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New Day

Trump Stokes Fear and Division to Try to Win Re-Election; U.S. Surpasses 6 Million Cases, 183,000 Americans Killed. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 01, 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: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day.

And as of this morning, 6 million Americans have been infected with coronavirus. 183,000 Americans have died. There are rising cases in the Midwest. And it just so happens the president is headed to the Midwest today.

Now, you might think it would be to address the pandemic, which has altered the life of so many around the country. You might think that, but you would be wrong. He's going to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to do what he calls increase enthusiasm following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. But enthusiasm for what or whom?

Local officials worry the visit could lead to new unrest. He will not be meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police seven times. The president is defending Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged in the death of two protesters in Kenosha. The president is now comparing police officers who use force, like the one who shot Blake, to golfers who choke by missing a three-foot putt.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: What does it mean that President Trump equates the experience of deadly police force to his golf game? We know this is another strange, shiny object that has nothing to do with the 183,000 Americans who have died and their grieving families.

Former Vice President Joe Biden accusing President Trump of intentionally stoking racial tension for political gain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: 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)

CAMEROTA: Okay. Joining us now, CNN Political Commentator Bakari Sellers, he's a former South Carolina State rep, and CNN Political Commentator Scott Jennings, he's a former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush. Gentlemen, great to see you.

Scott, I'm interested in starting with you, because as a Republican adviser, what did you think of how -- oh, you can't -- so -- I didn't know if that was a comment on my question, like or --

BERMAN: He agrees with whatever you say. I can tell by the look on his face.

CAMEROTA: The hand gesture.

Bakari, let's start with you in that case. President Trump has basically forced Joe Biden to make this at the top of his speech and say that he doesn't equate -- that he thinks that rioting and looting is bad, and he considers that violent, and he doesn't consider that protesting.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think that the president had to thread a needle -- excuse me, the vice president had to thread a needle yesterday, and he executed that perfectly. Look, the juxtaposition between the two men is something that Democrats wanted to see. There was a forceful rejection of the violence, not the protesters, but the violence that came along with some of these protests. And he was able to reject that. But we also saw the president of the United States, we saw Donald Trump do what he always does, which is just pour more gasoline on the fire.

And today, him going to Kenosha is not going to be good for this country. It's not going to be good for that region. It's not good for the family of Jacob Blake. For him to go and just pal around with law enforcement, to act as if nothing is wrong, to simply state only one side of the ills or issue that we have in this country and not take a look or a look of totality at some of these problems we have, to not even recognize the violence caused by his own words, when you look at Kyle Rittenhouse or you look at law enforcement shooting Jacob Blake in the back. What we see this morning and what we'll see today is basically an arsonist going to his fire.

BERMAN: So, while we have you exclusively, Bakari, and try to get Scott's audio --

SELLERS: I've been waiting for my special one-on-one interview.

BERMAN: This is a Bakari Sellers Exclusive. Let me play you what the president said. Now, again, he's going to Kenosha, he is not meeting with Jacob Blake's family, but he is talking about police shootings of black men. And this is what he equates it to. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: 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 panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, Bakari, even Laura Ingraham knew that there was something wrong with what the president said there. How does that affect you to hear black Americans who get in confrontations, get shot by police, get compared to a putt that's missed?

[07:05:05]

SELLERS: I mean, I don't -- it doesn't affect me at all, John, because I don't have any level of expectation for this president. I mean, sometimes people get bent out of shape when they have a level of expectation. I don't have that level of expectation for him. He hasn't shown the ability to give people of color, especially those victims in these instances, the benefit of (INAUDIBLE). And so that's the way he looks at it.

I would just say these are the worst golfers in America because they're missing so many putts. We're seeing it over and over and over and over again, and he doesn't want to call it what it is. He has a problem and we have a problem in this country with police killing black folk, and particularly, black men. And we also have a problem with the vigilantes that he encourages to go out and commit harm as well. None of those things does he truly want to recognize.

CAMEROTA: Scott, let me play for you a portion of Joe Biden's speech yesterday, one of his campaign speeches, where he gave his vision for what he wants to see in terms of America getting safer. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What did you think, Scott?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I think some of the words Joe Biden said yesterday were the correct message, although I'm left wondering, what am I supposed to believe? On the one hand, he says, do I look like I have a soft spot for radicals? And on the other hand, his running mate, Kamala Harris, has tweeted out links asking people to bail them out of jail, the people who have committed violence. And, in fact, several staffers on the Biden campaign have done just that.

And so, it just does a consumer of information. I hear Joe Biden's words, and then I see his ticket's action, and I'm left to wonder, what's the truth?

BERMAN: Bakari, you want to weigh in there?

SELLERS: Yes, I mean, I don't know. Scott woke up this morning and got coffee and is deciding to spin stuff that doesn't make any sense. Look, there is a clear difference between rioters and --

JENNINGS: What do you mean it doesn't make sense? It either happened or it didn't.

SELLERS: But I'm actually explaining it to you. There's a clear difference between peaceful protesters --

JENNINGS: Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.

SELLERS: -- who are arrested for their civil disobedience. We just had this entire life lesson. I'm talking about people like C.T. Vivian and John Lewis. There are many people who went and protested civilly, disobediently who were arrested, and we tried to help bond them out of jail. There is a different between bonding them out of jail and talking about people who are rioters.

And the fact that that's the only talking point you have this morning is disappointing. Even more importantly, my question to you would be, while you want to get up in arms, it's not about the words versus bonding out peaceful protesters. Your president, the president of the United States, the Republican -- the person who carries the Republican mantle cannot disavow the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse. He cannot talk about the fact that Jacob Blake should not be paralyzed today.

So, let's talk about that. Let's have a real conversation.

CAMEROTA: How about that, Scott?

SELLERS: Not turn yourself into a pretzel with talking points.

CAMEROTA: Okay. How about that, Scott, about the president not condemning Kyle Rittenhouse, who's charged with shooting two protesters and killing them?

JENNINGS: Yes, I believe Kyle Rittenhouse should not have been in Kenosha. I mean, it's tragic that he was in Kenosha. He should not have been there. And I've seen a lot of information flying out about this. I don't think the president, frankly, should say anything other than to tell people, if you are intending to go somewhere to commit violence, then just go home. I mean, that's true of anybody. It would be true of Rittenhouse. It would be true of anybody. So, I think that's what he should say.

I do think, though, Bakari, that if you are going to talk about the Blake case and you're going to talk about Rittenhouse, and you're going to talk about all of your talking points, the things that you're stuck on a feedback loop on, you have to admit, there are nuances to these cases that you're not willing to talk about. A lot of tragedy happened here. It was tragic that, apparently, the police were called to protect a female sexual assault victim from Blake in the first place. No one wants to talk about it, but it actually happened. There's a lot more nuances to tragedy -- SELLERS: But I mean --

JENNINGS: There's much more nuances to this than you're allowing for.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Bakari.

SELLERS: No, no, no. Alisyn, if I may. Let me be clear, because a lot of times you want to muddy the waters and you want to sully a victim. And I will not allow that this morning. What I will say, though --

JENNINGS: And I'm not going to allow you to sully the sexual assault victim. She deserves information too. She deserves a voice too.

SELLERS: You know, the most amazing part about this conversation is she deserves a voice, whatever detail you're talking about. But the simple fact is this, that Jacob Blake did not deserve to have lethal force -- and you can laugh at it if you want to.

[07:10:00]

I'm sick and tired of people coming in and spinning that --

JENNINGS: I agree. I totally agree with you. I don't think he should have had lethal force either. I totally agree.

SELLERS: And that's what I'm talking about. So, yes, he should not be having lethal force, and Kyle Rittenhouse, you should be able to simply not say he shouldn't travel, you should be able to simply say, this is a problem that's been fermented by the president of the United States. And yesterday, his inability to condemn that and reject that is a problem.

You've asked for Joe Biden to condemn it. He has. There is a clear (INAUDIBLE) violence and protesters, and we've condemned it, and the president keeps throwing gasoline on the fire.

CAMEROTA: I mean, Scott, I hear you. I hear what you're saying. I know you want to say that Jacob Blake wasn't a perfect person. I don't think that anybody has depicted him as that. But a warrant, even for a sexual assault case, is not a death penalty case.

JENNINGS: I totally agree. I think this ended in tragedy. I don't like it when these police interactions end in shootings. It is the last resort. There is far too much of it. I don't like it one bit. I also don't like that we're glossing over the fact that the police were called there to protect a woman who had a sexual assault case to catch Jacob Blake. I mean --

CAMEROTA: Nobody is glossing over that.

JENNINGS: I mean, this wasn't random.

CAMEROTA: But it doesn't have to end with seven shots in the back after three minutes.

JENNINGS: They weren't just driving by. CAMEROTA: There's a way to de-escalate.

JENNING: I totally agree. This should not have ended in a police shooting. I totally agree. But I just find it amazing that we have a sexual assault victim in this who never gets mentioned. The police didn't drive by this house randomly.

So, I think this whole thing is tragic, from the sexual assault, to the shooting, to Rittenhouse, to the rioters, every single step of the way, you have people doing bad things, making bad decisions that lead to tragic outcomes. And what we should expect of our politicians, Trump, Biden, and everyone else, is to tell everybody, if you're intending to commit violence, go home, don't do it. That is the message we should be getting from both leaders of both parties.

BERMAN: Well, actually, let me just say --

SELLERS: But why are we not?

BERMAN: We heard two events yesterday, Bakari, and I'm going to let you close here. Which one of the people who spoke yesterday actually delivered the message that he didn't want to see violence from anybody?

SELLERS: That's the point. And I don't know what we're talking about. I'm kind of lost right now. I would just say that that's literally the point. You know, we had one leader yesterday -- we had Joe Biden who stood up and said, look, I outright reject and condemn the violence. Stop burning, stop looting. That's not protesting. And we had Donald Trump who threw his hands up and is now going to go to Kenosha and further ferment it.

I think Scott is right. I mean, Scott is absolutely right. That is what we should expect from our leaders. The problem is that no one can say that Donald Trump articulated that, because he's not willing to and he can't.

BERMAN: And I will say this in closing, that I don't think Donald Trump cares about the right or wrong here. He doesn't care which one of you got more points in this discussion. All he cares about is that the discussion is happening. He wins by pulling the focus to this and not coronavirus. And to an extent, you can see the success that he has had.

Scott, Bakari, I appreciate both of you being with us this morning.

SELLERS: Good morning.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

BERMAN: President Trump's new pandemic adviser reportedly pushing a controversial new strategy that many feel could lead to millions of new infections. Dr. Sanjay Gupta here, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

CAMEROTA: This morning, the United States has surpassed 6 million coronavirus cases and more than 183,000 Americans have died. Colleges and universities have added 20,000 more cases. Now, this comes as Politico reports that the Department of Health and Human Services planning to spend $250 million of taxpayer money to try to convince Americans to have hope about the pandemic.

Joining us now, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, let me read to you from this Politico report. It says, by harnessing the power of traditional digital and social media, the sports and entertainment industries, public health associations, and other creative partners to deliver important public health and economic information, the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope and achieve national recovery.

This, again, is for some $250 million ad campaign, reportedly, to inspire hope about the pandemic. It'd be one thing if this were all going into some PSA to get people to social distance and wearing masks, but this seems to be at least, in part, something very different.

CAMEROTA: I can read lips. Don't worry. He is saying that he is not pleased about this and that he wishes that it were part of a PSA.

BERMAN: Is that what he's saying?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Can you hear me?

BERMAN: Now we can.

How close was Alisyn? She said you're not pleased about it.

GUPTA: It was so good, what I said.

CAMEROTA: I know you that well.

BERMAN: How was she?

GUPTA: She was very good. She's either lip-reading or just knows me well.

The propaganda part of this is very concerning, right? I mean, there is a crisis of confidence right now that I have never seen before in 20 years of doing this sort of reporting. I mean, you've got the former head of the NIH saying ignore the CDC. You've got people like Eric Topol basically telling the FDA commissioner he should resign. This is to try and, you know, build up some of that confidence again.

But you're absolutely right. I mean, at the same time that they talk about building up this confidence, we're still not advocating the basic use of masks and things like that. The country is buying tests and things like. That but spending $250 million, when we have far more important things to do to actually deal with this pandemic right now, I think, is critically important. I mean, even the vaccine. And one of the things we talked about with the vaccine a couple months ago was that we've got to convince people to take this vaccine. You know, once it becomes available, it is proven to be safe and effective, and now there's a crisis of confidence around this vaccine as well.

There are core problems that have to be addressed before starting a PSA campaign where you have people, you know, answering questions from celebrities.

[07:20:05]

I think it's important to get information out there, don't get me wrong, but we are really behind right now in terms of things, and we cannot sugar-coat the situation that we're in in this country.

CAMEROTA: Sanjay, you brought up Dr. Eric Topol, and I just want to quickly touch on this, because he's released, basically, this open letter to Dr. Stephen Hahn of the FDA, and he's calling him out. I mean, you spelled out for us how you had a conversation with Dr. Hahn and how he was, I guess, embarrassed that he had gotten this so wrong, one of the big announcements that he had made.

Well, Dr. Topol is basically not accepting Dr. Hahn's explanation. And so, what he wants is a bigger explanation. He says, quote, tell Americans exactly how you were pressured to make a breakthrough announcement. Tell us, all of us, how you were completely misrepresented the facts about convalescent plasma and not hide this with the obscurity of technical terms, such as relative and absolute differences.

What's the significance of someone who is at the head of, you know, Medscape, and this influential writing this note to the FDA commissioner?

GUPTA: I mean, you know, Dr. Topol is someone that is widely cited. I mean, many medical professionals do look to him for his thoughts on things like that, and he is also outspoken. He's very candid. And I've talked to him a few times about this. We've talked about that press conference from last Sunday, right after it happened. Dr. Topol and I talked about it.

He's very concerned, and I think he is embodying the concern right now of a lot of people in the mainstream medical establishment. I mean, I've really, again, never seen anything like it. There seems to be a clear divide that is now occurring between many of the federal health officials and the rest of the medical establishment in this country. I've never seen anything quite like it.

What Dr. Topol is saying, basically, look, you made such an egregious error, referring to Dr. Hahn, that it's completely unacceptable or unbelievable that it was just an error. That was a strategic sort of lie, essentially, is what Dr. Topol is saying about Dr. Hahn. And you did it to try and sell something to the American people that was not fully baked. I mean, this was strong language. And, you know, he's saying, you've got to tell the truth, tell people that you were politically pressured, or you need to resign.

So -- and again, Dr. Topol is not the only one saying this. He may have been the most candid. He has this Medscape sort of platform by which to do it. But the number of calls that I'm getting -- I was operating in the hospital yesterday -- the number of people who come up to me and tell me, look, we're worried, we're head down in the hospital, we're trying to do our work, we're trying to take care of patients. We cannot believe the dumpster fire that is occurring right now with regard to the handling of this pandemic.

And, by the way, again, we've been saying this since March, look around the world. There are places without a vaccine, without therapeutics, that have returned to some normalcy of life. This did not have to happen. And yet, it continues to.

And, you know, going back to this PSA campaign, yes, we do need to engender trust again in the American people, but we've got to establish the trust first. And right now, I think a lot of people are concerned it's not there.

BERMAN: Sanjay, interesting bit of information coming to light having to do with the president's health. Of course, there were questions surrounding this mysterious trip to Walter Reed last year, unannounced, the people there weren't ready for it, all kinds of questions about why he went.

Well, Michael Schmidt in his brand-new book is reporting that the vice president was placed on standby in order to take over the powers of the presidency should President Trump need to go under anesthesia. What does that tell you?

GUPTA: Well, this has always been a really deep mystery, frankly. And there's a lot of things about this trip -- this was back in November of 2019 -- that have never made sense. And, you know, it's just challenging as a medical reporter, because, obviously, you know, people are entitled to their privacy. There are protections against, you know, sharing medical information, which I think are very worthy and important protections.

But this has never made sense, okay? On a Saturday, the president goes to Walter Reed. It's an unannounced visit. That doesn't happen. The doctor, Dr. Conley, gets in the vehicle with the president. That doesn't happen. They go by ground instead of by air. That typically doesn't happen.

The people over at Walter Reed, for the most part, don't know that he's coming, and the president of the United States showing up on a Saturday. This is a man in his 70s who has a history of heart disease. We don't know what's going on.

We looked at what the capabilities were inside the White House, like if somebody is -- you know, there's a concern, a medical concern, what can happen in the White House versus what needs to be transported to Walter Reed. And, typically, it comes down to two issues. It is something to do with the brain or something to do with the heart, okay?

[07:25:01]

Now, when we talked to Dr. Conley, he released a statement afterwards, he said, I can tell you, this had nothing to do with the brain or the heart, okay? So, here we are. Can't get the information, the two things that it most likely is, they're saying it definitively is not. I think the idea that the vice president was put on notice and the possible invoking of the amendment is really significant information, but we still don't know what this was all about.

BERMAN: And they're all very legitimate questions, Sanjay. Thanks so much for being with us.

GUPTA: Yes, they are. You got it.

CAMEROTA: We want to take some time right now to remember some of the almost 184,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. Sheriff's Deputy Rick Treadwell served the people of Dane County, Wisconsin, for 26 years. CNN affiliate WMTV reports the 61-year-old's death is the department's first in the line of duty in 41 years. Deputy Treadwell is survived by his wife and three adult children.

66-year-old Lilly Barron was a beloved elementary school teacher in Turlock, California. The Modesto Bee reports that she taught at the school for more than 30 years and is remembered as a fierce advocate for bilingual education. Barron's two brothers also died of coronavirus. Her 92-year-old mother is said to be recovering.

43-year-old Brenda Martinez leaves behind six children, aged 2 to 19, all of whom have tested positive for the virus. Relatives of the Palmdale, California, family have set up a GoFundMe page to help the eldest son now take care of his younger siblings. They have raised more than $75,000.

We'll be right back.

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[07:30:00]