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Ex-NBA Star, Robert Horry, Discusses His Emotional Conversation with Young Son on Police; Biden Returns to Trail Amid Social Unrest and Violent Protests. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 31, 2020 - 13:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:30:00]

ROBERT HORRY, EX-NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER & SEVEN-TIME PLAYOFF CHAMPION: I was sitting there and I started crying. And my wife walks in. She's like, are you crying because you turned 50 today? I started laughing. I'm like, no. I said, did you see the video of this guy getting shot?

At first, I saw it, I thought maybe they will tase him, right? Because that's what they do with white people. They tase them. I didn't have the volume up.

And then Christian walks in and said, no, dad, they shot him. I play it again and I'm like, wow, they shoot this guy seven times in the back.

And then I have this conversation with Christian. And he's like, that's not -- that's wrong, that's wrong. I said, it's beyond wrong. It is flat-out evil.

And I'm tell him -- it's hard to tell your 14-year-old son that I worry about him when he walks out that door. I have a 21-year-old son. I worry about him because black men are an endangered species, pretty much.

People -- these cops are just killing because they feel like if they don't have the body cams on they have a right.

And I tell my kids all the time. I said, I don't care what's going on. Because at the ends of the day, I want you coming home to me.

If you have to lay down on the ground and they can kick you, beat you, least you going to go to the hospital and then come home to me.

Whatever they say to you, don't take it upon yourself to let that rage you have against that cop come out. Because he has the gun. He can end you. And I don't want him to end you because, if he ends you, that means I will end him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Robert Horry is joining us now.

Robert, thank you for being with us.

It is incredibly emotional to watch you describing this conversation. I want to talk more about it.

But I want to just get back to the moment where you were watching the Jacob Blake video, the video of him shot by police.

And just tell us what it was like for you to watch it. What was it that -- I mean, to you, you seem like you were in disbelief watching it.

HORRY: First I want to say, I don't want people to think I condone violence because a lot of the interviews, they didn't see the entire clip when I said, if he ends my son. And after that I said that's wrong of me to say but that's how I feel.

Even though I don't condone violence. I would never do that.

But having that conversation with your son and saying it because I have walked up on my 21-year-old son in handcuffs. I walked up on a situation where my son has a flat tire and I'm coming to help him in a white neighborhood and the cop immediately decided to get out of the car with the hand on the gun.

So I have those moments and I have those moments of fear. And when you grow up in the south, you know what to do. It is not a thing to go in the classroom and teach you what to do. You know what to do to survive.

KEILAR: You know. In a way you're telling your son, look, you may think it's wrong and may know it's wrong, and I agree it's wrong, if you find yourself in a situation, if a police officer responds to you differently as a black man or a black child even.

But you're telling him essentially to forego sort of dignity, right, or even just his right to say this is wrong because you have this fear I think a lot of parents connect to, the idea of losing a child.

HORRY: And you said it right. The dignity. That's the thing with it comes. Every man in this world is proud. And when you know you're right, you want to stand up for your rights. And what we fight for is our rights.

Because if a police officer comes at you and they jump -- if they jump to the conclusion -- and a lot of times you are right and proud and want to boast that -- but there's a way to do it in order to come home. There's a calm way to doing that.

And tell my kids, you know what, God has blessed me with some talent to make me a basketball player to make me have some money so we can figure it out and get lawyers and we can figure this thing out.

But a lot of families don't have that. And they say: What is my situation? How can I handle this? They say, I'm going to stick up for my rights at this moment.

And people don't understand that. It is like we are proud, proud black people. And when we're right, we want to tell you at that moment. And sometimes police officers don't want to hear it because they got a lot on their plate.

KEILAR: And have you had conversations like this before with your kids?

HORRY: Yes, I have. It's a part of black culture. It's what happens. You know? Goes all the way back to, you know, the slavery and all these things.

You tell your kids about this because, like I said in that video, I want my child to come home to me at the ends of the day. That's the most important thing. You can figure things out.

[13:35:09]

And I think a lot of times people don't understand that. You know? Like I said, the problem only steps up. But you have to figure it out.

Because, if someone pulls a gun on you, they have the authority and you don't want that. You want to comply pretty much.

KEILAR: Robert, I know that you know this isn't hypothetical to you. You know what it's like to lose a child. You lost your 17-year-old daughter who passed away from a rare genetic disorder in 2011. So you know what it is to lose a kid.

For you, how pervasive of a fear is this? How much do you think about it that you could lose one of your sons like this?

HORRY: I didn't think about it until here of late, with social media. When social media came in to play and everybody, as soon as you get pulled over by a cop or see someone, you break out the camera.

And now it's in your face, on your mind constantly and it reminds you.

Sometimes, you don't see it, you forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind. But this thing is in your face every day. So it's reminding you every day to remind your kids.

Because we all know our children sometimes, what I call the Superman syndrome. They think they're invincible. They walk out that door, nothing is going to happen.

I know they know, hey, we lost a sister. Anything can happen.

So you try to -- you stay -- keep that on their mind and say, hey, this is what can happen. So you want to come home at the end of the day to laugh, watch TV, and enjoy your video games. We know that's what teenage kids like to do.

And just enjoy life because we just all want peace.

KEILAR: Yes.

Robert, thank you so much for joining us for this conversation. Robert Horry, we appreciate it.

HORRY: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, is back on the trail campaigning in person. And soon, he's expected to call out the president for, as he will put it, "inciting unrest and dividing the nation." We'll bring that to you live.

Plus, Twitter squaring off with President Trump again. This time, removing a retweet with false information about the coronavirus death toll.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:36]

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- and all the promise it holds for future jobs in a high-tech world.

In the recent days, we have had a lot of talk about, who's going where and how. I have decided to come to Pittsburgh to talk a little bit about what's going on right now.

In the early days of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt told the country, and I quote, "The news is going to get worse and worse before it gets better and better. And the American people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder."

Straight from the shoulder. The job of a president is to tell it straight from the shoulder. Tell the truth. To be candid. To face facts. To lead. Not to incite.

That's why I'm speaking to you today. The incumbent president is incapable of telling us the truth, incapable of facing the facts and incapable of healing.

He doesn't want to shed light. He wants to generate heat. And he is stroking violence in our cities.

This is a tragic fact of the matter that, about his perilous hour, that how he's dealing with this perilous hour in our nation. And now we have to stand against violence in every form it takes.

Violence, we have seen again and again and again of unwarranted police shooting, excessive force. Seven bullets to the back of Jacob Blake. Knee on the neck of George Floyd. The killing of Breonna Taylor in her own apartment. Violence of extremists and opportunist and right-wing militias.

(AUDIO PROBLEM)

KEILAR: All right. We are having some technical difficulties there with Joe Biden's remarks. But this is something that -- a speech that he's giving from Pittsburgh.

Let's listen back in.

BIDEN: I want to make it absolutely clear -- something very clear about all of this -- rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting, setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting, it's lawlessness, plain and simple, and those who do it should be prosecuted.

Violence will not bring change, it'll only bring destruction. It's wrong in every way. It divides instead of unites, destroys businesses, only hurts the working families that serve the community. It makes things worse across the board, not better.

No, it's not what Dr. King or John Lewis taught and it must end. Fires are burning and we have a president who fans the flames rather than fighting the flames. But we must not burn, we have to build. This president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country. He can't stop the violence because for years, he's fomented it.

You know, he may believe mouthing the words "law and order" makes him strong but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows how weak he is. Does anyone believe there'll be less violence in America if Donald Trump is re- elected? We need justice in America, we need safety in America.

We're facing multiple crises, crises that under Donald Trump have kept multiplying -- COVID, economic devastation, unwarranted police violence, emboldened white nationalists, a reckoning on race, declining faith in the birth -- and the -- of the right American future.

There's no reason why we can't just do so much more than we're doing. The common thread? The incumbent president who makes things worse, not better, an incumbent president who sows chaos rather than providing order, an incumbent president who fails in the basic duty of the job, which is to advance the truth that all of us know, that we're all born with a right to life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness. That's right, all of us.

The moms and dads at Scranton where I grew up, who have worked and scraped for everything they've ever gotten in life, the auto worker in Michigan who still makes the best automobile in the world, the single mom in Ohio working three jobs just to stay afloat who will do anything for her child, a retired veteran in Florida who gave everything he had to this country and now just wants us to honor the promises made to him, Lord & Taylor salesperson who just lost their job, a store closing after 194 years in business, nurses and doctors in Wisconsin who've seen so much sickness, so much death in the past six months and they wonder how much more -- how much more can they take but still they muster up the courage to take care of those patients in this pandemic while risking their own lives, researchers in Minnesota who woke up this morning determined to find a breakthrough in treating cancer and will do the same thing tomorrow and the day after and the day after because she'll never give up, white, black, Latino, Asian Americans, Native Americans, everybody. [13:46:04]

I'm in this campaign for you, no matter your color, no matter your zip code, no matter your politics. When I think of the presidency, I don't think about myself. It isn't about my brand, it's about you, the American people. We can do better and we have to do better and I promise you this, we will do better.

You know, the road back begins now in this campaign. You know me, you know my heart, you know my story, my family's story. Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?

Really? I want a safe America, safe from COVID, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. Let me be crystal clear, safe from four more years of Donald Trump.

I look at this violence and I see lives and communities and the dreams of small businesses being destroyed and the opportunity for real progress on the issues of race and police reform and justice being put to the test.

Donald Trump looks at this violence and he sees a political lifeline. Having failed to protect this nation from the virus that has killed more than 180,000 Americans so far, Trump posts an all-caps tweet screaming, "LAW AND ORDER" to save his campaign.

One of this closest political advisors in the White House doesn't even bother to speak in code, she just comes out and she says it. Quote, "The more chaos, violence, the better it is for Trump's re-election."

Just think about that. This is a sitting president of the United States of America. He's supposed to be protecting this country. But instead, he's rooting for chaos and violence. The simple truth is, Donald Trump failed to protect America. So now, he's trying to scare America.

Since Donald Trump and Mike Pence can't run on their record that has seen more American deaths to a virus -- this virus -- than the nation suffered in every war since Korea combined. Since they can't run on their economy that has seen more people lose their jobs than any time since the Great Depression. Since they can't run on the simple proposition of sending our children safely back to school.

Since they have no agenda or vision for a second term, Trump and Pence are running on this -- and I find it fascinating. Quote, "You won't be safe in Joe Biden's America." And what's their proof? The violence we're seeing in Donald Trump's America.

These are not images of some imagined Joe Biden America in the future, these are images of Donald Trump's America today. He keeps telling you, "If only he was president, it wouldn't happen. if he was president." He keeps telling, "If he was president, you'd feel safe." Well, he is president ,whether he knows it or not. And it is happening.

It's getting worse, and you know why. Because Donald Trump adds fuel to every fire. Because he refuses to even acknowledge that there's a racial justice problem in America. Because he won't stand up to any form of violence.

He's got no problem with right-wing militia, white supremacists and vigilantes with assault weapons -- often better armed than the police, often in the middle of the violence at the protesters, and aiming it there.

[13:50:00]

And because tens of millions of Americans simply don't trust this president to respect their rights, to hear their concerns or to protect them.

It doesn't have to be this way. When President Obama and I were in the White House, we had to defend federal property. We did it -- we didn't see it, you didn't see us whipping up fears around the deployment of secret federal troops. We just did our job, and federal property's protected.

When President Obama and I were in office, we didn't look at cities as Democratic or Republican-run. These are American cities. But Trump doesn't see himself as president for all America.

Frankly, I believe if I were president today, the country would be safer and we'd be seeing a lot less violence. And here's why. I have said we must address the issue of racial injustice. I've personally spoken to George Floyd's family and to Jacob Blake's family. I know their pain, and so do you. I know the justice they seek, and so do you.

They told us none of this violence respects or honors George or Jacob. I believe we can bring these -- these folks fighting for racial justice to the table. I've worked with police in this country for many years. I know most cops are good, decent people. I know how they risk their lives every time they put that shield on and go out the door. I'm confident I can bring the police to the table as well.

I'd make sure every mayor and governor had the support they needed from the federal government, but I wouldn't be looking to use the United States Military against our own people. If I were president, my language would be less divisive. I'd be looking to lower the temperature in this country, not raise it. I'd be looking to unite the nation.

But, look, if Donald Trump wants to ask the question, "Who will keep you safer as president?" Let's answer that question.

First, some simple facts. When I was vice president, violent crimes fell 15 percent in this country. We did it without chaos and disorder. And yes, we did it with Democratic mayors in most of the major cities in this country. The murder rate now is up 26 percent across the nation this year, under Donald Trump. Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?

COVID has taken this year, just since the outbreak, has taken more than 100 years -- look, here's -- the lives, it's just -- it's -- I mean, you think about it, more lives this year than any other year for the past hundred years. More than 180,000 lives in just six months, an average of a thousand people dying every day in the month of August. Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?

Mr. Trump, you want to talk about fear? Do you know what people are afraid of in America? They're afraid they're going to get COVID. They're afraid they're going to get sick and die, and that is in no small part, it's because of you.

We're now on track to more than 200,000 deaths in this country due to COVID. More than 100,000 seniors have lost their lives to the virus. More cops have died from COVID this year than have been killed on patrol. Nearly one in six small businesses closed in this country today. Do you really feel safer under Trump?

What about Trump's plan to destroy the Affordable Care Act and, with it, the protections for pre-existing conditions? It impacts more than 100 million Americans. Does that make you feel safer?

Or how about Trump's plan to defund Social Security? The Social Security Administration's chief actuary just released a report saying that if a plan like the one Trump is proposing goes into effect, the Social Security Trust Fund would be -- and I quote -- "permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023, with no ability to pay benefits thereafter." To put it plainly, Trump's plan would wipe out Social Security, period. Do you feel safer and more secure now?

The fear that reigns under this president doesn't stop at our shores. The Kremlin has put bounties on the heads of American soldiers.

[13:55:03]

And instead of telling Vladimir Putin that there would be no putting up with this, that there'd be a heavy price to pay if they dare touch an American soldier, this president doesn't even bring up the subject in his multiple phone calls with Putin.

It's been reported that Russian forces just attacked American troops in Syria, injuring our servicemembers. Did you hear the president say a single word?

Did he lift one finger? Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader. It's not only dangerous, it's humiliating and embarrassing for the rest of the world to see. It weakens us.

Not even American troops can feel safer under Trump. Donald Trump's role as a bystander in his own presidency extends to the economic plan and pain, a plan he doesn't have and the pain being felt by millions of Americans.

He said this week, and I quote, "you better vote for me or you're going to have the greatest depression you've ever seen." Does he not understand and see that tens of millions of people who've had to file for unemployment this year? The people who won't be able to make next month's rent payment? The people who lost wages while the cost of groceries have gone up dramatically?

President Obama and I stopped the depression in 2009. We took a bad economy that was falling and turned it around. Trump took a good economy and drove it back into the ditch.

Through his failure, he had COVID under control, his failure to pull together the leaders in Congress, his failure to deliver real relief to working people has made our country economic situation so much worse -- so much worse than it had to be.

When we talk about safety and security, we should talk about basic security of being able to look your child in the eye and tell them "Everything's going to be OK, don't worry, honey, we're not going to lose our home, we're going to be able to put food on the table, it's going to be OK."

It's a job of the president. I've laid out an agenda for economic recovery that will restore a sense of security for the working families.

We won't just build things back the way they were before, we're going to build them back better, with good paying jobs, building our nation's roads, bridges, solar rays, windmills, with investments in our health care and childcare workers so they get the pay and dignity they deserve while easing the financial burdens on millions of families, with a clean energy strategy that has a place for the energy workers right here in western Pennsylvania.

I am not banning fracking -- let me say that again -- I am not banning fracking, no matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me. This future -- the future, that's what this is all about. You know, we hear Donald Trump's self-centered rants and riffs but the voice of Americans should be heard. The one you should listen to is Julia Jackson, the mother of Jacob Blake. Hers is a voice of courage, character and wisdom.

In looking at the damage that's been done to her city, she said quote "the violence and destruction doesn't reflect my son or my family." These are the words of a mom -- a mother whose son had just been shot seven times in front of his children, badly injured, paralyzed, perhaps permanently.

And even as she seeks justice for her son, she's pleading for an end to the violence and for this nation to heal. She said she was praying for her son, then she said something to me that -- that surprised me. She said she was praying for all police officers. She said she was already -- been praying for America, even before her son was shot.

She's publicly asked all of us to examine our hearts -- citizens, elected officials, the police, all of us, and then she said this, quote "we need healing." More than anything, that's what we need to do as a nation, we need to heal.