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Nearly 100,000 Children Diagnosed with Coronavirus in Last Two Weeks of July; Schools Struggling to Reopen Amid Continuing Coronavirus Pandemic; Looting Takes Place in Chicago. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 10, 2020 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: A backlash for the president now has him backtracking a bit on the idea of forcing states to help pay unemployment benefits which he had proposed over the weekend. The president tried to circumvent Congress with executive actions the Democrats and even some Republicans are calling legally questionable and a case of executive overreach.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now, Dr. Ashish Jha. He's the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Dr. Jha, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Five million cases, a million more in the last 17 days, 100,000 children diagnosed in the last two weeks of July. What do these numbers tell you this morning?

DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Good morning, and thank you for having me on. What they tell me is that the pandemic rages in the United States, that we remain the global hot spot. While we have somewhat again flattened things in the last couple of weeks, we're still generating 50,000 to 70,000 new cases a day, 1,000 Americans are dying every day. This is all wholly preventable, and my only plea to my fellow Americans is we have to not become immune to this level of suffering, and we have to take more action.

HILL: I think that's such a great point, that we can't become immune to the level of suffering, that we can't become immune to the numbers, because at some point that's easy to do, and we know there's fatigue out there. It's been out there for weeks if not months. People are tired of having to go through some of these measures. But the reality is, Dr. Jha, if we don't continue with them, it will become far worse. That's the potential.

JHA: It is absolutely, and especially as we head into the fall months, and people are going to be spending more time indoors, the flu season will arrive. I had a chance to talk to Dr. Fauci on Friday, and he said that if we do the basic public health measures that we've been talking about we can go into the fall in pretty good shape. Alternatively, we can continue to ignore a lot of them, and we can have a really awful fall and winter. And obviously we all know which one we'd prefer, but we do have to act.

BERMAN: You want a case study in this? Let's go to Georgia. Let's go to the North Paulding school district in Georgia, the high school there where a student last week put out this picture of the hallways, a crowded hallway where you can see people clearly not social distancing, a lot of the students there not wearing masks. And the thing is that masks were not required in that school. There was no mask order in that school. Social distancing, by the way, the school said social distancing would not be possible in some cases. So when you're talking about doing things the wrong way, this may be a case study in that. And this morning, Dr. Jha, we're learning that six students and three staff members there have tested positive for coronavirus. So what does that tell you?

JHA: Yes, so what it tells me is that if we just sort of act irresponsibly, if we just act like the virus isn't there and we go for it and try to tough it out, it won't work. You can't tough it out with this virus, right. So Georgia is in no shape to open its public schools in most of the state. Their virus levels are too high. And then the idea that you would possibly do this without getting kids to wear a mask. And the issues around crowded hallways at the time of class transitions, stagger class transitions. It's not that hard. It just feels like we're not even trying, and we're just going for it as though life were normal. It's not normal. We're in a pandemic and people have to act responsibly.

HILL: David Gregory is also with us. It's not normal, and it's not normal to ignore the reality of what is happening, but that is what we are seeing consistently from the president, David. We saw these executive actions over the weekend, but they are not addressing the virus itself, which is what has us in this position. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at this point because this is what the messaging has been. That being said, when we look at the number this is morning, David, how can that continue to be the message if we're ever going to get past this?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, and the immediate problem that's dealt with there is that you've got this paralysis in Washington now about how to continue to help people who are going through this. So separate from the response, which has been failing and faltering and inconsistent, now getting help to people who need it is not happening, and not going to happen through these executive actions. You've heard in one small example whether states are in position to offer more immediate relief, checks to people, whether they can do it out of their own coffers because of their own depleted funds where they would have to take it from some kind of emergency response fund. It's totally unclear, and of course, the president doesn't have the power of the purse. That's Congress, which is why a broader deal is actually necessary.

And just to piggyback on the point about schools, our kids are getting ready to go back to school, so many of them going back remotely, and those that aren't, and when we have examples like Georgia, it really sets everything back, because I agree, there has to be a big effort about how to get kids back to school safely, and schools have to find a way to get to yes. It's so important that kids don't have nothing to look forward to. We're having so much lost time and we have to put more resources and more effort into how to do it safely.

[08:05:10]

BERMAN: But David, I know that you are keenly interested and passionate about schools finding a way to get to yes. But let's just put the picture up. I don't know that you can see it on your monitor now, but I know you have seen it, the picture of the crowded hallways in the Paulding high school system where there was no mask order in place, where they didn't say that social distancing was a requirement there. So something like this, a picture like this I know you find very frustrating.

GREGORY: Very frustrating, and just stupid. I mean, that's not -- what have you been doing all summer? This is my real problem with so much of our response as citizens, which is just do the right thing. Do the thing that we know we're supposed to do. And schools, I have done this work on certain independent schools that happen to be boarding schools, where they're putting measures in place that's easier at a boarding school than at a day school, easier at independent private school than it would be at a public school, but many of the schools are following each other.

We should remember, though, a lot of the alarm bells are among teachers who don't want to go into these environments. There are schools who put together good staggered plans about how to reduce the number of students who are there, that they might only be there a couple of days a week. We ought to be giving more of an opportunity for that to happen, particularly in areas where the infection rate is lower. And again, I think there's a lot of fear that pervades these school districts, public school districts that extends into all schools, where they're saying, hey, let's just hold on and wait to see what happens.

HILL: It's interesting what you say. I spoke with a teacher over the weekend from Gwinnett County, which is the largest school district in the state of Georgia. She recently resigned because her request to work from home, which she said was initially offered, that request wasn't granted. But one of the things that she said to me, Dr. Jha, is she really sees that this entire process for bringing kids back to school, and staff back to school, has been completely politicized in her view. Not just in her county, she can speak to that best, but in other areas as well. And I think what we're seeing out of North Paulding also really speaks that that. We learn that Hannah Watters, who put this picture out, has now said she's getting threats because she put this picture out.

JHA: It's shocking to me that we have -- our political leaders have decided to politicize our kids' lives and well-being. That's what the governor is doing, that's what a lot of federal leaders are doing. It is stunning the kind of, in my mind, the lack of any sense of moral compass here.

Look, we all desperately need our kids to get back to school. We all need to get back to school safely. That's not debated. And instead of working hard to do that, we are punishing kids who are putting up pictures that things are unsafe. We're putting them at risk, and we just don't seem to want to seem to do the hard work. There is a science here. We can get kids back in safely, I believe we can. I think the science is pretty clear that we can. Lots of other countries have. But they haven't done it willy-nilly. They've actually done it by putting in the work that is necessary. Why America can't do that is baffling to me and really disappointing in terms of our political leaders.

BERMAN: Dr. Jha -- one second, David, just one second. I just want to get, Doctor, the medical take on the 97,000 children testing positive the last two weeks of July. What does that tell you?

JHA: It just is a reminder that kids are not immune, right. And we know that they're less likely to get sick, but they're not immune from this disease. And so when politicians say kids are essentially immune, no they're not. They do get infected. The good news is they don't get as sick as adults. And to me, it's just a reminder that we have to do this carefully and thoughtfully as opposed to saying kids are immune, let's get everybody back in. It's not going to work.

BERMAN: Sorry, David, go ahead.

GREGORY: I just think the politics, Dr. Jha, is also working the other way. There's school districts, school heads, county officials who are playing politics, too, who say, well, Trump wants to us get back into school. We're not going. And that's to your point what's so unfortunate about how politicized this has become. We see it on both ends, and what's getting sacrificed are good practices to get kids back into schools safely, and for teachers to be there safely.

And it's difficult for teachers as well, because if they have kids who are no longer going to be in school or are going to be working remotely, then how are they supposed to come to work and school? It shouldn't be done at the last minute, push it through, and now we get set back. Every time we have a case like this in Georgia, we get set back because other teachers, other schools, so many of them follow each other, say oh no, we can't do this now.

BERMAN: David Gregory, Dr. Jha, again, thank you so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate your time.

JHA: Thank you.

BERMAN: Erica?

[08:10:00]

HILL: Breaking overnight, a heavy police presence on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago this morning after looters vandalized businesses overnight. Police are now swarming that area. We have learned shots have been fired. CNN's Polo Sandoval is live in Chicago right now with those breaking details. What led to all of this, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, on what should be a busy Monday morning, instead a very eerie feeling in downtown Chicago. All you can see and hear, really the iconic draw bridges that were lifted and the bells coming from those bridges, authorities specifically closing those to try to contain this outbreak of violence we saw play out. And then what you see all throughout parts of downtown Chicago are

these scenes. In this case this is an Apple store right in front of the Chicago river, you can see the glass was shattered here and looters making their way in just a couple of hours ago, and all you can hear is a store alarm that remains here. Police not having a chance to actually even make it here yet.

So what we saw was shortly after midnight, we saw these large groups of people basically go across parts of downtown Chicago, many storefronts, many stores were vandalized. There was even a point where there was a confrontation between police and looters. Shots were fired. We do know that police were not injured. But according to police investigators, those police were responding to a looting incident and then were shot at. They then returned fire. Right now, it's unclear if anybody was actually injured there.

But the big question here, what's behind this? To answer that you really have to look back at what we saw play out not only in this city but really across large American cities in outbreaks of violence in response to recent police shootings. Does that apply here? We know that there was a shooting incident in Chicago over the weekend, a police-involved shooting incident, but we won't hear from police for another hour or so, and that, Erica, is when we may get a little bit more clarity. But for now, it is relatively contained. But I can tell you, Erica, a lot of people who work and live in the downtown Chicago area are basically turning to those work from home plans, again, because getting into downtown Chicago is certainly not very easy right now.

HILL: Polo, continue to keep us updated. We'll stay on top of it. Thank you so much.

Former Vice President Joe Biden could be now just days away from announcing the woman he has chosen to be his running mate. So who is on the short list? We discuss next.

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[08:15:51]

HILL: We are now just 85 days away from Election Day, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden expected to announce his running mate this week. So we know it's going to be a woman, but will it be a woman of color?

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Angela Rye, former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and CNN political commentator, Paul Begala who is the author of a new book, "You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump," which obviously is something that Joe Biden would like to do.

As we look at this, Angela, I think that is a really important question, and you know, John, you brought this up earlier this morning. We know it's a woman. Does Joe Biden need to pick a woman of color, and if he doesn't, will there be a lot of backlash? ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So yes, I think absolutely,

right? Here we are in the 11th hour, the vice presidential selection is yet to be made, and Joe Biden came in to this process on the backs of black women and what I'm hearing from several colleagues, from women on the street, not that I'm walking up to them, you know we're social distancing right now and in quarantine, right?

But I'm saying everyday women are being super clear and it is not just coming from black women. This is an obvious choice. It is an obvious debt that must be paid. So if Joe Biden's campaign was dead, black women resurrected it and the only way to pay black women back and ensure that he can win, that he can get the number of votes he needs to beat Donald Trump, he needs to have a black woman.

So it's not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation. At this point from us, it's a demand and a requirement.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Paul?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's a matter of fact that what Angela said is right that Joe Biden isn't Democratic Party nominee because of African-Americans and particularly African-American women.

Now, having said that, the pick will matter a lot this week or the week he chooses. It will matter a lot for a couple of days around the vice presidential debate.

But when it will matter is 24/7/365 when Joe Biden becomes President. So he is going to have to make a governing choice. The good news is, he has terrific women on his list, any one of whom I'd be very comfortable with seeing on the ticket seeing in the White House.

So I think he is going to go with the governing choice. That may very well lead him to a woman of color, as Angela suggests, because some of these -- all of these women on this list are just phenomenal. They are remarkable.

RYE: Paul, can I just -- I'm sorry.

BERMAN: I'm sorry, Angela. Go ahead.

RYE: I'm sorry. Really quick, just to clarify, I specifically said a black woman, so not even a woman of color, it's a black woman, and I just want to double down on that, because I think it's super important.

One mistake we could easily make is focusing on what Joe Biden needs to govern. He actually needs to win and I can't think of a time where a vice presidential selection is more consequential than in 2020. Joe Biden kind of eked across the finish line, and the reality of it is he really needs someone folks are excited about.

BEGALA: Well, Angela, he won 45 primaries and caucuses. He got 17,660,000 Democrats vote for him.

RYE: Yes.

BEGALA: Largely you're right because the power of the African- American community and African-American women, but you can't say he limped across.

RYE: Eked across the finish line. No, yes, Paul and you know I agree with you so often.

BEGALA: He won in a landslide.

RYE: I think -- and I appreciate your landslide. It was a default landslide though, right? We got to a point in several of the primaries there was no other contender left and I can say for me personally as a Washington state voter, I know why I voted for Joe Biden in the primary, right.

So I just -- I want to make sure that we're super clear about the fact that there weren't a whole lot of choices once we got to the other side of South Carolina.

So for those of us who came in after that voting for Joe Biden, if we did, it was because there was no other choice, so I think that's a default.

BERMAN: Paul, what message would it send if he did not pick an African-American woman as Angela specifically is calling for?

BEGALA: I want him to pick the person he is most comfortable governing with. I can't see into his soul and feel with him who will be that person, right?

He went through this with Barack Obama. President Obama, then Senator Obama chose Joe Biden because he wanted a governing partner. That is why he made that choice, and I just -- I think -- I can't see into Biden's thinking here, no one can. That's who he is going to pick and that's who he should pick and it very well may lead to a black woman, as Angela said.

[08:20:20]

BEGALA: Again, folks on this list are remarkable and phenomenal. I think it's going to be whoever he picks, I think the party is going to rally around her right away.

HILL: Angela, there's been a lot of talk about that gut check, right, that Joe Biden has with this choice, not just because he held the job, but to Paul's point because he really wants this to be someone with whom he can have a similar relationship that he had with President Obama.

But the reality is that relationship developed over time.

RYE: That's right.

HILL: So it can't be the only part of it. If you're looking at this, let's look at -- you're saying it has to be a black woman. So, if we are looking at the black women who are sort of at the top of the list from what we understand at this point, Angela, who is the best person?

RYE: Yes, I think the reality of where we are is that based on excitement, based on name recognition, based on leadership, based on ability to win statewide, the number one pick for him if he is just looking at numbers is Senator Kamala Harris. I think that is the reality of this.

There are also, to Paul's point, several women who are still in contention because we have no clarity in the process at this point, who are amazing, right, and I think that it is a difficult thing for me to have to say on air, because I know many of these women, I'm close to them, I respect them, but I think that's the truth.

And so this isn't just about who makes Joe Biden feel warm and fuzzy. This is about who else can help him win. I think that that is the truth and as uncomfortable as that might be, this is not a similar scenario to 2008 in part because Joe Biden is no Barack Obama.

It's not going to be the same historic win if it's just Joe Biden at the top of the ticket, and I think that one of the things that Democratic Party insiders, favorites, pollsters have to be honest with the Vice President about is who he is, why this is so challenging, the record that he has, the one that's willing to both acknowledge, but not atone for, he has to ensure that he is closing some of those gaps with women who have a record, who will stand on that and who can ensure that they kind of cover up those holes that he has.

BERMAN: You guys are being very nice to each other, but you don't agree on this.

RYE: Not at all.

BEGALA: That's okay. I still love Angela. I think she's brilliant.

RYE: Yes, I love Paul.

BERMAN: Kamala Harris, would she be a good pick, Paul Begala?

BEGALA: She would be an outstanding pick. She would be a phenomenal pick, and let me say, it is noted by this old white guy that black women particularly have been attacked in this process.

RYEL Yes, Paul.

BEGALA: Right? Kamala Harris was -- she was insulted, oh she's ambitious. Are you kidding? Have you met Dick Cheney? Machiavelli said that Dick Cheney was too manipulative, and Kamala was too ambitious? Or Karen Bass, the Congresswoman from Los Angeles being considered for this. Oh, she spoke at an opening of a Scientology Church in her district. Oh, really? That's a problem? Like she went to a church and she didn't teargas anybody, right?

Or Susan Rice, who is an old pal of mine. Susan and I go way, way back. Oh, well, Benghazi, there were nine investigations, nine -- nine. Every one of them said Susan did absolutely nothing wrong and did everything right. So it has been noted that the knives have been out especially for the

black women in this process and that has really angered me.

BERMAN: Can I just ask one quick question because I'm interested in both of your takes and this too, and this is changing the subject slightly. But night one of the convention, we have learned that the speakers will be Michelle Obama, whom I think you can both agree on, but also Bernie Sanders and former Republican Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, our CNN colleague.

Angela, I'm curious, how excited are you to hear from John Kasich on night one of the convention?

RYE: Well, first, I just want to -- since we're talking Republicans, let me acknowledge really quickly, Paul, of course I'm taking one more exception and that is to the Dick Cheney comparison to Kamala Harris. I highly doubt Dick Cheney would be a cosponsor in someone who led on the Justice and Policing Act or anything else that she's done in the city or anything else she's done in her life.

BEGALA: No, I'm not comparing. I'm just saying that every Vice President is ambitious and they should be.

RYE: Yes, so was Joe Biden. He ran against Barack Obama before he was chosen.

BEGALA: Yes. Hundred percent.

RYE: So, I would have probably gone with someone at least in the same party.

On the night of the convention, speaking of Republicans, I don't really need to hear from John Kasich. In fact, he is on these air waves quite a bit, so I can see him on CNN. I don't need to see him at the Democratic National Convention.

I do think it is great that they're bringing so many party favorites from different wings of the party together to speak. John Kasich, I mean, welcome to the party, I guess. I don't know.

BEGALA: We have to be a big tent. Can you imagine? You're going to have both Michelle Obama, who -- pay your cable bill, you're going to want to see her more than anybody, but then with Bernie Sanders and John Kasich on the same stage, on the same night? That is remarkable.

It's a sign -- you know, this is what's hard about being a Democrat. It's why Joe Biden's choice here is going to be difficult. You have to hold together a broad, diverse, multiethnic, multi-religious, multi- cultural, multi-generational multi-gender party. Guess what? It's very good training for holding together the United States of America.

RYE: Yes.

[08:25:17]

BEGALA: Now, I remember when Barack Obama had Jim Leach, a Republican congressman from Iowa would speak, oh my gosh, I was so angry. I was so angry.

But you know, it turned out -- it worked out that Obama was reaching out to Republicans. I think it's wise that Biden is reaching out to Republicans, so I say welcome, John Kasich.

RYE: His was nicer.

BERMAN: Angela Rye and Paul Begala, thanks to you both. Paul Begala, I am going to say the name Zell Miller, just going to throw it out there. Just to have you shake your head.

BEGALA: I loved him. Oh, my god, I love Zell.

BERMAN: Thanks for being with us, both of you. I appreciate it. Thanks -- Erica.

HILL: Well, the biggest college sports conferences are discussing whether to cancel football this fall. A doctor from one of the nation's biggest football programs tells us about the safety concerns, next.

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