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New Day
Explosion in Beirut; Trump Claims Beirut Blast was an Attack; Coronavirus Pandemic Update from Around the World; Lawsuit over Nevada Mail-In Ballots; Coronavirus Deaths in U.S. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired August 05, 2020 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Doing our calisthenics to prepare for that election run (ph).
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It does mean, by the way, that election night may end up being election morning, which means --
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, you guys are going to be in the primetime election slot. There's no doubt about that.
BERMAN: Exactly. Exactly. It's more of a programming decision than anything else.
David Chalian, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.
CHALIAN: Thanks. Take care, guys.
BERMAN: All right, coming up later on NEW DAY, this morning we're going to speak live with Cori Bush about her primary victory in Missouri.
This morning, hundreds of victims still missing from this catastrophic explosion in Beirut. Stunning images from there. And a mystery this morning as to what caused the blast. We'll tell you what we know in a live report from the scene, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, the death toll is rising after a huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Unbelievable. This morning, there are questions about what exactly caused this blast.
I want to bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman live in a very chaotic Beirut this morning.
Ben, why don't you give us the latest.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, John.
[06:35:00] Well, I'm just going to step aside and let you see. There are volunteer teams going around this neighborhood, which was severely damaged by the blast. I mean we are in front of a building where I think almost every window was blown out. So ordinary people are doing what they can to sort of put their country, their city back together.
In the meantime, of course, there's rising controversy about what happened just a few minutes after 6:00 p.m. local time. We understand there were 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in that warehouse that blew up. A chemical compound that is highly explosive and was kept in that warehouse apparently for 67 years after being seized from a ship that entered Beirut's port.
Now, whether it was incompetence, corruption, or something else that explains why this very dangerous chemical compound was kept in a port that's very near to the center of town and very populated areas is not at all clear. But, certainly, there is a lot of anger among ordinary Beirut residents who want to know why that massive explosion went off basically in the middle of their city last night.
John.
CAMEROTA: Understandable why there would be so much anger and so many questions still.
Thank you very much for bringing us all of the breaking news from that scene.
Also breaking this morning, pushback from the Pentagon following President Trump's statement that that Beirut explosion was an attack.
So let's go live right now to the Pentagon and CNN's Ryan Browne.
So what are they saying at the Pentagon about this?
RYAN BROWNE, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Alisyn, officially, Pentagon officials are referring all comments about this to the White House. They, obviously, didn't want to comment on President Trump's statement that the U.S. military's assessment is that this was some kind of attack.
However, privately, defense officials are telling CNN anonymously that this actually was -- there are no indications that this was an attack. In fact, all initial reporting suggested that this was some kind of accident. You know, there's been no adjustment to U.S. military activities in the region. There's been no increases in force protection, things of that nature, the kind of things you would typically see in the wake of an attack or if there had been any intelligence indicating an attack.
Now, the explosion was massive and, of course, there are initial reports. And as they get refined, that could change. But the initial assessment from multiple defense officials, senior officials we've spoken to here, is that it was not, in fact, an attack and much more likely to be an accident. Not clear exactly where President Trump's assessment came from. He said he spoke to generals, did not identify them by name. So it's very unclear where he came up with this. But defense officials telling CNN, at this point in time, it appears to be an accident.
CAMEROTA: That's really interesting, Ryan. I mean we know that the president likes to speak to cable news generals and says that he gets much of his news from them. But you're telling us this morning that the Pentagon is not in sync with what he said.
BROWNE: That's correct.
CAMEROTA: Thank you very much for all the reporting. Please bring us any developments as soon as you have them.
BROWNE: You bet.
CAMEROTA: There's also breaking news in the 2020 race. The Trump campaign filing a lawsuit to stop the expansion of mail-in voting in one critical swing state. We have the details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:42:36]
BERMAN: New this morning, Queen Elizabeth and her husband out of coronavirus isolation at Windsor and into a different kind of isolation in Scotland and new concerns in Australia.
CNN has reporters all around the world bringing you the very latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Max Foster in Berkshire, England.
The queen has left this part of the country now for her summer retreat on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland. She was spotted stepping off a private jet nearby with Prince Philip and staff carrying her beloved dogs. It will be a welcome change of scene for the couple who have been in isolation for months at Windsor Castle.
Other members of the family typically join them in Scotland, but it's not clear if that's possible this year due to the tight restrictions around the couple to protect them from Covid. Palace staff usually have to isolation for two weeks before even sharing a room with them.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers in Mexico, where the government announced that the more than 30 million students in this country will not be going back inside the classroom anytime soon. Instead, they will begin remote classes on August 24th. The reason, the government says, the outbreak in this country is simply too bad at the moment and it's too dangerous for kids to do in- person learning.
But, remember, this is a relatively poor country. A lot of people don't have great Internet connections. As a result, the government has partnered with several different TV stations here that will begin broadcasting educational content 24/7 for kids that don't have strong Internet.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: I'm Angus Watson in Australia, where Victoria state has again broken its record for new coronavirus cases with 725 positive tests added on Tuesday. Community transmission remains high despite a strict lockdown enforced in its largest city, Melbourne, where going out at night is banned. The death toll is being pushed upwards by active cases in aged care. Fifteen hundred active cases now in those aged care facilities. Ten percent of the country's active cases are health workers.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: I'm Vedika Sud in New Delhi.
India has surpassed 1.9 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday. It is fewer than 100,000 cases a week from the 2 million case milestone. Over the last seven days, India has witnessed over 50,000 new infections per day. Its death toll is nearing 40,000.
[06:45:00]
India remains the third most affected country in the world. Another minister in the government, (INAUDIBLE), has been hospitalized after testing positive for Covid-19.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: Our thanks to all of our correspondents around the globe.
Also breaking overnight, the Trump campaign filing a lawsuit against the state of Nevada over its expansion of mail-in ballots for November. But President Trump does like mail-in ballots for himself and for his adopted home state of Florida.
Joining us now is CNN political analyst David Gregory.
David, the naked power play here is really remarkable this morning. He doesn't -- President Trump doesn't want any state, key state, with a Democratic governor, to expand their mail-in ballots. But Florida, that paragon of voting flawlessness, he believes he has high confidence that they can get it right because they have a Republican governor.
DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. And, you know, it's pretty transparent how worried he is about Nevada and other states with Democratic governors. This is a major concern among Democrats who think that the president, his campaign, will work with Republicans around the country to undermine voting, to undermine mail-in voting at a time when we're in a pandemic, where it should be obvious to try to bolster those efforts to get mail-in ballots processed and handled appropriately.
The governors of these states, like Nevada, have brushed off this criticism. The Postal Service has brushed off this criticism. And, of course, this is a time where the president is trying to deny funding, more funding to the Postal Service. So it seems obvious to most people that in a pandemic that voters should be able to exercise their voting rights by the mail, which is something that the president has done numerous times. We're in one of those extraordinary circumstances.
BERMAN: Through the magic of television, I believe we actually have a recording of the president talking about mail-in balloting in Florida. And, again, this is the president of the United States saying the quiet part out loud.
So listen.
We don't have it.
Well, the story goes that the president, at a news conference at the White House yesterday, when asked about mail-in voting, said out loud, he said, well, they have a Republican governor in Florida and they had a Republican governor before that.
OK, let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Florida's got a great Republican governor. And it had a great Republican governor. It's got Ron DeSantis, Rick Scott, two great governors. And over a long period of time, they've been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally. Florida's different from other states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Again, so there it was. I mean the president's saying the quiet part out loud. Florida can do it because they have a Republican governor.
Look, the bottom line here, David, is that it's going to happen in states because states can decide how they do this. So all the president is doing is sewing doubt in people's heads. And you said there's concern among Democrats. Well, there's concern among Republicans, too. The reason he had to come out yesterday and say Florida can do that is because Republican strategists and officials around the country have been telling the White House, hey, wait a minute, guys, you're going to keep our voters from mailing in their ballots.
GREGORY: No, that's exactly right. And that will be a huge concern. Members of the military who use mail-in voting, anybody who uses mail- in voting in the normal course of an election because they can't show up on an election day, but, of course, older voters, anyone who's potentially compromised, who would use this, would be Republican or Democrat. This is where we talk about the virus doesn't discriminate based on ideological lines. The president's only hurting his own cause, as well. But, again, he's trying to stir up the idea that Republicans are trying to protect the vote and Democrats are trying to steal it.
It's pretty transparent what he's trying to do. And, you know, heaping praise on the leadership of the governor of Florida amid his handling of the pandemic is a curious choice, as well.
CAMEROTA: I mean I know the president is no student of history, but the year 2000 wasn't that long ago that Florida couldn't get some voting things right.
But -- but let's be honest, David, or let's be realistic, I guess, mail-in voting in a huge number will slow down the process.
GREGORY: Yes.
CAMEROTA: I mean we're already seeing signs of this. It will complicate things. Not to suggest fraud, but states are having to ramp up now in this pandemic era and trying to make sure that they have all -- everything in place. I mean this is going to be complicated in November, or it could be.
GREGORY: Right. And in its own way, it's like the response to the pandemic itself. We have to use this time in the lead-up to the vote to make sure these systems are as safe as possible and states are fortified with all the resources they need to do this right. But, instead, the president is making this a Republican versus a Democratic issue.
[06:50:03]
And, at the same time, undermining the Postal Service. I mean this is a huge problem that's in the making because of all of the potential problems that we'll see.
But, again, we're not living through normal times. It's not a normal campaign in terms of how they'll be out campaigning and reaching voters and it's not going to be normal. School's not normal. Voting's not going to be normal. We have to, at the federal level, be supporting our states to make sure they can do this as best as possible. But that's not where we are. Where we are is trying to divide the states based on whose the Republican or Democratic governor.
BERMAN: My confidence in the magic of television is shaken, David, but I want to play a key moment in the history of national parks, if I can, and also people of our faith, as well. This was the president yesterday announcing grants for national parks in the country.
So let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When young Americans experience the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon, when their eyes widen in amazement as Old Faithful bursts into the sky, when they gaze upon Yosemite's towering sequoias.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: David? I'll leave it to you. It's for you. It's for you to analyze that. GREGORY: Well, how do I -- I -- I don't -- I don't -- I don't have words. I mean it's a -- you know, Yosemite's everywhere enjoy the national park.
BERMAN: That's -- that's how we greet each other.
GREGORY: Yes.
BERMAN: I mean he's -- someone let him in on our secret greeting.
GREGORY: Oh, no. Wow.
CAMEROTA: I mean Mary Trump, his niece, said he was not a great student. I don't know. I mean it seems somehow plausible that when you hear that he doesn't know the name of one of the national parks.
GREGORY: Let's just leave it up to the -- leave it up to the potential of just misspeaking there.
BERMAN: Absolutely. Absolutely. And when he says phlegm, the "g" is silent. I just want to give him early warnings on some things -- some challenging words going forward.
David Gregory, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.
GREGORY: All right. Thanks, guys.
CAMEROTA: Yo (ph).
All right, we're going to move on now to the startling warning, John, from the former head of the country's Ebola response about the state of coronavirus in the U.S. What is the government plan? The country is approaching 5 million cases.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:56:340]
RON KLAIN, FORMER EBOLA CZAR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: You are more likely, as an American, to die from Covid than you are in almost any other country.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We proportionately are lower than almost all countries. We're at the bottom of the list.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our national response to this pandemic should be a national embarrassment. There is uncontrolled spread in over 32 states in the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thousands injured, dozens dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a blinding white flash, a huge noise. All the doors and windows were ripped off their hinges. People were dazed, bloodied, all the residential area was completely destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.
And a wake-up call from the former coordinator of the Ebola crisis response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON KLAIN, FORMER EBOLA CZAR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: America has one of the worst numbers on planet earth. You are more likely, as an American, to die from Covid than you are in almost any other country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Ron Klain's assessment is backed by facts. Fourteen hundred new deaths reported in the U.S. in just the last 24 hours. In fact the majority of the last two weeks have seen more than 1,000 fatalities a day. The U.S. death toll is approaching 157,000 Americans. And the U.S. is on track to surpass 5 million confirmed cases this weekend.
Also, the president claims the recent rise in cases has not led to a significant rise in deaths and that the U.S. is, quote, doing great on testing. Both of those claims are false.
And for the first time since April, President Trump did attend a briefing with his coronavirus task force. He wasn't wearing a mask. Most of them were not.
He is also floating the idea of using an executive order to extend unemployment benefits to millions of Americans because he and Congress have not reached a deal on any massive economic relief package.
BERMAN: Joining us now, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
Sanjay, we put up the figures and we have them up on the screen every morning so people can see the total number of deaths in the United States. There were 1,400 new deaths reported over the last 24 hours. Yet the president seem to try to diminish this. I think we have sound where we can play where he made this claim once again in the White House.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We, proportionately, are lower than almost all countries. We're at the bottom of the list. And we're -- relative to cases, also, we're at the bottom of the list, which is a good thing, being at the bottom of the list.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: So I want to put this to bed quickly as a factual matter, Sanjay. It's just not true. It's not close to true what he's saying. But the more important issue here, rather than just pointing out day after day how the president's making stuff up is, why does this matter? What does it do as we're trying to fight this pandemic in the United States?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a good question, John, because, I mean, this is looking back a little bit at the problems that have -- that have gotten us here so far.
First of all, you're right, I mean, you know, if you -- you can pick all these relative sort of rates, relative to 100,000 people, relative to the population of the country, whatever. It's different with the pandemic because this affects the whole world, OK?
[07:00:00]
And so we don't know what the overall likelihood of the question is. If anybody gets infected with this virus, what is the likelihood they're going to die?
END
