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Trump to Travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, Today; Man Killed in Portland Protest Identified; U.S. Surpasses 6 Million Cases, 183,000+ Americans Killed; HHS Seeks Public Relations Campaign to 'Defeat Despair' Over Pandemic. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump lavished praise on his supporters who clashed with protesters in Portland.

[05:59:44]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They had large numbers of people. There was a peaceful protest. Paint is a defensive mechanism.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Fires are burning, and we have a president who fans the flames, rather than fighting the flames.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is growing concern political pressure could be rushing the COVID-19 vaccine process.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctors are concerned that Americans aren't trusting the FDA.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not make that decision on the basis of politics. That's a promise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, September 1.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's September! It's September. My kids are actually going to school today, like actual, physical school.

CAMEROTA: That's fantastic. Good. That's a great benchmark, a milestone.

BERMAN: I can't remember the last time this happened.

CAMEROTA: Good for you. That's great. We'll see how long that lasts.

BERMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: It's 6 a.m. here in New York.

President Trump heads to Kenosha, Wisconsin, today. He says it's to increase enthusiasm. We assume he means for his reelection. He's focused on the pockets of unrest over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed now more than 183,000 Americans.

The president will not be meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot by police seven times in the back at close range.

Local officials in Kenosha are concerned the president's trip could trigger more violence. Instead of condemning the deadly violence, President Trump is defending Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of murdering two protesters in Kenosha, as well as the Trump supporters who shot Portland protesters with paintballs.

Mr. Trump now compares police officers who use excessive or deadly force to golfers who, quote, "choke" missing a three-foot putt.

BERMAN: So, you think the family of George Floyd feels like someone missed a three-foot putt? Do you think Jacob Blake will ever get the use of his legs to even try a three-foot putt?

Of course, the larger point here might not be what this discussion is, but what it isn't. It's not the pandemic. It's not the 6 million confirmed cases in the U.S. It's not the 183,000 Americans who have died. It's not the rising cases in the Midwest, which are now a concern. It is deliberately not that, by design not that.

Now, Joe Biden is accusing the president of making it all worse just for politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: One other bit of news this morning. Two months before the election, Politico reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is offering $250 million of taxpayer money to a public relations company to defeat despair and inspire hope in regards to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, a PSA campaign to promote mask-wearing and social distancing would be one thing, but why spend hundreds of millions before an election to inspire hope about the pandemic? That's a different question.

Let's begin with CNN's Shimon Prokupecz live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where the president arrives today -- Shimon. SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. So, after days

of pleading -- pleadings from local officials for him not to come here, President Trump is still heading here later today to survey the damage and meet with local law enforcement, this as Joe Biden is slamming Trump's recent rhetoric, asking Americans if they feel safe in Trump's America.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): This morning, President Trump is moving forward with plans to travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, despite calls from local officials to reconsider his trip.

MAYOR JOHN ANTARAMIAN (D), KENOSHA, WISCONSIN: I am disappointed that he is coming. The president is always welcome, but at this time, it's just the wrong time. Right now is a time for us to heal and to be able to look inward and deal with the issues we have to deal with.

PROKUPECZ: The White House says Trump will survey damage and speak with law enforcement officials, dismissing criticism that his appearance could cause even more tension in the city.

TRUMP: It could also increase enthusiasm, and it could increase love and respect for our country.

PROKUPECZ: Unrest in some American cities like Kenosha and Portland are now a major talking point for Trump's re-election campaign. Joe Biden slammed the president's rhetoric from a campaign stop in Pittsburgh.

BIDEN: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

PROKUPECZ: This as protests continue, demanding justice for Jacob Blake, who was shot by police over a week ago. President Trump will not visit Blake's family, because he says they want a lawyer present.

JACOB BLAKE SR., JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: I'm not going to play politics. This is my son's life we're talking about.

PROKUPECZ: And while protests in Kenosha became deadly last week, the president refused to condemn the 17-year-old gunman suspected of killing two people.

TRUMP: You saw the same tape as I saw. He was trying to get away from them, I guess, looks like, and he fell, and then they very violently attacked him. But I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been -- he probably would have been killed --

[06:05:09]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think --

TRUMP: -- but it's under investigation.

PROKUPECZ: Biden denouncing all violence from both the right and the left, saying Trump is only causing more division, instead of uniting a hurting nation.

BIDEN: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And John, many of the security measures are still in place here in Kenosha. The city has extended -- because of the president's visit here, they have extended the curfew through the week. And many of the law enforcement and National Guard still remain here -- John.

BERMAN: All right, Shimon Prokupecz for us in Kenosha. Thanks so much for being there. Keep us posted throughout the morning.

Developing overnight, protesters marched to the home of Portland's mayor, lighting fires and demanding his resignation. It comes after as the man who was fatally shot in the protests this weekend has been identified.

CNN's Josh Campbell live in Portland with the latest there -- Josh.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, John.

You know, for well over 90 nights, we've seen different protests here. Most of them have centered on a federal building downtown. Last night, there was a group that actually went, as you mentioned, to the residence of the mayor, calling on him to resign. The group outside, they were banging drums and, you know, shouting, obviously, throughout the night.

Now, at one point, after people started throwing projectiles into that building, police finally declared a riot. That's a pattern that we've seen. They dispersed that crowd, getting people out of there.

Now, in addition to that overnight, we're also getting some new details about another incident that happened over the weekend. And we're learning the identity of a man who was shot and killed. Police say he is 39-year-old Aaron Danielson. And a far-right group here, Patriot Prayer, posted a note of condolences to him, saying that he was a supporter of theirs.

Obviously, there's this debate raging here about whether there will be members of that group and other far-right supporters that might be coming into town to try to seek retribution for his shooting. As of this point, police aren't releasing any information about the

cause of that death, about the suspect. They don't have anyone in custody at this moment.

Now, additional details, that's playing out, the specifics about some of the protests of violence, but also the larger issue about what to do about that violence is causing controversy here.

The governor put out a plan, a statement, indicating that three neighboring law -- law enforcement agencies will be sending in resources to help. Two of those agencies, Clackamas County and Washington County, their sheriffs came out yesterday and said, We're not sending anyone. This is a local issue. This is a political issue. And so, they don't appear to be on the same page here locally about what to do with these protests.

Finally, President Trump, as he's wont to do, has been weighing in on a lot of what's going on in this city and causing a great controversy yesterday when he described the actions of some of his supporters here as peaceful. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I understand they had large numbers of people that were supporters, but that was a peaceful protest. And paint is not -- and paint is a defensive mechanism. Paint is not bullets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: And now, what he was still talking about there with paint is some of his supporters were seen on video firing paintball guns into the crowd of protesters over the weekend.

It's worth pointing out that there have been several arrests, you know, throughout the last decade -- I did the research -- on people who have been arrested for shooting people with paintball guns. The president says it's a defensive mechanism, calling that peaceful. Law enforcement agencies around the country would disagree -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Josh, we really appreciate all of your reporting from the ground for us. Thank you.

So, the U.S. has surpassed 6 million coronavirus cases. College campuses are struggling to combat more than 20,000 known cases this morning. And new questions about the independence of some government agencies trying to deal with this pandemic.

CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Atlanta with more. What have you learned, Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

This has been a question since the very beginning of the pandemic: Are these health agencies working in the best interests of the American public, or are they putting politics ahead of science? More questions about that overnight as Politico obtained an HHS

document, which shows that they're putting out a bid of $250 million contract to, quote, "defeat despair and inspire hope on the coronavirus." The money is intended to pay for messaging to inspire, instill confidence and restart the economy.

News about this contract comes just as we're about two months ahead of the election. And as I mentioned, as these health agencies in America, including the FDA, HHA, and even the CDC, face questions about their independence from the White House.

You remember last week, we broke the news that the CDC, according to a federal health official, was forced to change its testing recommendations because of mounting pressure from the White House.

Look, guys, we're about to enter a sixth month here of the pandemic. We're still waiting for a safe vaccine. That's a concern among the public health community, that it would be released before it's safe, before clinical trials are complete.

[06:10:00]

When asked about this, the FDA commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, said that he is not facing pressure from the White House, even saying that he would consider resigning if forced to put this out too early.

But clearly, Alisyn, there is a shortfall of confidence in the American public -- of the American public in these health agencies in America -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: We'll be talking more about that throughout the program, Nick. Thank you very much.

So, Joe Biden condemning the violence in Portland and Kenosha, President Trump defending one of his supporters charged with killing two people. We discuss the contrast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, President Trump is traveling to Kenosha, Wisconsin, despite pleas from local officials to stay away. Three people have now died in two states in protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Meantime, more than 183,000 Americans have died from coronavirus.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator Matt Lewis. He's a senior columnist at "Daily Beast." And CNN political analyst Toluse Olorunnipa. He's a White House reporter for the "Washington Post."

[06:15:03]

And Toluse, I want to start with you. How does the president's trip to Kenosha address the rising cases of coronavirus in the Midwest?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it seems like the president is actually trying to change the subject from coronavirus to, quote/unquote, "law and order." He'd rather have Americans focus on some of the unrest we're seeing in various cities, because he thinks that plays well for him politically. Some of his top aides have said exactly that on national television.

He thinks that this is a strong political moment for him, that he can show that he's being tough on crime, he's supporting the police. He's going to be meeting with police in Kenosha. He probably will take some questions, which will give him another opportunity to, essentially, defend the vigilante type of violence that we've seen in some of these cities, where some of his supporters come out with long guns and try to intimidate protesters, and in some cases, shoot a couple of people.

It's clear that the president sees this as a more important message than the message on coronavirus. During his daily coronavirus briefings, we rarely hear about coronavirus. He often talks about other subjects.

And I do think that the president wants to focus on other things, not the rising case numbers in the Midwest, not the rising number of deaths across the country, not the fact that more than 180,000 Americans have lost their lives over the past six months. He does not want to be focusing on that as we head into November. He'd rather be focusing on something very different, which is what he calls law and order in American cities.

CAMEROTA: And Matt, President Trump has talked so much about law and order that, in fact, Joe Biden had to address it head on yesterday, or chose to in this speech that he gave in Pittsburgh, and you were impressed with this speech. I mean, you thought that it was one of the strongest you'd heard from Joe Biden. So, let me just play a clip for everybody of what Joe Biden said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Let me be 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What did you think was so effective, Matt?

MATT LEWIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I think -- I was one of the people warning Joe Biden on Sunday, and I was taking some heat, that he had to do this, that he simply had to forcefully condemn the looting, the rioting, and the violence, because this could get away from him.

I think very clearly, Donald Trump does want to make this an election about law and order. I think it's the only way he thinks he can win. It's going to help maybe turn out suburban whites and working-class whites. And so, I think this is a strategy of Trump.

I thought that Joe Biden, although he had talked about this issue, needed to come out and more forcefully condemn the violence. He did exactly what he needed to do. I thought it was a brilliant speech, very well-delivered. And we may look back on this as the moment that could have slipped away from Joe Biden but didn't.

BERMAN: There's something else interesting that's going on now, as the president goes off teleprompter a little bit when talking about the violence. And this is, again, the subject he wants to talk about.

So yesterday at the briefing, he said his trip to Kenosha will increase enthusiasm. For what exactly? Why would you say, My trip to Kenosha's going to increase enthusiasm?

And then he did this interview last night with the home team, with FOX TV, with Laura Ingraham, when he talks about police shootings of black men. And this is how he described it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They choke, just like in a golf tournament. They miss a three- foot putt --

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: You're not comparing it to golf, because of course, that's what the media will say.

TRUMP: No, I'm saying people choke.

INGRAHAM: People panic.

TRUMP: People choke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Even -- even Laura Ingraham, Matt Lewis, knew there was a problem there. Even Laura Ingraham is trying to help the president dig himself out of that ditch by saying that, you know, George Floyd, who's dead, Jacob Blake, who may never walk again, it's like missing a three-foot putt. But that's how the president views it, Matt.

LEWIS: Look, I think it's -- it's so sad and transparent. Donald Trump believes that this is the only way he can win the election. This is his Richard Nixon, Lee Atwater, Willie Horton, whatever it is. This is his play. And it's all he has left.

And I think what's interesting about this, though, is that he's not even hiding it. These aren't really dog whistles. He's being very transparent.

Donald Trump doesn't want to be the president for everybody. He doesn't want to bring people together. He actually wants to have, really, two teams, right? There's the Kyle Rittenhouse team that is white and supports the police. And then there is the Jacob Blake team, which are the rivals, and there's really no pretense of bringing people together. And I think it's, again, stoking division.

CAMEROTA: And Toluse, the only way that he can sort of understand what police officers face and what the people on the receiving end of the excessive force face -- I mean, the idea that he uses his golf analogy, that that helps him. He can appreciate it, because you know what? Out on the golf course that he's played 300 times since he became president, you know, people choke sometimes making that putt. That -- I mean, does that not tell us all we need to know?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, it's pretty stark. This is obviously the president who has been spending a lot of time on the golf course, even in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of national racial unrest.

But part of the reason people go to the streets and chant "black lives matter" is because they believe that people like the president trivialize the value of black life by saying, Oh, this was just an instance of somebody choking, like a golf course tournament, and these are lives that have been lost.

Obviously, it has to go through the justice system to see whether or not any of this was ever justified. But at the end of the day, these are lives that are lost, and the president never sort of acknowledges that. He says this is like somebody choking on the golf course, you know. He said that the police officers' names get in the headlines and that's horrible and their lives are ruined.

And he never mentions the fact that, you know, in case after case, unarmed people are losing their lives. Their families are grieving. The president hasn't even called the family of Jacob Blake.

And it's clear that he does not sort of understand what is undergirding this movement. And that's part of the reason why I think he's cracking down so hard on the law and order side, because he just doesn't identify at all with the idea that there needs to be any kind of racial reckoning or any kind of movement towards racial justice in the country. And that's part of the reason he just does not understand the movement at all and wants to crack down on it as much as possible.

BERMAN: Matt Lewis, Joe Biden did something else interesting yesterday, beyond just trying to play defense. He tried to play some offense, too. He tried to turn this around a little bit.

So he talked about being safe in what he called Donald Trump's America, not just in terms of what's happening in cities, but the pandemic. I thought it was fascinating he brought up Social Security. He said that the president wants to eliminate the payroll tax, which would put the Social Security trust fund in jeopardy, and then asking seniors, Do you feel safe knowing that?

It was an interesting turnabout there.

LEWIS: It was. And look, I think that, you know, Joe Biden's really the best possible candidate that could -- that could be running for Democrats right now. He has been so hard for Donald Trump to demonize.

And you know, that line yesterday where Joe Biden said, like, you know, Do I look like a radical socialist who supports, you know, rioters? He doesn't! And I think that's why it's so important that he forcefully came out and condemned the violence.

It's going to be much more difficult now. It was already going to be hard for Trump to label him as this radical.

And then I think you're right. Biden went on offense in so many ways. He is hitting exactly the right marks. You know, we've seen campaigns slip away from other people in the past. It's not going to happen to Joe Biden. I think that the speech yesterday was really pitch-perfect. And if he keeps doing that for the next 60 days, he's going to be the next president.

BERMAN: Long time to go. We will see, before we call the race 60 days in advance.

Matt Lewis, Toluse, we appreciate you both being with us. Thanks so much.

OLORUNNIPA: Thank you.

BERMAN: So, with two months until election day, "Politico" is reporting the Department of Health and Human Services wants $250 million for a campaign, an ad campaign to inspire hope about the pandemic. Why do they want taxpayer money to do this? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:53]

CAMEROTA: Developing overnight, new questions about the independence of some key government agencies involved in the coronavirus pandemic. More than 183,000 Americans have died.

"Politico" reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is offering $250 million of taxpayer money to a public relations firm to, quote, "defeat despair and inspire hope" about the pandemic.

Joining us now is Dr. Peter Hotez. He's the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Hotez, great to see you.

Defeating despair is good. So is defeating coronavirus. And where's the money that could have been put into a PSA about mask-wearing and other rules that would have helped cut down numbers?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, absolutely, $250 million is still a lot of money, and they could have used it for promotional campaigns for masks, for contact tracing. They could have used it for Operation Warp Speed, which still has no communications strategy, really. It's all about putting industry out in front. There's no communications strategy around Operation Warp Speed, which is amazing.

You know, $250 million, you know -- our vaccine that we're scaling up production uses the same technology as the Hepatitis B vaccine you can make for $1 or $2 a dose. We could vaccinate half of America for that money.

So I don't know what they're using the money for. It seems a lot to pay for the rights to "Don't Worry, Be Happy," which is -- that seems to be the campaign they're going to try. It's -- I don't know. I don't know what they're doing.

BERMAN: And that's the part of it that people need to focus on here is the "Don't worry, be happy" messaging. You could make a case that, in the spring, a PSA campaign would have helped, might have saved lives, if it told people to wear masks and social distance and how to -- how to get through this safely.

But to send the message out with that much money this fall, which just says, We need to feel better about this, and also, apparently, there's a message about reopening the economy, that seems to be something that people should focus on with two months to go before the election.

HOTEZ: That's absolutely right. I mean, if we had a national strategy back in -- late in the spring and into early summer, to -- especially in the southern part of the United States, we could have prevented the resurgence.