Station:    KNUS, 710 am

Show:       Steffan Tubbs Show

Guests:    Gardner, Cory

Link:        https://omny.fm/shows/steffan-tubbs-show/the-steffan-tubbs-show-march-18-2020-hr-2

Date:        March 18, 2020

Topics:           Colorado Springs Rally for Donald Trump,

Click Here for Audio

HOST STEFFAN TUBBS [00:00:14] It is a pleasure — I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances — to welcome in our friend of the program, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner from self-quarantine. I can’t believe I just put those words together. Cory, how are you doing?

U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO, CORY GARDNER [00:00:28] Well, I’m doing fine. I’m doing great. I feel good. I feel fine. And look, this is something that I didn’t expect to happen to me. [I] got a phone call yesterday from the Tri County Health Department, which covers Douglas, Adams, and Arapahoe Counties, and said that I had spent some significant — a significant amount of time in a meeting with a constituent who tested positive. And I met with this — whoever this individual or group was on March 11th. And so now I find myself in quarantine for 14 days from the 11th of March. So, but it’s certainly not something that I was anticipating and hoping that I wouldn’t go through, but [there are] a lot of people in this boat now.

TUBBS [00:01:07] I can’t — I just — I can’t believe it, when I heard yesterday the breaking news. And you know, we got it on and and then as you say, you texted me and I appreciated that. Give us give us an idea of your surroundings right now.

GARDNER [00:01:22] [laughs] Well, I have about a 300 square foot studio apartment. And, you know, there’s really nothing on the walls. And I’m never here, so the windows never open. I did discover that I could open the windows. And, you know, it is pretty empty and pretty plain. Now, when the family’s here, I have to step on the bed, the cot, the couch, and then I’m out the door.

TUBBS [00:01:45] [laughs].

GARDNER [00:01:45] But it’s just me. So it’s plenty of room.

TUBBS [00:01:47] Oh, man, I don’t mean to laugh, but if you don’t, what are we going to do? Cry? But how did Jamie take it, and the kids?

GARDNER [00:01:55] You know, I think the kids were disappointed because obviously they would — hopefully, we were going to have a chance to see each other as we went to county assemblies and other things that were gonna be taking place this weekend. And, you know, I obviously miss them very much. But the fact is, this is what so many people in America are going through. This is what we have to do to protect our communities. And it’s terrifying, really, because I don’t think anybody’s gone through this and nobody knows what to expect. And there’s an urgent — there’s this urgent feeling out there that we need to get through this, that we need to get this done, that we need to provide help. And I am —  obviously, if you’re a small business owner and I’m terrified for them, too, right? And so we just have to get this right, get this done and get back on our feet.

TUBBS [00:02:38] I want to — as we continue our conversation [with] Senator Cory Gardner in self-quarantine, he came in contact with a constituent who tested positive for COVID-19, one week ago today. And that probably seems like a lifetime ago. But you’re still in contact with the leaders. I know — I understand that you may get a call and have to cut our conversation short if the Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, calls you.

GARDNER [00:03:01] Right.

TUBBS [00:03:01] What kind of communication are you still able to have? Obviously, at least, you know, Skype and the Internet and cell phones are still keeping you in the loop.

GARDNER [00:03:11] Well, and I think I feel sorry for my staff because I’m discovering new ways that I can communicate with them all, too. So obviously, phone calls and I’ve been on the phone all day with Colorado, you know, workers and constituents and business owners and restauranteurs, and hoteliers and just talking about all the things that are happening, what we’re doing, and what the legislation looks like. Banking industries — I’ve been on the phone in conversation with my colleagues and [I am] expecting a call from the secretary tonight to discuss concerns in the banking — you know, if we’re asking banks to make sure they’re working with people on, you know, mortgage payments and working out loans that may have to miss a payment or something, making sure that the banks aren’t punished for making the right decisions. So we’ve got to get that taken care of. And then, you know, things like Zoom and Facetime and Skype that are all being — I’ve used them all today.

TUBBS [00:04:04] I bet. I really would love your take to talk with someone who is a constituent of yours, that’s listening right now, that feels that the reaction has been nothing short of a huge overreaction. What do you say to the critics listening right now that do not agree with not allowing gatherings, that do not agree with, you know, baseball season being canceled? What do you say to those people?

GARDNER [00:04:32] You know, this this is the challenge, of course, is 80 percent of the people who get this aren’t either — they’re either not going to experience symptoms or they’re gonna be fine and just, they’ll recover on their own. But for that 20 percent, there is a huge risk and the risk is that it overwhelms our health care system. And then we look like some other countries around the globe and we start losing people. We don’t have a ventilators that if we had this mass surge that we would need and we don’t have the personal protective equipment if we had this mass surge. And so you string this out and let this last for months and months and months and months. Do you have this surge that crushes our healthcare system? You know, those are things that we can avoid. So this is, you know — we’ve never been through this before. The health care experts are saying that we have to do this in terms of — in order to avoid that crash of the system. And that’s why I’m fighting like heck with — I said earlier today, there’s got to be a word even more urgent than the word “urgent,” because that’s how we have to act to make sure that we get this economy back on track and that we take care of people. Thank goodness the economy is where it was when we went into this, because imagine if it wasn’t as strong where we would be after this.

TUBBS [00:05:50] Yeah. I don’t know if you heard, but, you know, all the gains under President Trump have been gone. The Dow was down another 6.3 percent today. Senator Cory Gardner, joining us from self-quarantine, I guess the simplest way to ask this question is — and it’s nonpolitical — were we caught as a nation with our pants down when it comes to this type of issue?

GARDNER [00:06:14] I think if you go back to when this first happened, when this first started, obviously we started getting reports toward the end of the new year — [correcting himself] or, excuse me, toward the end of last year right at the beginning of the new year, and I had initially heard these reports of this virus in China and it was spreading outside of China. And I had said, we have to have a hearing. This sounds very serious. We have to have a hearing. We have to have a briefing. And guess what was going on in the middle of all this? Impeachment was going on. And now even the middle of impeachment, we were able to get HHS and FDA and the NIH together to talk about what they had learned at that point, what they knew about it at that point. But Congress then went right back into the throes of impeachment. And so, look, I don’t think anybody — when you activated a pandemic plan, you know, that’s — nobody really has experience with that in Congress in the halls of policy to the level of what we saw here. And we’re learning from it and we have to learn from it. But the initial steps that were taken were unprecedented in terms of lockdowns and shutdowns of flights in and out of China. You look at the quarantines that took place for the first time in this country since the 1960s. And so we are learning, as we must, from what we need to do better. But we also, I think, probably made some very wise steps early on.

TUBBS [00:07:39] Yeah. Is there any way you can say to a small business owner that at least there are discussions to somehow — and I don’t know how it’s done. I mean, you know, you all passed a near trillion dollar relief package yesterday. I assume there’s going to be more to come. And I know that that’s probably already under discussion. But can you assure somebody in Colorado, a small business, that as best that the government can to step in — and this is where maybe you’d want them to step in — that their businesses, somehow, some way, can be made whole?

GARDNER [00:08:10] Well, and that’s exactly what we’re fighting to do. And I think that’s well said and that’s what my call with Secretary Mnuchin is going to be about, is making sure that these — I call it sort of business stabilization — is available for all these businesses, the small businesses that need it, that it’s easy to have access to, that we get through this period of time so they can get back on their feet, back open, and people back to work. And that’s exactly what I’m talking to him about. And I think that’s in this next bill that we’re working on as we speak.

TUBBS [00:08:43] We’re going to wrap up and I greatly appreciate your time. When we had you on, I think it was just last week. So we’re two for two weeks with the senator from Colorado. You had said nobody wants to turn to Dr. Congress. I’m wondering if Dr. Congress has said, Mr. Gardner, you need to be tested. Have you been tested?

GARDNER [00:09:01] No, I have not. The doctors actually said that I don’t meet the criteria for that because I’m not experiencing any symptoms. Obviously, if I start, you know, fever and the symptoms that go through that, then I’m supposed to call the doctor and we’ll make a decision at that point. But I think that’s the kind of thing that I’m just doing my part, as we’ve talked about in Colorado, making sure that I’m not spreading it and risking other people who may be more vulnerable.

TUBBS [00:09:27] My friend, I always thank you for your time and in these trying times. There are a lot of Coloradans, as you know, that have your back that are praying for you and everybody around the country. So until we speak again, enjoy that 300 square feet.

GARDNER [00:09:41] Well, thanks. I’ll be here. [laughs]

TUBBS [00:09:44] Thank you, Cory.

GARDNER [00:09:45] Thanks, Steffan! Thanks. Bye.