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Michelle Obama: Trump is 'Wrong President for Our Country'; UNC-Chapel Hill Halts in Person Classes after Virus Outbreak. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired August 18, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the age of a pandemic, an unusual Democratic National Convention now under way.

[05:59:53]

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You simply cannot fake your way through this job. Being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Biden will end the hate and division Trump has created.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just getting Americans to wear masks has been a hurdle in many places, including schools.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four COVID clusters uncovered at UNC, Chapel Hill.

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE COORDINATOR: I wish that when we went into lockdown, we looked like Italy. I mean, people weren't allowed out of their houses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, August 18, 6 a.m. here in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Which comes very quickly after a convention ends at 11:03.

CAMEROTA: That's exactly right. So, if you missed some of it, we're about to bring you the highlights.

Michelle Obama delivered this heartfelt dissection of President Trump -- his character, his record, and his fitness for the job -- saying he is the wrong president for the time -- for the country at this time.

She says he's clearly in over his head and incapable of leading through this pandemic. The former first lady warning, if you think things cannot get worse, they can.

On the first night of their convention, Democrats contrasted Joe Biden's empathy with the lack of it from Donald Trump. The virtual gathering featured speakers from across the political spectrum, from Republican Governor John Kasich to progressive star Bernie Sanders, who urged his supporters to back Biden, saying the future of democracy is at stake.

So, we'll preview tonight for you and bring you all of the highlights, including one of the most powerful moments from last night. There was this woman who lost her father, who was a big Trump supporter, and she lost him to coronavirus; and she blames President Trump for his death.

BERMAN: I think you were right, though. I think the Michelle Obama speech truly was the hallmark of the evening. And dissection, I think, is a terrific way of describing what went on there.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BERMAN: New this morning, a hugely important development in the discussion over whether, how, when to reopen schools. One of the largest universities in the country that had begun to hold in-person classes -- the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill -- has now reversed course. It is going entirely remote just a week after reopening. More than 130 students there have now tested positive. The student newspaper there calls it a clusterfork, but they didn't say "fork."

CAMEROTA: What did they say?

BERMAN: And UNC is not alone. Well -- new cases at Colorado College -- what about the clusterpluck there? What about the schools that have opened in Florida? Three districts have placed students in quarantine? What about the clusterfreak there? What does this say about schools' ability to open at all? Clusterfork may be the exact right way to describe it.

We're going to begin, though, with the Democratic National Convention, a convention really like no other we've ever seen. CNN's Jessica Dean is live in Wilmington, Delaware, where I don't think anyone spoke last night, which is notable, but Michelle Obama, who said famously four years ago, when they go low, we go high. Last night, she went high with an upper cut, Jessica.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, John. And to your point, this was not the convention anybody expected, even just a few months ago.

But last night, the Democrats unveiled a reimagined convention for the time of a pandemic here in this nation, and it was Michelle Obama who was leading the charge for change in the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: We have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. DEAN (voice-over): Former first lady Michelle Obama, wrapping up night

one of the Democratic National Convention with an impassioned plea to Americans.

OBAMA: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

DEAN: The former first lady pulled no punches.

OBAMA: Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

You know that I tell you exactly what I'm feeling. You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will, if we don't make a change in this election.

DEAN: A source tells CNN Obama practiced her speech for weeks. And while a speechwriter helped her draft the speech, she knew exactly what she wanted to say. Obama imploring Americans to think of the next generation.

OBAMA: They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo op. Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation.

[06:05:14]

DEAN: Another top speaker, Senator Bernie Sanders, Biden's staunchest opponent in the primaries, gave a full-throated endorsement, speaking out to his supporters.

SANDERS: Joe Biden will end the hate and division Trump has created. He will stop the demonization of immigrants, the coddling of white nationalists, the racist dog whistling, the religious bigotry.

To everyone who supported other candidates in the primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election, the future of our democracy is at stake.

DEAN: Four Republicans also endorsing Biden, including former Ohio Governor John Kasich.

JOHN KASICH (R), FORMER OHIO GOVERNOR: I'm a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country.

DEAN: President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic playing a big role throughout the evening. Kristin Urquiza spoke about losing herring 65-year-old father to the virus, saying he contracted the virus after visiting a karaoke bar once Arizona's lockdown was lifted, because he believed President Trump that it was safe. KRISTIN URQUIZA, FATHER DIED OF COVID-19: My dad was a healthy 65-

year-old. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.

DEAN: But in the end, it was Michelle Obama's speech laying out the stark choice all the night's speakers presented.

OBAMA: If we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history, and we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Michelle Obama speaking for almost 19 minutes last night. And when the whole program's two hours, that shows you just how important Democrats believe her message is and should be resonating with people.

Now, looking ahead to tonight, we're going to hear from a whole host of speakers yet again, including Jill Biden, wife of the presumptive Democratic nominee, as well as former President Bill Clinton. The Democrats also lining up 17, what they consider to be rising stars, to share the keynote address tonight.

Meantime, President Trump participating in some counterprogramming of sorts. He'll be traveling to Iowa and Arizona, John.

BERMAN: All right, Jessica Dean for us in Wilmington, Delaware. Jessica, thanks so much.

Lest there be any mystery what Michelle Obama was going for when she said, "It is what it is," I want to play the moment she's talking about. It's when President Trump in an interview a few weeks ago diminished the 1,000 Americans dying every day. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN SWAN, AXIOS REPORTER: A thousand Americans are dying a day.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; They are dying, that's true, and you have -- it is what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It is what it is. That is what Michelle Obama was going for there.

Joining us now, CNN political correspondent M.J. Lee; and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Paul Begala. He's the author of the new book, "You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump."

You both watched this with clinician's eyes, right? Alisyn said that Michelle Obama dissected President Trump there. So Paul, first to you. Who exactly was the target of her speech, and how would you assess how it landed? PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, a convention should do

two things. It should excite the base, and it should reassure swing voters. So, usually that takes two speakers, right? Bernie Sanders excited the base last night. John Kasich reached out to swing voters.

Mrs. Obama did both. It was absolutely masterful. And keep this in mind. I've covered a million of these conventions -- well, I've participated in nine of them and written hundreds of speeches for these conventions. You have an audience in that hall -- you have 17,000 people screaming and cheering your name and lifting you, giving you that emotion. Michelle Obama did that entire speech alone in a room to a camera. It was the most brilliant, I think, political performance to camera that we've seen since Ronald Reagan, and she's not even a politician.

Four years ago I said this, and I got in trouble with the former president, but Barack Obama's one of the greatest orators in America, and he's only the second best speaker in his own house! I mean, she's phenomenal.

CAMEROTA: And she didn't pull any punches, M.J. I mean, she just -- she went there. She talked about President Trump's character. She talked about the effect that she thinks his lack of empathy has had on the pandemic, and on the country, and on Charlottesville; and how lack of empathy can get ginned up to enflame hatreds. I mean, she just -- she covered every base. She even went as practical as how people should vote in November, you know? She laid it out.

[06:10:02]

BERMAN: Also, the necklace. The necklace literally said, "Vote."

CAMEROTA: It said "Vote."

BERMAN: There's no subtlety there.

CAMEROTA: Which people have now -- are clamoring for this morning, of course.

BERMAN: I know I am.

CAMEROTA: So she -- she covered a lot of bases there.

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: she did. And you know, guys, I think when a lot of people across the country think about Michelle Obama, the public figure, many people think back on the first lady and how she was in the White House.

And often, people think about, you know, the face of the Let's Move campaign, somebody who was quick to break out into dance, spent a lot of time with children and students, being very active in sort of an upbeat way.

And I think that's part of why last night, hearing her deliver such a starkly dark message was incredibly jarring and powerful. You know, this is not the kind of tone that we have ever heard from Michelle Obama.

And as we have been talking about the historical context, for the former first lady of the United States to speak about the current sitting president who is currently in the White House in this way, was incredibly unusual and particularly coming from somebody who said herself last night, she is not somebody who likes getting into politics. She said, "I don't like politics."

But as Paul said, this will emerge as one of the most iconic and memorable speeches, political speeches, that we have heard in a generation.

And look, the way that she went after Donald Trump, it was not just on, you know, actions that he has taken on the policy front that she might disagree with. She really went after his character and being worried about sort of the moral lack of clarity that he has been showing from the White House, according to her.

And I think that was incredibly jarring, because again, this is not the kind of tone that we are used to hearing from Michelle Obama. You could just -- even though this was a pre-taped message -- you know, she was not on a stage, this was not a live speech -- you could really tell that her concerns and her sort of exasperation, and frustration, and concern really came through in that speech.

BERMAN: You know, it had a Howard Beale character to it -- I'm sick and tired, and I'm not going to take it anymore. It had that character, even though there was no one else in the room, and even though she wasn't shouting like Howard Beale. You could see the words coming out of her almost as a scream.

Paul, Tim Alberta, who is a wonderful writer whom I think we both love, noted that two constituencies that Democrats need to get here are African-American voters in greater numbers than they did in 2016, and suburban white voters in greater numbers than they ever have before. And Tim thought that both of those constituencies were correctly targeted by Michelle Obama last night. What do you think?

BEGALA: I think so. I think that that's part of what made this so remarkable. This was a holistic case.

And what Democrats need are web issues that stitch together their core of their base and the voters that they need, the base and the swing. Mrs. Obama did that with the self-same message.

I mean, she sounded at turns like the chairman of the board of a corporation firing the CEO, saying you know, you're just not the guy we need. And she sounded like the mom that she is, reminding us how to vote, telling us to pack a lunch, pack a dinner, pack a breakfast. I mean, I just can't say enough about how masterful this was.

And I think Alisyn said it right: it was a dissection. She just carved this guy up without bringing herself down, without debasing herself or the audience. You know, she famously said, right, when they go low, we go high; and that still -- she still maintained that sense of elegance and decency while carving up the other guy. Brilliant. CAMEROTA: M.J., what about the effect of having Republicans up on the

stage, you know, John Kasich, Meg Whitman, Susan Molinari? What -- how effective do you think that was? How hard was it to lasso some Republicans to come to the DNC?

LEE: You know, we had every expectation heading into last night. You know, the theme of the evening was "We, The People." We know that the Democratic Party wants to use this week to feature sort of the diversity that they feel like is key to them winning November.

We saw that in terms of the racial diversity that we saw on screen. But so much of last night was about political diversity and reassuring people, you know, if you voted for Donald Trump in 2016, or if you are not a traditional Democratic voter, perhaps you have never voted for a Democrat in the past, it is OK if you are currently thinking about voting for Joe Biden come November.

You know, whether it is the man who said he had never voted for a Democrat in the past, but he's planning on voting for Joe Biden, a Democrat, for the first time; or the woman who told the scathing story about her father's death. Her father died because of COVID-19, and she said that he -- he had been a Trump supporter and that his only pre- existing condition was supporting and trusting Donald Trump, and that he paid for it with his life.

[06:15:04]

You know, these are all stories and testimonials, including, as you said, from Republican elected officials, all testimonials meant to signal to people who, again, in a normal election, in normal times, may not be inclined to vote for a Democrat; letting them know, if that is the way that you are inclined right now and the way that you are leaning right now, that is OK. Come with all of us, because we are all there with you.

BERMAN: That woman, the daughter who lost her father, Kristin Urquiza. Let's play that moment one more time.

No?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URQUIZA: The coronavirus has made it clear that there are two Americas -- the America that Donald Trump lives in and the America that my father died in.

One of the last things that my father said to me was that he felt betrayed by the likes of Donald Trump. And so, when I cast my vote for Joe Biden, I will do it for my dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Paul, how did that land?

BEGALA: Oh, my gosh, what a heartbreak. First, your heart does break for Kristin Urquiza and her family. She pointed out, her dad was 65, which is not all that old, and had no pre-existing conditions, except he trusted Donald Trump.

It is simply -- it's simply true that there are 170,000 Americans dead from this pandemic. They didn't all have to die. If we'd had better -- we're the richest country in the world, we're the smartest, we have the best medical care, we have the best biomedical research, we have the best public health infrastructure, and yet, we have the worst situations.

It is so telling that here I went and cited statistics. Ms. Urquiza's story and her dad's are going to be much more powerful than any statistic that you can cite. You know, facts tell, but stories sell. And this poor young woman with a broken heart who lost her dad, that story is repeated 170,000 times. That's on Donald Trump and his record.

BERMAN: She will be joining us later in the broadcast. We'll hear from her directly about what motivated her to speak to the country like that.

Paul Begala, M.J. Lee, thanks very much.

Coming up, we're also going to speak to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He speaks tonight. And Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who you heard last night.

So, a huge development in schools trying to go back to school. A huge university, which opened just last week for in-person classes, has had to reverse course. The student newspaper there calls it a clusterfork, right, but doesn't say "fork." We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:50]

BERMAN: A major reversal at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. A coronavirus outbreak at the school there is forcing it to go to remote learning completely, a week after starting in-person classes. The school newspaper calls it a clusterfork but doesn't say "fork," and they put the word in print.

CNN's Rosa Flores is live in Miami. And obviously, Florida having issues of its own. It's a national clusterfork when it comes to reopening schools, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, it really is. If you look at the death toll here in the state of Florida, it's nearing 10,000. If you look at the death toll across the country, it exceeds 170,000.

Now, despite the fact that positivity rates across the country are still high, schools and universities are deciding to reopen for face- to-face instruction, only to come face-to-face with the pandemic.

Take UNC-Chapel Hill, for example. Officials there had to abruptly stop in-person instruction after 130 students tested positive for COVID-19. The positivity rate there in a week went from 2.8 percent to 13.6 percent.

But it's not just UNC-Chapel Hill. There are clusters reported at OSU, at the University of Oklahoma, and at Colorado College, we know that 155 students are now in quarantine.

Here in the state of Florida where I am, bars are still not open, but another 13 school districts will be reopening this week, bringing the total of school districts that are reopen for in-person instruction to 26.

We know that there are issues in at least three school districts across this state, with these school districts having to quarantine at least 260 students. This as the state of Florida reports that its death toll has nearly doubled in just a month.

Look, if you look at the number of daily cases here in the state of Florida, yes, they have dropped dramatically, but you and I know what happens when officials take a victory lap a little too early. The positivity rate in this state is still high. It's been between 11 percent and 16 percent in the past two weeks.

And John and Alisyn, we know that top officials here in America, top experts recommend that that positivity rate be 5 percent or lower for schools to reopen -- John and Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes. That math hasn't always applied in some places. Rosa, thank you very much.

Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He's the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

So, Doctor, I just want to read a portion from "The Daily Tarheel," which is the University of North Carolina's student newspaper, because they are incensed at what has just happened at their school. And I am so nervous, because John keeps almost saying the word "cluster-blank," and one of us is going to have to apologize before the end of this show is over, I'm quite sure.

BERMAN: I apologize for nothing. Clusterfork.

CAMEROTA: Oh, boy. Here's what they say, Doctor. "University leadership should have expected students, many of whom are now living on their own for the first time, to be reckless. Reports of parties throughout the weekend come as no surprise. Though these students are not faultless, it was the university's responsibility to disincentivize such gatherings by reconsidering its plans to operate in-person earlier on. The administration continues to prove they have no shame, and the bar for basic decency keeps getting lower."

[06:25:14]

Wow. Does it come as a surprise to you that they had to close after one week?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, of course, Alisyn, this was both predicted and predictable, right? I mean, we've been talking all summer how not only is the United States the epicenter of the global pandemic in terms of number of new cases every day and number of deaths every day, but also, the southeastern United States, including the Carolinas, as one of the major areas, is the epicenter of the epicenter.

And so, now everybody's surprised when students start getting sick when you open up the university of North Carolina. Of course, this was going to happen, and it's going to happen in any university and college that opens up in the southern United States, going from Texas to Florida and then up into Mississippi and North Carolina. We know this is what's going to happen.

And again, it all comes back to leadership at the White House, that they were unwilling to implement that national program to get the whole country into containment mode, especially the southern United States.

So they want -- they want everything. They don't want to do the hard work to bring the country back down to containment, especially the southern United States. And then they want to open up schools and colleges and have college football.

And it was -- it was guaranteed to fail from the very beginning. Anyone who has taken an epidemiology course could have figured this one out.

I want to have you reiterate what you just said. I mean, the reason I keep using the phrase clusterfork isn't just because it makes you uncomfortable -- which it does -- but it's because that's what the country is. The country is a giant clusterfork when it comes to reopening schools.

They're saying, just do it, without definitive plans. And so, it's not surprising when something like this happens, Professor. I want to know, is any school going to be able to reopen? Is any school going to be able to reopen and stay reopened? If UNC couldn't do it -- they saw this coming a million miles away, so what does this mean for every other school?

HOTEZ: So, there are some states in the country -- not a lot of them -- there are some states that have done the hard work to really bring this epidemic into what I call containment mode, defined by some as one new case per 100,000 residents per day or case positivity rate on testing less than 1 percent, not 5 percent. I think at least, you know, 1 percent or lower. Up in New Hampshire and Connecticut and Vermont, some of the states along the Canadian border, Michigan, Minnesota, maybe Wyoming.

So there are a few states that have done that hard work or just by circumstance have not had a serious epidemic. And maybe, yes, they can can potentially open.

But you look across the southern U.S., which has been the epicenter of the epicenter, and it's -- it's not going to be possible. And you know, I'm dealing now with school districts across the southern United States, especially in Texas, especially around the Houston area. And the teachers are working so diligently, putting plexiglass

everywhere, really you know, counting by steps the space in between desks. The principals, the superintendents are all staying after hours trying to make all of this work.

And -- and what I tell them breaks their heart. I say, you know what? If you had -- if you do this in New Hampshire and Maine and some of the New England states and some of the northern states, you'll be able to get away with this, I think, but not -- not here in Texas, not until you bring down community transmission.

And this is what it all comes down to, the lack of federal leadership to lead that response. And -- and we're setting up our teachers to fail over and over again at the -- all the way from K-12 and college professors and everyone else at the university.

CAMEROTA: Hmm. Speaking of national leadership, I just want to play you something that Dr. Birx of the coronavirus task force said yesterday, which was notable, because we've all been looking for models of how we should have done better in the United States. And she talked about a place that could have been a model for us. So, here's Dr. Birx.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIRX: I wish that when we went into lockdown, we looked like Italy. But when Italy locked down, I mean, people weren't allowed out of their houses.

Americans don't react well to that kind of prohibition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I think she makes a good point. I mean, basically, she was saying -- and I'm just paraphrasing -- that that's not the American style, to just go into a lockdown and stay inside your house for months. And she said, you have to meet people where they are. And that's what I think she tried to do, but obviously, it hasn't worked.

HOTEZ: Yes. And I sort of bristled at that last part, because you know, the implication is that there's something inherent in the American character that made it possible [SIC] to control this epidemic. And I disagree with that.

If you had had the leadership at the level of the White House, giving directives to the governors and the states, saying, Look, this is what we have to do to save lives.

END