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Cuomo Prime Time

Trump Again Pushes False Narratives That Pandemic Is "Disappearing" And "Cases Are Up" Because Of Testing; Trump Says He's Issuing Executive Order To Require Insurance Companies To Cover Pre- Existing Conditions (It's Already Law); Intel Officials Warn Congress Russia Is Spreading False Info About Biden. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired August 07, 2020 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Thank you very much.

The news continues right now. Want to hand things over to Chris for CUOMO PRIME TIME. Chris?

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: My Man! Have a good weekend, Anderson.

COOPER: You too!

CUOMO: Thank you very much.

I am Chris Cuomo. Welcome to PRIME TIME.

Repeating lies is a very effective way to sell them. And too often with Trump, he gets a pass. He doesn't get checked every time he says something that's untrue. But right now, especially, he must. The only thing worse, than this President's inaction, is his active deception about the reality.

And this statement from the President of the United States is a lie.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A pandemic, which is disappearing. It's going to disappear.

Recent cases are up because we're doing, one of the reasons, we're doing a lot of testing.

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CUOMO: The only thing that has disappeared is his credibility on this issue.

Please know that this is the truth. If you don't socially distance, if you don't wear a mask when you can't socially distance, if you don't practice good hygiene in and outside your house, this virus will not slow down, let alone go away.

Believe me. I learned this the hard way. I do not want you to go through what I and my family went through. So, take no comfort in his words.

We have cases because we are mismanaging the situation. The proof? Look at hospitalizations. Why are they going up, in so many places, if it's just about testing? This is not about counting. It is about contagion.

It is what it is, Mr. President, a pandemic. And it will keep beating us until we get rapid testing everywhere, we need it. Don't waste our time on these lies.

Tell us you get this. Tell us that you will get rapid testing like they did in the U.K., better than that. Make that your message. Not this misinformation. Your inaction on a testing plan is killing us.

The CDC predicts almost 1,000 of us will die a day, on average, within the next three weeks. It doesn't have to be like this. And instead of dealing with the situation, for what it is, he's trying to distract you with fake news. Not on our watch!

This ugly deception that he wants you to think he's about to do a big move to help you, he's going to do a big move, he says he's pursuing an Executive Order, OK?

This was the news today. Trump says he's pursuing Executive Order to require all health insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions and says this has never been done before.

Listen, I'm not making it up.

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TRUMP: We will be pursuing a major Executive Order requiring health insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions for all of its customers. This has never been done before.

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CUOMO: Have you no shame?

Now, he happens to be right, we can find no record of a President ever doing this before, lying to this degree, to you, about your existing legal rights.

Pre-existing condition protections currently exist, in Obamacare, the law of the land for now. Why do I say that? Because, to make this worse, not only is he lying to you about giving you something you already have, he is actively trying to take it away.

He is suing, right now, to try to overturn the ACA, Obamacare, and that would get rid of the pre-existing condition protection that he's saying he's going to give you that you already have unless he wins and takes it away.

And it's not just him. He was reading those words. Whoever you are, how could you even write that? You know it's a lie. He needs to take that BS to "Thighland," go bury it in Yosemite Park. This President literally can't speak the truth. He can't say words the

right way, let alone tell you what they mean. And he lies about what matters most. This isn't "I'm the best President. This is the best tax package ever." That's politics. This is perfidy.

This is a breach of sacred trust to protect people, trying to sell you on a false reality, so you send your kids to schools that count - can't count cases, deceiving you, wanting you to believe that kids are almost immune.

[21:05:00]

Every statistic, he says, shows kids are built to handle this. It's a lie. And it's a dangerous lie. Who lies about kids?

The country tragically just lost a beautiful 7-year-old boy in Georgia, with no underlying health conditions. We have more about that in a moment.

But, of course, you have a right to be scared as parents. My wife and I, we're worried. These hybrid plans, man, they seem like the worst of both worlds. Of course, the data shows these hits adults harder than kids, on average. It doesn't mean they're immune.

Think about being that family! God forbid! There but for the grace go we. Parents mourning their own child? And they're not the first. People have lost kids to COVID. Kids have gotten very sick. Kids are making other people sick.

You see this picture? This is out of Georgia also, a State that was bending backwards, their Governor, Kemp, to have Trump say "Look, they're a good example. They're reopening, ready or not."

Look at this. I don't blame the kids. What do you think they're going to do? If you tell them, things are as normal, they'll act as normal. Many of them aren't wearing masks. Of course, they're not six feet apart.

Don't blame them. That's on us. That's on the people in charge in Georgia. That's why so many of us are unsure about whether they want to send their kids back to school, for in-person learning. I want to, but I'm not exposing my kid to that.

And what about their teachers? What about their staff? What about the family at home of those kids?

Now, I don't know if you heard about the controversy, but the kid who took this picture got suspended for it. "Not supposed to use your phone." Oh, really? And what about the reality they captured?

On PRIME TIME, you get rewarded for exposing the truth. It was "Good trouble" that this person got in. And you will hear her story. Why? Because I don't want any of our kids to have to be put in a position like this.

And we have a President, who is encouraging it with lies and inaction. This would be OK if we could test all those kids every damn day and get the results fast. He can make that happen and he isn't.

Now, at the opposite end of accountability, and responsibility, you have my brother in New York. He has made a lot of difficult choices. He hasn't been perfect. Nobody is. We've had problems here. We've had failures.

But he was able to say today that all school districts are cleared to reopen. But not to throw water on my brother's own parade, but be very clear, he didn't open the schools. This is going to be very case-by- case. I don't know if I have comfort having my kid go back to school.

He said they are all eligible to be open. There's no blanket restriction. But it's going to be community-by-community. There are requirements that they'll have to meet. Districts are going to have to submit their plans. Masks are going to have to be worn at all times, if you can't socially distance.

This was the State, remember, New York got its ass kicked by COVID. We were where you didn't want to be.

And now, even though it had everything going against it, travel hub, tons of density, more people in need than it had requirements to meet them, didn't have a lot of money in the budget for this, now, every region is well below its infection limit.

And if infection rates spike, before scheduled reopening, Andrew said - the Governor says he's going to have to revisit things. He better, right? I mean, the whole point is for us to be healthy. And look, I think his decision today comes with risks. No question about them.

So, let's talk about the realities here, OK? And I believe in staying with sources that I know I can trust, so that what they tell you is worth acting on, all right?

And that's why I have Infectious Disease Specialist with Vanderbilt University, Dr. William Schaffner, on the show as often as I do. I know his credentials. I've tracked him over time on this. Nobody is - nobody knows everything. But he asks the right questions and he's worried about the right things.

So Doctor, thank you, for being a gift, to the audience and, to me, frankly, when I was sick, during this time.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Good to be with you, Chris. And listen, here's a reality. It may be three hours early, but congratulations on entering the second half century of your life's adventure. Happy birthday, pal.

CUOMO: Look, there will have to be better scientists than you to keep me alive for another five years, let alone 50, but thank you very much, Doc.

Let's just clear up little things. You know health policy very well. This is an easy fact-check.

[21:10:00] Pre-existing condition protection exists right now in the law. This Administration is fighting it in court. He's not giving us anything with an Executive Order, right now, the way he says he is. Isn't that the truth?

SCHAFFNER: It's apparently the truth.

I'm kind of baffled. Maybe existing conditions need the protection of an Executive Order against members of his own Party who want to repeal it. I'll take all the help I can get to keep those in.

When I was an intern, I thought, by now, we would have Universal Healthcare for everyone. I have gray hair. We're not there yet. We certainly don't want to move backwards.

CUOMO: Now, in terms of opening schools, you see that picture down there, in Georgia. I don't blame the kids. If you tell them to go back, they're going to do what they normally do.

What is the obvious set of factors that pops out to you, in this scenario, of this type of proximity and population?

SCHAFFNER: Well, we're all concerned, right? Some places can be more confident than others, including your own State of New York, because you people have started as a hotspot, and turned it into a cold spot.

And the countries that have opened schools, successfully, have been those where they have controlled the community spread, so then they can open the schools and even they have done it carefully.

But across the country, we have varying conditions in the communities. For the most part, this virus is out of control. So, I understand the anxiety of the parents. And we grandparents, we have a high schooler going back, and someone going to college, we're worried about all that.

CUOMO: One more question.

Is it true that the deciding factor, in terms of what we can control, when it comes to school, has to be rapid testing that the only way to control a population, like that, is to have very short interval turnaround, on what's going on with that big of a population, so that you can make adjustments in real-time that you can't wait seven days, eight days.

If you don't have rapid testing, that gets you a test back in a matter of hours, you can't do it?

SCHAFFNER: That would be beautiful. They're doing that for the National Football League. Why can't we do it for the National Scholastic League, right? That's what we would like to do.

CUOMO: All right, Dr. Schaffner, thank you very much.

I'm telling you, I'm going to ask you about schools a lot, going forward, because I see it as a metaphor for everything. Our kids matter the most. You can't go to work if your kids' going to be home. Our economy is not going to get back.

And God forbid kids start getting sick, you think we've seen disruption from this disease, this virus already, we haven't seen anything yet if it starts affecting our kids.

Doctor, be well and thank you.

SCHAFFNER: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, now look, I'm telling you, we all have a role in this. And I am not going to let the President say things that are dangerous and untrue, especially about our kids. Because we cannot have the level of confidence he wants us to have.

And I want it, by the way. We all want it. I want to believe that my Mario, who had it already with the antibodies, he's going to be good. But I don't know that. My two girls, they haven't had it. I don't know what's going to happen to them. What if they catch a bad case? It happens.

COVID just claimed its youngest victim in Georgia. The kid was seven!

We have the Mayor of Georgia's biggest City here, Atlanta. She had COVID. Her family had COVID. She's fighting the fight politically about it. What does she envision for schools moving forward there? Is safety the top priority? What does that look like?

And how is she doing, by the way? Looks great! But let's talk to the Mayor, next.

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CUOMO: Listen, nobody wants anything bad to happen anywhere in this country or you shouldn't.

But when you reopen, without being smart, without putting safety first, you will have problems. It is an immutable truth in a pandemic. If you put people together, in ways that you can't count, and you can't keep them safe, they're going to be sick.

Breaking news from Georgia, another problem in another school district, this time, it's Cherokee County, just north of Atlanta. It has only been a week, one week, 260 kids, eight teachers have been

told to quarantine because kids tested positive, and the return on the test, there was a lag, and this is what happens. COVID positivity rates are going up in major cities all across this country.

And yes, you may be saying, right now, "Wait, didn't I hear this about Georgia?" You did, but it was a different County. It was Gwinnett County. And that was 200-something teachers and staff. This is now another group of 200 in a different County, and it's students. This is what you risk.

The White House Task Force Coordinator, Deborah Birx, warned, in a private call with state and local officials, this week, that nine cities, in particular, are on their radar.

You can see that includes Atlanta, where the Mayor is in a legal face- off with the Governor over mask mandates. Can you believe that anyone in charge still has a problem with telling people to wear masks, if they can't socially distance?

Governor Kemp is against them, even when it comes to schools. That is a smart idea to one person, Trump. Now, he says it should be up to local officials. Why give them the choice on something like this? It can only help.

But this is what we all saw. This is what happens. When you leave it to them, when you leave it to people, there's risk, and here's the reality. Kids cramming a hallway, I don't see any masks in the picture.

[21:20:00]

And remember, I know the President told you "It's going to disappear." He's lying. I know he told you, "Kids are basically immune." He's lying. Kids get sick, just not as much as we do. But over the age of 10, they can be as contagious as we can.

Why did a 7-year-old boy have to die, in Georgia, just this week? No underlying conditions.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joins me right now.

It is good to see you. But I must say I am very sad about these circumstances, Mayor. That picture of that high school is scary. I don't know what the numbers are in that County. I don't know why they felt this level of confidence. But I wouldn't put my kid in there. Would you?

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D-GA), ATLANTA: Chris, kids are kids. I was out yesterday--

CUOMO: I don't blame the kids. I don't blame the kids. Go ahead, Mayor.

BOTTOMS: Well, no, what I was going to say is, I was out with two of my kids yesterday, and I watched them fidget, and take their mask on and off. So, there's only so much that we can expect from kids. That's why, as adults, we have to make sound decisions.

And it's no surprise that we are where we are, in this State.

But when you look at those kids, in the hallways, and you look at the kids not wearing mask at school, think of every bus driver and custodian and cafeteria worker and teacher in that school, who's also been exposed, and it's frightening, and it terrifies me to think of where we will be, two weeks from now.

CUOMO: And they go home. They go home.

BOTTOMS: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Who's at home? Is mom diabetic? Is grandma there? Is there an aunty around? Do they have a kid brother or sister that has a vulnerability?

When you said this, to the Governor, what is the state of his rationale, when you say, "Look, it was Gwinnett. Now, it's Cherokee, what do you think is going to happen here?"

BOTTOMS: Well, and some things the Governor has deferred to, local control. When we were back in the spring, and decisions needed to be made, as to whether or not school systems would close down, he deferred to local control.

He's continuing to do that as it relates to whether or not the schools are opening. Atlanta public schools have decided to go the first nine weeks virtual-only, which is absolutely the right decision.

But, as it relates to masks, the Governor wants to control who can and can't mandate masks in our City. So, we are in mediation with the Governor right now. I'm encouraged by that mediation.

He acknowledges that wearing mask saves lives. But we now have to just iron out whether or not local jurisdictions will have the ability to mandate them.

CUOMO: The local jurisdictions should be the ones suing. Not the President on their behalf. He doesn't even have the standing. The local jurisdiction would. But forget about the law, this is about practicality.

When you heard about this little boy in Georgia, of course, he's the exception, not the rule. I'm not trying to magnify it. But tell that to his family. The idea that kids are immune just isn't true.

I know how worried you were about your own kids. I know how worried I was about mine. Just because a doctor says they'll probably be better off, that's not very heartening, especially when you hear about something like this.

BOTTOMS: That was absolutely heart-breaking.

My youngest kids are - my twins are nine and, I've shared before, all of my kids have asthma. This child didn't have any underlying health conditions. And it's frightening and it's frustrating that we are still here.

Our kids were - left school in March, mid-school year, they left in March. We had the spring. We had the summer. And we're still in this same spot. But, on many days, we're even worse. Our ICUs are at capacity.

We weren't at capacity - quite at capacity, back in the spring, because we had shut things down, and people weren't out in traffic, and having car accidents, and having many other issues that send them into the ER.

Now, we have businesses open as usual, we have schools open, on top of a pandemic.

CUOMO: Georgia's positivity rate exceeds 10 percent, therefore remains in the red zone, a Federal designation for states with more than a 100 new cases per 100,000 residents. That is supposed to be a signal that you're supposed to be slowing down, not accelerating.

Mayor, it is not easy to tell people that they must forbear. It is not easy to say that you're going to have to have kids at home for school. It screws up everything in the household, as you know. But that is leadership, because if they get sick, they'll never forget who put their kids in harm's way.

Madam Mayor, be well. And it's good to see you looking well. I wish the best to your family and your husband.

BOTTOMS: And happy birthday to you.

CUOMO: Thank you very much. I don't look a day over 57. Take care, Mayor. Thank you very much.

[21:25:00]

BOTTOMS: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: All right, now, that picture that we showed you, from the high school, we wouldn't have it, if one of the students didn't feel she needed to show you this. And they wanted to suspend her.

God bless Congressman John Lewis. He talked about "Good trouble." May not have been the thing that was by the letter of the law, but it was important to make things more just.

We have her tonight, and she should be rewarded, because we would never be driving the coverage of how the risk is being made manifest, without this young woman. She's going to join us to talk about her school and her experience next.

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CUOMO: Look, we all know schools are in a tough position. Every parent wants their kid back in them, ideally, right? But all of us are checked by the same instinct. "I got to keep my kids safe."

[21:30:00]

They can't even count the tests. The tests come back. It takes so long. That's why this photo is going viral, is all over the place because it captures our fear. As far as the eye can see, kids all over each other, and not a mask in sight.

Now, I'm not mad at the kids. Kids are going to do what you allow them to do.

The picture was posted online by a concerned student. After it exploded on social media, the school suspended her. They should be suspending themselves for allowing this.

Now, since then, the school backed off. But that doesn't take the onus off what they're allowing. This photo is the fear.

Let's talk to the student who took the picture. I want her to be rewarded. I want her to be recognized for this. Hannah Watters, a sophomore at North Paulding High School, outside Atlanta.

Good for you, young Truth Warrior. I know that this came with some drama that you were worried about. But tell us, when you saw the scene in your high school, connect the dots for us about what you thought to do about it and why?

HANNAH WATTERS, STUDENT WHO POSTED PICTURES OF CROWDED HALLWAYS: I was very concerned for everyone in that building, and everyone in our County, because this is obviously nowhere near safe, and especially, because there's been multiple people getting tested or multiple people testing positive, inside the County, from August 3rd, when we opened back up.

CUOMO: So, you took the picture, put it on social media. What was the response?

WATTERS: I did not expect it to blow up so fast. But it really did.

I had posted it after school hours. It was probably around 15 minutes after dismissal at the most. And I want to say, 10 minutes, 20 minutes after I posted it, I had already had multiple reporters asking to the rights to the photo and the story behind it.

CUOMO: Make 'em pay! No, so then what happened with the school? When they - when they decided to come and take action, what was that like? How did that affect you and your parents?

WATTERS: It was Wednesday afternoon, right about noon, and they had pulled me out of class, and I knew what it was about. I knew that they figured out it was me.

And we talked about it. I wrote a statement. And they informed me that I broke three policies in the Paulding County Code of Conduct, and they gave me five days of out-of-school suspension.

CUOMO: What did your parents say?

WATTERS: We fought it. My mom got the call, when I was sitting in the Principal's Office, and she - well the Assistant Principal referred her back to the Principal, so she could talk to him about it.

CUOMO: And why did they relent?

WATTERS: They - so they referred her to the Principal, and he never called her. She called him twice, and never got a response. And it wasn't until the next day, where he said he would get back to her today.

And, earlier this morning, at around 9:30, he called her, and told them that he was sorry, he apologized, and he deleted the suspension completely.

CUOMO: So, good for you. You called it "Good trouble," obviously in honor of the just recently-passed Congressman John Lewis, where sometimes you have to bend some of what they're telling you is right to show what's ultimately really right, and good for you in having the bravery to do that.

Let me ask you. How do you feel about going back to school, if it's still that way?

WATTERS: Especially after that kid just died, the 7-year-old, it's very upsetting that it's going to take people dying to get people's attention, because people shouldn't have to die for people to be worried about it.

People shouldn't have to be risking their lives to go to work, to go school. Even just stay home, because if your kid goes to school, and they come back with it, you're going to catch it, because who wears masks around their family?

So, you shouldn't have to risk your life going to and from work, going to the grocery store, and I just am very hopeful that we can take more precautions going from work and school, and everything of the sorts.

CUOMO: How old are you? 15? 16?

WATTERS: I'm 15.

CUOMO: Boy oh, boy, to have a 15-year-old trying and make sense in the way that your own Governor isn't is really something.

As a kid your age, how do you make sense of the adults around you not doing what seems like such common sense to you, like not making you wear a mask, like not changing how it is at school, during class change periods like that, to suit an obvious need?

How does - how do you process that as a kid your age?

[21:35:00]

WATTERS: I mostly know that even these things - even though these things aren't enforced, I know that what I'm doing is right, and I'm not only helping myself, and my - the people at home, but I'm helping everyone around me.

And that really kind of motivates me to keep on doing it, because I have immuno-compromised people at home, and I myself have had asthma since I was a kid. So, it really does motivate me to help not only my family but everyone around me.

CUOMO: Listen, Hannah, you are a brilliant demonstration of something they will never teach you at any level of school. You have character, and you took a risk, and you saw it through, because you knew you were doing the right thing.

Even if they hadn't removed the suspension, you've given a window into the reality there that may change the reality, if not for those kids there, because you got some stubborn people on the local level. That Principal's got way bigger problems than your suspension. Maybe it will make others make different decisions for their kids in their schools.

So, thank you, be healthy. God bless you and your family. Say hello to them for us, and thank you for letting you do the interview.

WATTERS: Thank you for your time.

CUOMO: All right, Truth Warrior, take care.

Great, huh? 15, knows what's right, in a way her own Governor doesn't. That's an Ameri-CAN right there.

Another huge concern, Russia is doing what it does. You want to talk about it is what it is? They're coming at us, again, just like all the Intel people that Trump put in power tell you. We know they're going to do it.

How do we know? His Intel people tell us. They've briefed lawmakers. There is an effort afoot to derail Biden's bid on behalf of Trump. Now, he says nobody's been tougher. Show it. Prove it. Do something, now, to beat back the foreign interference.

Tom Friedman, brilliant mind, open eyes, clear head on an obvious situation, next.

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CUOMO: Of course, Russia is trying to hurt America again by interfering in our election. We knew that this is what they were going to do. The Intel officials told us this.

Congress was charged with finding ways to make it stop. And frankly, it faded a little too quickly with the fates of impeachment. Once it became really not about Trump, and whether he would stay or go, really, the security of the process has just not been an equal concern.

And yet, here we are, months from an election, and according to our top Election Security Official, Russia is at it, and surprise, they're trying to denigrate Joe Biden's White House bid.

The President of the United States, Donald John Trump, responded this way, moments ago.

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TRUMP: I think that the last person Russia wants to see in Office is Donald Trump, because nobody's been tougher on Russia than I have, ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not what the Intelligence says.

TRUMP: Well I don't care what anybody says.

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CUOMO: That's the problem. You don't care what anybody says. Because you're only focusing on what you think looks good for you. If they wanted you to be President, why would they go after your opponent? And who cares if they want you to be President? Your job is to stop their efforts.

Let's get some perspective from Pulitzer Prize-winning "New York Times" Columnist, and Author of the best-selling book, "Thank You for Being Late," which isn't a bad title for the President on this pandemic, and the Russia threat, Tom Friedman.

Good to see you, young man.

TOM FRIEDMAN, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Good to be with you.

CUOMO: So, what is the obvious move right now?

FRIEDMAN: Well, Chris, I've been waiting for this move for a long time. If I were advising the President, the Administration, I would simply tell him to call up Putin, and tell him the following.

"If we catch Russia in any way, in any place, interfering in our election, between now and Election Day, we will throw out your Ambassador. We will close every Consulate. We will break off diplomatic relations.

Because our elections are the core of our democracy, they are sacrosanct. And if you attack those, you are attacking the most valuable thing we have. And frankly, we're very happy to cut relations with you.

All you make is vodka, caviar and nesting dolls. You are nothing but a third-world country with nuclear weapons. And we are very happy to cut off relations with you. We will never let you interfere in our elections again.

Which part of this sentence don't you understand?"

CUOMO: Two questions. One, can we do that? Can we stop them from interfering? And two, do they care about those strong words?

FRIEDMAN: Oh, yes, I think they would care if we close their Embassy, closed off economic contacts. Why do we need any economic contacts with them anymore?

All they - all they export, really Chris, is oil, gas, caviar, vodka, nesting dolls, and trouble. That is what Putin exports. And we don't need to be buying it at all. They need us so much more than we need them.

And I don't know why we keep rolling over for this. I don't know why you and I don't pick up "The New York Times" tomorrow, and see all of Vladimir Putin's billions of dollars of hidden wealth displayed on the front pages of "The New York Times" with every bank account.

Two can play at this game. And surely, we can play at this game. And why we sit back and month-after-month, year-after-year, say, "Russia's doing this. Russia is going to do that," they surely must be laughing at us at KGB headquarters. It's time to play hardball with them.

CUOMO: So, what's the answer to your own question? Why do you think Trump, who always seems to be spoiling for a fight, just not with this guy?

I still stand by the statement that Helsinki was my most embarrassing moment, as an American, let alone as a journalist, hearing the President throw our institutions under the bus, and say he believe Putin about interference, on the world stage.

But what do you come up with about why Trump plays it this way? [21:45:00]

FRIEDMAN: Well I don't know whether Putin has something financial on him or not. I've no idea.

But it's clear that Trump admires dictators. He admires what he sees as powerful men. And he knows that to the extent that Putin is going to intervene, he's going to intervene because he wants Trump re- elected because he sees him as a patsy. That's very clear.

And I think, Chris, we should understand what I believe Russia will try to do in this election. It's not only whatever they can do to get Trump re-elected. But they will try to delegitimize the results.

What Russia would love to see is a chaotic American election that delegitimizes democracy, in the biggest and most important democracy in the world. That is what sues - serves Putin's interest most.

CUOMO: Two more quick things. One, why do you think he sleeps on testing instead of embracing rapid testing, making it a MAGA point, and really pulling out progress here, right before the election?

FRIEDMAN: Trump, you know, it's really inexplicable to me, Chris, for a very simple reason. "It's the virus, stupid."

And what I mean by that is if the virus goes down, the economy comes back. If the virus goes down, kids go back to school. If the virus goes down, more restaurants get opened in more places. It's always been about the virus.

And why he doesn't make that the absolute centerpiece of his policy, why he wouldn't make mask-wearing a national law, because it would only serve the interests of our economy, our country and, for him, his chances of re-election, is simply inexplicable to me.

CUOMO: Last thing, Tom, if I were to say right now, and I never would, "Unlike the African-American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things," if I were to say that, I would be apologizing my ass off for like the next three days, and rightly so, and that would be at home, let alone on television.

Joe Biden says something like that. How can people have confidence that his head is screwed on tighter than Trump's?

FRIEDMAN: Well I really don't know, Chris. I don't know where that comment came from and--

CUOMO: Came from his mouth. I'm--

FRIEDMAN: Yes, I mean--

CUOMO: --I'm asking why.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, which part of his brain?

CUOMO: Is what the question is.

FRIEDMAN: I really don't know. I couldn't answer. The truth is, Chris that both Biden and Trump have a certain kind of Teflon, but each guy's Teflon is different.

Trump's Teflon is mud. When you're covered in mud, you throw more mud at the guy, and nothing sticks, it's not visible. The whole notion of a stain on Donald Trump is like an oxymoron.

Biden's Teflon up till now is people think he is a decent person. So, when he says some kind of crazy stuff some time, or stuff that doesn't seem to add up, people give him the benefit of the doubt, because they think, at heart, he's a good and decent man. But I don't think he should test that Teflon much further, let's put it that way.

CUOMO: I think what - I think the test for him is, especially as a contrast to Trump, is if you don't believe this, tell me that. Tell me, here's what I was trying to say.

FRIEDMAN: Sure.

CUOMO: And maybe I have this wrong, but my feeling is that the, whatever, the Black community is - tends to be more of a monolith politically, and the Latino - I don't know what his rationale is, but that that's what it is.

He has to do better than Trump in these situations. Can't double down on it, can't run away from it, can't have better people apologize for it. He's got to explain to the people, because that's what we're craving, somebody who's straight with us.

Tom Friedman, you always are, you are a blessing on this show, you're part of my birthday gift, as far as I'm concerned, every time you come on.

FRIEDMAN: Happy birthday.

CUOMO: Thank you very much.

FRIEDMAN: My pleasure.

CUOMO: Be well.

FRIEDMAN: Good night. Take care.

CUOMO: All right, so Russia is messing with our election, and I don't know what we're doing about it.

Because instead of like seeing some big effort mounted, we seem to have our own President messing with us as well, messing with us on the pandemic, and messing with the U.S. Postal Service. And it does seem like he's messing with them for his own benefit in the election.

Democrats are voicing concerns about certain changes at the USPS. What are they and why? We have the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee, which oversees the Postal Service. What is he upset about? What is his proof? And what is the fix? Next.

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TEXT: CUOMO PRIME TIME.

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TEXT: LET'S GET AFTER IT.

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TRUMP: The biggest risk that we have is mail-in ballots, because with the mail-in ballots called universal mail-in ballots, it's much it's - it is a much easier thing for a foreign power, whether it's Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, it's much easier for them to forge ballots and send them in. It's much easier for them to cheat.

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CUOMO: Their efforts, to this point, have been largely cyber. And the one thing we know for sure makes it easier for foreign actors to mess with us is when our President seems to invite it.

There is no evidence of any of what he just suggested happening. There's plenty of evidence of their messing with us online, and planting messages and memes. Kompromat, right, all that crap we had to learn about, the last time around.

And now he's saying the same stuff. "I don't know why. I don't know why. They're really afraid of me." So, say it to them. Tell them what you're going to do if they keep doing this. Tell them what you're going to do if you catch them.

Instead, he's doing the same kind of thing to our Postal Service. He is trying to undermine your confidence in the ability for the Postal Service to process ballots.

Let me ask you something. You ever get a bill late from the Postal Service? They handle lots of stuff, all the time. They can handle this, OK?

The question becomes, whether what some see as new delays, at the USPS, are attributable to Trump and the Postmaster General he appointed. In other words, is Trump creating a risk that he's actually making sure comes true?

[21:55:00] As a result, top Democrats are now calling for an investigation into Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, for making sweeping policy changes there.

In a letter to the Postal Service Inspector General, they say it's led to slower and less reliable mail, and " These changes threaten the well-being of millions of Americans that rely on the Postal Service for delivery of Social Security checks, prescriptions, and everyday mail of all kinds and they appear to pose a potential threat to mail- in ballots and the 2020 general election."

Senator Gary Peters is the Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee that's looking into this.

Welcome to PRIME TIME, Senator.

SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): Great to be with you, Chris, thank you.

CUOMO: What is the strength of your case at this point?

PETERS: Well, right now, it's an investigation. We want to look into what we are hearing.

Certainly, I'm hearing from constituents, across the State of Michigan that are saying, over the last few weeks, in particular, they have just seen the mail delivery delayed. They're waiting longer for very important mail. You mentioned some of that our letter.

We've got senior citizens who need drugs that are delivered via the mail, and are very concerned, because they're not getting them on time, as they always have. They get Social Security checks.

We have folks who get bills that need to be paid. And if they're not paid, there are penalties for doing that.

We're even hearing from the Veterans Administration that's concerned about how long it's taking for some of their drugs to get to the veterans for the service. It's just - it is unacceptable what we are seeing these last few weeks.

And now, it seems to be correlated, as you mentioned, to some policy changes brought about by the new Postmaster General, was appointed by President Trump. His main qualification for this job is that he is a large political donor for President Trump.

Now, he's in charge of the Postal Service and has put in policies that folks in the Post Office, the Letter Carriers, the Postal Workers, are saying to me, they've not seen the mail pile up like it's happening now.

It is because of changes like reducing over time dramatically, so when there is a surge of mail, they don't have the manpower to get it out.

We're also seeing some of the transportation trucks that move mail as it piles up, they'll send an extra truck out, because the Postal Service is always about "Get the mail out. Move it and continuously." CUOMO: Right.

PETERS: "Move it as quickly as possible."

And yet, you're seeing these slowdowns, including not using processing machines, as aggressively as they did before, and forcing folks to hand-sort mail.

So, of course, it's going to start slowing down. And this is critical for everyday business, and it's unacceptable. So, we need to get to the bottom of what exactly is happening here.

CUOMO: Postmaster General DeJoy said this today.

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LOUIS DEJOY, USPS POSTMASTER GENERAL: While I certainly have a good relationship with the President of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the President or anyone else in the Administration is wholly off-base.

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CUOMO: Do you believe that? And is there a better explanation than the one you are offering, inefficiencies that he asked for money and you didn't give it to them that this is just about making cuts in tough times.

PETERS: Well certainly the Postal Service has a real strain, as all businesses do, right now, with Coronavirus. That's why, in the CARES Act, we appropriated a $10 billion line of credit to help the Postal Service get through this.

Unfortunately, the Treasury Department has delayed the ability for the Postal Service to get that money.

And, quite frankly, to have him say that he had no part of this, we've had conflicting statements.

Initially, he responded to an oversight letter that I sent, which basically said "This is a local decision. It's not policy of the Postal Service." And in a letter, we just got Friday, they said, "Well yes, this is a policy that we've put forward."

But the questions that weren't answered and the questions that we asked were "Well did you actually study whether or not these changes would have any impact on the reliability of mail delivery or slow down the process? And what sort of oversight do you have to, if this isn't working, that you can immediately change to the types of standards that we saw previously?"

And they're silent. They're silent, which is why we need to get answers to these questions.

You mentioned vote by mail. If it's slowing down now, for everyday business, when you get a surge of ballots, as we just saw in Michigan, with record numbers of absentee ballots cast during our primary, then it's going to get even bigger in the general election.

We have to make sure we get this right. And the Postal Service has the capability to do that. The men and women, who work at the - in the Postal Office are an amazing folks, who work hard. They're committed people.

But if management decisions are being made to slow down the mail, impacting everyday citizens and their everyday business, as well as slowing down the voting process, that is simply unacceptable. And we have to make sure that we call it out.

CUOMO: And I know that you guys are also asking the Inspector General to review the couple's holdings, the DeJoy couple. You believe that they have between $30 million and $75 million in assets in USPS competitors or contractors, according to their financial disclosure forms. Concern?

PETERS: It is a concern. And the one reason why we're concerned is, I think, if you - if you look at the statements that President Trump has made, and the kinds of actions that we're seeing, we understand that he basically wants to privatize, I believe, he wants to privatize the Postal Service.