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New Day
Trump Fear Mongers for Four More Years; Hurricane Laura's Damage Across Louisiana; Athletes Fight for Social Justice. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired August 28, 2020 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And he tried to pin that on Joe Biden, who responded on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Now, if you think about it, Donald Trump's saying you're not going to be safe in Joe Biden's America. All the video being played is being played in Donald Trump's America.
These guys are rooting for violence. That's what it's all about. To prove that you should be scared.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "AC 360": You think he's actually rooting for violence, that he wants violence because it --
BIDEN: Absolutely.
COOPER: It allows him to claim a law and order mantle?
BIDEN: Sure. And because it takes his -- it takes everybody's eye off the ball. Want to talk about safety? Look at the biggest safety issue in the -- in the nation, Covid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Back with us now, SE Cupp and John Avlon.
The conventions are now over. Look, they're done. And now I think, to a certain extent, it's time to look forward and figure out what, if anything, has changed.
And, SE, I think that it is so clear what the Republicans tried to do, in some ways in a very deliberate, meticulous way in this convention to not make it a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency, to make it a choice between Trump and Biden. And that choice, according to Donald Trump, is fear and violence. Biden is equivalent to that.
So my question to you, S.E., this morning is, how effective was it? What has changed in this race? What does it mean going forward?
SE CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think it's really interesting because Joe Biden's right. The Trump RNC was basically, forget Covid, but look at -- look violence. And I think you could fairly say that over at the DNC it was forget the violence but look at Covid. So they're kind of both playing a game of distraction. And I think both are probably effective for their bases. The question is, was Trump's RNC effective at expanding his base at all? And I think the answer might be yes.
You and I, you know, follow politics obsessively. But pretend you have a life, right? Pretend you don't. And -- I don't. But pretend we had a life and we're less -- we're less obsessed about Trump's tweets and cataloging all the failures that we do, which is important to do. Pretend you really just cared about maybe your job, and you know that violence is up in the city next to you because actually, you know, violent crime is up in 50 of the top major cities in the country. It doesn't all have to be true that you will be less safe in Joe Biden's America, it just has to feel like it, especially if you're an impressionable voter that isn't following the nuances. If all you know is one side is saying, defund the police, and the other is saying, defend the police, that might be a compelling message, even if it isn't based on -- you know, entirely on facts.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And, John, I think that one example of the message possibly working, or at least getting under the skin of the Biden campaign, is that the Biden campaign announced that he will be hitting the campaign trail. So first they had said, no, we can do this all remotely, as we have been doing for the past weeks. That's the safest way. We're following doctor's orders. And now they are saying that they believe they are going to have to campaign and go to some swing states in person.
And so doesn't that tell us that they do think that the RNC has been effective?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm not sure it says that, but I think it does say that the Biden campaign realizes you've got to get out there on the campaign trail. We are heading into the fall. In politics, as in sports, the best defense is a good offense and the Biden team has been able to avoid that for a little bit with Covid. But it's game time, people.
Look, I think the macro point is that this was a contradiction convention because everything was so scripted and produced, was designed to broaden Donald Trump's appeal. It was an inclusive, diverse folks on the stage. You know, the opening video last night saying, America's great when it is good, not necessarily a slogan you think of when you think of Donald Trump. But it doesn't match the record.
And then Donald Trump came in and basically said, this American carnage has continued, four more years for me. It's a tough line to walk, but it was such a stark contradiction between the carefully scripted message of this campaign to reach out to those remaining undecideds and independents and then what Donald Trump delivered, which is fearmongering, because that's his favorite card to play.
SE, did I hear something from you? CUPP: No, I just think -- I -- I was agreeing with my friend, John
Avlon.
AVLON: I think it was just agreement.
CUPP: Which I'm one to do.
But, no, I think, I think, absolutely, there was the -- the RNC was sort of built on a bunch of -- a bunch of lies and mistruths and very generously exaggerations about the pretty picture that the Trump administration wants to paint.
Again, my only point is, if you're not following politics as religiously as we are, I think you might be compelled by some of the broad messages that you heard at the RNC.
AVLON: Sure.
[06:35:03]
BERMAN: Can I -- I have two -- two tiny points.
CAMEROTA: Go ahead. I'll give it to you.
BERMAN: And then maybe a question.
First, this is a tiny point, half question to John.
John, you ran some numbers because we saw a lot -- I mean I've never seen a Republican Convention with so many African-Americans speaking out. But you did some numbers here, John. What did you find?
AVLON: Yes, so kind of stunning. Just for the folks who had slotted roles speaking from the stage, there were 12 African-Americans speaking over the course of the convention. That's not including sideline interviews.
Now contrast that with the number of African-Americans serving in senior positions in Trump's White House, one. Senior African-American members of his cabinet, one, Ben Carson. And U.S. attorneys, he's appointed two U.S. attorneys of African-American decent. So that's a three-to-one gap between what he's done and what the campaign tried to represent. And that's pretty stark. But I think that's the reality, that's the gap between the record and the rhetoric we heard over this campaign.
BERMAN: It is interesting, but it does go to show that the -- the convention was very specifically designed to present a different image.
Now my other quick --
CAMEROTA: Oh, go ahead. Oh, I'm enjoying it.
BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) point is, is, SE, this -- I am interested in this because I do think if you -- if you're on social media and you hang out with the people, SE, like us, who I think you just called losers in one way or another.
CUPP: Yes. Right.
AVLON: And that's fair. Tough, but fair.
BERMAN: So there are a lot of people talking about how effective the Republican Convention is on hitting their marks and that maybe is a turning point. Again, I don't know. We don't know yet. But I will note that the viewership is lower --
CUPP: Right.
BERMAN: And, in some cases, significantly lower than last week's Democratic Convention.
CUPP: Yes.
BERMAN: So, at least on some of the numbers, the idea that it's generating some giant campaign reformation might not add up.
CUPP: That's true. I'm not sure what the correlation between viewership and voter is, though, to be honest. And -- and why you're tuning in. Are you tuning into the DNC because you're a fan or are you tuning into the RNC because you'd like to hear more? I'm not really sure, but certainly Trump has to be disappointed that the Democrats can claim a ratings win, something that he -- he's very -- very partial to himself.
CAMEROTA: SE, John, great to see you guys.
AVLON: Great to see you guys.
CAMEROTA: You guys can go back to your so-called lives.
CUPP: No lives. No life.
CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys.
AVLON: Take care.
BERMAN: All right, this morning, the full scope of Hurricane Laura's destruction. We're just getting a real sense of it right now. This is what it looks like in some parts of Louisiana. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:41:25]
CAMEROTA: Breaking overnight, Japan's longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, resigning because of health concerns. He suffers from colitis, which requires continuous treatment, he says. In a press conference this morning, Abe apologized to the people of Japan. He will remain in office until a successor is named. This is the second time Abe has been forced to resign as prime minister for health reasons. BERMAN: Hurricane Laura is now a tropical depression and it's moving through Arkansas. We're now getting a first look at the extent of the storm damage -- the storm surge and the catastrophic damage. We have aerials over Cameron, Louisiana. This is where Laura made landfall with winds of 150 miles per hour. The hurricane is blamed for at least six deaths so far.
CNN's Martin Savidge is live in Lake Charles, which sustained some of the worst damage from the wind there.
Martin, it really is interesting now, when we were with you yesterday, we didn't know, we couldn't tell yet how much damage was done.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
BERMAN: Now we have a sense.
SAVIDGE: Now we know.
Yes, the damage here is extensive and it is severe. It looks a lot like a tornado, only on a massive, massive kind of scale.
Behind me, that was a restaurant that you can see has been absolutely crushed. If you follow along over this way, next door is an insurance company and it, too, suffered a devastating blow.
And if you continue off to the left here, you'll begin to understand why. That is a broadcast tower that came toppling over at the height of the storm.
These aren't the only stunning images. There is a high rise building in downtown Lake Charles -- we've got the drone footage we can show you -- and it's hard to begin to talk about this building. Almost every other window has been plucked out of it. And the destruction to the lobby area, it just looks like something out of an apocalyptic film.
The mayor of St. Charles has essentially said that the power is out in most areas and it will be for weeks. The infrastructure has been dismantled electrically.
And then on top of that, there's hardly any water because the pumping station suffered a severe blow. So, if you're planning to come back, there's no water, there's no electricity, and those are essentials of life.
This was an area that suffered extensively under Hurricane Rita. That was 15 years ago next month. Now they've got to start all over again.
John.
BERMAN: All right, Martin, thanks so much for being there for us. Obviously, those people have a long road ahead of them.
A powerful moment of silence at New York's Citi Field as Mets and Marlins players united to protest racial injustice. So what will be the lasting impact of this action that we've seen from so many athletes the last few days? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:48:04]
CAMEROTA: The NBA playoffs could resume as early as today after a two- day boycott that disrupted all professional sports in the United States.
Joining us now is "Bleacher Report's" Taylor Rooks and CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan. She's a sports columnist at "USA Today."
Great to see both of you.
Christine, just give us the 30,000-foot view, sort of the big picture on what this week meant.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Historic, Alisyn. We've never seen anything like it in our country where sports shut down over peaceful protests, over working (INAUDIBLE) in our cities. Those with a voice trying to help those who are voiceless. Men and women from these communities realizing the magnitude of the problem as another unarmed black man is shot by the police.
The summer of the pandemic and peaceful protests continues. And what we saw was something we've never seen before, American sports shut down by athletes who want to do good, who want to take action. And that's what the WNBA and the NBA said.
This isn't just about yelling or screaming, this is about getting people to register to vote. This is about calling on the police to arrest the men who killed -- the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. They have a plan of action and they're doing something. It's right out of the playbook of 1968, except it's -- with the Olympics and Carlos and Smith, except it's bigger. It has, I think, more of an impact. And I think history will judge them very, very well.
CAMEROTA: And so, Taylor, on those points, practically speaking, what did it achieve? Was it effective?
TAYLOR ROOKS, BLEACHER REPORT HOST, "TAKE IT THERE WITH TAYLOR ROOKS": Yes, you know, I think that right now, just to echo everything Christine is saying, is they want to use their voice for change. There has been joint calls between players and owners to figure out the exact way to do that. There was one yesterday. One of the main things they brought up was being able to utilize more grassroots types of organizations that are in different cities and give them full-time jobs within the league so that there is a dedicated coalition whose entire job with the NBA is to figure out, how can we change the lives and progress black people in this country and those who have been disenfranchised and also just the victims of racism that has been so prevalent throughout the United States.
[06:50:25]
But it's all about making a plan right now, figuring out how they can work together.
So I think what we know for sure is that this first step has been effective so far. We are talking about it. We are raising awareness about it. Players are having meetings constantly about what they can do next. So we have the symbol. Now it's about how they can create that action.
CAMEROTA: Would it have been helpful for them to do it longer than two days, Christine, I mean since what you're talking about is the arrest of people responsible for -- the officers responsible for Breonna Taylor's death. That -- we haven't seen any action. Should they have extended this boycott?
BRENNAN: You know, Alisyn, Taylor's points are excellent and her reporting has been great on this. And I have to say that I think this is the right amount of time. What we could have seen -- let's just say they didn't play. Let's say they shut down the NBA or the WNBA's season. We saw, of course, the powerful moment in Major League Baseball and other places. Let's say it all shut down. Well, these players have a platform that is so special and so unique to them. They get this opportunity to play sports and have our attention, the nation's, the world's attention. If you don't play your games, I wonder how long it would be before we, as a -- you know, with our attention spans so short, if we just move on. And so I think that would have been the risk.
Now, if they had gone into their communities and started working on voter registration and working with the police and -- and working with the community, maybe -- maybe. But even then, you lose the cache of being an athlete and you now are back in your community. I think they have much -- a much bigger platform. I think they have played this exactly right. And when I say play, I don't mean it was some kind of game. And I think the idea to keep playing now evaluates their voices in a way that not playing, I think, would diminish their voices over time.
CAMEROTA: Taylor, President Trump and Vice President Pence, at least his advisers, both their advisers, dismissed this action. They said it was silly, absurd. So let me just play a little bit for you about how they reacted while this was happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've become like a political organization. And that's not a good thing. I don't think that's a good thing for sports or for the country.
JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think that the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work.
MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: In my mind, it's -- it's -- it's absurd and silly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: What the fallout, would you say, Taylor, from that?
ROOKS: I mean, it's no secret that the words that President Trump has used when talking about athletes in these situations is very prevalent, right? It's a thing that has been discussed here at length. Different players have talked about how, in all honesty, they didn't really care what President Trump had to say.
And when I hear somebody say the NBA has become a political organization, I disagree mainly because something like this isn't politics. To say that a black man shouldn't be killed for no reason, to say that not complying doesn't mean that you should have seven bullets in your back is not political. To me, that's right versus wrong. And I think that's really the echoing sentiment on this campus.
And also, where do we draw the line between sports and politics? Nobody is watching Dana White and saying, why is he talking about politics. Is it only when somebody disagrees with you that it becomes a political organization? So I don't think any players here are really moved or fazed by the fact that Donald Trump said that.
But I would caution everybody to understand that all movements begin with some disruption. That is the essence of change.
You know, I was talking to someone the other day and they said, you know, well, maybe causing a stir isn't the right thing right now. And my response to that is, if we weren't causing a stir, there would have never been a civil rights movement. I think my life is a direct product of people who decided that they wanted to cause a stir.
And to Christine's point, when history looks back on this moment, it will be about how pivotal that disruption was. So whether President Trump feels like the NBA has become a political organization or not, I think, is irrelevant to the actual movement that's taking place and the action that players are trying to take.
CAMEROTA: Taylor Rooks, Christine Brennan, thank you both for all of your insights.
BRENNAN: Thank you.
ROOKS: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: President Trump using his nomination acceptance speech to try to get past the pandemic, even though 181,000 Americans have died from coronavirus. We discuss the impact of all of it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:59:16]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we had listened to Joe, hundreds of thousands more Americans would have died.
We will defeat the virus and the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The American people have a right to believe that their leaders will speak truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no reasonable explanation why someone who is paralyzed would have handcuffs on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have these two justice systems in America, one for black America, and one for white America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the one hand, a black man was shot in the back seven times by a police officer, while a white teenager shown shooting at people is able to walk right by police with his firearm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.
[07:00:01]
And, overnight, an extraordinary message from the White House about what we saw on the South Lawn last night with more than a thousand people packed side by side.
