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President Trump Stirs Racial Resentment Ahead Of Kenosha Trip; Biden Excoriates Trump: "He Can't Stop The Violence"; QAnon Supporters Among Thousands At German Lockdown Protests. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 01, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:31:03]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president heads to Kenosha today despite concerns he could inflame a city on edge -- and comments overnight won't help.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Biden says the president has failed to protect America -- a blistering critique. And he's got a warning for people using protests to escalate violence.
Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour on this first day of September.
In just a few hours, Air Force One will be wheels up for Kenosha, Wisconsin. The president is looking to shore up support in a critical swing state. But local officials prefer he not come. They don't think he can help heal a community that very much needs it.
His views on these issues well documented -- this time, no different -- as he defends right-wing agitators and casts aside people protesting the violence of some in law enforcement. He calls them left-wing mobs.
The president refused to condemn the actions of the white teen who shot and killed two people during protests in Kenosha last week.
And drawing on a golf metaphor, the president only had this to say about police officers who make potentially fatal mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They choke, just like in a golf tournament. They miss a three-foot --
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST, THE INGRAHAM ANGLE: You're not comparing it to golf because, of course, that's what the media will say.
TRUMP: I'm saying people choke. INGRAHAM: People might -- could panic.
TRUMP: People choke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Trump also standing by his followers who shot at Portland protesters with paintballs. And then he offered this bizarre theory about Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings? Is it former Obama officials?
TRUMP: People that you've never heard of. People that are in the dark shadows. People that --
INGRAHAM: Oh, what does that mean? That sounds like a conspiracy theory -- dark shadows. What is that?
TRUMP: No, it's people that you haven't heard of. They're people that are on the streets. They're people that are controlling the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The dark shadows.
Well, for all the talk of so-called law and order from this president, it's statements like that that make you wonder exactly who law and order 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 that violence is raging everywhere all the time, all over America. It's not. That's a myth and it doesn't reflect reality in most of the country.
CNN's Omar Jimenez is on the ground for us in Kenosha.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Laura, local and state officials here -- specifically, the mayor and the governor -- say it's too early for President Trump to visit here in Kenosha. The mayor saying that the community is still taking the time to heal.
And 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 play politics. This is my son's life we're talking about.
The two justice systems were in stark contrast of 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
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 that 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 continues to play 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. Well, 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)
[05:35:01]
JARRETT: Omar, thank you for that.
Joe Biden is placing the blame on President Trump for inflaming the violence and unrest in America's cities. Biden called Trump a toxic presence for allowing that culture to worsen, while also directly condemning those co-opting the protests with violent means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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)
JARRETT: CNN's Arlette Saenz was at Biden's event in Pittsburgh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL 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 that they pushed and hammered away at, at their convention last week.
But, Biden turned the tables on Trump, saying that these scenes of violence in protests in different areas of the country -- that that is happening under President Trump's watch. He accused the president of stoking violence and said 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 them 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 any moral leadership in this country. Donald Trump has been a toxic president to 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 so much.
And, Vice President Mike Pence was on standby to take over the presidency during Donald Trump's unannounced and still, frankly, unexplained visit to Walter Reed Hospital last November. That's according to a new book by "New York Times" reporter Michael Schmidt.
Word went out in the West Wing for Pence to be prepared to step in if President Trump had to undergo a procedure that required anesthesia.
The account raises new questions about the reason for President Trump's unscheduled hospital visit. The White House not commenting.
ROMANS: All right.
House Democrats say postmaster general Louis DeJoy is withholding documents from Congress and they plan to issue a subpoena. The Committee on Oversight and Reform says DeJoy has refused to hand over documents they requested during his testimony last week.
They want information related to post office changes that caused those widespread delays and whether those would impact the election and whether there were communications between DeJoy and the Trump campaign -- Trump campaign.
JARRETT: Well, could the best weapon against coronavirus six months in be public relations? Politico reports the Department of Health and Human Services plans to offer $250 million for a communications firm to help, quote, "defeat despair and inspire hope about the pandemic."
But public relations will not stop misinformation from this White House. It will not bring back nearly 184,000 Americans who have died. And it will not undo the pain of the six million Americans who have been infected by this virus.
Concerns are growing about rushing out a vaccine. The FDA chief, Stephen Hahn, claims he'd consider resigning if he's asked to approve a vaccine before it's ready. That's even though he also told the "Financial Times" that the agency could consider approval before phase three trials are even completed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: And we all want for a safe and effective vaccine to be approved as soon as possible, but I am concerned about shortcuts being taken here and a slippery slope.
Because we initially heard Dr. Hahn saying we need to wait until all the trials are in. Then we heard him say well, maybe we can do emergency use authorization right after phase three. And now we're hearing that we don't even need to wait until phase three trials are complete.
Safety and efficacy in this case are so important because we're talking about giving a vaccine to hundreds of millions of Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: 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 three percent in the last week.
[05:40:00]
Cases are higher in 19 states. Many are located in the Upper Midwest and many because of this. At least 260 cases of coronavirus in 12 states stem from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota -- of course, a predictable super-spreader event.
And the numbers might be higher if testing wasn't slowing down. Remember, 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, RESPONSE COORDINATOR, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: 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 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)
JARRETT: At least 20,000 college students in 36 states have now been diagnosed and many more forced to isolate.
The University of South Carolina suspending 15 students and six Greek organizations after a slew of big parties. And despite rising cases in Iowa, Iowa State University plans to have 25,000 fans at the football home opener on September 12th.
Meanwhile, K-12 students -- well, they're facing their own challenges. One school in Monterey County, California sent a family home with a Wi-Fi hotspot after students went to Taco Bell to use the free Internet.
ROMANS: Wow.
All right. 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 as displaced victims of Hurricane Laura scatter statewide.
The mayor of Houston is warning people to avoid large gatherings ahead of Labor Day weekend, saying coronavirus is still looking for you. Big spikes came after gatherings, remember, on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.
All right, an early summer recovery in air travel just couldn't take off, so airlines are doing whatever they can to get customers in seats during this pandemic. American and Delta joined United and eliminated most change fees for good. Analysts expect the smaller airlines will likely drop those change fees now that the four biggest carriers have.
Southwest, the fourth-largest airline, has never had change fees. American, Delta, United, and Southwest account for more than 80 percent of domestic air travel.
United's chairman, Oscar Munoz, says business travel will not recover until a vaccine is widely available.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OSCAR MUNOZ, CHAIRMAN, UNITED AIRLINES: Confidence in the health (INAUDIBLE) is going to bring the conferences. It's going to bring back corporate travel. It's going to bring back across-the-pond travel for lawyers and the bankers and consultants.
This industry has gone through hell and back on repeated occasions. This is -- this is by far orders of magnitude larger than anything we've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Yes, to hell and back. Dropping change fees highlights the balance of power now between the airlines and passengers. Last year, change fees made airlines $2.8 billion. And, Laura, those change fees are one of the most hated fees --
JARRETT: Sure.
ROMANS: -- that consumers have always complained about -- dropped now. It just shows you how desperate they are to get you on an airplane.
JARRETT: Yes. Obviously, it's good news for travelers and everyone wants to avoid that. But it also makes you wonder how -- just how bad things are that they felt that they had to do that.
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: All right, a quick programming note for you. CNN brings you inside with stories of Joe Biden and Donald Trump and their fight for the White House. See their triumphs, tragedies, and their dramatic journeys. A back-to-back documentary event starting Monday night, 8:00 p.m., on CNN.
We'll be right back.
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[05:47:45]
JARRETT: Welcome back.
Despite rising coronavirus cases in Europe, thousands protested against Germany's coronavirus lockdown measures. Among them, QAnon supporters who claim satanic members of the so-called deep state are plotting to destroy President Trump. The group is starting to gain a real foothold in the Republican Party and evidently, overseas as well.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live for us in Berlin. And, Fred, I hesitate to even call it a conspiracy theory at the risk of giving it too much legitimacy, but you talked to folks on the ground and they actually believe this.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, they certainly actually do believe it. There were 40,000 people here on the streets of Berlin on Saturday and a fraction of them, I have to say, we're also followers of QAnon. And they also said that they're followers of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Here's what we saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): An attack on Germany's democracy. Protesters from a demo against the country's coronavirus restrictions tried to storm the German Parliament on Saturday. Among them, people carrying flags of the German Reich, a symbol that is now associated with Germany's far-right, along with Russian flags, but also U.S. flags.
We also found many supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory. This man waving a Reich flag with the QAnon symbol and the likeness of President Trump.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Do you like Donald Trump?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I like.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The deep states have long time manipulate the peoples -- the human -- and that must end.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): QAnon is a sprawling conspiracy theory that claims, without evidence, that a group of Satan-worshipping members of the deep state are plotting to destroy President Trump and establish world domination.
They claim measures against the pandemic are part of that conspiracy and, at least according to some we spoke to, that President Trump is an angel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's an angel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He has a connection. He has a connection.
PLEITGEN (on camera): To who?
[05:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To (INAUDIBLE). Well, you will see. Wait till third November, and then the fourth November, the pandemic is finished worldwide.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): President Trump has retweeted claims from accounts linked to QAnon hundreds of times and has repeatedly refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy.
TRUMP: Well, I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the president's words are undermining Germany's own response to the coronavirus pandemic. Angela Merkel's government is generally viewed as being successful in combating COVID- 19, but at Saturday's demonstration, she and members of her government are pictured in what seemed to be concentration camp inmate suits calling for her to be locked up.
Another man in a Trump shirt and a MAGA hat saying this. PLEITGEN (on camera): What do you think about Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel? Because internationally, she's been praised for the way she's dealt with the coronavirus crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she is Hitler's daughter.
PLEITGEN (on camera): You think she's Hitler's daughter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And needless to say that Angela Merkel is obviously not Hitler's daughter. In fact, she was born well after Adolph Hitler was already dead.
But I think one of the -- one of the troubling things that we're seeing on the ground here is that when you have protests like this, which do have a certain amount of people who follow conspiracy theories in them -- you know, in the past, we've had some of them with Russian flags out there. Now, more and more American flags among the crowd as well. And quite frankly, people who say that they are loyal to President Trump, Laura.
JARRETT: It's just amazing how much it is resonating on the ground there in Germany. It's just baffling.
Fred, thank you.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. People just read something on the Internet and they think it's true. I mean, I think the history books, Laura, will probably be written and show that all of this social media has made the entire world dumber. Dumber and more gullible and just fertile ground for craziness.
JARRETT: Well, and it can be dangerous in some cases, you know. We sort of disregard it but there are times where it can actually fuel violence --
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: -- and that's what you have to be careful about.
ROMANS: At what point is it a cancer --
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: -- on the body politic, right?
JARRETT: Yes.
ROMANS: All right.
Could another Kennedy be headed for the Senate in Massachusetts? Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey faces a primary today from Congressman Joe Kennedy III. Markey has support from prominent liberal members of Congress. Kennedy has support from several prominent moderates.
The winner will move on to November's general election in a state that historically favors Democrats.
JARRETT: The 75-year-old protester hospitalized after Buffalo police shoved him to the ground, he's speaking out. Martin Gugino spent a month in the hospital recovering from a brain injury -- an experience he calls a turning point in his life.
He tells "USA Today", "A lot of people are injured and a lot of people are killed. I come from the suburbs and there's no problem with police in a white neighborhood."
The police officers who pushed Gugino are facing assault charges.
ROMANS: All right, let's take a look at markets around the world to start a new trading month on Wall Street. You can see it very narrowly mixed in Asian shares, and London opened lower. But Paris and Frankfurt are up.
U.S. futures, right now, are up a little bit. Look, it was a down day for the Dow and the S&P 500 to end August. The Dow fell 223 points on its first day, with three new Dow components. The S&P 500 closed lower. The Nasdaq eked out a small gain.
But the big story is now how it finished the month, it's the trend. The S&P 500 had the best August since 1986, up seven percent, driven by low interest rates and record stimulus. The S&P 500 is up 35 percent over the past five months. "The Wall Street Journal" notes that that is the largest five-month percentage gain since 1938.
Amazon is one step closer to launching drone delivery in the U.S. The tech giant received a critical certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration over the weekend. Companies must have this certificate before starting deliveries with drones.
Amazon said it would use the approval to begin test deliveries. The third company to receive this certification from the FAA. UPS and Wing -- that's a subsidiary of Alphabet -- got there's last year.
JARRETT: Well, another classic sitcom is getting the gang back together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Theme song from "THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The classic theme from "THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR."
According to "The Hollywood Reporter," the cast will reunite to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary. The special will look back at the series and its cultural impact. It's scheduled to premiere around Thanksgiving on HBO Max, owned by CNN's parent company, WarnerMedia.
And a very special cameo in a much-anticipated Verzuz Instagram battle between two R&B legends.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDY NORWOOD, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Hi.
MONICA BROWN, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Hi.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hi.
BROWN: Oh my God.
HARRIS: It's about tonight and --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: They look legitimately surprised. Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance in the showdown between Brandy and Monica. She thanked the singers for their music and encouraged people to vote.
[05:55:00]
ROMANS: All right, how cool.
All right, 55 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining us on this first day of September. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" is next.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump lavished praise on his supporters who clashed with protesters in Portland.
TRUMP: They had large numbers of people, but that was a peaceful protest. Hate is a defensive mechanism.
BIDEN: Fires are burning and we have a president who fans the flames rather than fighting the flames.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was clearly concern political pressure could be rushing the COVID-19 vaccine process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctors are concerned that Americans aren't trusting the FDA.
STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: We will not make that decision on the basis of politics. That's a promise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
