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New Day

Will Progressives and Moderate Democrats Unite to Back Biden; Russia Claims Rapid Advances in Testing and Vaccine; Trump Jr. Opposes Alaska Mine Backed by Trump Administration. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 06, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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


CORI BUSH (D) MISSOURI CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Live under a Trump administration.

[07:30:01]

So we can disagree on an issue but that won't stop me from fighting for to have a Democrat in the seat.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: Okay. Joining us now is Paul Begala, CNN Political Commentator, Democratic Strategist and author of the new book, You're Fired, the Guide to Beating Donald Trump. Also joining us, Abdul El-Sayed, CNN Political Commentator. Great to see both of you.

So, Paul, we'll get to your book in a second. But, first of all, let's talk about these wins for the progressive candidates in Missouri with Cori Bush, Michigan with Rashida Tlaib. So what do you take from that about the direction of the Democratic Party and does it inform who Joe Biden should pick to be his vice presidential choice?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first -- actually, first, great to see you again. Thanks for having me back. I missed you. I had two projects during the break, a corona beard and a corona book.

You know where the party is going? It's going up. A plane need a right wing and a left wing, and that's how it gets lift and loft. And I think this -- I watched Mr. Berman's interview with Ms. Bush. She was terrific. She comes from the -- she was a spokesperson for Bernie. She campaigned for Bernie.

So my guess is Joe Biden was her third, fourth, fifth pick. And she's saying, literally, I wrote it down, we cannot live under a Trump administration, truer words never spoken. I'll leave that to the doc, but a lot of people are dying before their time because Donald Trump is president. This is an existential threat for the country, much less for Democrats.

I've never seen the party more united. The left is working their hearts out for a very moderate presidential nominee. And as somebody from the moderate wing, I got to tell you, I appreciate that.

CAMEROTA: But, Paul, very quickly, who do you think that -- does that mean that Joe Biden should pick a more progressive person among the array of choices?

BEGALA: No, I don't think people think that way. I think he needs to pick someone who, God forbid, something happens could step in on day one, and, God willing, if nothing bad happens to Joe, could be a good governing partner. And party will unite around that person. Joe's had that job as a vice president. I don't think anybody should look at this at a strictly ideological basis. We don't live our lives that way.

How about somebody who won't screw up a pandemic? How about somebody who won't meet by with a doctor who thinks that infections are caused by demon sex? Okay, how about that? That would be an improvement over that guy we got now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: I will note, Paul Begala, you just wrote a whole book talking about the fact that demon sex may not be the road you want to go down when campaigning against the president. We'll talk about that in a second.

Doctor, to you, as the resident progressive on this panel, it was interesting to me that Cori Bush was so quick to say, oh, no, I'm behind Biden, no matter what her disagreements are. She was quicker to say that than, I believe, someone in her position would have been in 2016 with Hillary Clinton. We just didn't see that level of immediacy there.

But my question to you is, what do you need from Joe Biden prior to Election Day in order to maintain your strong support?

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There are a couple of things here. First of all, you're right, Cori Bush is an incredible candidate and will make an incredible congresswoman. And all of us recognize the existential threat to our democracy that Donald Trump is and poses. What we need to see though is the recognition that getting Joe Biden elected isn't the ceiling, it's the floor. And there is so much more that we need to do.

I was privileged to take part in the unity task force on healthcare with Vice President Biden and Senator Sanders. And we knew our key issue Medicare-for-All, is going to be hard to get. We were able to pull them on improving and making that public option that Joe Biden ran on far more robust.

But we've got to keep going. We've got a pandemic raging. People are dying. 150,000 plus people have died of this pandemic. We don't know if our kids are going to be able to go back to school safely. We've got to recognize that just beating Donald Trump and taking us back to where we were, that's not enough. We've got to continue to focus on a vision about how we uplift, rebuild and reignite our country and get past some of these divisions that Donald Trump has pushed.

And that's what we progressives believe in. We know that we've got to beat Donald Trump. We know we've got to go so much further, as well.

CAMEROTA: You speak to that in your new book, Paul, so I'll just read a portion of it about one of the things you're very worried about. You say, I am terribly worried that some Democrats will swing from sense to nonsense, trying to answer Trump's division with our division, his vulgarity with our vulgarity, his hate with our hate, his lies with our lies. Therein lies the path to defeat. If we try to out-trump Trump, we will not only lose the election, we will deserve to.

Are you seeing that happen?

BEGALA: No. No. They're heeding my warning. Look at what Abdul just. Look at what Ms. Bush said yesterday to Berman. Democrats are not -- it is human nature to want to respond in kind, okay? That's why I've been worried about it. But if you look at what the progressives are saying, the moderates, the libertarians, the vegetarians, they're all united.

[07:35:05]

So I never want to answer in kind. I really don't. And I maybe I'm speaking as much as myself, as I live by John McCain's own mantra, that a fight not joined is a fight not enjoyed.

But in this case, we need to keep our eyes on the prize, and I actually think Democrats are doing a terrific job of doing that.

BERMAN: It is interesting in this book. And by the way, subtle product placement behind you. I appreciate that.

BEGALA: Yes, I'm used (ph) to pay extra for that, John.

BERMAN: You talk about Democrats not falling into the Trump trap, which you admitted you did in 2016, which was to attack then candidate Donald Trump's character. And, Dr. El-Sayed, it's interesting to me, you say for you, it's hard to look beyond some of these traits, because it's personal for you, Doctor. So are you willing -- Paul says it doesn't make any sense for us to sit here and call the president a racist because it doesn't necessarily win votes. Do you feel the same way?

EL-SAYED: Well, I'll tell you this. What the president is, is one thing, and how we take on the president is another. Look, I'm Muslim- American. I pray a particular way. One of the first things that President Trump tried to do was bar people who pray the way I pray from coming into this country because of how we pray. I'm raising two- year-old little girl who's ethnically half Egyptian, half Indian, 100 percent American, and I don't want to know that the person who was president while she was born will have any way of shaping the way she thinks about whether or not she belongs in country. That's the truth of it.

Now, do I think calling him a racist and continue to call him what he obviously is, what he (INAUDIBLE) and being is going to win votes? I don't think so. I actually think that we need to be able to reach out into the hearts of people who were duped by this man, who told them that he alone could fix it. And ask what is it that we really need to do now? Why are you hurting and what do we do about it? I think that's what's going to win us votes. That's what's going to win the future of this country. CAMEROTA: Paul, I want to read one more portion of your book, because it seems like you're Kreskin in this one.

BERMAN: He -- you know, right? He was like a personal friend of --

BEGALA: My dad grew up with George Kreskin, the Amazing Kreskin. Seriously, I actually do know him.

BERMAN: Sorry, I digress.

CAMEROTA: Well, that explains this passage in that case. You say, I would not put it past Trump to try to cancel elections themselves. I know that sounds alarmist, but you should be alarmed. Trump has clearly and repeatedly stated his desire to be president for life. He's not joking, folks. He doesn't joke.

So I don't know what date you wrote that, but now President Trump is talking about whether or not the election date can be moved.

BEGALA: It is. It's a burden, this gift of prophesy I have. And I hope I carry it with some grace, Alisyn. And I joke about it, but this is real. Abdul is exactly, right? He's an existential threat to our democracy. We have never, in all of American history, a quarter of a millennium, had an incumbent president, where reasonable people had right to worry whether he would turn over power if he lost. We should be worried about that.

So what does that mean as a strategist? That means the Democrats have to win by so much that he can't steal it. It's not fair to Joe Biden. You know, usually in American presidential elections, you get to 270 electoral votes, and it's game over. It doesn't matter how far across the goal line you get. This time, it does.

This is why Joe Biden, and I know he's watching, Joe, you've got to compete, obviously, in Michigan, in Abdul's home state. That's the key swing state, and in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and in Florida, but in North Carolina, in Georgia, in Arizona, in my beloved Texas. I want Biden to win places where they used to hunt us down with dogs, okay?

That's the kind of win that Democrats have to have, because this guy is an autocrat wannabe. He undermines elections, he undermines the free press, he undermines the federal judiciary, anything that's to check in his power. So we've got to fire him. I mean it.

CAMEROTA: On that note, Paul Begala, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, thank you both. Great to see both of you. Please come back soon.

BEGALA: Thanks. Good to see you.

EL-SAYED: Thanks for having us.

BERMAN: All right. Russia claims to be way ahead of the rest of the world in virus testing and developing a vaccine. We'll take a look at those claims, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:40:00]

CAMEROTA: Russia claims to be at the forefront of fighting coronavirus with new rapid testing technology and what could be the world's first vaccine. But there are skeptics.

Matthew Chance is live from Moscow with us for the latest developments. What did you learn?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, thanks very much. You're right, there's a lot of skepticism around this. But if you listen to Russian officials, as many people in this country, of course, exclusively do, you get the impression that Russia is, you know, on the leading edge. It's beating every other country by a mile in terms of beating this global pandemic.

First, there's the vaccine which says, by the way, it's going to be approving for the first time early next week. Now, it's got the super fast, super accurate tests at airports, something that other countries have struggled with.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: This is the new frontline in Russia's war on COVID-19. We gained exclusive access to the rapid testing being introduced at Russia's airports. Soon, every passenger could be screened like this. In what Russia says is another example of its scientific edge.

ANDREY KASHUBSKY, EMG DIRECTOR, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: This is the leading edge of everything in the diagnostics. It's called point of care system, so it can be used everywhere, wherever people need it. Here, you're going to witness it takes one hour.

CHANCE: Chance, Mitchell. For those behind this new technology in Moscow say that the tests can be used in global airports around the world, including in the United States. It's a way of resuming flights, they say, while protecting the safety of passengers.

[07:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Open up.

CHANCE: Of course, what that means is that, in the future -- in the future, every journey -- ow -- could start or end like this.

Russia has been casting itself at the forefront of efforts to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic, as well as mass testing. It's poised to approve what it says will be the world's first COVID-19 vaccine, developed at breakneck speed at this Moscow research lab.

Claims of Russia's world beating medical advances ring hollow to critics like Anastasia Vasilyeva, a Russian doctor turned prominent opposition campaigner, who now broadcasts her concerns on a popular online show, which seems more like propaganda, she told me, than progress. ANASTASIA VASILYEVA, DOCTOR'S ALLIANCE: They just want to say, we are the first. But this vaccine is not safe, is not effective, because they didn't do the necessary investigations with this vaccine.

CHANCE: Why did they need to be the first?

VASILYEVA: I think Russia is a big and strong country, including the big and great president who just wants to be the best president maybe in the world.

CHANCE: Right. Hi.

The moment of reckoning, there are concerns about the accuracy of Russian testing too. Officials admit early cases could simply slip through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Negative (INAUDIBLE).

CHANCE: Relief from Russia could prove premature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: It could, indeed. As I say, we're waiting for that vaccine to be getting approval in Russia for the first time early next week. Will it be a game changer? Well, it's hard to say, John, because the Russians have not released any of the data that you have to release to verify a vaccine like this actually works.

BERMAN: It's so unusual, so counter to the scientific process, Matthew Chance. And you were going above and beyond to report this story. Thank you for doing that and undergoing the test with the swab.

CHANCE: I was hoping I was going to look braver than I actually did.

BERMAN: I think you held up relatively well under the pressure, relatively well.

All right, Germany and Latin America both crossing grim new thresholds. CNN has reporters all around the world bringing you the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers in Mexico City.

For the first time since this pandemic began, the 33 countries that make up Latin America and the Caribbean are now collectively reporting more 5 million confirmed cases of this virus. And, of course, the worst affected among them is Brazil, which is getting closer to 3 million cases on its own, but we've also seen accelerated case numbers in places like Argentina, Peru, Colombia and here in Mexico.

And consider, it was back on July 7th the region hit 3 million cases, just 15 days later, it his 4 million cases, and just 13 days after that, it reached that 5 million number and the cases just aren't slowing down the way health experts had hoped.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in Taipei. U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar will be heading here to Taiwan within the coming days and he will be the highest level U.S. official to do so in four decades.

Now, the premise of this visit is about coronavirus and Taiwan's remarkable dealing with the pandemic of a population of 23 million people, they have just 476 confirmed cases. But there's a second element to this visit. As Washington well knows, this is going to end with China. Beijing has already responded, saying that they have launched stern representations to the United States and that the U.S. and Taiwan should not be having these official interactions.

ANGUS WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Angus Watson in Australia, where all non-essential surgeries have been canceled in the State of Victoria, now suffering a stubborn second wave of COVID-19. Over a thousand healthcare workers have tested positive to the virus and hundreds of aged care residents have been moved into hospitals for their own safety.

The streets of Melbourne are quiet, as all non-essential businesses have been shuttered in a lockdown set to cost the economy billions.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, where the German government says it's extremely concerned about another spike in new coronavirus infections. Germany, for the first time in more than three months, saw more than a thousand infections in a single day.

Now, the German government is urging people to more strictly adhere to the measures of physical distancing and hygiene, such as wearing masks while indoors.

But this whole situation is also happening as Germany is slowly reopening its schools.

[07:50:03]

In fact, today, the State of Hamburg is reopening its schools and kids going to school there will have to wear masks when they enter the school premises.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Our thanks to our correspondents there.

We want to remember now some of the more than 158,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.

Keith and Gwendolyn Robinson of Vallejo, California, were best friends in high school. They were married for 35 years. Their son says they did everything together and they died of coronavirus 11 days apart. He says his mom passed away while saying goodbye to him and her grandchildren on FaceTime. She was just 60 years old. Keith Robinson was 62. 36-year-old Saferia Johnson was a minimum security inmate at the Coleman Federal Correction Complex in Central Florida. She's the second Coleman inmate to die of coronavirus among the more than 300 w ho are infected.

Johnson's aunt tells Spectrum News she has two small boys who the aunt will now raise. Spectrum says she met the criteria for compassionate release or home confinement, but it is unclear why she was not let out.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:00]

BERMAN: All right. Developing this morning, the president confronted at his daily briefing with a statement from his son that runs counter to administration policy. So just days after a controversial golden and copper mine proposed in Alaska was given a major push forward by the administration, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his opposition to it.

CNN's Drew Griffin has been following this controversy for nearly four years now and joins us with the latest. What's going on here, Drew?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNITS REPORTER: John, the latest is people in Alaska are just scratching their heads because after what seems like endless environmental studies and decades of debate over this mine, could it really all come down to a tweet from the president's son?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: It's the most pristine water shed in all of the United States and the largest spawning grounds for wild sockeye salmon in the world.

THOMAS QUINN, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF AQUATIC AND FISHERY SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: This is the jewel in the crown of America's fisheries resources in salmon. If you don't think this is worth saving, what is?

GRIFFIN: And it's on the land that drains into these waters, The Pebble Limited Partnership is trying to get a federal permit to dig a massive golden copper mine, a mine that environmentalists and the fishing industry have been fighting for some two decades.

Its CEO, Tom Collier, has worked non-stop, lobbying the Donald Trump administration to overturn Obama era's strict environmental rules, by claiming his mine won't pollute anything.

Are you telling me you're going able to be able to put a clean mine up there that's going to have no effect on anybody's habitat?

TOM COLLIER, CEO, PEBBLE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP: Absolutely. GRIFFIN: The mining company has been winning. Trump's EPA reversed the environmental protections in the area after President Trump met with Alaska's governor.

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R-AL): I just got off Air Force One.

GRIFFIN: And just last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the mine would not have long-term impacts on salmon, and then came these two bombshell tweets. Nick Ayers, Vice President Pence's former chief of staff, writing, like millions of conservationists and sportsmen, I am hope that real Donald Trump will direct the EPA to block the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay.

Donald Trump Jr. re-tweeted Ayers' the comments adding, as a sportsman who has spent plenty of time in the area, I agree 100 percent. The head waters of Bristol bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take any chances with Pebble Mine, a surprising tweet from the president's son whose social media posts usually mirror the administration's agenda. Mine opponents are thrilled.

TIM BRISTOL, SALMON STATE: He weighed in at probably the most perfect time imaginable, so very welcome, great news, very big deal for us.

GRIFFIN: Pebble's spokesperson says, not so fast, sending CNN this statement that reads both Donald Trump Jr. and Nick Ayers are wrong, reiterating that the environmental impact study concludes that Pebble Mine will not harm the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, and goes on to say, we do not believe that the president will interfere with this statutory process.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I would certainly listen to both sides. My son has some very strong opinions.

GRIFFIN: When asked about his son's tweet, the president was non- committal, but raised some doubt about a mine that seemed like all but a done deal only days ago.

TRUMP: We have done a lot for Alaska. It's a special place. And I'll take a look at that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: John, CNN's Kate Bennett at the White House says that Don Jr. has not talked to her father about this since before the inauguration. But according to her source, it certainly is familiar to the president what his son thinks about this, to think that all of this could come down to where the president's son likes to fish, just mindboggling for the folks up in Alaska.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: I don't know. Maybe it shouldn't be if they have been watching the last three and a half years or so. Drew Griffin, you have been on this story from the beginning, thanks so much for being with us.

I'm not sure if you thought it would end like this but we'll have to wait and see.

All right, Dr. Fauci says it's up to us to get coronavirus cases to go down. New Day continues right now.

[08:00:00]

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day.

END