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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Heads to Kenosha Against Wishes of Local Leaders; Biden Excoriates Trump: "He Can't Stop the Violence"; Report: HHS Offers $250M for PR to "Defeat Despair"; Naomi Osaka Wears Mask for Breonna Taylor. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 01, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:28]
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: The president heads to Kenosha today despite concerns he could inflame a city on edge and his comments overnight won't help.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And Joe Biden says the president has failed to protect America. A blistering critique and warning for people using protests to escalate the violence.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Tuesday, September 1st, 5:00 a.m. in New York. Just nine weeks to the election.
In just a few hours, Air Force Ones will be wheels up to Kenosha, Wisconsin. The president is looking to shore up support in a critical swing state, but local officials there are dreading Trump's visit, fearing he will not bring any healing to a community very much in need of it.
His record on these issues is actually quite well-documented and this time is no different as he defends right wing agitators and he casts aside those protesting against police brutality as, quote, left wing mobs. Asked if he would condemn the actions of the white teen who shot and killed two people during protests in Kenosha last week, the president did just the opposite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you going to condemn the actions of vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're looking at all of that. That was an interesting situation. You saw the same type as I saw. And he was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like.
And he fell. And then they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we're looking at right now, and it's under investigation. But I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been -- he
probably would have been killed. It's under -- it's under investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: For all the talk of so-called law and order, it's statements like that that make you wonder who exactly it applies to. Remember, no matter what the president says about cities burning down to win a second term, limited and looped video clips do not mean violence is raging everywhere all the time. It's not. It's a myth and does not reflect reality most of the country.
CNN's Omar Jimenez is on the ground for us in Kenosha.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Laura, local and state officials here, specifically the mayor and governor say it's too early for president Trump to visit here in Kenosha. The mayor is saying that the community is still taking the time to heal. There's been a major question as to whether he would meet with the Jacob Blake family. At this point, that seems unlikely.
JACOB BLAKE, SR., JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: I'm not going to plays politics. This is my son's life we're talking about. The two justice systems were in stark contrast with each other right there in front of your eyes. You could see that on video. That white young man got a high five and some water. My son got seven shots to the back, hot ones, to his back, he's paralyzed from the waist down. That young man went home.
JIMENEZ: The mother, according to their family attorney, Benjamin Crump, was waiting for a call but then says that president Trump didn't want to do it with lawyers on the line as the Jacob Blake family wanted to. And then, specifically, the uncle says President Trump is a racist and that they are not interested in that conversation.
And all the while, the investigation into what happened and how the shooting happened in regards to Jacob Blake unfolded. That plays out at the state level, even as we have heard claims from the Kenosha police association saying that Jacob Blake was being aggressive and wrestling with officers while their attorneys are countering that, specifically Benjamin Crump saying, as you see on the video he was walking to the car to get his kids from the vehicle -- Laura, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Omar, thank you so much for that. Joe Biden is placing the blame on President Trump for the race-related unrest in America's cities. Biden called Trump a toxic president for allowing that culture to worsen while directly condemning the violence at some protests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It's lawlessness, plain and simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN's Arlette Saenz was at Biden's event in Pittsburgh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Laura and Christine, Joe Biden forcefully pushed back on President Trump's message of law and order, and on that argument from Trump and his allies that voters would not be safe in a Joe Biden America. That is something they pushed and hammered away at their convention last week. But Biden turned the tables on Trump, saying that these scenes of violence and protest in different areas of the country, that that is happening under President Trump's watch.
[05:05:07]
He accused the president of stoking violence and says he is incapable of healing the country. Take a listen to a bit more of what Biden had to say.
BIDEN: 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 us if he was president, you'd feel safe.
Well, he is president whether he knows it or not. 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 immoral leadership.
Donald Trump has been a toxic president in our nation for four years, poisoning how we talk to one another, poisoning how we treat one another, poisoning the values this nation has always held dear. The simple truth is, Donald Trump failed to protect America. So, now, he's trying to scare America.
SAENZ: Biden traveled here to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to deliver the speech. Pennsylvania is a battleground state, but a source familiar with discussions tells me that his advisers are considering having Biden travel to Wisconsin as soon as this week -- Laura and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Arlette, thank you for that.
The man who was fatally shot Saturday night in Portland, the Portland protests, has been identified as 39-year-old Aaron Danielson. "The New York Times" reports Danielson was wearing a hat with the insignia far right Patriot Prayer group when he was shot. The police have not identified a suspect. Overnight, police declared a riot in the city once again. Protestors were outside the home believed to be the Mayor Ted Wheeler.
Two sheriff's deputies in the Portland area have announced they will not deploy resources to the city despite a request from Oregon's governor to help curb the violence. The protests are now in their fourth month.
ROMANS: So, protests overnight in southwest Los Angeles after sheriff's deputies fatally shot a black man. The sheriff's department says two deputies have stopped the 30-year-old for riding his bike illegally. Officials say the man ran and when officers caught up to him, he punched one and dropped a pile of clothing which they say concealed a semi-automatic handgun.
The officers opened fire, killing the man. And investigation was underway. Officials say the officers were not wearing body cameras.
JARRETT: Still ahead, the government's latest plan to fight coronavirus: defeat, despair and inspire hope, with help of a public relation's firm.
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[05:11:53]
ROMANS: Is the best weapon against coronavirus public relations? "Politico" reports the Department of Health and Human Resources plans to offer $250 million for a communications firm to help, quote, defeat, despair, and inspire hope about the pandemic.
Public relations will not stop misinformation from the White House. It will not bring back nearly 184,000 Americans who have died and it will not undue do the pain of the 6 million Americans infected. Concerns are growing about rushing a vaccine, FDA chief doctor, Stephen Hahn, claimed he considered resigning if he's asked to approve a vaccine before it is ready, even though he told "The Financial Times" the agency could consider approval before phase three trials are complete.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We all want for a safe and effective vaccine to be approved as soon as possible, but I am concerned about short cuts being taken here and a slippery slope because we initially heard Dr. Hahn saying we need to wait until the trials are in. Then we heard say, well, maybe we can do emergency use authorization right after phase three, and now, we're hearing that we don't need to wait until phase three trials are complete. Safety and efficacy ion this case are so important because we're talking about giving a vaccine to hundreds of millions of Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Now, the U.S. did see some progress last month. The average of new cases dropped 34 percent in August after soaring 47 percent in July but improvement is slowing. New cases are down just 3 percent in the last week. Cases are also higher in 20 states. Many are located in the upper Midwest and many because of this. Look at this.
At least 260 cases of coronavirus in 12 states all stem from the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota, a predictable super spreader event. The numbers might be higher if testing wasn't slowing down. Just last week, the CDC relaxed guidance for who needs testing, a move almost universally rejected by doctors.
Now, spikes on college campuses are forcing the head of the White House task force to push for the opposite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Most university students are not going to know they're infected. They're not knowingly transmitting the virus to others. The only way to find them in a university setting is to doing the aggressive testing that is happening here followed by isolating those students to make sure that they don't continue to spread the virus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: At least 20,000 college students in 36 states have now been diagnosed and many more are forced to isolate. The University of South Carolina suspending 15 students and six Greek organizations after a slew of big parties.
Despite rising cases in Iowa, Iowa State University plans to have 25,000 fans at the football home opener September 12th. K-12 students are facing their own challenges. One school in Monterey County, California, has sent a family a Wi-Fi hot spot after students went to Taco Bell to use the free Internet.
JARRETT: Eviction moratoriums are now extended in California, Florida, and Nevada. Millions across the country are struggling with rent due this week. The governor of Louisiana says he's concerned about another spike and as displaced victims of Hurricane Laura scattered nationwide, statewide, I should say.
[05:15:01]
The mayor of Houston is warning people to avoid huge gatherings ahead of Labor Day weekend, saying coronavirus is still looking for you.
Big spikes came after gatherings on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
ROMANS: All right. A long-time tech titan says a lack of technology hampered the U.S. coronavirus response. Eric Schmidt is the former CEO of Google. In his new podcasts, he says the federal government was confused and caught flat-footed because the country lacked integrated data systems.
He adds, people have died unnecessarily because government was slow to react to common and simple things like mask wearing and social distancing. He also washed rotating pandemics could continue until the summer of 2021 if Americans aren't behaving, quote, in a sane way by wearing masks and avoiding crowds.
JARRETT: Well, health care workers may have had a bigger role in spreading coronavirus than previously thought. CNN is covering the pandemic developments coast to coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: I'm Jacqueline Howard in Atlanta.
Many health care workers with COVID-19 may not even realize that they have the illness. In a new report published by the CDC, 69 percent of front line health care workers who have evidence of a prior infection were never diagnosed. In that report, 6 percent of front line health care workers overall had antibodies to the coronavirus. Those antibodies suggest they previously had been infected.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.
People in neighboring New Jersey will soon be able to enjoy dinner out and a movie in months. Yesterday, Governor Phil Murphy announced restaurants will be able to resume indoor dining starting on Friday. Movie theaters and other indoor entertainment can also reopen, all with restrictions included limited occupancy of 25 percent. The infection rate in the Garden State, about 1.4 percent right now.
Here in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo recognized that the state will be at a disadvantage with restaurants across the river, allowing indoor dining. But the governor insists New York is not quite ready to take that step yet.
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rosa Flores in Miami.
The state of Florida reporting its lowest number of new daily coronavirus cases since June 15th. The Florida Department of Health reported 1,885 COVID-19 cases Monday. This as the Florida Department of Education estimates that at least 1.1 million students are experiencing face-to-face instruction, but 74 school districts reopening for in-person learning so far.
Here in Miami-Dade County where I am, while the public school system is virtual only, the school district says that 8 of 139 charter schools have reopened brick and mortar style.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. A House panel says the Trump administration misled the American people on the severity of the pandemic. According to reports released by a House Select Subcommittee, ten states were in the red zone with cases spiking in June.
At that very moment, Vice President Mike Pence was telling the nation all 50 states are opening up safely and responsibly and on July 14th, the White House coronavirus task force warned the West Wing more testing was needed. It's the same week President Trump declared the country was testing too much.
JARRETT: Well, coming up, one of the top players in women's tennis with a bold statement for social justice on night one of the U.S. Open.
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[05:22:40]
JARRETT: The U.S. Open tennis tournament kicked off in New York Monday and Naomi Osaka made a statement not only with her plan in the court but her mask selection as well.
Andy Scholes has this more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Laura.
So, Naomi Osaka, she's been very outspoken in the fight for social justice, and in her match at the U.S. Open, the 2018 champ wearing a mask with Breonna Taylor's name on it.
Now, Taylor, of course, was a 26-year-old black woman who was killed during a police raid in March. In front of no fans, Osaka winning her opening match in three sets to advance in the second round. And afterwards Osaka said she has seven different masks. Sadly, that isn't enough. But hopefully, she makes the finals so we get to see all of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAOMI OSAKA, 2018 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: For me, I just want to spread awareness. Like I'm aware that tennis is watched all over the world and maybe there's someone that doesn't know, you know, Breonna Taylor's story. So maybe they'll Google it after or something. So I -- for me, spreading awareness, like, I feel like the more people know the story, then the more, you know, interesting or interested they'll become in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Meanwhile, 16-year-old American Coco Gauff who was also outspoken this summer about the protest for racial equality and continues to be lost her opening match and was bounced from the tournament.
Nick Saban meanwhile leading his team on a march for social justice through campus yesterday. Running back Najee Harris tweeted out: We want our voices to be heard, as we strike to enact social change and rid our world of social injustices. And as the march went on, the team went on to be joined by a large number of students.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK SABAN, ALABAMA HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: Today I'm like a proud parent, I'm proud of our team, proud of our messengers over here and I'm very proud of the message. Sports has always created a platform for social change for each of us involved in sports. I think we have a responsibility and obligation to do that in a responsibility and use our platform in a positive way to try to create social change and positive --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. So, in the NBA, the Houston Rockets looking to close out their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
[05:25:03]
Chris Paul, though, continued to be a thorn in the side of his former team. Paul knocking out two huge three, threes in the closing minutes. Then with ten seconds left, the Rockets down two, chance to tie or win it. Russell Westbrook, throwing the ball out of bounds, he's gifting the win to the Thunder. OKC survived 104-100. Game 7 going to be tomorrow night.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
SCHOLES: Just melts your heart. Raptors guard Fred VanVleet as his family arrives in the bubble. They're allowed to have their families join them there at Disney. Just an awesome moment. You can just hear the pure joy in those kids' faces. They hadn't seen daddy in quite a well.
ROMANS: Oh, wow, what a moment. If you could bottle up those little voices, right? hat's so perfect.
SCHOLES: So awesome.
ROMANS: Thank you so much, Andy. Nice to see you.
SCHOLES: All right. Joe Biden and Donald Trump each says the other can't keep America safe. The president heads to Wisconsin today after defending the teen accused of killing two protesters and Trump has a new excuse for the officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
