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Republicans Hold First Day of National Convention; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Address Republican National Convention; Tropical Storm May Become Hurricane before Making Landfall along Gulf Coast; FDA Chief Defends Authorization of Convalescent Plasma and Apologizes for Misrepresenting Therapy Data. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 25, 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]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And hold dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the people who spoke tonight think Joe Biden is an existential threat to the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth is that Fall and Tuscaloosa is in serious jeopardy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd break some college campuses in at least 19 states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until there's an effective vaccine these are the kinds of things we're going to have to deal with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. We have new details for you this morning about what to expect tonight at the Republican National Convention, a convention that so far despite promises has depicted a dark, divisive version of America, especially should President Trump lose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA MCCLOSKEY, ST. LOUIS HOMEOWNER WHO POINTED GUNS AT PROTESTORS: They're not satisfied with spreading the chaos into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs all together.

MATT GAETZ, (R-FL) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It's a horror film, really. They'll disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, NATIONAL CHAIR, TRUMP VICTORY FINANCE COMMITTEE: They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear. DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: It's almost like this

election is shaping up to be church, work, and school, versus rioting, looting, and vandalism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Some of the words you heard thrown around, "socialism," "cancel culture," "violence in U.S. cities." But 177,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, Republicans largely glossed over the tragedy and the administration's record of inaction, and instead put forth a revisionist version of the pandemic, as if the U.S. didn't lead the world in cases and deaths.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: So overnight the FDA commissioner defending his emergency use authorization of convalescent plasma as a coronavirus treatment, and he admits mischaracterizing the data.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns in a new interview that any vaccine must be proven safe and effective before being authorized, but two sources tell CNN that White House officials have raised the possibility of authorizing a vaccine before late stages trials are completed.

There's some good news. The pandemic appears to be slowing in the sunbelt. But then there's bad news. It appears to be accelerating in some midwestern states.

We're also monitoring tropical storm Laura. It's not forecast to intensify into a major hurricane before making landfall on the Gulf Coast in days. We'll tell you where it is now.

So we have a lot to cover. Joining us now are CNN political commentator Ana Navarro who is currently advising and volunteering for the Biden campaign, and CNN national security commentator Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Great to see both of you. So Mike, they described abolishing the suburbs, MS-13 is going to be your neighbor. What did you hear last night that struck you, and what do you think was effective?

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Well, I'll start with the effective piece. I thought it was great to have people of color talking about why they still believed in America, why they thought America is still a great place and will continue to be a great place and will be even a better place. That appeals across the broad section of both Republicans and I think Democrats and certainly moderate Democrats, and I thought those were really powerful messages. Herschel Walker was great. Kelly (ph) Klacik, who had the courage to stand up and say, hey, your policies, not personalities, your policies aren't working in a city like Baltimore, and you've had 50 years to do it. I thought those were really powerful messages.

I thought Vernon, the Democrat state rep from Georgia, was just a powerful speech. He just said, you know what, maybe there's room for us to start considering policies over personality. I thought all of that was very, very effective. I thought there was just a little bit too much Trump there. Part of my

argument is if it's a personality decision between Trump and Biden, I think Trump is going to lose. I would have lessened on the family participation. I know where they're going to be. And I thought the Trump segments to me just didn't fit. He should have had third party validators talking about the things that they wanted to highlight that happened good in first term.

And so it was a mixed bag. I do expect that people are going to run to the extremes in the conventions. The Democrats did the same thing, there's going to be totalitarianism. Yes, that's pretty far over there. Republicans saying the suburbs are going away. Yes, that's pretty far over there. So I'm not sure I'm shocked by that. I don't like it. But hopefully we can get to, again, policy over personality. And that's where I think they maybe missed the boat last night. Would have highlighted all of these other people who I think had powerful stories to tell.

BERMAN: One of the examples of pushing to the extremes was Maximo Alvarez, a Cuban immigrant, and who I imagine you probably know in Miami, someone who has been very active in Florida politics, who basically said if Trump loses, there will be a socialist takeover of the United States. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

MAXIMO ALVAREZ, FLORIDA BUSINESSMAN: We cannot let them take over our country. I heard the promises of Fidel Castro. And I can never forget all those who grew up around me who look like me, who suffered and starved and died because they believed those empty promises. They swallow the communist poison pill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Your thoughts on that, Ana.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I thought it was -- I thought it was very powerful because it was very personal. He was very emotional. He was tearing up. And it's a message that I can tell you resonates where I am in south Florida. It's a group, Cuban-Americans, Nicaraguan-Americans, that Donald Trump has targeted from day one, has come here many times to drive home this message.

And this message of vote for Democrat x, y, or z and they will turn Florida into Venezuela or they will turn America into Cuba is something that Republicans have been hammering on for years down here, and it works. There's a lot of people who, like me, fled communism, fled socialism, and we are -- we have an emotional trauma with that, if I can explain it that way. It is not rational. It is emotional. There are fears because we lived it.

And Maximo Alvarez I think spoke to these people. I think it's not a well-founded fear. I think it is crazy. I don't think there is a socialist or a communist bone in Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. That being said, it works. It is a message of fear and division and angst and causing distress and nervousness and exploiting the trauma, playing with the emotions of people who have lived it in their own skin. It works. So for me that was what I thought was a very effective part because I know it's effective down here in south Florida.

I also thought there were some very awkward parts. Listen, Ronna Romney McDaniel going after Eva Longoria, who is a friend of mine and is a woman who went to Hollywood on a risk and got there with no money, unlike Donald Trump who started with millions of dollars in loans and bailouts from his father. So for Ronna Romney McDaniel to go after Eva Longoria, an activist, a mother, a philanthropist, somebody who stands up for just causes against racism, against the separation of families, against sexual harassment, who is the sister of a special needs woman, the caring sister, and then right from -- and who has not dropped her last name, to go from there and shift from attacking Eva Longoria to handing it over to Jon Voight --

(LAUGHTER)

NAVARRO: -- was I thought rather comical and incongruous.

But look, I understand, I guess, why she was thinking of Eva Longoria. Eva's character on "Desperate Housewives" did have an affair, not with a pool boy, with a gardener. But it was a similar plot line.

CAMEROTA: We'll get your taking on that in a moment. But speaking of housewives, Ronna McDaniel also said -- she described herself as a housewife. I thought she was the head of the RNC. But we'll get to that. But we'll dispense with that. But tell me while we have you, Ana, what you thought of Kimberly Guilfoyle's speech. It's getting so much attention online. We have a portion of it. Let's play a little.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, NATIONAL CHAIR, TRUMP VICTORY FINANCE COMMITTEE: President Trump is the leader who will rebuild the promise of America and ensure that every citizen can realize their American dream. Ladies and gentlemen, leaders and fighters for freedom and liberty and the American dream, the best is yet to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That is an empty room, I should add.

NAVARRO: Listen, I kid you not, I have a sound bar in stereo sound in my room, and my dog was underneath my bed because it was -- it came across as somewhat unhinged, crazy, incredibly loud. There was a part of her story where she spoke about being a first generation daughter of immigrants in America, and then she talked about her Puerto Rican mom. She has an Irish father, who she didn't mention much, but she went on to talk about her Puerto Rican mom. I think we all know Puerto Ricans are not immigrants to America. Puerto Ricans are American citizens from birth. She is a natural born U.S. citizen. So, look, I just -- I just have one word to say -- decaf.

(LAUGHTER) BERMAN: Chairman, I want to close on this, and this is something that's probably in your wheelhouse. We're going to hear tonight from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who will address the convention from Israel.

[08:10:04]

Secretaries of State do not engage in this type of politicking, they do not appear at conventions. As far as we know they never really have, and there's usually a solid wall between national security officials and politics of this nature, campaigning. So what do you make of the appearance of Mike Pompeo at the convention tonight?

ROGERS: Listen, I think this is a line they should not cross. When the secretary of state shows up anywhere in the world, they carry the American mantel. And they do that for a reason. You're representing all Americans, not Republican Americans, not Democrat Americans. And I worry about this. This is, I think, the wrong signal. It's a terrible way to talk about the accomplishments on foreign policy if they believe that this was an important accomplishment. You don't do it with the sitting secretary of state. I'm very troubled by this.

I hope -- well, they're not going to change their mind. But I would hope that calmer heads would prevail on this. There are other powerful speakers that can talk about the kinds of things they want to talk about in the national security space, and I would argue the sitting secretary of state is not it.

CAMEROTA: Mike Rogers, Ana Navarro, I promised we would talk about Jerry Falwell Jr., but we are out of time.

NAVARRO: Oh, please do. I've got the team ready.

CAMEROTA: We're out of time. But I feel it's evergreen, so we'll have you back to discuss that at some point. Thank you, both.

NAVARRO: It's the hypocrisy, Alisyn, it's the hypocrisy of it all.

CAMEROTA: It is the hypocrisy. That is the stunning part really of a stunning story. Thank you both very much.

All right, we have to get to this because developing right now, tropical storm Laura is just shy of hurricane status. It is forecast to strengthen quickly into a major category three hurricane before making landfall in the Gulf Coast on Thursday, so CNN meteorologist Chad Myers joins us now with the forecast. So what's happening this hour?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Seventy miles per hour, it does not have an eye, it's not rapidly intensifying yet, but I believe it will. It will be a hurricane later today. It will be a major hurricane by tomorrow, and it's going to make landfall somewhere very close to where Texas and Louisiana come together. If it's on the left side, Houston, you are in it. Maybe 130 would be a possibility for this storm. It would be in the water a little bit longer. This could be that category three, four that we've worried about headed into a big city.

Right now, probably Lake Charles, where Beaumont, Port Arthur, has 115 mile per hour storm. It's in very warm water. The temperatures are over 90 degrees there. The winds in the entire area here will be over 115. And some areas all the way up to Shreveport could be 60 to 70. This is going to take a long time to slow down. Winds are going to push water on shore, 11-foot surge. If this get to be bigger than 115 those numbers will go up. A lot of surge there.

Here comes the rainfall, 10 inches of rain. Now, this is moving very quickly. This is not Harvey that sat there over Houston for days and days and days. And by the end of the weekend it will be offshore in the northeast. Something closer to home for today, though, northeast, you have the potential for severe weather. Strong winds, power lines down, trees down, all through later on this afternoon from a completely different set of events. John?

BERMAN: All right, Chad, please keep us posted there. Appreciate it.

The head of the FDA admits a huge misstatement, a really important error as he was defending the use of convalescent plasma, but he says politics are not involved. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:10]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking moments ago, the FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn in a television interview just said he should have done a better job, he could have done a better job in explaining why he is backing coronavirus treatment, this convalescent plasma, as a treatment for coronavirus. He admitted he made an error when presenting the data.

Joining us now is CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Dr. Richard Besser. He's the former acting director of the CDC, and he's now the president and the CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Sanjay, you talk to Dr. Hahn about this. I suppose it is always good to admit an error when you make it. But when they made an announcement of this caliber, it gets something this important so wrong, in such a misleading way I do think raises questions about reliability.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think that's very fair, John. I mean, you know, Dr. Hahn did call me. He did explain that, as you say, he said he could have explained it better. He made an error, he made a mistake, and this is a bit surprising because it's his bread and butter, not only as FDA commissioner, but also as an oncologist, they're dealing with these numbers all the time.

Let me just spend one second, just to explain this, because I think it's critically important when we evaluate studies to look at these numbers not just in particular study but studies going forward as well. So here's what happened. Basically, Dr. Hahn, he looked at the data and he got up on Sunday at the press conference and he said that if you take this convalescent serum, 35 more people out of a hundred would survive that otherwise wouldn't have. That's not what the data show.

We could show -- we could show the data there. But basically, at the Mayo Clinic study which studied tens of thousands of people, were comparing people who got the low dose, lower antibody level of the convalescent serum and just compared it to people who got the higher dose. And what they found was they got the higher dose, you did have a lower mortality.

And relative to the lower dose, it was a 35 percent lower mortality. But that doesn't mean 35 more people would survive when you actually do the math, it shows that around 5 more people would survive out 100. That's still important to note but it was the -- it was a misrepresentation of what the data showed.

It's really also important to point out that neither one of these studies actually compared using convalescent serum against comparing -- against using no convalescent serum. It was just comparing it to one dose versus the other. So, is it the convalescent serum, or it is something else? We don't know. That's why scientists were a little perturbed by this. They say more data is still necessary.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And, Sanjay, before we move on from this, did he explain why he got it wrong? I know he has an excellent reputation. In fact, Dr. Ashish Jha who we had on the show yesterday said that what upset him he knows better, he's smart. He knows better.

Did he explain how he got that wrong?

[08:20:02]

GUPTA: Well, you know, the first thing he said to me -- he kind of said, look, I -- gosh, getting up on national TV like that, I just got it wrong, he said. Whether he sort of insinuated that he was nervous or what, but I think Ashish is absolutely right. I mean, I think the audience is hearing the difference between relative risk reduction and absolute risk reduction, they started hearing about this concept for first time.

But Dr. Hahn is an oncologist. This is his bread and butter. So, look, I'm surprised he got it wrong, he didn't do it intentionally. But I was watching that conference live and I said right away, these numbers don't make sense. That's when we started to dig into it.

BERMAN: Dr. Besser, we are seeing cases drop nationally. We are seeing hospitalizations in some of the places that had been hot spots, Florida and Texas, drop as well. That's good. I mean, there is concern about the Midwest. Dr. Redfield was talking about he's concerned about a third wave in the Midwest with the rise in cases there.

Do we know why? What drove cases down? What have we learned from some of these states and I understand that probably cases should have never gone up there to begin with, because we knew how to keep them down. But what have we learned about how to drive them down if they begin to rise?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: What drives the cases down, you can't look at the national level. You have to look at what's going on in each particular area. And when you look at Texas, you look at Florida, it makes sense that cases went down because they took this more seriously. And they started applying the same tools that have worked in other states that have seen numbers go down and stay down and other countries that have controlled this.

So, you've seen a lot of counties that have mandated masks and social distancing. You've seen places that have stopped allowing indoor dining and bars and that kind of congregation. But you really -- the art of public health is really looking for connections between cases, or clusters, and going after that. Even here in New Jersey where cases are very low, there's a lot of effort under way to look at each cluster and, you know, identifying a party of lifeguards or a house party as the cause.

When that happens, adjusting public policy so that that doesn't happen anymore and that has to happen in each locality if we really want to stay on top of this.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, let's look at the University of North Carolina as a case study, because very interesting numbers. They opened in person, the first week 130 students tested positive. Now, the positivity rate from that first week has gone from 13.6 percent to 31.3 percent. Now, they have since shut down in-person classes, but I don't know if that's a lagging indicator or they're just testing more. But 31.3 percent positivity rate is clearly, you know, off the charts.

GUPTA: Yeah. So this high positivity rate basically suggests that look, they're not doing enough testing because the tests that they're doing, there has to be a lot more they're missing that's the relativity of the positivity rate and it's off the charts, as you mentioned on the campus there at UNC, for the state, I should say, for the county, in which this university is located it's closer to 7 percent, and for the state, it's under 7 percent. So it's really concentrated on this campus.

When we look at the positivity rate, the reason that number is important, it says, look, we need to do more tests if the positivity rate is high. The other number that people point to is the infection rate overall. What is the infection rate?

Out of all the people who could get infected, that are vulnerable to infection, what number are getting infected and that number is probably high as well. We don't know what it is for UNC, but we know that the numbers have continued to go up and that's obviously a real concern and it can sort of go up like this for a while, and shoot up straight up in the air exponentially.

BERMAN: Rick, very quickly, what are you seeing at colleges across the country? And does it raise your concern?

BESSER: I am concerned. You know, what we're seeing is, with each college coming together, you have some students who are doing the right thing and social distancing and following the rules and then some who aren't. And so, you are going to see clusters in every college that comes together, whether they can hold them in check and get students somehow to all do the right thing is left to be seen.

But I am concerned about the ability of colleges to pull this off and keep it contained to campuses and not spreading back into communities.

CAMEROTA: Yep, Dr. Richard Besser, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you both very much for all of the information.

GUPTA: Yeah.

BESSER: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: And this morning, there's still no explanation for why police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot an unarmed black man in the back multiple times. This is not the first time that the police there have done something like. The father of a man who was killed by Kenosha police joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:29:08]

CAMEROTA: Two Kenosha, Wisconsin police officers are on administrative leave this morning but officials still have not given an explanation for what led them to shoot Jacob Blake multiple times in the back at close range in front of his three young children. Blake's father tells CNN that his had son had undergone -- has undergone multiple surgeries as of this morning. He is expected to survive.

Overnight, buildings were set on fire in Kenosha because of the anger of protesters over the shooting.

Joining us is Michael Bell. His son was shot Michael Jr. was shot and killed by Kenosha police in 2004.

Mr. Bell, thanks for being there. I know the weather is not cooperating. We really appreciate you talking about this.

And, you know, it's interesting looking at both of these cases. Your son was 21 years old. He's a white young man. Jacob Blake is 29 years old, he's black, but you see parallels.

So describe those to us.

END