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Trump Facing Backlash Over Church Appearance; Facebook Employees Outrage Over Inflammatory Trump Posts; Mexico Reports Largest One-Day Increase In New Cases. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 03, 2020 - 02:00   ET

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


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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the ongoing racial protests across the United States.

ALLEN: Right now we are tracking the eighth straight night of demonstrations against police brutality. Tens of thousands of people have been marching through major cities all over the United States, marked by the red dots you see there on the screen. The yellow ones highlight some of the curfews in effect.

Protesters across the country have been defying those curfews and ignoring the state and city leaders begging them to go home.

VAUSE: In New York, crowds gathered on the Manhattan Bridge, marching around that squad car. The city has seen skirmishes break out in parts as well as looting. We'll have more on that in a moment.

And in Los Angeles, thousands violated a 6:00 pm curfew with many deciding on the mayor's residence -- the official residence as a place of focal point. Earlier in the day mayor Eric Garcetti took a knee at a protest downtown as a sign of solidarity.

Hundreds were arrested on Tuesday, many flashing peace signs before being taken away.

ALLEN: In Portland, Oregon, protesters took over a bridge for what's known as a die-in, where crowds lie down as if they're dead, many with their arms behind their back as if they were handcuffed.

All of these people are rallying for George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis last week after a white police officer pinned him down with a knee to his neck for almost nine minutes.

Not long ago we saw a big flare-up in Washington live on our air after what had been a day of peaceful protests. Our Alex Marquardt was there and he is now with us live from Washington.

As you said just a short time ago, quiet all day until, well, a big flare-up.

What happened, Alex?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was really astonishing, Natalie. We've had two days of what can only be described as entirely peaceful protests.

The day before, you'll remember, was just before the curfew was hitting at 7:00 pm in Washington, the protests were violently cracked down right here by U.S. park police who swept through.

Then today we saw protesters returning in large numbers. The crowd swelled throughout the course of the day. It was entirely peaceful. People were energized. They were angry. They were passionate because of what had happened the day before. And they stood outside here just north of the White House.

This is Lafayette Park, which is just in front of the White House, chanting for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, chanting "Black Lives Matter" and all the other chants that we've heard throughout the course of these protests.

There was a curfew that went into effect around 7:00 pm. The Washington, D.C., police decided not to enforce it. There was never really any altercation between law enforcement and protesters, anybody out here, until just after 12:30 am, about 1.5 hours ago.

That is when agitators decided to come up to this fencing here. This is new fencing on the edge of Lafayette Park. They started pushing it, seemingly trying to get through. Now there was a huge contingent of Washington, D.C., National Guard on the other side.

They pressed forward, firing a number of different types of crowd control measures at those agitators, including pepper spray, which, in fact, hit us, as well as a combination, we understand, of pepper and tear gas pellets. And that drove the crowd back. It dispersed them.

And now there are really only a few stragglers left. But, Natalie, I think the really important point is the vast majority of the protesters who have been out here for the past few days have been entirely peaceful.

But as you know, once these protests get into the evening hours, as they wear on, things can change. And, unfortunately, this day did end with violent clashes -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes and, Alex, how close are you -- were these protests to the White House?

MARQUARDT: Very close. I wish you could see it. It's obviously late. But we are one block. So this park is the width of one block. So I would say about 200 to 300 meters. It was here, Natalie, you'll remember, that this is -- that the

president crossed Lafayette Park, having had the protesters cleared out rather violently.

[02:05:00]

MARQUARDT: And we were in the middle of that. So the president could walk across the park. That's how short the distance is. Come here to St. John's Episcopal Church, which is known as the Church of the Presidents. Not a church that the president is known to frequent very often.

He came here for a photo op and you'll remember he held up that Bible. So we are a very short distance from the White House.

The president you'll recall decided he wanted to do that photo op because he had gone into a bunker underneath the White House with his family on Friday night, as these protests were erupting. And he didn't like that imagery. He didn't like the reporting around his going down there.

So he decided he wanted to make a display out in public. And that came at the cost of the peaceful protests that had been out here on Monday night, Natalie.

ALLEN: All right. Well, it's peaceful again there, 2:00 in the morning in Washington, Alex Marquardt for us. Thanks so much, Alex. Now to John.

VAUSE: Natalie, thank you.

We head to Los Angeles, where the official residence of Mayor Eric Garcetti has been the focal point for protesters, who violated an overnight curfew. CNN's Kyung Lah live in Los Angeles with details.

I guess Hollywood and the mayor's residence have been the major focal points of these protesters.

What else has happened during the day?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me sort of work back in time and take you to what's happening right now, John.

What you're seeing over here over my right shoulder is one of the sheriff buses. There are a couple here. The people who have been arrested -- because there was a peaceful demonstration throughout the day, hours -- the end of it is that they are under arrest for violating the city curfew.

It is late in the evening. The city curfew was set at 6 o'clock. These protesters, who were peacefully marching through the streets, were told by the LAPD that they were under arrest for violating curfew.

They put they are hands up and they were each -- had their -- they were each cuffed and taken to these buses where they're going to be processed elsewhere. So going back in time, they were at the mayor's residence in Hancock

Park. It is just south of Hollywood. And that's where that small contingent then kept going through the streets.

But hours before then there were countless people, one of the largest protests that we've seen here in the Hollywood area. People walking through the streets. They were holding up signs. And it was a remarkably peaceful day, considering the size of the crowd.

We did not see any part of that group doing anything like graffiti or smashing windows. There were some isolated reports of looting but it did not seem connected to these protests at all.

And when you talk to the people who are in these crowds, what's really remarkable is you get to meet people who are in the medical profession. I met a teacher, who's a public schoolteacher.

They say that they understood that being out on the streets for hours and then ending in this way, ending in arrests, they were sending a message that they wanted the city to know that they were going to be making this a civil disobedience moment but also that they planned to come back out tomorrow -- John, Natalie.

VAUSE: Very quickly, Kyung, it seems that there's been a bit of criticism of mayor Eric Garcetti, the way he's handled these protests. And that criticism continues, even though he took a knee today to show his solidarity with protesters.

LAH: You know -- and he actually spoke about the protests outside of his house. He said in his press conference this evening that he heard the protesters, that he understood and he was going to respect them protesting outside of his house.

There was this moment, where there was a line of police that almost appeared to be trying to protect part of the street that the mayor's house was on, where his house is, but then the police dissipated. They were suddenly gone.

And the people outside of the mayor's house were allowed to protest there for at least a couple of hours.

Yes, there is criticism of him. And, yes, those protesters are not happy with the way he's handled it. But the mayor, in his public comments, said he absolutely understood and that he would try to make sure that they had the chance to at least air their grievances regardless of where they were.

VAUSE: Kyung, as always, thank you so much.

Kyung Lah there live for us in L.A. It is 11 minutes past 9:00 -- 11 minutes past -- nine minutes past 11:00, I should say, in Los Angeles -- Natalie.

ALLEN: All right, let's head to the other coast. So far about 200 protesters have been arrested in New York City and police say that number is expected to rise. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN (voice-over): But get a load of this. A pizza and wine store near Fifth Avenue was looted. But when the looters realized a security guard was inside, they took off. Score one for the security guard.

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ALLEN: Earlier, though, our Shimon Prokupecz said the scene in New York was relatively calm.

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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: At this hour of the night, all we were hearing last night were sirens, police chasing the looters around town. I want to show you just up the street, there are police cars that are driving around. They have their lights on.

But look how quiet it is. There is no one outside. And that's how it's been here for the better part of the night.

Behind me here is Union Square Park, which has been a gathering point for many of the protesters. There was a lot of looting in this neighborhood. There's a lot of stores now boarded up. There was none of that here tonight.

There has been some looting across Manhattan. But you know, it's important to say that they're not seeing what we saw last night.

I will tell you we were told by the NYPD there were about 200 arrests tonight. That's going to be curfew violations. There was some looting. We and our team witnessed a couple of those incidents.

But overall and I think it's important to note this, it's now starting to rain. So that's going to help things along as well. Things much different here tonight.

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ALLEN: Shimon Prokupecz. That's good news there.

New York's mayor said he imposed an earlier curfew because of coordinated criminal activity and looting.

VAUSE: Well, when we come back, when history is prologue: a Minnesota man killed by police, all recorded and seen by residents across the United States and around the world. But this was four years ago. We'll talk to his uncle about what needs to be done to quell the violence this time.

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ALLEN: Thousands of people held a memorial march for George Floyd in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

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ALLEN (voice-over): Two well-known Houston rappers and friends of Floyd organized the march with the Floyd family. A memorial service is planned in Houston Monday.

Floyd lived most of his life in Houston before moving to Minneapolis for work. A community activist said Houston has been mostly peaceful because people who knew Floyd as a, quote, "gentle giant" have helped set the tone.

Roxie Washington is the mother of George Floyd's daughter.

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ROXIE WASHINGTON, GIANNA FLOYD'S MOTHER: I wanted everybody to know that this is what those officers took from --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

WASHINGTON: At the end of the day they get to go home and be with their families. Gianna does not have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle.

If there's a problem she's having and she needs her dad. She does not have that anymore. I'm here for my baby. And I'm here for George, because I want justice for him. I want justice for him because he was good. No matter what anybody thinks, he was good. And this is the proof that he was a good man.

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VAUSE: In the city where George Floyd was killed, thousands gathered peacefully in front of the state capital in Minnesota, demanding justice. Only one person has been charged over Floyd's death, the police officer whose knee was on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes.

Three other police officers were on the scene and, despite widespread demand for their arrest, they still have not been charged. Minnesota's attorney general says everyone will be held accountable.

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KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Already these people have been fired. I know that that is not enough to restore faith. But what we're doing is looking at the charges, looking at the behavior. And when we are ready -- and that won't be long from now -- we plan on taking the proper and deliberate action. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Meantime, the co-owner of Cup Foods (ph), where an employee initially called the police on Floyd, says the store will handle this kind of situation differently if there's a next time.

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MAHMOUD ABUMAYYALEH, CUP FOODS: We're not going to call the police unless there's a violent -- act of violence going on. We feel like we can police our own matters. And unless there's a violent crime taking place, we think it's for the best interests of our staff and patrons that the police should not be called.

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VAUSE: The Minneapolis police Department is now facing an investigation by the State of Minnesota's Human Rights Department, specifically looking at policies and procedures over the past decade, which may have led to discrimination against minorities.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (DFL-MN): This is the first time that the state is launching a civil rights investigation into the systemic discriminatory practices of the largest police department in the state.

It is also the only investigation surrounding the killing of George Floyd, focusing on the policies and practices implemented by the Minneapolis Police Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The reaction to the announcement by the governor was mixed at best because it's not the first time we've seen the final moments of a black man's life at the hands or, in one case, the knee of police in Minnesota.

Four years ago, for instance, after being pulled over for a broken taillight, Philando Castile was shot five times reaching for his license and registration just as the police officer had asked him to do. And almost all of it was streamed live on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend.

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VAUSE: With us now from St. Paul, Minnesota, is the uncle of Philando Castile, Clarence Castile.

Mr. Castile, thank you for being with us.

CLARENCE CASTILE, PHILANDO'S UNCLE: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: First I want to ask your reaction. When you first heard the news about George Floyd, another black man killed while in custody of the police and everything that has followed, it must have brought back some painful memories and a lot of other emotions as well.

Can you describe what it's been like?

CASTILE: It did bring back a lot of painful memories, when I woke up that morning and saw the video of George Floyd laying on the ground with a police officer laying on his neck with his knee.

It was one of the most horrible things that you could ever wake up to see, almost as bad as seeing your -- you know, my nephew shot and killed. I mean, it's horrible and it's come around again.

VAUSE: And after Philando died, you started actually working with the police in St. Paul to improve community relations, which I imagine is a work in progress.

But how much more work now needs to be done after Mr. Floyd's death?

CASTILE: Oh, my God. I mean, as far as prosecuting the police officers that actually participated in his death, meaning the guy that -- officer that laid on his neck and then the officers that more or less assisted him by not doing anything to stop him, it's going to be a long process of the investigation, a court case and things of that nature.

First of all, we've got to get past the whole idea of charging them. They haven't even been charged with a crime yet.

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VAUSE: Can there be any kind of resolution, any kind of peace here between the community and the police department, until those three remaining officers are brought in and are charged and are held?

CASTILE: That's got to happen because they were all in it together, like they conspired. So it really won't be too much peace until that happens. And it has to happen. I mean, enough is enough.

People in Minnesota and around this country have seen too many African Americans killed in the hands of the police, when they're shot or, as you know, strangled, whatever the case may be, it's too much.

VAUSE: We heard from Minnesota's human rights commissioner, who will lead the investigation, which was announced by the government -- the governor, rather. And she says this is not about holding people personally criminally liable. This is about system change.

And the state's human rights department will work with city leaders to try to make some quick changes.

So my question is, are there some easy quick fixes, some quick changes, which can happen?

And if they haven't happened why haven't they already been done?

And is this realistic? CASTILE: Well, quick change is not realistic. In the world of politics nothing moves fast. Everything takes time. Things have to be done on a legislative level. And it just doesn't happen fast.

But we're hopeful that something will happen fast to alleviate the problem of police and community relations. We really need that because people are just dying at the hands of cops and cops are not being held accountable. And we have a real problem. It's got to change.

VAUSE: When Philando was killed in the days and weeks which followed, there were protests, there was anger, there was outrage but nothing like we're seeing now.

Is there something different about George Floyd's death?

Or is this simply more -- a tipping point has arrived?

CASTILE: Those are the words right there. I would take those words, tipping point has arrived, and use that to describe, you know, the current situation. There are newer, younger protesters and freedom fighters and bus riders that have come out and these Millennials that are fighting for freedom now.

They're not the old guard. They're the new guard. And they are different. They are a different breed. And some of them really just don't care. They want a change. And they don't want to be treated like this and don't want to see their people treated like this.

And you know, this is that season, the season of riots, I guess, which is brought on by a winter of delay. And they delayed with justice and humanity and equality and all those things that we need to make us be and feel like a part of our human society.

VAUSE: Absolutely. And it has been too long in coming. And what is happening out there and what is happening --

(CROSSTALK)

CASTILE: I'm 69 years old and I've never seen anything like this.

[02:25:00]

CASTILE: Not to say riots haven't happened. I'm sure there were Detroit riots in the --

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: '68, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CASTILE: -- in the '60s. But I didn't see that. But this here is right in your face and I can see it all over the country.

(CROSSTALK)

VAUSE: -- yes --

CASTILE: -- if this case goes unsolved properly, we may have this problem again.

VAUSE: Clarence, we're out of time. But, again, thank you so much for being with us. Very much appreciate it.

CASTILE: We're out of time?

I just got here.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE: It's good to see you.

CASTILE: Thank you.

VAUSE: Take care.

CASTILE: Have a good night.

ALLEN: While he pushes for aggressiveness against the protesters, Donald Trump visits another place of prayer. Ahead, why a Catholic leader calls the visit "baffling and reprehensible."

VAUSE: Also ahead, Joe Biden says Donald Trump should try opening a Bible every now and then. And he promises, when he's president, he won't fan the flames of hate.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) thank you, Lord.

PROTESTERS: Thank you, Lord.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Lord.

PROTESTERS: Thank you, Lord.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Lord.

PROTESTERS: Thank you, Lord.

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[02:30:00]

ALLEN: Most protests are quieting down for the night, but this is Boise, Idaho, not the case right here. These are protesters on the steps of this state capitol. These protests have been peaceful, but again, doesn't seem like they're letting up here so far there in Boise. We'll continue to watch that one.

Also, let's look at other protests across the United States. Now demonstrators and police are out in force in a number of cities and we have seen trouble spots.

VAUSE: In New York, another night of looting, with protesters ignoring an earlier 8:00 p.m. curfew. Washington in the past two hours, crowds sit on a security fence which had been erected around Lafayette Park near the White House. Protesters threw fireworks and other projectiles at National Guard troops, who responded with what looked like pepper spray.

And protesters in Seattle use umbrellas to try and block toxic sprays which have been used for crowd control.

ALLEN: Tensions have also been high in Los Angeles. Demonstrations were held downtown in Hollywood and outside the mayor's home. Hundreds were arrested. Many of the protests have been peaceful.

In Chicago, a crowd gathered outside the iconic Wrigley Field chanting "Hands up, don't shoot." A quiet protest there. Also, in Denver, marchers spoke with silence. They pause for almost nine minutes, the amount of time that an officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd, whose death triggered all these protests across the country.

As he talked tough against the protesters, President Trump and made his second visit to a religious site in these many days on Tuesday, and there was more controversy. CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins has our report.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump visited another iconic church in D.C. today while still facing fierce backlash for his trip to a historical church near the white house yesterday after peaceful protesters were aggressively cleared from the streets using smoke, flashbangs. and shields.

The President and First Lady Melania Trump stood before a shrine honoring pope John Paul II in a trip that the Catholic Archbishop of Washington called baffling and reprehensible. Wilson Gregory said the facility was being misused and manipulated and asserted that the late Pope would not condone the use of tear gas or other deterrence to silence, scatter, or intimidate protesters.

Trump has faced heavy criticism for his visit to St. John's Church which police say protesters partially set on fire Sunday. But Trump who rarely attend church services did not go inside to tour the damage or stop to pray. Instead, he took photos outside and use a Bible as a prop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that your Bible?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a bible.

COLLINS: Sources told CNN the president wanted to be seen outside the White House grounds because he was angered by reports that he had been rushed to an underground bunker during Friday's protest. Today, a Justice Department official confirmed that Attorney General Bill Barr asked for the protesters to be pushed back on Monday. Washington's Mayor called the use of force shameful.

MURIEL BOWSER, MAYOR OF WASHINGTON: I didn't see any provocation that would warrant the deployment of munitions.

COLLINS: Most Republicans have either defended the president or remained quiet. One exception is Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska who said in a statement the while there is no right to write or throw rocks at police, I'm against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop.

Joe Biden accused the president of fanning the flames of hate and criticized him for posing with the Bible.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President held up the Bible at St. John's church yesterday. I just wish he opened it once in a while.

COLLINS: Ignoring the criticism, President Trump congratulated himself on Twitter today saying D.C. had no problems last night, many arrests, overwhelming force, domination. Likewise, Minneapolis was great. Thank you, President Trump. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein joins me now this hour from Los Angeles. Ron, good to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Another busy day, John. Good to see you.

VAUSE: They're all busy days. OK, the President seemed to frame the way he wants to run for re-election during that national address on Monday. Here's part of it.

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TRUMP: I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters. But in recent days, our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters criminals, rioters, Antifa, and others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: An ally of peaceful protesters unless they get in the way of a photo op. But nonetheless, you know, Nixon, he ran on the law and order agenda, that was in 1968, the period of address. Nixon, though was not the incumbent, Trump is. And after a disastrous response to the pandemic, the economic collapse, we've got a country now which is more vulnerable than at any time and living memory, has Trump got anything else to run on apart from this imaginary American carnage out there?

[02:35:18]

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I was thinking last night that there isn't a lot of Nixon nostalgia in America. But certainly, the president is one of the Americans who was expressing I kind of nostalgia from 1968 as you suggest. In fact, it kind of underlines the point this morning when he just tweeted out two words, silent majority, which was the phrase Nixon used for his political coalition in 1968 that was meant to kind of portray white, mid-America. This is a very different country than it was in 1968.

For one thing, as you mentioned, the President is the incumbent and so it's kind of hard for him to run against the forces of chaos that have emerged during his presidency. But even more fundamentally, it is a demographically and culturally very different place. When Nixon ran on the silent majority in law and order in 1968, 80 percent of our voters are white people without a college degree, who are the core audience for the Trumpian messages. Today, they're about half as big as share of the vote. They're about 40 percent.

And the President is suffering from significant, you know, alienation among both minority voters and white-collar white voters in the big metro areas that had been hit hardest by the pandemic and also by the protests over the murder in Minneapolis.

VAUSE: Yes. You know, the New York Times asks Trump on Sunday about his plans to dealing with the unrest which has paralyzed parts of the country. Here's his answer. "I'm going to win the election easily. The economy is going to start to get good and then great, better than ever before. I'm getting more judges appointed by the week including two supreme court justices. I'll have close to 300 judges by the end of the year."

You know, among other things, you would indicate he either does not want or does not have probably both any clue about how to end this unrest because he just doesn't want to.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I also think as I've said to you before, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And every time the President gets under pressure politically, he returns to the kind of the core tool in his -- in his toolbox, which is cultural and racial polarization.

You know, there were some notes early on of sympathy toward Mr. Floyd. And occasionally he still kind of mouths some of those words. But the core of it is I am your law and order president. I am going to crack down on thugs, very different message from when right-wing protesters were mobbing the Michigan State Capitol with automatic weapons and he was telling the Democratic governor to make a deal with them.

Now, he is saying Democrats are weak, the cities are being overrun. That is his message, you know, to his voters that he -- I alone can protect you against all of these dangerous and dark forces that are collecting in the cities and also against the elites who he says looks down on you. So he always comes back to this place. But when you see the real-world

consequences of this politics, both and the extraordinary price we're paying on the pandemic, and then in the violence that he has kind of put gasoline on the fire, I think -- I think they're the audience for a -- it's not that there's no audience for it, but it's pretty clear that he's having trouble moving a support about 45 percent of the country.

VAUSE: Because the other part of this strategy is trying to shore up his supporters, religious supporters. But it seems, you know, he's using tear gas and flashbangs to move hundreds of peaceful protesters away from a church to take a photo op. That does not look favorably upon by many religious leaders. Here they are. Listen to this.

BROWNSTEIN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE C. GILBERT, JR., HOLY TRINITY UNITED BAPTIST CHURCH: Mr. President, I know you stood right here and held the Bible in your hand. But it is clear, you don't have the Bible in your heart.

GINI GERBASI, RECTOR, SAINT JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF GEORGETOWN: For him to turn that book into a prop, for him to turn that holy ground into a battleground, for him to turn that holy ground into a photo op is a sacrilege.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Trump is already losing support among evangelicals, but is this one incident to peel off significant support or is it just sort of part of a toxic buildup?

BROWNSTEIN: No, I don't think -- I don't think it loses significant support among evangelicals because he is kind of their sword against all the changes in American life that they feel are marginalizing their position. But what I do think this incident exemplifies is what I called a few months ago, the Trump treadmill.

And I wrote that when he told the four Democratic women of color in Congress to go back where they came from, even though they were all, you know, American citizens. And what I mean by that is that he constantly feels the need, as I said, to stir up these cultural confrontations to energize and mobilize his base. But he's on a treadmill because each time he does this, he reinforces the doubts among many previously Republican-leaning white-collar voters about whether he is personally fit to be president.

And, you know, I think there's -- I'm sure there's going to be polling coming out in the next few days reaffirming what we've seen in earlier posts that a majority of Americans believe he has a racist, particularly majority of college-educated white voters as an extraordinary statement about an American president. And it is one I think, again, the consequences of which are becoming more tangible to voters. That doesn't mean there's infinite tolerance for disorder in cities

and breaking windows and looting and there is, you know, the potential of a backlash if that goes on for very long. Americans want order. But I don't think that most Americans at this point believe that Trump is making the situation better. In fact, I think most think he's making it worse.

[02:40:40]

VAUSE: I'm just being told to wrap around, but just to your point that most Americans you know, believe he's a racist, but yet he still has what a 40 percent approval rating which is --

BROWNSTEIN: 45, right, absolutely. Look, there is a -- there is a coalition that is open to his message of the changes in American life, economic, cultural, and demographic are marginalizing them, but it is not a majority of the country. And if he wins, he's going to have find a way to squeeze through despite that again.

VAUSE: We got to go. Ron, good to see you. Thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, John.

ALLEN: Twitter took action, Facebook did not. Next here, Mark Zuckerberg talks with his employees about President Trump's inflammatory posts. We'll tell you their reaction to their boss coming up.

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[02:45:00]

ALLEN: Facebook CEO is facing rare public outrage from his own employees. Mark Zuckerberg held a company-wide townhall Tuesday to defend his decision not to take down President Trump's inflammatory posts. Some employees told CNN, they found Zuckerberg answers lacking. CNN's John Defterios is with me now from Abu Dhabi following this story.

Now, Zuckerberg is trying to strike a balance, John, to protect free speech and also be proactive against posts and incite violence, but apparently, some of his employees, well, they feel he's falling short in that effort.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, Natalie, because he usually called a town hall to unify the troops, if you will, and there's a lot of them in Facebook after the growth of the last decade some 48,000 and have tuned into this town hall, but it didn't provide that unifying effect by any stretch of the imagination.

Zuckerberg said he made a tough decision through a pretty thorough process but the staff doesn't seem to be convinced. And this is more complicated because last October on Capitol Hill, he pledged to be more active in editing the posts that have been going forward even those that incite violence and those with a strong political nature. And he has been unwilling to it seems, challenge President Trump at this stage complicated again by the conversation that he had, the private conversation with the President last Friday, and a Monday blacked out by the employees.

And what we have right now, Natalie, I think is a big juxtaposition between two of the Titans in Silicon Valley being Facebook with its users that have been growing by the year. And Twitter, Jack Dorsey, the CEO, has been willing to fact check the president. And I think that's what the Facebook employees were looking for yesterday. Zuckerberg's position is I need to protect free expression. And this is a balancing act that is not easy to solve even being forthright in a virtual Town Hall.

ALLEN: Look, can you just see if he stands his ground on his philosophy there. But let's talk about something else and that's the markets, John. We're seeing nationwide protests in the U.S., record unemployment with 40 million people filing for claims in the midst of a pandemic, but Wall Street keeps moving higher. What's going on here?

DEFTERIOS: It is an extraordinary trend that people are making comparisons, of course to 1968 and the violence that we saw in the United States against Martin Luther King and then Robert Kennedy 1992 with the L.A. riots, and now something that's spread to better than 40 cities. Wall Street has a tendency, Natalie, to kind of park this in a different category, because I don't think it'll be long-lasting like the Occupy Wall Street movement, for example.

And as a result, they're looking at $3 trillion of the stimulus package and saying, what's it going to look like in 2021 for the global economy and particularly the United States? Can you start seeing rehiring to the 40 million that you talked about filing jobless claims right now?

And most are betting and I think this may be a mistake that we'll see a V-shaped recovery contraction of seven to nine percent of the major industrialized economies, and a similar recovery, not a complete recovery, but a six to seven percent recovery next year. That's a tall order right now but that's the theme because we're at a three-month high on Wall Street and in Asian markets as well.

ALLEN: John Defterios in Abu Dhabi, always thank you, John.

VAUSE: And yes, we're still in the midst of a pandemic which is claiming thousands of lives every in Latin America. Despite the (INAUDIBLE) the countries there are still planning on restarting their economies. We'll have the very latest from Mexico City in just a moment.

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ALLEN: America's top doctor is the latest health official to warn more coronavirus cases could emerge from the protests against racism that we're seeing right now. Surgeon General Jerome Adams who is African American says he understands the anger demonstrators are feeling but he says there is every reason to expect new clusters of the virus going forward now.

VAUSE: Meanwhile, cautious optimism about a vaccine from one the world's leading experts on infectious diseases. Dr. Anthony Fauci says if a candidate proves effective, the U.S. could have millions of doses ready to be deployed by the end of the year.

ALLEN: So far, the U.S. has confirmed more than a quarter of the world's coronavirus infections and deaths with at least 1.8 million cases and 106,000 deaths now.

VAUSE: Well, the U.S. accounts for more than half of total cases in the Americas, with Mexico and Brazil making up a large portion of the rest. And as CNN's Matt Rivers reports, the outbreak in those countries is only getting worse.

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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, health officials here in Mexico City have once again recorded the largest single day increase in newly confirmed cases since this outbreak began reporting. Nearly 4,000 additional cases on Tuesday evening. They also reported nearly 500 newly confirmed deaths that brings their respective totals nearly 100,000 total cases. And now more than 10,000 confirmed deaths.

And that is part of the reason why the World Health Organization is urging countries throughout Latin America not to reopen their economies too quickly as many countries are beginning to take steps to reopen their economies. The WHO says that by doing so, they put themselves at greater risk because there are many countries in Latin America like Mexico, for example, that are experiencing surges in both cases and deaths.

Of course, the worst-hit country in Latin America continues to be Brazil. Brazil set another record for its largest single-day increase in newly confirmed cases on Tuesday recording nearly 30,000 additional cases. That brings the overall total there to more than 550,000 cases. And this comes as a new study suggests that Brazil could record its 1,000,000th case of this novel coronavirus by June 20. That is just 17 days from now. Matt Rivers CNN, Mexico City.

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ALLEN: Thank you for joining us this hour, I'm Natalie Allen. But we're only getting started, aren't we, John?

VAUSE: Oh yes. (INAUDIBLE) just begins. We have two more hours together. I think you're sticking around right?

ALLEN: Yes.

VAUSE: Because I am.

ALLEN: I'll be here.

VAUSE: We'll be both back at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

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