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The Lead with Jake Tapper

President Trump Remains Silent on Wisconsin Shooter; Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) is Interviewed on Trump, RNC and Tropical Storm Laura Hitting Arkansas; Trump Says He Will Visit Gulf to See Hurricane Damage This Weekend. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired August 27, 2020 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: President Trump has so far remained silent on the shooting of Jacob Blake, ignoring a question about Blake this afternoon.

The president just tweeted that he will not stand for -- quote -- "lawlessness" on American streets.

As CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, President Trump is expected to also address Wisconsin this evening, when he officially accepts the Republican nomination for president at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Using a law and order message, President Trump will make his case for a second term tonight with the unrest in Wisconsin as his backdrop.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The vandalism and the looting is ridiculous. To allow this to happen, I don't know how they can possibly do it.

COLLINS: But while he and Vice President Mike Pence have condemned the violence in Kenosha, they have yet to address what led to it, the police shooting of another black man.

President Trump didn't answer questions about Jacob Blake today.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Outgoing adviser Kellyanne Conway says what's followed in Wisconsin only reinforces Trump's message.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best on public safety.

COLLINS: Former Vice President Joe Biden accused Trump and his staff of rooting for violence.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The country will be substantially safer when he is no longer in office.

COLLINS: After NBA players boycotted games Wednesday in protest, President Trump criticized the NBA as a political organization.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know much about the NBA protest. I know their ratings have been very bad, because I think people are a little tired of the NBA, frankly. They have become like a political organization. And that's not a good thing.

COLLINS: Tonight, Trump is expected to say that: "At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies or two agendas."

Earlier today, the president said he weighed delaying his speech after a powerful hurricane left a path of destruction, but now he says he will visit Texas and Louisiana this weekend.

TRUMP: I was actually prepared to postpone the speech tonight and make it on Monday.

COLLINS: At least 1,500 people are expected to attend President Trump's speech on the South Lawn tonight. Despite this claim from Kellyanne Conway...

CONWAY: Everybody will be tested tonight.

COLLINS: ... CNN has obtained guidance sent to guests makes no mention of testing requirements.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Now, Jake, the vice president was actually scheduled to go to Wisconsin this weekend to give a commencement address, but, today, the Wisconsin Lutheran College said that, after careful consideration of the escalating events in Kenosha, they have decided to uninvite the vice president and instead have a speaker address the class of 2020.

In a statement today, the vice president's office said he understands the decision.

TAPPER: All right, Kaitlan Collins at the White House, thank you so much.

The White House has also not yet condemned the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, an apparent Trump supporter who has been charged with intentional homicide of an apparent protester in the streets of Kenosha Tuesday night.

We are learning new details from Rittenhouse's social media profile, as CNN's Sara Sidner now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protests continue in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as we learn more about two very different shootings. BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR JACOB BLAKE: We have these two justice

systems in America, one for black America and one for white America.

SIDNER: On the one hand, a black man, Jacob Blake, who was in a tussle with police, was shot in the back seven times by a police officer, while a white teenager with a massive rifle shown shooting at people is able to walk right by police with his firearm and is not immediately arrested.

CRUMP: This is outrageous. So why is a black man walking away from them gets shot seven times in the back? A young white man who killed people, who shot people, is not shot and is taken alive?

SIDNER: Police say 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is accused in one of the deadly shootings that took place during the protest Tuesday night.

We spoke to Carol Badoni, a woman who tried to help one of the shooting victims.

CAROL BADONI, WITNESS: When I saw his eyes roll back in his head, and he had no pulse, and I didn't think I was going to be able to save him. But all I could think of was to just keep pumping on his chest.

SIDNER: Police say Rittenhouse drove into town from out of state. He is a former member of the Youth Police Cadet Program.

Rittenhouse's TikTok account shows a long gun being assembled and the teen firing a weapon into the woods. Another shows his view from the front row of a Trump rally in January.

In the shooting that sparked the protests, investigators confirmed Jacob Blake admitted to having a knife on him and that officers first tried to Taser Blake before shooting him seven times. The Blake family attorney responded.

PATRICK SALVI JR., ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF JACOB BLAKE: Jacob had his -- three of his most prized possessions in that car, his three boys, 8, 5, and 3 years old. So the suggestion that he was going to his car in order to start some sort of a fight with police officers, with their guns drawn, is basically absurd.

[16:05:00]

SIDNER: According to the sheriff, Officer Rusten Sheskey pulled the trigger. He's a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha police force.

The reaction to Blake's shooting sparking protests like we have never seen before in the world of sport. Athletes from the national basketball, baseball and soccer leagues are refusing to play, the Washington Mystics posing in shirts with seven bullet wound marks.

The vice president's chief of staff reacting, calling the protests absurd.

MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: I don't know that you are going to see the administration weigh in that one way or the other. In my mind, it's absurd and silly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: And back here in Kenosha, the business owners trying to figure out just how they're going to try and rebuild some of the major damage that has been done in several parts of the city.

As for Rittenhouse, he is expected to be in the extradition hearing that is scheduled for tomorrow. I would just remind you that he is from another state, and now he is being charged in Kenosha, so needs to be brought back to face those charges -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Sara Sidner, thank you so much.

Joining us now to discuss the latest on the investigation and protests in Wisconsin, Neill Franklin. He's the executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership. It's a nonprofit group of current and former police officers and other criminal justice professionals.

Neill, thanks so much for joining us.

NEILL FRANKLIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTION PARTNERSHIP: Thanks for having me, Jake.

TAPPER: You're a 34-year police veteran.

Between the police shooting and the armed militia in Kenosha, what do you make of this moment that we find ourselves in?

FRANKLIN: Wow.

It's a very trying time, a very difficult time. And we have to look at these two separate incidents as they are. They are separate regarding police action and/or inaction.

Regarding the shooting of Mr. Blake, again, there's a lot that we still don't know. I know there's a lot that I still don't know. We haven't gotten all the information yet from the investigators, as we were hearing he may have had a knife, he may not have had a knife.

But I tell you, I think that one of the main things that we're trained to do in policing is to protect the safety of not just those people within a community, but also those that we have to interact with. And that would be Mr. Blake in this circumstance.

Those three officers, in my opinion, from what I have been able to see so far, should have done all that they -- should have done what they were trained to keep him subdued and to not let him get up, get around the car and have access to that car again.

The shooting of him in the back, they had an opportunity to back off. The shooting of him in the back was completely unwarranted.

Regarding the protests, this is another difficult task for police, because we have to give protesters the platform to peacefully protest. We have to give them that. It's their First Amendment right. But we also have to protect the community, right, from property damage

and from harm, from people from harm. There was a curfew in effect, but here's the thing. They were -- they were going after the protesters to get them off the streets after the curfew.

But what about this individual who allegedly shot these two and killed these two, who walked right up to them, with a long gun strapped to his person? But they allowed him to walk right by.

TAPPER: Yes.

FRANKLIN: And there's so much more regarding what we have seen in video regarding those officers on the scene giving the appearance of -- to wanting and to actually being very appreciative of having armed civilians on the scene in Kenosha after curfew.

TAPPER: And I want to ask you about that, because you said that the incidents should be judged separately. And I agree with that.

But it's difficult to when you look at how these same police dealt with Jacob Blake, and then there's this video that shows police, Kenosha police, giving out water bottles, tossing one to the alleged shooter, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old with a gun, not from Kenosha, from...

FRANKLIN: Absolutely.

TAPPER: Not even from the same state, from Illinois.

And a lot of people are having a difficult time juxtaposing these two and saying, well, this is clearly equal treatment under the law, when you see a 17-year-old with a gun being given water.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Yes. Go ahead.

FRANKLIN: Right.

So, Jake, when I say separately, I mean investigation-wise.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Oh, no, I understand. I understand. But what do you make of that?

FRANKLIN: Investigation-wise.

But when it comes to -- this is one of the problems that we're having within our communities regarding police and the community, is the difference in treatment of blacks vs. whites.

So, again, looking at, whether it's Mr. Blake, whether it's George Floyd, and many others who lost their lives at the hands of the police, and then you see situations like this, with this young white male during an obvious time of unrest, during a curfew, when the police are responding to a shooting, and they see someone who has a gun, but who happens to be white.

But we also have to look at what happened before regarding the interaction of the police and these armed white individuals in Kenosha that night, right?

[16:10:09]

TAPPER: Right.

FRANKLIN: Again, condoning them being there, not giving them orders to go home, to get out of Kenosha -- you're violating curfew.

So, there is an obvious difference in treatment between whites and blacks, as we look at the past couple of days here, just in Kenosha. But we have got decades of this indifference in treatment, disparity in treatment, to the point where blacks are dying at high rates, proportionately, to unarmed white in this country.

TAPPER: Yes.

Neill Franklin, thank you so much for your voice and for your expertise. We appreciate it.

FRANKLIN: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next: how fellow Republicans are responding to President Trump's approach to the protests and the shootings in Wisconsin.

Plus: parts of the Gulf Coast decimated today from what was Hurricane Laura.

A closer look at the damage done -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:21]

TAPPER: President Trump is set to speak in just hours and formally accept the Republican Party's renomination for president. The big question, whether he will directly address the shooting of Jacob Blake, which the president refused to do when asked about it this afternoon.

Joining me to discuss this and much more Arkansas's Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson.

Governor, thanks so much for joining us. Always good to see you.

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): It's good to be with you, Jake. Thank you.

TAPPER: So, the president asked about Jacob Blake and he ignored the question and wouldn't talk about it. What do you make of that?

HUTCHINSON: Well, I do hope he speaks to the racial divide in our country. I hope it will be a unifying speech. I hope that -- certainly, he's got to point out the differences between himself and Mr. Biden, but at the same time, we have challenges in our country, and I do hope it will be unifying. I think it needs to be addressed. It's not something that we can ignore.

We want to have support for our law enforcement officers but you can talk about that at the same time you can understand the applied and disappointment and concern of the minority community and unfair policing policy. So I hope that we can address that.

TAPPER: You said this week that President Trump is, quote, fighting uphill when it comes to his re-election effort. We're on the last day of the Republican convention. Do you think the convention did enough to get out the message that would motivate enough voters, not just the base, but enough other voters to give him four more years?

HUTCHINSON: Well, we'll see. But I absolutely think it's been a very good convention. And they have not only motivated the base of voters important to Donald Trump, but he's also tried to expand that, going after the message for African-Americans, featuring so many prominent black leaders in our country and supporting Donald Trump.

So I am very optimistic that thus far, this convention has been successful in showing and showcasing the team that he has in place, the success that we've made in terms of trade policy, in terms of deregulation, in terms of the economy and challenges ahead. But I think it's been successful thus far.

TAPPER: It strikes me whereas the Democratic convention focused a lot on reaffirming what people think about Joe Biden already, that he's empathetic (ph), that's he's a moderate, that he likes to be bipartisan, so much of the Republican convention trying to convince voters what they think about President Trump, according to polls, at least, might not be true. It seems to be a message of, hey, he's not racist. Hey, he's not sexist. Hey, he likes immigrants. Hey, he did a really good job with the pandemic -- and it's basically over the pandemic.

It's kind of, who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes convention, which in a lot of it seems to be an acknowledgement he is playing from behind. Don't you think?

HUTCHINSON: Well, it's interesting that both the first lady, Melania Trump, but also the vice president last night said a little bit lightheartedly that the president does speak his mind. You don't have to wonder about what he's thinking.

And I think everybody recognizes that that's his style. That that sometimes is good, sometimes is bad, but that's who Donald Trump is. And I don't think that's an excuse. It's a reality.

And so, the focus was very appropriately, this is the Donald Trump we know from a personal standpoint and I think it's important for the American people to understand that, just like last week, that Joe Biden painted the picture of himself. And I think that helped him. So I think it's good. We need to know these. Even though it's been four years of Donald

Trump, there's still some sides I think it's good for the American people to know more deeply.

TAPPER: The president keeps saying that an America under Biden would be unsafe. It would be filled with violence, anarchy and chaos in the streets. I want you to take a listen to what Mr. Biden had to say about it this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Have you ever heard this president say one negative thing about white supremacists? Have you ever heard it? That's the reason I got back in this race because of what happened in Charlottesville, people coming out of the woods carrying torches, their veins bulging. Close your eyes and remember what you saw.

And a young woman gets killed resisting the hate and violence, and the president gets asked to comment and what did he say?

[16:20:01]

He says there are very fine people from both sides. He wouldn't even condemn David Duke for God's sake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The David Duke references, I tried to get him three times to condemn David Duke, he wouldn't do it, although, subsequently, he did.

This is a problem for the president. A lot of people think that he has a soft spot in his heart for or at least won't condemn white supremacists.

HUTCHINSON: I thought Herschel Walker addressed that very effectively knowing the president 27 years as a friend and saying he's simply not a racist.

And sure, I agree with Nikki Haley and others that he could have handled the incidences in the past more clearly. White supremacy has to be condemned. We have to recognize the racial division in our country, and we have to try to bring people together.

That's something that I hope he does more effectively tonight. I hope he does that unifying.

Certainly, there's a difference. I think it is risky whenever you -- if you don't support law enforcement, if you don't recognize the importance of having a strong presence against violence in our cities, that's what Americans expect and that is a difference between the two candidates. It's right for the president to point that out.

TAPPER: I want to ask you about Arkansas and Hurricane Laura. Your state has been hit with heavy winds and rain. Give us the latest on any damages, any injuries or fatalities. HUTCHINSON: Well, it's -- we have over 30,000 without power. That is

going to grow as the storm comes up through south Arkansas with very fast and sustained winds, then it's going to be followed by the flooding. Because of the volume of rain, if you listen carefully, you'll hear it outside my window.

And so, we have already deployed the search-and-rescue teams on stand by. The high water rescue teams for the National Guard are prepositioned. And so, thank goodness, not aware of any loss of life yet. We're cautioning everybody to pay attention, be safe, but the danger will really be coming in the next 24 hours and even after that with the flash flooding.

TAPPER: All right. Well, our thoughts and prayers with the people of Arkansas.

Governor Asa Hutchinson, thanks so much for your time today. We appreciate it.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Watch President Trump's big speech in the final night of the Republican National Convention. Our special coverage will begin at 7:00 Eastern here on CNN.

We are also following the breaking news, extensive damage after one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States barrels the Gulf Coast. We're going to go there live next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:27:13]

TAPPER: In our national lead today, President Trump says he will visit the Gulf Coast this weekend to survey the damage after Hurricane Laura made landfall as category 4 with winds of 150 miles per hour.

We're getting our first look at devastation left behind in parts of Texas, Louisiana. The storm flattened homes and buildings, mangled gas stations and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people. Louisiana officials say at least four people have died because of the storm, but despite the devastation, we've heard from multiple people who are thankful today because they said the storm could have been much worse, so much worse they say.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now live from Orange, Texas, right off the Gulf Coast, and on the Texas-Louisiana border.

And, Ed, tell us about the damage you've seen.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jake. Well, odd as it might sound, considering that the western edge of the storm's eye came just along the Texas-Louisiana state line, that the damage at least on the Texas side has not been as extensive as you might think. In fact, the governor of Texas describes it as the state having dodged a major bullet in the situation.

This is some of the damage that we have seen -- some of the worst damage we have seen. This is what appears to be a storage shed, metal roof ripped to shreds. We've seen a couple of locations like this throughout the town of Orange, Texas, which is just a few miles away from the Louisiana state line. As I mentioned, it's incredible what a difference about 35 miles makes in this storm. This town sits about 35 miles away from the western edge of Hurricane Laura's eye and it is dramatic just how much there must have been a difference in the storm's impact here because as we've driven around this portion of southeast Texas, Jake, we have not seen a great deal of structural damage.

We've seen some downed power lines and trees and that sort of thing, but it is definitely not as bad as we expected to see considering the level and magnitude of this hurricane as it came onshore. We're also about 30 miles inland. So, that might also have something to do with it as well. But these are the kind of pictures we're seeing in some pockets of this area in southeast Texas here, Jake. But as I mentioned, and as the governor and local officials mentioned, there's a sense of relief as they're serving the damage across the region this afternoon -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Ed Lavandera in Orange, Texas, thanks so much.

Joining us to discuss, Vice Admiral Steven Poulin from the Coast Guard.

Sir, thanks so much for joining us. I understand you just flew over some of the damaged areas. Tell us what you saw.

VICE ADMIRAL STEVEN POULIN, ATLANTIC AREA COMMANDER, U.S. COAST GUARD: Yeah, well, first, thanks for having me. And our thoughts and prayers remain with the folks in Texas and Louisiana affected by this storm. I had a chance to fly over Texas and Louisiana. And, Louisiana, this coastal area, is fairly well inundated as your speaker just said. There is a distinction between what I saw in Texas and what I --

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