most callous kind of statement that we've all come to expect out of the White House.
What about all of the medically fragile children? What about families with chronic care conditions? What about the fact that most individuals are asymptomatic? What about the fact that most states, including New Mexico have a much older workforce in education, because it's a vocation, right?
Educators stay the course because they're in love with what they do and want to make a difference. They're in indoor settings.
BURNETT: Yes.
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GRISHAM: You try and tell a five-year-old that social distancing and mask wearing is easy.
BURNETT: Yes. Well, I have a five-year-old and I know exactly what you're talking about.
GRISHAM: So you know.
BURNETT: They have the best intentions, but it isn't going to work. And look, they're all going to start trading masks and I'm not saying that to be funny, I'm just saying that people don't realize the challenge that we're going to be facing when these kids go back to school. It's going to be hard.
You are the first Latina Democratic governor in America, Governor, and right now it looks like we lost her shot - it looks like we lost her. Are we going to get her back or - no, we're not. OK. Well, I appreciate her time if she can still hear me. Thank you very much, Gov. Grisham. I appreciate it.
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