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Gulf Coast Braces for Hit from 2 Major Storms; Republican Convention to Kick Off with Roll Call Vote; Kellyanne Conway Leaving the White House to Focus on Family; Two Dozen Former GOP Congressional Members Back Biden; Trump's Sister Says He Has 'No Principles' in Secret Recordings. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 24, 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 FEMALE: A one-two punch. The Gulf Coast bracing for two storms.

[05:59:10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By themselves, each storm would be considered manageable. But combine their impacts, and no one's really sure what to expect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is possible that there could be some spots measuring rainfall in 1 to 2 feet instead of in just inches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The delegates from across the country will formally cast their ballots for Donald Trump and Mike Pence to be the ticket for the Republican Party.

JARED KUSHNER, DONALD TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW AND WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Unlike the Democrats last week, where there was a lot of complaints, they didn't offer much by way of policies or solutions, President Trump will be laying out real policies, real visions, real solutions.

(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 Monday, August 24, 6 a.m. here in New York.

And we're just hours away from the kickoff of the Republican National Convention. President Trump scheduled to be front and center throughout the entire event. This morning, we have new details for you about who will be speaking and what to expect over the next four days.

And on the eve of the convention, President Trump announcing that the FDA has given emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat coronavirus. But some experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, expressing concern. They say it has not been adequately tested, so we'll break down the latest research and bring you the facts. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. A major political development

overnight. One of the president's top advisers, Kellyanne Conway, one of the few left from the beginning of the administration, is stepping down. And her husband, George Conway, a fierce Trump critic, is going offline, as well. We will tell you what we have learned about this, just ahead.

And we have breaking news this morning. Two dangerous storms taking aim at the Gulf Coast. Meteorologists say these back-to-back storms have not hit the area in decades. The combination of torrential rain and storm surge means the Louisiana coast could see major flooding. So let's begin our coverage there.

CNN's Martin Savidge live in New Orleans. And this one-two punch, Martin, not what New Orleans wants.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it really has people concerned here. Good morning to you, John.

You know, Louisiana has been through a lot of storms, of course, in its history, but it's never seen the kind of storm that is shaping up here, because it is storms here we're talking about.

You've got Marco, the first that's expected to strike. It's going to be a rainmaker. It's never the wind you worry about in the city of New Orleans. It's always the water. And the water could be a real factor here.

And then on top of that, maybe just 24, 48 hours later, then you have what is expected to be hurricane Laura coming ashore. It is the combination of those two storms and the lack of time in between that has the officials worried.

There are mandatory evacuations that have been ordered in areas outside of the flood protection system. There's no evacuation order for the city of New Orleans, however, many businesses are closed, schools are closed. They have been doing all they can to clear out the catch basins and prepare for what they know will be the street flooding and the flash flooding. That's always their real concern here.

But as time moves on, once the first storm goes away, is there enough time for the water to drain off before the next storm comes in? The governor warning, where you were last night is where you should be for the next 72 hours. He's worried that if there is a major flood in the first storm, there won't be enough time to try to rescue people before the next storm comes rolling in -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Martin, please keep us posted as to what you're seeing on the streets there. Let's get the forecast right away, find out where these storms are and where they're headed? CNN meteorologist Chad Myers tracking it all for us. What are you seeing?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: John, I'm seeing a storm that got tore up overnight, and that's the good news. It's not a hurricane anymore, and even the hurricane warnings and watches are all dropped for the Gulf Coast.

But it could be that rainmaker that Marty was talking about, a slow- moving, lumbering storm. Even if it's only 35 or 40 miles per hour with wind, it could still rain and rain and rain for hours and hours. There's the storm, there's the rain. It's not even showing up on radar, where the storm actually is. Very few clouds around the storm.

It does go to the left. It skirts the coast or very close to the coast, in the bayou, which has a lot of water in it already, as a 35- mile-per-hour storm.

The bigger event here is going to be Laura. This is a storm that refused to die over Hispaniola, refused to die over the mountains of Cuba. It is still going. It is still strong and getting stronger: 65 miles per hour.

And this is a storm where you have to watch the cone. Because the models have been horrible. Left and right, and left and right, and back and forth, and Cat 4 and Cat 1 and tropical storm. All the same models doing everything, 12 hours differently. Thinking this storm is going to be two completely different storms.

So watch the model that is 105 miles per hour, forecast from the hurricane center. Remember, that's still plus or minus 10 percent. So this still could be a major hurricane. Somewhere between Louisiana and Texas. That's the cone for right now.

And then eventually, it moves on up toward, into the Mississippi River Valley and then the Ohio River Valley, and then to the east of there and away.

One-two punch. We're watching Laura, but we're also watching the rain from Marco -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: If anyone can figure out the competing, confusing models, Chad, it's you. So thank you.

MYERS: Do my best.

CAMEROTA: We will check back with you.

MYERS: All right.

CAMEROTA: In just a few hours, the Republican National Convention kicks off with a roll call vote. President Trump plans to buck tradition by appearing every night of the convention.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is live in Charlotte with a preview. So what should we expect, Ryan?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, good morning from Charlotte, where the Republican National Convention is set to kick off. And if there was any still lingering doubt that the Republican Party has not become the full party of Donald Trump, the platform committee this weekend choosing not to adopt a new platform, but instead pledging their full support behind President Trump's second-term agenda. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:05]

NOBLES (voice-over): The Republican National Convention kicks off tonight. And President Trump will make an appearance every day, according to a source familiar with the planning.

JASON MILLER, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: You're going to see a great, uplifting message from the president and from our allies. And Chuck, when I tell you some of these stories that you hear, there are going to be some breakout stars, some people that you would not expect to be supporters of the president; and it's going to tell a very beautiful story.

NOBLES: Trump has told his team he wants it to be bigger and better than the Democratic National Convention last week.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have a great convention coming up, and I look forward to it.

NOBLES: And despite most of the speeches being given remotely, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to appear in person in Charlotte sometime today.

RONNA MCDANIEL, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: Well, he will be in North Carolina, unlike Joe Biden, who didn't go to Wisconsin, the state where he held his convention.

NOBLES: Throughout the week, President Trump's family will be the focal point of the convention, with Donald Trump Jr. speaking tonight.

Some of the president's biggest allies -- Congressman Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, and Steve Scalise -- will also speak tonight, as well as former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, and Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who were seen in this viral video, waving a gun at protesters outside their home. They face a charge of unlawful use of a weapon stemming from this incident.

A source tells CNN that one night, President Trump will be appearing alongside a group of healthcare workers who have been responding to the pandemic.

The speakers throughout the week will try to make the best case for President Trump's re-election by focusing on his first-term achievements.

KUSHNER: Unlike the Democrats last week, where there was a lot of complaints, they didn't offer much by way of policies or solutions, President Trump will be laying out, you know, real policies, real visions, real solutions.

NOBLES: And President Trump says it won't be negative.

TRUMP: I think the overall is going to be a very positive, as opposed to a dark, a very, very positive message. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to deliver his remarks from Jerusalem. He is receiving some criticism, because he's mixing official business with this political event. But his aides say that his speech will not be paid for in any way by taxpayers.

It's also notable who will not be appearing during the convention this week. Among them, former Republican President George W. Bush and Senator Mitt Romney, who of course, was at one point the Republican nominee for president -- John.

BERMAN: And just to make clear, secretaries of state don't speak at political conventions. It is a long-standing tradition. I can't think of any that has ever, in modern history, and the reason is, because you want to keep the business of state separate from the business of politics. Is it legal? Probably. Traditionally, though, out of bounds.

Ryan Nobles covering this for us.

Thanks so much, Ryan.

To developing overnight, one of the president's most senior advisers, Kellyanne Conway, has announced she is leaving the White House next week. She says she needs to focus on her family.

CNN's Joe Johns live at the White House with the latest here. There's a lot going on. Kellyanne leaving the White House. George Conway, her husband, a fierce Trump critic, going offline.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. And it's happening on the eve of the Republican National Convention, John. White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway saying she's stepping aside from her job here at the White House.

Her husband, George Conway, an outspoken critic of the president, also announcing he is stepping aside from his position at the Lincoln Project. That's an anti-Trump group that he formed with other Republicans. He also says he's taking a break from Twitter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): Both Kellyanne Conway and her husband said they need to focus on their family, with Kellyanne Conway writing in part, "This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama and more mama."

The Conways have four children. One of their high-school-aged daughters has generated attention recently on social media about her parents and their political views. Kellyanne Conway says, in her good- bye tweet, that she and her husband disagree about plenty, but she echoes what unites a lot of parents: "We're united on what matters most: our kids. Our four children are teens and tweens, starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months." Kellyanne Conway says that requires a lot of attention and vigilance,

particularly during these unusual times.

Kellyanne Conway's Sunday evening announcement marks an abrupt end to her high-profile time in the White House, where she earned a reputation as one of the president's fiercest defenders.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO DONALD TRUMP: Bob Mueller's report and investigation is definitive and conclusive.

You cannot impeach a president and remove him from office in a constitutional democracy, except (ph) on the rule of law.

We're accepting apologies today, too, for anybody who feels the grace in offering them.

[06:10:02]

JOHNS: She landed her position in 2016 after becoming the first female campaign manager to win a presidential race. Political tensions with her husband had spilled into public view. George Conway's opposition took on new meaning when he helped found the Lincoln Project late last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's morning in America.

JOHNS: Kellyanne Conway had this to say about his anti-Trump political action committee.

CONWAY: They've all failed. They never succeeded the way I did as campaign manager, and they never got their candidate where my candidate got.

JOHNS: Trump often echoed these attacks on his adversaries, including George Conway.

TRUMP: He's a whack job, there's no question about it. But I really don't know him. He -- I think he's doing a tremendous disservice to a wonderful wife. Kellyanne is a wonderful woman. And I call him Mr. Kellyanne. The fact is that he's doing a tremendous disservice to a wife and family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Now, Kellyanne Conway is expected to speak at the Republican National Convention, at least she plans to do so. That's what we've been told. However, given all that's transpired over the last few hours, it's not clear if she's going to do that.

John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right. Joe Johns at the White House. Joe, keep us posted.

A new development this morning. We're hearing that more than two dozen former Republican members of Congress are announcing their support for Joe Biden? So how significant is this on day one of the Republican convention? That's next.

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[06:15:41]

CAMEROTA: The Republican National Convention gets underway in just hours. It comes as FOX News reports that more than two dozen former GOP members of Congress are now throwing their support behind a Republicans for Joe Biden effort. The list includes former senator -- Republican Senator Jeff Flake and many more. We'll get to that in a second.

But joining us now is Jonathan Swann, national political reporter for Axios. CNN political commentator Amanda Carpenter. She's a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. And CNN political commentator, Scott Jennings. He's a former special assistant to President George W. Bush. Great to see all of you.

So here's what we expect the first day in terms of these speakers, Amanda. It's Don Jr. It's Nikki Haley. It's Congressman Steve Scalise. It's Senator Tim Scott. I see all of the actual convention lineup faces. Is there anything on here that surprises you, anything you've heard so far?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I mean, we expected a lot of family members. But the thing I'm most surprised in is not hearing from Donald Trump, because we hear from him almost every single day.

It's watching how potential 2024 contenders, such as Nikki Haley, maybe a Kristi Noem, a Mike Pompeo, will be positioning themselves for a potential Trump endorsement. Because even if Donald Trump loses badly in 2020, he is not going to give up his grip as kingmaker of the Republican Party. And so I see those speakers angling to try to position themselves for that and split the difference between the Trump base and ambivalent Trump voters who might be listening tonight.

BERMAN: Jonathan Swann, it is interesting, this Republicans for Biden effort. This list includes Jeff Flake. It includes people like Jim Leach, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania, Bob Inglis of South Carolina, Jim Kolbe of Arizona. A list that may not be shocking, but a convention is about expanding, right? Addition.

And when you have a dozen, maybe more, including Jeff Flake, a senator, come out and say, We are supporting your opponent, the day you're kicking off the convention, that does send a signal.

JONATHAN SWANN, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: It also makes it harder for -- I mean, the key message of the Republican convention is going to be that Joe Biden is not this genial moderate man that you've known for the last half century. That, in fact, he is an empty vessel, mentally incapacitated, completely controlled by the radical left.

And when -- when endorsements like this come out, it allows Joe Biden to provide soft Republicans, suburbanites, that sense of comfort that he's not what Donald Trump and the other side is portraying him as. So to that extent, it's very useful for Joe Biden and, to some extent,

it neutralizes one of the key attacks you're going to see this week.

CAMEROTA: I also thought that, Scott, that one of the things that neutralizes it are things like the interview that Joe Biden did, the long sit-down that he did with his running mate, Kamala Harris, last night on ABC. You know, it's hard to, I think, depict him as doddering when he has all sorts of plans and, you know, expresses them quite compellingly.

Do you think that that's a note that they will hit over and over, and is it working?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I do think they will -- they will hit the note over and over. Whether it works or not, I mean, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I think the greater issue here, frankly, is whether they can make it stick that the idea of electing Joe Biden and other Democrats is essentially a key to opening -- opening a Pandora's box of terrible liberal ideas.

I mean, I think, ultimately, that's one thing I want to hear this week from the Republicans, is really the question of, if you go down this road of putting a Democrat in the White House, Democrats in the Senate, they're going to eliminate the filibuster. They are going to do a lot of things that you don't want as a country.

So, sure, you know, Joe Biden could portray himself as a nice guy, a good guy, whatever, but that doesn't stop the ultimate Democratic Party agenda. That's why they didn't talk about it much last week, and here's what we would do instead.

I think that's really the framing of the race that's going to benefit the president and the Republicans the most as we get past Labor Day.

BERMAN: That's if the president can frame the race as about anything other than himself, right? Isn't that the big question, Jonathan? And you've got reporting on this, as to what the Republicans want to do.

[06:20:05]

The big dilemma for the Republicans is that the president won't let this be about anything but himself. And he's putting himself in every night of the convention. So inevitably, it's going to be about what he says and what he does, and what Americans think of him.

SWANN: That's true, but that is the inescapable, you know, reality. As long as Donald Trump's in office, that -- that's going to be a fact.

But we do have some new reporting that he's not only going to leverage the setting of the White House, but he's also going to leverage the powers of the presidency, I'm told, during this convention.

Think back to the State of the Union. His favorite moment during the State of the Union was when, mid-speech, he stops and awards Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing talk show host, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian order. This was a reality TV surprise, where he takes one of his executive powers and uses it in real time.

I'm told that's the kind of idea he wanted to apply this week. So you're going to see a lot of that sort of television programming with Donald Trump. Not the traditional wait to see him at the end of the convention. He's going to have some role every night of this week.

CAMEROTA: Well, in terms of big TV reveals, the other side had one, as well. I mean, there's -- Just prepare yourself. These will keep coming out, I think, from all corners, Amanda.

But one of them is from Mary Trump. So the president's niece, I guess, surreptitiously, taped her aunt, the president's sister, Maryanne Barry. And we don't know much about the backstory. We do have one of the reporters who got the tapes on next to learn more about the backstory.

But the upshot is that the president's sister thinks that he lies and is completely ill-equipped for the job. And she talked about it freely at these lunches with her niece. So here is a portion of that audiotape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARYANNE TRUMP BARRY, DONALD TRUMP'S SISTER: This goddamn tweet and the lying. Oh, my God, I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the -- holy shit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That says it all right there, Amanda. What do you think the upshot of that is?

CARPENTER: I mean, it's all so strange. I've never heard of families taping each other like this until I heard of the Kushners and now the Trumps.

But the thing that this makes me think of is that Mary Trump, the reason why she embarked on this journey, she says, the reason for her book, was that she wanted to give the story behind the family's finances. She was the source of that major "New York Times" story, showing how the Trump family got so rich through various tax-dodging schemes that Donald Trump participated in.

And so she was so committed to that -- you know, regardless of the ethics, I can't get into those family dynamics -- she taped 15 hours of her aunt, wrote a book.

And so I think there's something there that the public needs to know about. Maybe we'll find out as the Mazars case advances, eventually.

But man, Donald Trump has a way of ripping families apart, doesn't he?

BERMAN: Scott. JENNINGS: Yes, what kind of a creepy weirdo goes and tapes their family surreptitiously? I mean, think -- according to "The Washington Post," she taped this conversation because she was mad about an inheritance. And now she releases the tape on the heels of one of their family members dying, all to embarrass Donald Trump, who's currently grieving his brother.

I mean, I just -- I don't -- I don't understand how or why people would do that, but here's what I think. Donald Trump is going to win or lose this race based on his record and based on whatever agenda he lays out and how he contrasts against Joe Biden. I don't think these tapes are going to make a bit of difference to people ultimately.

And I don't know anybody, frankly, and I bet no one here knows anybody who's ambivalent about how they feel about Trump or his personal life or whatever. So I find this to be another sort of forgettable moment that we won't be talking about 24 hours from now.

BERMAN: Yes, look, however -- however gross and creepy it is, there is a contrast, though. Right? We just finished a Democratic convention where you heard from people from security guards to kids, to people who campaigned against Joe Biden, telling you how much they love him. And now you have the president's own sister calling him a liar.

So it's -- there is a contrast there. And I'm not disagreeing with anything anyone said about where this comes from. But it is out there and it does sit, I think, like a ton of bricks, as this thing starts. Whether it changes minds, I suppose, we'll never know -- Jonathan.

SWANN: Well, I mean, one of the distinguishing features of Donald Trump has been, throughout his career in politics, I mean, I think it's inherent to him, but he's quite happy being this sort of antihero figure.

He -- the usual idea of, you know, emphasizing your personal decency and character, he's never really done that. He's never tried to do that. He's never, even if it was a possible thing to do, he's never really sought to have people testify on his behalf in that manner. He's quite happy to be a figure of controversy.

[06:25:15]

He saw that in his television career, and he's continued that on into his political career.

So you know, it's quite notable that he hasn't even really put up much of a defense against it. He put out a dismissive statement, but they haven't been, you know, putting out all sorts of character references in, you know, combatting it.

CAMEROTA: Amanda, we want to talk a little bit about Kellyanne Conway announcing that she will be leaving the White House. She certainly has carved her place in history. She was responsible for this successful campaign. I mean, certainly in large part. She stayed and survived in this White House longer than so many other people. Her -- she has four children. Her teenage daughter has generated some

attention in the past couple of months on social media. And now here's part of Kellyanne Conway's resignation letter last night.

She says, "This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama."

And interestingly, her husband also says he's stepping back from his career. I mean, it sounds like they're just all hands on deck and, you know, focused on their family right now.

CARPENTER: Yes. And I'm reluctant to talk about their kids, but this is yet another example of a family becoming -- a firm, Republican family becoming divided over Trump. I mean, he does not bring people together.

And going into this convention, you're going to see, like you mentioned earlier in the segment, more Republicans coming out against Trump.

And that is because Donald Trump made very clear choices. He had a term to bring the party together. He doesn't even have a platform now, because there's nothing that unifies it besides his personality.

And he made the choice to choose to bring morally conflicted people into his tent, like Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort. He endorsed Roy Moore while he derides people like Mitt Romney.

And so those Republicans you see coming out, they're not going without a fight. They still care about their country, and Donald Trump hoped they would just go silently into the night, and they're not.

BERMAN: We've got to go. I'm going to get yelled at for asking another question, but Scott, you worked in the Bush White House. Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, is going to speak at the convention. Secretaries of state don't do that. It's not something that happens in our country.

Can you imagine Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice have -- speaking at a Republican convention for George W. Bush?

JENNINGS: No, I can't. In fact, when I worked there, we had a -- sort of a set of cabinet officials -- the secretary of state, the defense secretary, I think the Department of Homeland Security -- there was a group of people that were off-limits for any political events, including like a political convention.

And so I was a little surprised to see that, although I think when you consider that Secretary Pompeo is a potential contender for 2024, I understand the impulse behind it. I hope they're following all the rules.

But it is a bit of a departure from -- from the normal practice of sort of segregating your national security apparatus away from the political apparatus that certainly does exist around every administration.

CAMEROTA: All right. Scott, Amanda, Jonathan, thank you all very much for the reporting and the insights.

Now to this. The FDA issuing an emergency use authorization for a coronavirus treatment. But some top experts are concerned it has not been proven effective or safe. We have the facts, next.

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