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Trump Tries to Move Past Pandemic as Death Toll Nears 181,000; Trump Stays Silent on Jacob Blake Shooting, Vows to Stop Violent Protests; Reports Say, NBA Players Decide to Resume Playoffs. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: This is New Day.

And overnight, an extraordinary message from the White House about what we saw on the south lawn last night with more than a thousand packed side by side for hours, largely with no masks and a pandemic regularly killing more than a thousand Americans every day.

A senior White House official told CNN, quote, everyone is going to catch this thing eventually. Was that the White House strategy to fight coronavirus?

At the final night of the convention, as it was underway, the CDC released a revised forecast for deaths, 200,000 by September 19th. And in the face of those numbers and in the shadow of the taxpayer-funded White House and an unprecedented expansion of politicking at the White House, the president claimed that the response, the White House response that those numbers represents are a success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We are delivering life-saving therapies and we'll produce a vaccine before the end of the year or maybe even sooner.

We will defeat the virus and the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: Well, the president made no mention of the coronavirus death toll in the United States. It's approaching 181,000 Americans. For some perspective on the rate of people dying during just the four nights of the RNC, more Americans died from coronavirus than on 9/11.

And while trying to claim the mantle of law and order, President Trump did not mention the shooting of Jacob Blake that triggered all of the violence in Kenosha, or talk about how two protesters were shot and killed, allegedly, by a teenage Trump supporter. BERMAN: All right. Joining us now, CNN Political Analyst, Maggie Haberman, she's White House Correspondent for The New York Times. Also with us, CNN Political Analyst David Gregory, but, first off, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

And, Sanjay, we want to start with you, not just because you have a medical disagree, but I want to know what you were thinking as you were looking at the south lawn last night and seeing all of those people sitting side by side for so long with no masks and then to hear after it, the White House explanation is it, you know, we're all going to get it eventually?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, what I thought of, and I've just been covering this for so many months now, is that the history books will be written about this chapter in our lives at some point. And it will show events like that and say that in the middle of a pandemic, at a time when the country decided to shut down, when there were 5,000 roughly people who were infected, and at a time when there were 5 million infected, we started having events like that again.

I mean, it's really frustrating. It's mind boggling. And I think it shows that there are certain segments of the population still have not learned or are not paying attention to what this virus is. The virus is the constant. It has not changed over the last several months. It is still a very contagious virus. It is still very much circulating. Chairs were six inches apart. People were not required to be masked. They did not have to be tested. It was risky for them. It was a risk that they were posing to others. It's all the things that we talked about. Unfortunately, it all came together during that one event.

Let me show you, we put together this graphic just to remind people what are safer sort of situations and what are more dangerous situations. Being outdoors, obviously, that's better than being indoors. The problem is that you're next to each other for a long duration of time. You know, once you're next to somebody more than ten minutes or so, that is now considered a close contact.

Obviously, they weren't masked. That's a real problem. There will be people who became infected as a result of that event last night and there will be people who will spread it and possibly require hospitalization and may even die as a result of that event last night. And, finally, let me just say, that quote that you put up, we're all going to get it anyways, just let it rip, essentially.

You don't want this virus, okay? The more that we're learning about it, even in people who have minimal symptoms, there's a percentage of people who become long haulers. They have symptoms for months afterwards and maybe it becomes something that they live with. We don't know. I mean, we'll only learn with the passage of time. You don't want this virus. You don't want to say, hey, let me get through this and then I'll be done with it.

First of all, we don't know how long it will protect you. And second of all, we don't know exactly still what this virus does to the body. CAMEROTA: Maggie, when President Trump promised that he would be unveiling his plan soon? I think it was at the first coronavirus task force meeting, once he restarted them, when he took the questions and had sort of sidelined the medical experts and say, oh, yes, we'll be announcing a big, beautiful plan, I'm paraphrasing. And we -- you know, that was a tease for something. And we haven't heard him spell it out.

And so last night, I was looking for nuggets of that plan.

[07:05:02]

Is the, well, eventually we're going to get it anyway, is herd immunity, is let's get this over with, is that the plan?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No. Look, Alisyn, I think that that was an aside from an aide who was basically talking about the general view within the White House. I don't think that there has been a plan beyond what we have seen. And I think that they've not made progress in terms of suggesting that people wear masks, but the number of maskless people last night was alarming.

You know, for those of us who were there in the press, clearly, we were kept pretty far away and most of us were wearing masks, but people were generally eschewing them in the crowd.

Look, this is obviously not an issue that the president thinks that he can win on. It's not an issue that the president's advisers think that they can win on. If you listen to the various days of the convention, you heard the coronavirus, when it was mentioned at all, and the administration's response recast as a success story, as something where they were hugely responsive. The facts just don't back that up.

They know that if they are talking about the coronavirus, they are probably not on a winning side. And that is their cold, political calculation. I do not expect that to change with 60-some-odd days left until the election.

BERMAN: Sanjay, we know you have things to do, we're going to let you go. We're going to come back to you in a little bit on just the coronavirus as we talk more about what we saw last night at the convention over the last four days, and David Gregory having covered several of these with you, in fact.

I think now that we've seen both conventions, the right question is to ask, what has changed? You know, what was effective? How do they recast the race? And I don't think there's any question what the Republicans were trying to do is to make this a choice election, Donald Trump versus Joe Biden. Not a referendum on the Trump presidency or the pandemic, mind you, specifically the pandemic, but a choice between Trump and Biden and to try to make Joe Biden seem scary.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No question about it. And I think we see that in most conventions. But in the campaign up until now, it has been so focused on President Trump and a referendum on Trump and his handling of the virus. And his numbers have been so abysmal, that you have seen a Democratic nominee that has kind of waited in the wings and tried to keep out of sight, more or less, and let the president just keep hurting himself. And that's what we've seen.

So I think there was added urgency around the Republicans doing a number of things at once, but that was the primary focus, which was to soften Trump a little bit, to address those things that particularly persuadable voters, suburban women find distasteful in him. Get back to the idea that, hey, this is a disruptive president. He may not like everything, but he gets results. And you should very much fear the alternative, because he is what's keeping, you know, standing in the way of the radical left taking over.

And that is going to have some resonance with folks who are reasonable, as well as those who are less reasonable, those who are persuadable and not. I think that's the argument that they have concluded is the strongest one to make.

CAMEROTA: Of course, Maggie, much of it was a fact-free fest, what the president was saying. Our fact checker, Daniel Dale, had to like work in overtime. In fact, he had to speak in double time in order to get through it all.

BERMAN: I'll put up a link to it. I did put a link to it on my Twitter page. It's worth looking what Daniel did last night.

CAMEROTA: I had a look-up. I had look-up, because he counted 20, just off the top, 20 misleading moments and he tried to get through them and so here is a little moment of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Trump said, I have done more for the African-American community than any president since Abraham Lincoln. That is ludicrous. Lyndon Johnson, for once, signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Trump again touted a, quote, record 9 million job gain over the past three months. He didn't mention, as usual, that that gain follows a record 22 million job loss over the previous two months.

He said he'll, quote, continue to lower drug prices, they've increased during his presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Those were just three. It went on from there, Maggie. But, again, these conventions are not necessarily about facts, they're about feeling.

HABERMAN: First of all, the president's speeches, in general, whether the campaign rally or something else, generally, have several of those moments. So this was not out of character, certainly, for the White House or in the campaign. In terms of what people are there for the convention to see, you're absolutely right. This was -- look, there was a misuse of government resources and the White House leaned into that. They were sort of thumbing their nose at it and didn't care.

And, visually, if you are tuning in and if you are somebody who can be persuaded to either come back to Trump or be a new voter and you saw these visuals and you listen to him telling this story of his presidency that does not mesh with facts in many places, but which he is telling, again, as a success story, that could be enough for some people.

And that was their goal last night. His comment about doing more for the black community than anyone since Abraham Lincoln is if a favorite of his.

[07:10:01]

It is clearly not true. It is clearly ludicrous. Jonathan Swan from Axios challenged him on it directly in an interview a couple of weeks ago. I don't expect him to stop saying it. I think you will hear it again and again going on forward. And it is not just about black voters, it is about reassuring suburban white voters who are concerned about his racist comments.

BERMAN: So, David Gregory, what do you think the Biden campaign does now? We do know of one change. The Biden campaign and Joe Biden himself now says that he will go to some battleground states for events that are medically appropriate and cleared. I don't think it means rallies. We're not quite sure what it means, but traveling in and of itself more than he has is a change. But what else do you think they might do differently now?

GREGORY: Well, you know, I don't know how much has changed in terms of the political conditions after these conventions. Both sides did essentially what they wanted and needed to do. I thought they both pulled off pretty good conventions as a technical matter, given the limitations by the virus. And it's difficult for Biden/Harris, when you are up against Trump and Pence who are willing to play to big crowds like that, as they did last night on the White House lawn.

So I think, look, Biden has got to get into the fight fully on this referendum versus a choice question, because he is being painted as the Trojan horse who's not really in control and the radical leftists are going to take over. He's got to deal with that. And he's got to take it on and keep, you know, the focus on Trump and get people to evaluate what Trump has done and what he has not done. That's what his convention was about. And that's what I think he'll absolutely keep doing.

CAMEROTA: And, Maggie, what about the message of law and order and all of the stuff about how anarchy will break out on the streets from what we're seeing in Kenosha and elsewhere since George Floyd is now, it's happening now?

HABERMAN: Right. Look, President Trump has been very clearly trying to intimate there is someone else in charge for that portion of what's happening in the country, and that other things that are going well, that he is responsible for. That said, I think that the campaign is counting on the idea that the images that people see are going to scare them enough that they are going to get concerned.

I think that you clearly are seeing some movement from the Biden campaign in trying to be more vocal about condemning violence that has broken out and unrest at some of these protests. I think that that is a signal that they realize that they need to be counteracting what the president is saying a little bit more, and whether that does enough remains to be seen.

But, look, I think that this law and order theme is one that we saw the president used in 2016. He used it pretty effectively. It is not uncommon for Republicans to use that message and sometimes to have success with it. I think that it is unsurprising that you're going to see it again. I think that it is a very cynical message from the president given what a raw moment it is in the country. But we have seen that this president over and over that he will do and say whatever he thinks he has to do to win. And I don't think the next 60- some-odd days will be an exception.

BERMAN: 67.

GREGORY: And I just think the president is the president during a time when there is this kind of tearing of the social fabric and doesn't take any accountability for that. I think you can look for Biden to point that out.

And one other inconsistency that was so glaring in this convention is how the president and all of his allies stood up for freedom of speech and to stand up against the cancel culture, except for when the president tries to cancel people himself, which he has done to anybody who dares speak criticism to him.

I certainly look forward to seeing the Biden campaign pointing that out to voters who may not be apprised of that.

CAMEROTA: From Goodyear to the media, David. It's such a great point.

BERMAN: All right. David and Maggie, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

So, today, the gunman accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will make his first appearance in court, while the police department has yet to answer basic questions about the shooting of Jacob Blake. We're going to discuss this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

CAMEROTA: The father of Jacob Blake, the black man shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, says his son is handcuffed to his hospital bed, despite being paralyzed at the moment from the waist down. President Trump did not mention Jacob Blake by name at his convention speech, but he did continue to push his message, he says, of law and order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When there is police misconduct, the justice system must hold wrongdoers fully and completely accountable, and it will. But when we can never have a situation where things are going on as they are today, we must never allow mob rule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now, L.Z. Granderson, Sports and Culture Columnist at The Los Angeles Times, and Cheryl Dorsey, retired LAPD Police Sergeant, she is the author of Black and Blue, The Creation of a Social Advocate.

Sergeant Dorsey, great to have your expertise. As you watch what's happening here in Kenosha, they keep falling back on the, we can't say anything from the sheriff's department because, you know, there's this investigation going on, which we can't say anything. So they've offered no explanation this week for their side of the story. Does it make sense that they can't say anything because of the investigation?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Well, they can't say anything because they're still trying to craft a rationale for that officer having shot Mr. Blake in the back seven times. And now, they further exacerbated the situation by having Mr. Blake handcuffed to a bed like a dog is chained to a tree? Listen, I've worked security for prisoners who have been hospitalized, and if there's an officer standing sentry, then why is Mr. Blake handcuffed after all? He's paralyzed from the waist down.

And what does the hospital staff have to say about that? Because they can intervene if they want to and say that we can't provide proper treatment as long as he is handcuffed.

[07:20:01]

And so all of them are culpable that if this were a white suspect, I promise you he would be treated much better given the seriousness of his injuries.

CAMEROTA: so, L.Z., the president mentioned Kenosha by name but did not mention Jacob Blake in any form or fashion. What did you hear in that?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COLUMNIST: I just heard more of the same. We know who this man is. You know, and many of us who cover the campaign in 2016, as I did, we recognize who his supporters were. And, honestly, John, there's no surprise that he did not mention Jacob Blake or any of the victims by name, because that didn't support his narrative.

The irony of someone quite possibly violating the Hatch Act, referring to themselves as the protector of law and order, when all of your associates, close associates, have been convicted and you've had to actually get them out of jail, when you, yourself, have been impeached, and yet you still position yourself as the person who's going to protect America and be the president of law and order. Well, of course, people don't expect you to recognize true victims, because you're still characterizing yourself as a victim, despite your white privilege and everything that you've inherited and everything that you've been given.

CAMEROTA: Sergeant Dorsey, with the lack of information, obviously, our brains try fill in the blanks, the attorney general in Wisconsin has said that a gun was found in Jacob Blake's car. Would that ever be a justification for -- I'm sorry -- a knife -- let me correct myself -- was found on the floorboard of his car. Would that be any justification for being shot in the back seven times?

DORSEY: That has nothing to do with anything. The knife, if there is one, was in the car, he was not. And listen, you saw an officer who couldn't control a situation and he started punching Mr. Blake down like an animal with his gun drawn prepared to shoot him. So when he couldn't control him, he did the only thing that officers seem to know to do when they're dealing with a black suspect, is shoot first and then figure it out why later. They're still trying figuring that out.

BERMAN: L.Z., one of the things I am struck by again, there is an issue of what's right and what's effective. And we talked in our last segment and over show and the convention about whether or not the president's messaging on this will be effective politically. I want to leave that aside. I want to talk now about what's right.

What's evident is the president's direct attack on cities. I can't imagine a Democrat attacking farm country by name, the way that President Trump attacked cities by name. Stuff like mob rule is very evocative. Talking about suburbs being taken over and inundated is very evocative there. And it's just very specific messaging coming out of the convention at a time when America is raw. And I want to know what you think the impact will be.

GRANDERSON: Well, you know, in all fairness, it is not as if there's a lot of love between some liberals and rural America. I mean, if we're going to keep it 100, I'm going to do just that. Secretary Clinton called his supporters deplorables, so I think both sides need to reevaluate how we talk about each other. I believe that both Democrats and Republicans have lost a little bit of control when it comes to civility.

President Trump aside, and I would say that he's aside, because he's truly isn't a Republican, he's not a Democrat, he's a narcissistic asshole. And so we can't use him as the barometer for whether or not the parties need to find civility. What we need is a moment of empathy. What we need is to be able to look at each other and say, just because we disagree on how to make America work doesn't mean that those that we disagree with are trying to destroy America.

I understand that he is the president. I understand that he has supporters. But we have these issues before him and we will have these issues after him if we don't address the gap in empathy for one another, regardless of political affiliation or even regardless of any other thing that makes us different. I don't think pointing out our differences cause these problems. What causes our problems is assuming that one difference is superior to the other. Whether it's race, whether it's gender identity or sexual orientation, whether it's religion or being non-religious, we have to stop treating each like less than because they're different.

CAMEROTA: Sergeant Dorsey, we only have about ten seconds left. Your final thoughts?

DORSEY: Fish rots from the head. We've heard racial animus being spewed by the police chief. I understand why this officer would shoot a black man in the back seven times, unjustly.

[07:25:00]

CAMEROTA: Cheryl Dorsey, L.Z. Granderson, thank you both very much. Great to talk to you.

DORSEY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Major sports leagues are taking a stand for social justice leading to this remarkable scene at the Mets/Marlins game last night. It follows the NBA postponing its playoff games. So will these acts lead to change?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The NBA Playoffs could resume as early as today after players walked off the court in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting, the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Joining me now is Lloyd Pierce, he is the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and he's the chair of the NBA's Racial Justice Committee. Coach, we really appreciate you being with us. You've been such an important voice on all of this for the last several months.

I'm curious today -- now, you're not in the bubble, and I'm not trying to rub it in that the Hawks aren't there at all, but I want to know what you're hearing from the players and the coaches and people around the league this morning about this.

LLOYD PIERCE, HEAD COACH, ATLANTA HAWKS: Thanks for having me on. You know, I think I'll start by saying that it's been a very unique situation and circumstance for everyone that's in Orlando.

[07:25:06]