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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Goes All In With Message: Fear if Biden Wins; Jacob Blake's Family Says He's Handcuffed to Hospital Bed; Athletes Continue to Take a Stand for Social Justice; Japan's PM Shinzo Abe Resigns Due to Poor Health; Laura Leaves Extensive Damage That Could Have Been Worse. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 28, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:52]
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: The incumbent president with an insurgent message. President Trump warns about life under Joe Biden and he does it while defying all guidelines for defeating coronavirus.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Jacob Blake is paralyzed in the hospital. So, why is he handcuffed to his hospital bed?
JARRETT: And breaking overnight, a major shakeup on the world stage. Why the Japanese prime minister will leave the office a year early.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, August 28th. Happy Friday, everybody. Five a.m. in New York and 67 days exactly to the election.
And both candidates have spoken and now America faces a choice this November. President Trump accepting his renomination at the Republican National Convention. Using the power of his office, he set the political speech at the White House, the people's house. He declared himself the man to end the crises gripping the nation. Never mentioning the crises exploded on his watch.
Trump staunchly defended his handling of the pandemic which killed almost 181,000 Americans to a crowd with no distancing, almost no masks in sight. It was the very picture of a super spreader event health experts warned about.
JARRETT: Yeah, about 1,500 people attended on the South Lawn. If you think about it, that's less than half the number of the Americans who died of coronavirus since the convention began on Monday. A senior White House official brushed off any concerns saying, quote, everybody is going to catch this thing eventually.
The president's very long speech painted this election as a crusade against violent disorder. And a week after Joe Biden avoided mentioning Trump's name, Trump did just the opposite, linking the former VP to his false narrative of chaos on the streets. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Biden is a Trojan horse for socialism. If Joe Biden doesn't have the strength to stand up to wild-eyed Marxists like Bernie Sanders and his follow radicals and there are many -- there are many, many. We see them all the time, incredible, actually. Then how is he ever going to stand up for you?
Joe Biden is weak. He takes his marching orders from liberal hypocrites who drive their cities into the ground while fleeing far from the scene of the wreckage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: At the end of the night in the sky, fireworks in the ground, but protests at the White House gates.
In the speech, Trump condemned the violence in the big cities, a theme throughout the convention, and a theme the campaign wouldn't stick with, if they didn't think it might work. The first absentee ballots go out in North Carolina in just one week.
JARRETT: Before President Trump delivered his big speech, Joe Biden was telling CNN what he thinks about the president's attacks on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: If you think about it, Donald Trump saying you're not going to be safe in Joe Biden's America, all of the video is being played in Trump's America. These guys are rooting for violence. That's what this is all about. To prove that you should be scared --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Do you think he's rooting for violence that he wants violence because --
BIDEN: Absolutely.
COOPER: -- because it allows him to claim a law and order mantel?
BIDEN: Sure, because it takes -- it takes everybody's eye off the ball. You want to talk about safety, look at the biggest safety issue in the nation, COVID.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Both Biden and President Trump heading back on the campaign trail such as it is. The president will be in New Hampshire tonight. Biden is planning visits to battleground states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona after Labor Day.
ROMANS: So President Trump no made no mention of Jacob Blake, the man shot seven times in the back by police in front of his kids. Now, his family says he's handcuffed to his hospital bed even though he's paralyzed. Why? No one seems to be able to explain. It's a familiar theme in this case. Answers are few and far between
almost a week after the incident. Blake's uncle said the handcuffs add insult to injury.
Here's Wisconsin governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Certainly he's paid a horrific price, already being shot seven or eight times in the back.
[05:05:06]
So I can't imagine why that's happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Meanwhile, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse will be in court in Illinois. He has been charged with killing two people while acting as a vigilante on the streets of Kenosha this week. Police say he called a friend in between the two shootings to say he killed somebody.
Inflammatory comments from 2018 have surfaced from the Kenosha County sheriff after a car chase for black suspects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BETH, KENOSHA COUNTY SHERIFF: I think society has to come to a threshold where there's some people that aren't worth saving. We need the build warehouses to put these people into it and lock them away for the rest of their lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Query who he thinks isn't worth saving. The sheriff went on to say several times that day that he wasn't being, quote, politically correct. He did later apologize.
Protests in Kenosha remained calm last night following appeals from Jacob Blake's family.
ROMANS: Powerful display by the Mets and Marlins as athletes take a stand for social justice for a second day in row.
Andy Scholes has more.
Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine.
So, games for Major League Baseball, NHL, WNBA, NBA again were called off last night in order to protest racism and police brutality. And there was a very powerful moment there at Citi Field in New York City. The Mets and Marlins both taking the field before first pitch, all the players also coming out of the dugout. Then they held a 42 second moment of silence in celebration of Jackie Robinson, that's the number he wore in his jersey. And today, the league celebrates Jackie Robinson's day.
Everyone then left the field, leaving only a black lives matter shirt on home plate. In all, a total of seven Major League Baseball games were postponed in a show of solidarity against racial injustice.
In the meantime, WNBA players locking arms in a show of unity in their Florida bubble as three more of their games were postponed for a second day in a row. L.A. Sparks star said this is not a strike, this is not a boycott. This is affirmatively a day of reflection, a day of informed action, and mobilization. The players say they're planning to play today.
The National Hockey League which has come under fire from some of the players made a decision to postpone the playoff games scheduled for last night and tonight. They will resume play tomorrow. The NBA players meanwhile have reportedly made a decision to continue the playoffs. Three more games were called off last night. The league says they hope to resume play tonight or tomorrow.
And meantime, players continue to meet with league officials. Michael Jordan who serves as the labor relations committee chairman and is the only black majority owner in the league is a big part of these talks. We should be hearing more from the NBA today, Laura, on how and when they plan on continuing.
JARRETT: Yeah. And I wonder where Jordan comes down on all of this. I guess we have to wait and see.
All right, thanks so much, appreciate it.
Louisiana was spared historic flooding but widespread wind damage leaving thousands of homes destroyed. CNN is on the ground in Lake Charles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:12:29]
JARRETTT: Major breaking news overnight from Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns due to health issues. The 65-year-old is Japan's longest serving prime minister.
Let's go live to CNN's Will Ripley with the breaking details.
Will, I know he spoke just a short time ago. What does he have to say?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he started talking about the coronavirus pandemic which has been a very difficult period of time for Prime Minister Abe. He has been skewered by the Japanese public and the media for his what is perceived to be mishandling of the crisis. Japan had the "Diamond Princess" cruise ship where it could have really gained a lot of ground and gotten handled a pandemic and yet, what we're seeing consistently are, you know, record high daily infection increases in Japan for the last several weeks, and a lot of people say the prime minister simply acted too late. They said he was too focused on saving the Olympics which was supposed to be his crowning achievements.
The Olympics were supposed to turn around the Japanese economy, bring in a whole bunch of tourists and revitalize, you know, what Abenomics, his economic policies weren't able to do, and get Japan really on a positive track. Instead, he's now announcing that he's stepping down due to health problems, in the middle of a pandemic that has caused like around the world extreme economic hardship in Japan.
Whether the Olympics will happen or not is an open question, even though Japan has spent tens of billions on it. He is stepping down having achieved days ago the distinction of being the longest serving prime minister. But this is not the ending to his term that he had hoped for.
He is interestingly though going to be treated for this bowel problem that's been plaguing him for years and continue on as a lawmaker, but just not as prime minister. So he's handing over the reins and he's offering the input to whomever in the party that is going to the next prime minister. His party still does control Japanese parliament, but his disapproval ratings are very high right now.
JARRETT: All right. Will Ripley, thank you.
ROMANS: OK. So President Trump made a case to the middle class for his re-election by attacking Joe Biden's tax plan, a plan which puts the burden on higher earners, investors and companies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He has pledged a $4 trillion tax hike on almost all American families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now this overstates the amount Biden has proposed and who pays it. The Biden tax plan would raise taxes for the top 1 percent by 13 percent to 18 percent. These are people who make over $400,000 a year. It would raise between $3-1/2 trillion and $3.67 trillion over a decade.
[05:15:02]
Now, the president once again downplayed the pandemic's jobs crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Over the past three months, we have gained over 9 million jobs and that's a record in the history of our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: So yeah, the economy did add about 1.3 million jobs but that record gain came after a devastating crash of about 22.2 million jobs. That erased nearly a decade of job market gains. Not even half of those jobs have come back and many were simply people returning to work after temporary layoffs. Laura, when you look at the overall jobs number, when you go into the
polling place, you know, are you better off today than you were four years ago, over the four years of the Trump first term, you're down 5.8 million jobs because of the pandemic.
JARRETT: Yeah, it's something you can't avoid.
ROMANS: Yeah.
JARRETT: Well, speaking of fact checks, disinformation, lies, CNN Films presents "After Truth", a look at how fake news is used as a weapon against democracy. "After Truth", tomorrow night, 10:00 p.m. on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:20:37]
ROMANS: The Centers for Disease Control now forecasting more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus by September 19th. That is about 850 people per day, meaning this graph will decline at a painfully slow rate for at least the next few weeks. The number of Americans in hospitals has dropped significantly, down almost 40 percent from the peak five weeks ago. The national average of new cases is down 37 percent in that time.
JARRETT: But new cases are up in 16 states, six more than earlier this week. One hot spot is Iowa which saw the biggest increase in the entire United States pandemic yesterday. The governor has ordered all bars, taverns, breweries closed in six counties.
Meanwhile, in Alabama, the governor extended a mandatory mask order for an additional five weeks. Cases on college campuses have kept the numbers up in that state.
ROMANS: At least 32 states are reporting coronavirus cases at colleges and universities, more than 8,000 cases have been confirmed among students and staff and plenty more are in isolation due to close contact with those infected.
North Carolina State with 35,000 students has ordered a majority of those living on campus to move out following a rise in case numbers. And at USC in Los Angeles, more than 100 students tested positive for COVID in just three days.
JARRETT: Well, six people are dead in the wake of Hurricane Laura. We are getting the first real sense of the damage now. A major storm surge inland was largely avoided. No doubt a relief for FEMA and everyone else during a pandemic, but the wind did cause major destruction, especially in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Overnight, the mayor said residents coming home must understand the reality there. He says look and leave is truly the best option.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHAD LEJEUNE, HOMEOWNER: It wasn't howling, but more a screaming. You could hear the shingles being ripped off the house. So yeah, it was very crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Lake Charles dealing with a chemical fire at a plant in the area. The CDC now warning about carbon monoxide poisoning, since thousands of homeowners and businesses could turn to gas generators for power and propane grills for cooking, those are very dangerous in confined spaces.
CNN's Martin Savidge is on the ground for us in Lake Charles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Good morning, Laura. The damage to Lake Charles, Louisiana, is extensive and it's severe. It's like they had a tornado only on a much more massive kind of scale, and whether it's a commercial district or a resident area, like where we are, it's pretty much all the same.
This apartment complex got nailed. The roof has been ripped off and it's unlivable for the time being. Then you take a look at the street we're on. The side streets are choked with debris, downed power lines and trees that have come crashing to the ground.
Power is out in most areas, so is the water. When it comes to the electricity, it's not going to be a quick fix. Not just some power lines down on the ground. No, it's the power poles that have literally been slammed to the ground. The transformers have all been trashed and it stretches for miles and miles and miles.
The basic grid will have to be replaced in some areas. If you stayed for this storm, you'd probably never forget it. If you left, you're probably grateful that you did, but just know it's not the same Lake Charles that you're coming back.
The governor said it could have been worse and he's right, because there was all this talk about the severe storm surge up here. That never materialized but what the water didn't do, the wind definitely did. It's going to be a long and very painful recovery -- Christine and Laura.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Martin, thank you so much for that.
Remnants of Laura still posing a threat of tornados and heavy rain as that storm moves east.
Here's meteorologist Tyler Mauldin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TYLER MAULDIN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, there's no doubt in my mind that Laura will never be used again. That name will be retired. It was the most intense storm to make landfall in Louisiana in 164 years. It has since this weekend, it's now a tropical depression, it is moving to the east and as it moves to the east it will continue to weaken. And on this journey towards the mid-Atlantic, it's going to put much of this region under the risk for some severe weather and rainfall.
I mean, down here across the southwest, from central Alabama up to southern Kentucky, you could see some very strong winds today. And also some isolated tornados. The highest risk for severe weather today though is with the separate system pushing down across the Midwest.
[05:25:04]
Level 3 risk for portions of Iowa going into Illinois. This is something they don't need to see because a couple of weeks ago they were dealing with that derecho.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour.
Don't fear coronavirus, fear Joe Biden. The president paints a bleak picture to the audience that showed no relationship to the pandemic's reality.
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