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Nations Rush to Stop Spread of Coronavirus as Cases Top 100,000; Families of Washington Nursing Home Patients Demand Answers; Interview with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, of MomRising.org, on Need for Paid Leave During Coronavirus Outbreak; Sanders Cancels Mississippi Rally & Shifts Focus to Michigan; Bill and Hillary Clinton Speak Out on Monika Lewinsky Affair; Bill Clinton Says Lewinsky Affair Helped "Manage Anxieties"; Soon, Trump to Visit CDC After Saying He Wouldn't Earlier. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 06, 2020 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Across the Middle East, Friday prayers were again canceled in many cities. In Mecca, one of Islam's holiest shrines, prayers did go ahead after the site was sterilized on Thursday. But only residents and Saudi nationals could attend. Meaning the number of worshippers was significantly down.

In Iran where there's been thousands of cases and more than 100 confirmed deaths, authorities are spraying disinfectant on public transport.

And the Palestinian Authority is banning tourism, mass gatherings, closing schools, and restricting travel between cities.

MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translation): We announce a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories to face the danger of coronavirus and to stop its spread.

AMANPOUR: The acceleration of coronavirus infections continues across Europe, too, with many countries reporting a significant spike in cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The virus is in Europe, and we must now adapt our measures. We are no longer going to set up quarantine centers. Now it's a matter of slowing it down, containing it.

AMANPOUR: In Italy, the epicenter of Europe's outbreak, the government is doubling its financial support package to deal with the crisis to over $8 billion now. The reality, though, is that the true costs will be far, far higher.

In the past nine days alone, about $9 trillion has been wiped from global stocks as the crisis rattles investor confidence.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Coming up, I'll talk to a mother who lives really in the center of the outbreak here in the United States. What she fears for her own family.

And former President Bill Clinton speaks out about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, why he says he did it, and how he ultimately confessed to his wife and his daughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:46]

BALDWIN: Coronavirus is being blamed for seven deaths at the Life Care Nursing Home at Washington State, and now relatives of loved ones still being taken care of tell CNN they are living with mounting anger and fear and frustration.

And they want answers. They want answers on the conditions of their family members, claiming patients have died without even being tested for virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT HARRICK, MOTHER DIED THURSDAY AT LIFE CARE CENTER: I want her body tested. And I've been told, well, we don't do that. We just have to assume it is natural causes. And so I'm saying, it is not OK. I need to have her tested. For the larger picture.

BONNIE HOLSTAD, HUSBAND IS PATIENT AT LIFE CARE CENTER: This environment has not been healthy for many. And I am fearful every single day that he may develop more symptoMs. So help us get solutions for what to do as a people right now here in this. I'm calling it a petri dish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Kirkland, Washington, is the epicenter of this U.S. outbreak.

And joining me now is Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. She has lived in Kirkland much of her life. She is also the executive director and co- founder of MomRising, a nonprofit that supports policies to include family economic security.

Kristin, thank you so much for joining me.

KRISTIN ROWE-FINKBEINER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, MOMRISING.ORG: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: First things first, this nursing home is in your town. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like just living in this community right now. Can you just tell me what it's like, what are you seeing? What are you hearing? ROWE-FINKBEINER: People are worried. They're worried about their own

health, the health of their family members, their friends, their neighbors. Because what we're seeing is studies coming out saying that the coronavirus has been in our community for over six weeks, and there isn't testing yet available.

Despite what we're seeing President Trump and Vice President Pence say, we don't have an adequate response yet. And so people are walking around with regular colds and regular sniffles or a regular cough and don't know if they should be in quarantine or be worried about spreading it to others or not yet because, again, there aren't any tests.

Doctors are telling us that more than 80 percent of the cases are pretty mild. And so it's a significant concern that we could be spreading the illness around our community and even farther because we don't have any data about what's really going on.

BALDWIN: To your point, you know, we're hearing from these relatives of loved ones over at the nursing home saying they're not getting enough information, right? So officials are working to roll out, hopefully, increase testing, what are you being told? Who is communicating with you?

ROWE-FINKBEINER: Well, we're hearing a lot of information about washing your hands. And everybody should wash their hands who is watching this right now.

It's 20 seconds of hand washing with soap and water. You can sing "Happy Birthday" or the "L.A. Times" recently had a great listing of all the songs if you're tired of singing "Happy Birthday" twice, so hand washing is important.

But more than hand washing, what we really need are medical supplies, including testing. And we need updated policies, like paid sick days so that people can take time off if they need to take time off, either if they're sick themselves or to keep other people from getting sick.

BALDWIN: Let me get to your latter point, because, of course, as a result of this virus, companies nationwide are encouraging employees work from home. Not everyone has that option of getting that paid sick leave.

And paid sick leave was left out of Congress's coronavirus package that President Trump signed this morning, and that really upsets you. Tell me why.

ROWE-FINKBEINER: Oh, I can't even tell you how upset I am. I mean, right now, we know that 40 municipalities have passed paid sick days, so that's 40 cities, counties and states, across the country, have passed paid sick days.

And we have data that, in those areas where paid sick days is available to peoples, there is a 40 percent lower rate of regular influenza transmission. So being able to take time off when you're sick or when a loved one is

sick -- and we're talking, you know, seven to 14 days here -- we're not talking a whole year -- is critically important to stopping this epidemic from spreading.

We're a petri dish right here in Kirkland. We're learning some really hard lessons. We want to make sure every mom, every dad, every family member doesn't have to learn those same lessons we're learning here.

[14:40:05]

We absolutely need Congress to pass paid sick days, and President Trump to sign it.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray as well as Representative Rosa DeLauro have put forward an emergency package on paid sick days, that Congress is starting to move forward. And we very much hope President Trump takes that package seriously because we know that he has called this epidemic a hoax in the past.

And I am sitting here in Kirkland, Washington, to tell you it is not a hoax. It's absolutely not a hoax. Many people I know are sick. Some are testing negative to influenza, and the doctor cannot take the next step to give them the coronavirus test to see if they have it or not.

I mean, this is a serious situation, and it needs a serious response, particularly by the president. So in his fiscal year 2021 budget actually proposed cutting funding for the CDC.

Yes, you're right, I'm passionate about this. And I really hope what we're learning here in Kirkland, the rest of the country doesn't have to learn as well.

BALDWIN: I feel your passion all the way across the country. Keep using your voice.

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, thank you.

To 2020 now. Senator Bernie Sanders is now heading to Michigan after scrapping a rally in Mississippi. What it means for his battle with Joe Biden.

Plus, Bill and Hillary Clinton both are speaking up about Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. Their emotional accounts of the scandal ahead.

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[14:46:00]

BALDWIN: In the world of politics today, six more states are getting ready to vote Tuesday. And Michigan holds the biggest prize of them all with 125 delegates at stake.

And after Joe Biden grabbed big wins in 10 states this past week compared to three for Senator Bernie Sanders -- by the way, California is still counting -- the Sanders campaign is changing tactics canceling an event in Mississippi and instead heading to Michigan.

CNN senior national correspondent, Kyung Lah, is on the trail with Senator Sanders.

Kyung, is the Sanders campaign conceding the south to Joe Biden?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If you look at what their travel is saying, you can read into that. What the Sanders campaign has officially said -- Bernie sanders telling this to reporters -- that you simply cannot be everywhere all at once. But let's let the travel speak for what the Senator is doing.

He was scheduled to be in Mississippi. He has canceled that personal visit. He's having surrogates do it. He's going to head here instead.

You mentioned the 125 delegates here in Michigan. It is very important not just for the numbers but also who makes up this state. It is the working class, those union voters that the Senator from Vermont is really speaking to. He feels that his message will resonate with them.

He is up here in the state with an ad talking about how he did not vote for NAFTA, for the TPP, and he is on the side of the working class. That is a message that he's hoping will really resonate here.

And another thing, Brooke, he won the state in 2016. This really sort of presaged what was going to be happening with Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Senator hoping that he's going to come out of here with a boost after Tuesday -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: All right, Kyung Lah, in Detroit. Kyung, thank you.

President Trump traveled to the Nashville area this afternoon to get a firsthand look for himself at the damage left behind by Tuesday's deadly tornado that leveled entire neighborhoods. And 25 people lost their lives. He stopped in Cookeville, Tennessee, one of the areas hardest-hit where he thanked first responders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This is real devastation, like you've never seen. Hopefully, again. This was about as big a tornado as you can have. It was 50 miles long, which is extraordinarily long, and a very wide one, and you see what's happened.

We saw it from the helicopter very well. You did, too.

I just want to thank you very much for the great job you're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The president will visit the CDC headquarters in Atlanta later this afternoon amid the nation's coronavirus outbreak.

Former President Bill Clinton is speaking out in this new documentary about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Why he says he did it. And as we just mentioned, President Trump set to visit the CDC after

initially scrapping the trip. The White House is giving conflicting information about why. Let's try to get to the bottom of that.

[14:48:58]

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In a new documentary, former President Bill Clinton speaking out about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Now he is saying it was a way for him to help manage his -- this is his word - "anxieties."

The new documentary, "Hillary," traces the life and career of the former first lady. It features both Clintons opening up about the scandal that has followed them since the late '90s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sat on the bed and talked to her. I told her exactly what happened, when it happened. I said, I feel terrible about it. I said, you know, we've been through quite a bit in the last few years. I said I have no defense. It's inexcusable what I did.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I was just devastated. I could not believe it. I was so, you know, personally just hurt and, you know, I can't believe this. I can't believe you lied. You know, it just -- anyway, it was just horrible.

And I said, if this is going to be public, you have got to go tell Chelsea.

BILL CLINTON: She said, well, you have to go tell your daughter. She said that's worse than me. And so I did that, which was awful. Justifiably, what I did was wrong. I just hated to hurt her.

[14:55:26]

But you know, we all bring our baggage to life, and some we do things we shouldn't do. And it was awful what I did.

I feel terrible about the fact that Monica Lewinsky was defined by it unfairly, I think. You know, over the years, I've watched her trying to get a normal life back again, but you got to decide how to define normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's talk about this clip in his upcoming documentary.

CNN correspondent Tom Foreman.

I mean, Tom, that was 20 years ago. Why, why are they opening up the way they are now? TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the director explained

it this way. She spoke to Hillary Clinton and said, you were at the crossroads of these extraordinary, historic events but also changes in our culture, women's rights, civil rights, the changing role of people in our society, the changing role of sexuality. That's what partisan politics is all about. That story needs to be told. These are the issues you care about.

Hillary Clinton bought into that. Bill Clinton did as well.

And I must say this is a captivating series precisely because of moments like that. You hear them talking about some of these events in ways you never have before.

And you hinted a moment ago what Bill Clinton had to say the cause behind his actions. Listen to a little bit more of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

B. CLINTON: You feel like you're staggering around, and you've been in a 15-round prize fight that was extended to 30 rounds. And here's someone to take your mind off of it for a while. That's what happens.

Because whatever life -- not just me, everybody's life has pressures and disappointments and terrors, fears of whatever. Things I did to manage my anxieties for years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: You can buy this or not buy this. You can believe the Clintons or not believe the Clintons. But I'll tell you, in my life, I've never seen them more seemingly candid about what they were thinking through all of these events.

Bear in mind, we showed some clips from Bill Clinton there. This is really mainly about Hillary Clinton and how she became such a polarizing figure in this country. And, in some ways, how she still seems to be a little bit baffled by all of this.

I think it's really fascinating. I think this would be most interesting to the people who really dislike her and don't trust her. I don't know if this would change their minds, but I think it would help them understand something more about how she came toward things.

And I've always said you learn more from listening to the people you disagree than from those you agree with. They just tell you you're right.

And this is a really fascinating four hours of television.

BALDWIN: Something for us to watch. It's this documentary, as you point out, on Hulu.

Tom, thank you.

We also mentioned to all of you, Hillary Clinton will be joining Fareed Zakaria on CNN this Sunday morning, 10:00 Eastern. Don't miss that.

We continue on, on this Friday afternoon. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here. You're watching CNN.

This hour, the president of the United States is expected to arrive at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta as the administration works to contain the spread of the coronavirus across the United States.

The White House had initially canceled today's visit saying the president didn't want to, quote, "interfere with the agency's mission." But this morning, President Trump contradicted that claim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Yesterday afternoon, we were informed that there may have been a person with the virus, and they now find out that that was a negative test. They've tested the person very fully, and it was a negative test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The CDC visit is back.

But the White House has just delayed a briefing from the head of the coronavirus task force -- that's the vice president -- by a couple of hours this afternoon. We will hear from Mike Pence just a day after he conceded the U.S. does not have enough testing kits to meet the demand.

This, as the number of people infected is growing across the country. There are now at least 250 cases across 21 states, 14 deaths as of today.

[15:00:05]

Officials in California fear their state totals of coronavirus may rise as at least 45 people on that "Grand Princess" cruise are waiting to learn their test results.