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New Day
Biden Meets with Floyd's Family; Potential Spike in Coronavirus; Reports on Unrest Around the World; NFL Employees Push League on Racial Injustice. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired June 08, 2020 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
STEPHEN JACKSON, FRIEND OF GEORGE FLOYD: That's the main ones I want to see do well. But I don't know. I -- I really don't know his intentions. I hope they're good. But, you know, me, I don't -- I don't know who to vote for because I don't know who has the best interest at heart for us and I'm not a political guy. I stand for what's right. I stand for -- for all the humans in the world because love for all who have love for all. I love everybody. I think that's why the world is standing together because everybody's tired of so much hate being spread around. We need to stand together for love.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I understand you did not like it, though, when on Friday the president invoked your friend George Floyd's name at the White House. Let me just play that moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying there's a great thing that's happening for our country. There's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So why did that bug you so much?
JACKSON: It's just his choice of words, like this -- this -- the way he say stuff and it -- and we know it's not genuine. Why don't you go out and say how to handle these protests and how to handle these National Guard and how to handle a human beings. Like, you're not speaking up and saying the right things. Like, I'm not a -- I'm not the person to say vote for Donald Trump or not to vote for Donald Trump, vote for Biden. I'm not a political guy. I have a heart. I know what's right. And I know how to treat people. And -- and that -- the world has lost common sense. And a lot of things he say it shows that he's not using his common sense, especially as a president.
BERMAN: What do you want him to say?
JACKSON: Well, I would rather him say we need to -- first thing we need to do is get -- get control of how these police are treating people and -- and find ways to help build their relationship, not tear it down. When you tell people that -- to -- when you're putting them in the car to move your hand and make -- and make sure they hit their head, like, that's the type of stuff you shouldn't hear from a president. You know, it's not showing too much intelligence.
Me, I'm not the smartest person in the world, but I know not to go on TV and say things like that. So it's -- it's -- it's just the time even with Drew Brees. I respect Drew Brees, but it's just the time of the saying things. You got to be sensitive to certain situations. I guarantee you, if it was a white man that got killed by a black man with a knee on his neck, I guarantee you Donald Trump's response would have been totally different.
BERMAN: Now, your former coach, Gregg Popovich, from the Spurs, you won a championship with him, he's speaking in a vastly different way than the president.
I just want to play a little bit of what Pop said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGG POPOVICH, SAN ANTONIO SPURS COACH: I think I'm just embarrassed as a white person to know that that can happen, to actually watch a lynching. You know, we've all seen books, and you look in the books and you see black people hanging up on trees and you -- you are amazed. And we just saw it again. I -- I never thought I'd see that, you know, with my own eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: What does it mean to you to hear that?
JACKSON: I mean that's Pop. Pop -- Pop has always been a loving guy. Pop stands for what's right. I learned a lot from Gregg Popovich on how to be a man and how to -- and how to be a professional in basketball. And Pop has always been for what's right. I don't care who it is.
Perfect example, he'll go off on Tim Duncan (ph) and scream at Tim Duncan for making a mistake, just like he screamed at me for making a mistake. And Tim Duncan was the best -- was the best player on the team. So Pop was -- is a fair guy. He wants what's right. Pop loves everybody. And I'm not surprised that Pop has taken that stance because he always has and that's the type of person he is. I love Pop.
BERMAN: Stephen Jackson, we welcome your voice. We're thrilled to have you on with us as you -- as you get used to this new position that you've found yourself in, of being a leader. And we respect -- we respect your voice and how you're using it.
So, thanks so much.
JACKSON: Thank you for having me.
BERMAN: All right, so what does the CDC say about the likelihood of coronavirus spreading among protesters? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:37:52]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get a status report on the coronavirus cases. As of this morning, 22 states report a spike in new cases. It's been roughly two weeks since we saw people packed together on beaches and parties for the Memorial Day weekend. Is there a correlation?
Let's ask CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
So, Sanjay, some states, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, if you look at the map, I think Texas, these are seeing spikes. And so are they able to trace the root of some of these cases? Is this about Memorial Day partying or something else?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's a good question, Alisyn. I mean that is -- that is the -- the assumption. But it's hard unless you have adequate tracing to go back and say for certain it was these events, it was at this time that led to the -- to the spike in cases. You need lots of contact tracing to be able to do that. And that's -- that's laborious work. I mean some have suggested we would need hundreds of thousands of contact tracers in the country to make those sorts of correlations.
You also have a couple of other things happening. So -- so Memorial Day weekend was two weeks ago. States are obviously reopening, as you mentioned. There's also been increase in testing in some places, so that's going to drive up some of the infection rates.
But just over the last 24 hours, Alisyn, some 30,000 people confirmed to have the infection, 700 people have died. So that's -- that's sort of the -- the baseline rate that we're seeing right now. The question really is what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks? We don't know. And, again, it might be hard to trace it back to specific events.
CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Remdesivir. So what is the current data and thinking in the medical community about whether it's an effective treatment and whether we have enough of it?
GUPTA: Yes. So Remdesivir, people may remember, is this medication. It was an existing medication. So it was brought off the shelf to see if it would work against this new coronavirus. And the answer was, yes, it did seem to have some impact. It shortened hospitalization from 15 days to 11 days, you know, about 30 percent. It was pretty significant in terms of that impact. It wasn't clear that it actually saved lives, that it decreased mortality, but it was the only thing that seemed to work and it had emergency use authorization.
[08:40:11]
Right now, if nothing else changes, the amount of Remdesivir available will sort of run out by the end of this month. So there's all these conversations that are ongoing right now, do you need more raw material to make more Remdesivir? How do we amp up production in some ways? Those -- those conversations are happening. What you're hearing from Gilead is that by the fall they should be in a significantly better position.
But, Alisyn, this is -- this is a good time to remind people, as much as we've focused on, you know, medications like Remdesivir and Hydroxychloroquine and talking about a couple of vaccines, there's 160 or so vaccine candidates out there, roughly a dozen that are in human clinical trials. And as far as therapeutics, medicines go, there's -- there's over 230 or so that are now in some sort of clinical trial. So there's all sorts of candidates out there that we've been keeping an eye on. Some of them, you know, may -- may start to really gain some steam and start to have some impact. There's the antibody therapy, looking at antibodies from people who have recovered and seeing if you could use those to help treat or even prevent disease in others. So we're keeping an eye, Alisyn, on lots of different things out there.
CAMEROTA: We know you are. I mean we know that doctors and scientists are working overtime to try to crack this medical mystery --
GUPTA: That's right.
CAMEROTA: But thank you very much. It's always great to check in with you for a status report.
GUPTA: You got it.
CAMEROTA: Black Lives Matter protesters in the U.K. threw a statue honoring a slave trader into a river this weekend. CNN has reporters all around the world to bring you the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I'm Max Foster outside the U.S. embassy in London.
Another busy weekend of protests, generally peaceful, and buoyed by news that more protests are cropping up around the United Kingdom. Across in Bristol, in the west of England, a statue was torn down of a prominent 17th century slave trader, Edward Colston, said to have transported tens of thousands of people from Africa across to the Americas.
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Shasta Darlington in Sao Paulo.
Thousands of people took to the streets across Brazil on Sunday as different social movements joined forces to protest against racism and against President Jair Bolsonaro. The biggest marches in Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paulo. They held up signs with the names of George Floyd and many black Brazilians killed by police. They also accused Bolsonaro of trying to undermine democratic institutions during the coronavirus outbreak.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ben Wedeman in Rome's Piazza del Popolo, where thousands of people have come out to express their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. This is the largest demonstration I've seen in Piazza Del Popolo for quite some time.
Earlier, one of the people making a speech listed all of those victims of police brutality in the United States. And this is just one of several such demonstrations being held in Italy and, of course, across Europe as well, where there's been a massive outpouring of solidarity with the black lives movement in the United States.
AL GOODMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A show of force in Madrid. These demonstrators in solidarity with American protesters demanding justice in the death of George Floyd. All of this outside the American embassy in Madrid, normally heavily fortified, this day much more so.
Demonstrations called this day not only in Madrid but in Barcelona and several other cities. Signs here in favor of Black Lives Matter. These demonstrators also against racism in Spain. There have been several high-profile incidents in recent years, mostly involving African immigrants.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Our thanks to all of our correspondents around the world.
So what made Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, change his mind about the protests? One NFL employee has the answer and the back story on this video, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:48:24]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been ten days since George Floyd was brutally murdered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What will it take --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For one of us to be murdered by police brutality?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I was George Floyd?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was George Floyd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I was George Floyd?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was George Floyd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was George Floyd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was George Floyd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am George Floyd. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Such a powerful video. Those are some of the biggest names in the NFL demanding that the league do more on the subject of racial injustice. But as it turns out, it was a rogue NFL employee who was responsible for that powerful video, which no doubt contributed to Roger Goodell admitting the NFL was wrong about its handling on player protests.
Joining us now is Bryndon Minter, NFL social media creative producer, and Jarick Walker, NFL influencer and talent marketing manager.
Bryndon, let me start with you. You know, you produced that video and you knew or at least you thought it could cost you your job.
BRYNDON MINTER, NFL SOCIAL MEDIA CREATIVE PRODUCER: Sure. Yes, I was really, like I said, I've been completely at peace this whole time with losing the job. I thought what was most important was sending out the message that the players, my black colleagues, have said this past week, this past season, the past few years. And just through listening to that message, found it was so important to make sure that those voices were lifted up and heard.
BERMAN: And, Jarick, to you. Last week, this is before Roger Goodell made the statement, I know history is going to look back and say, oh, look at the Roger Goodell statement.
[08:50:04]
It was inevitable. It wasn't. There was a long period of time last week where it wasn't clear what the NFL would do. And you were on the phone, as you were saying, with everybody and you couldn't sleep. Why?
JARICK WALKER, NFL INFLUENCER AND TALENT MARKETING MANAGER: You know, I -- I was - I really wanted to know where my company stood -- where the NFL stood on the matter. And, you know, I -- I felt that it -- it was my duty to make sure that I did whatever I could to have the conversations, to -- to make sure that, you know, we -- we were going to say the right thing.
And, you know, I'm -- I'm grateful that everyone that I reached out to, everyone that I tried to speak out -- speak with was open to me.
BERMAN: And, ultimately, the commissioner did make a statement. Let's play a little bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: The National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, at the National Football League, believe black lives matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: To hear Roger Goodell say black lives matter and to say we were wrong, what was it like, Jarick, to finally hear that?
WALKER: It felt special. To be honest, I don't think I've told anyone this story. As soon as I saw the video, I got up and I was walking in circles, dancing around my living room, and actually accidentally threw my hand into the fan. But it was OK. I -- the pain was worth it. It was -- it was so special to see and, yes, it -- it was exhilarating.
BERMAN: I've done that. I've actually done that when watching the Patriots, which is sort of funny in the context of this. I jump up and down and I've -- I've hit light fixtures and hit fans.
So, Bryndon, do you feel as if your video made a difference?
MINTER: You know, I think that this video made a start, right? I don't think that anything has happened yet. I think that there were words that were said and those were powerful words. But as far as actions go, you know, this is a start. I'm looking forward to change.
BERMAN: It's interesting to me, and if we can put it up on the screen here, President Trump, who obviously has put himself in the middle of this discussion for years now, he responded to Roger Goodell's statement. He said, could it be remotely possible that in Roger Goodell's rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation he was intimating that it would not be OK for the players to kneel, all caps, or not to stand for the national anthem, thereby disrespecting our country and our flag?
And I think, Jarick, the commissioner was say, yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. And, in fact, it does seem as if really the discussion has shifted with Drew Brees apologizing for what he said last week. It does seem that the president's corner is getting smaller and smaller on this subject.
WALKER: Yes. I'm going to -- I'm going to leave it at that and, you know, I'm -- I'm excited to see kind of what happens next. But no comment respectfully.
BERMAN: No comment, but you don't think it will -- it will drive the commissioner to act any differently or behave any differently? It does seem that the league itself has staked its ground?
WALKER: Definitely. I'm excited. I mean, as Bryndon said, this is -- this is a huge start. I feel like we -- the machine has moved and now we just have to hit the gas and head into this new direction.
And I'm excited. The team is excited. And we're -- we're not going to let up in terms of pushing and holding our company accountable to do the right thing. And it's America's game and has to lead from the front.
BERMAN: Jarick and Bryndon, well, you can see the effects of the efforts that you have and the work that you did last week and what a difference it's made. Thank you very much for speaking out and thank you for being with us this morning.
WALKER: Thank you for having us.
MINTER: Of course. Thank you.
BERMAN: Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: What a great conversation, John. That was really enlightening.
As will this be. It's time for "The Good Stuff."
A Buffalo man spent ten hours cleaning debris from the streets of his home town of Buffalo, New York, after protests there. When word spread about 18-year-old Antonio Gwynne's (ph) selfless act, the community responded in a very big way.
One man decided to give Gwynne his prized red Mustang convertible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't feel real. It seems like this is like a movie just going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: And a local insurance agency has offered to pay for a year of insurance coverage. Best of all, Buffalo's Medai (ph) College offered him a full scholarship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I literally stopped, pulled over and I started crying.
[08:55:02]
And so did my great aunt and my little cousin did also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. Gwynne had planned to go to trade school while saving up for college. Now he says he will study business starting this fall.
BERMAN: Look, it's nice to see. I'm sure he did it because it was good in and of itself, but it's nice to see that some of the consequences for his action, that it's paying off.
I do want to say this, Alisyn, while you were talking there, the president has reacted to the new CNN poll which shows his approval rating plummeting and Joe Biden winding a lead. You will be shocked to see how he responded.
CAMEROTA: With anger or outrage?
BERMAN: I'm not going to tell you. That's a tease.
CAMEROTA: Oh, the surprise. It's a surprise.
BERMAN: You'll be shocked.
CAMEROTA: Got it. Thank you for that.
All right, CNN's coverage continues next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
