Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Iowa Governor Refuses to Issue Mask Mandate Despite Rising Cases; Biden to Meet with Jacob Blake's Family in Kenosha; Trump Threatens Funding to Democratic-Led Cities Over Unrest. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired September 03, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: States in America's middle, like Iowa, where masks are not mandated, are seeing massive spikes in positivity rates.

[05:59:14]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that numbers are being inflated?

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I'm not sure. I want somebody to really go back and do a good fact check on this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an offensive attack on some of the best Iowans out there on the front lines.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don't think there are two justice systems. I think the narrative that police are on some epidemic of shooting unarmed black men is simply a false narrative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the facts are, there are, in fact, two justice systems. Sir, this is the Justice Department, not the department of denial.

(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. Tt is Thursday, September 3, 6 a.m. here in New York.

And we begin this morning the same way we began yesterday morning. And so many other mornings. By telling you that more than 1,000 Americans died from coronavirus in just the past 24 hours.

There's confusion this morning over a potential vaccine and concern that the Trump administration will put politics over public health by releasing it before it's fully tested.

The head of NIH says it is unlikely that a vaccine can be ready by October, but the CDC is telling states to prepare to distribute one before the election. As for what you can do to stay safe, well, Dr. Anthony Fauci is

pleading with Americans to be cautious this holiday weekend. Several states in the Midwest still facing a dangerous spike in cases.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Can I just say one thing about the death count? It's really not just another 1,000 lives. It never is. It's 1,056 lives, to be specific, and every single one of them matters. Every single one is a person who was loved and is missed. And God help us if we get numb to it.

So today, Joe and Jill Biden visit Kenosha, Wisconsin. They will meet with Jacob Blake's family, something President Trump did not do.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Attorney General Bill Barr says he does not believes systemic racism exists in the U.S. justice system, but we learned new details overnight of a different case of an unarmed black man dying in the custody of police. In Rochester, New York, we have the shocking video of that.

And this morning, pollmageddon. A gillion new polls on the state of the presidential race after both conventions, including a brand-new CNN polls. The polls all tell the same very revealing story about where the race is. So where is it? You're going to have to wait and see to find out.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: How dare you?

BERMAN: All right. I want to start with Omar Jimenez in Des Moines, Iowa.

Omar, the infection rate in that state is rising fast. Cases around the University of Iowa doubled since the school reopened. The governor has not issued a mask mandate and promises she won't.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John and Alisyn. Iowa is the newest hot spot, with a White House coronavirus task force report saying that Iowa has the highest new case rate in the country.

Now, when you look at how that's affected certain things here in the state, well, for starters, Iowa State's football team was supposed to have its first dame in two weeks in front of 25,000 fans. The school announced they are going to go forward with the game, but without fans.

And the county that holds University of Iowa has seen its coronavirus numbers nearly double, with 74 percent of those cases being in people ages 19 to 24.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In Iowa, a dangerous coronavirus surge. But even with an average positivity rate above 10 percent for the past two weeks, and warnings from the White House coronavirus task force, it's still not enough for the governor to issue a mask mandate to help reduce the spread. GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): I still believe it's up to the governors in

the various state to make those decisions. Sometimes they don't have the entire picture of the things that we're doing.

JIMENEZ: Health experts here say college towns are seeing a rise in new cases as students return to campus.

DR. RAVI VEMURI, MERCYONE DES MOINES MEDICAL CENTER: Fortunately, I think a smaller percentage of those people will probably require hospital-level medical care. But it's still dangerous from a public health perspective.

JIMENEZ: This as the CDC told public health officials to get ready to begin distributing potential coronavirus vaccines as soon as late October, sending guidance, advising what states and people should get treatment first, prioritizing health care and essential workers. The CDC's recommendations issued the same day President Trump made this statement at the Republican National Convention.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are delivering life- saving therapies, and we'll produce a vaccine before the end of the year or maybe even sooner.

JIMENEZ: This timeline causing concern because of its proximity to the election.

SASKIA POPESCU, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGIST: The concern is that we're going to be rolling out vaccines to healthcare workers very, very early on in Phase 3, well before we have the data to support it.

JIMENEZ: But CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield says it's about being prepared.

DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: We're preparing earnestly for what I anticipate will be reality, is that there'll be one or more vaccines available for us in November, December.

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, actor and former wrestling star Duane "The Rock" Johnson shared this warning after revealing his family all tested positive for the coronavirus.

DUANE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, ACTOR: This has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family.

We are counting our blessings right now, because we're well aware that it isn't always the case that you get on the other end of COVID-19 stronger and healthier.

JIMENEZ: And the risk of an increased spread of the disease on the mind of Dr. Anthony Fauci as Labor Day weekend threatens another surge in cases.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: So I really want to use this opportunity, almost to have a plea to the people in this country to realize that we really still need to get our arms around this and to suppress these types of surges that we've seen. We can do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:05:12]

JIMENEZ: Now, on the potential of when exactly we could see a coronavirus vaccine, the director of the National Institutes of Health says it's unlikely we're going to see one by October.

So what we have here is mixed messages coming from the federal government as Americans are trying to figure out what information they can trust -- John.

BERMAN: More mixed messages, Omar, is I think the right way to say that. We appreciate you being there.

We should note, Dr. Anthony Fauci is going to be on CNN later this morning.

So Joe and Jill Biden heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin, today. They will meet with the family of Jacob Blake and hold a meeting in an effort, they say, to bring the community together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE: I believe the vast majority of the community at -- writ large, as well as law enforcement, want to straighten things out. Not enflame things. But this president keeps throwing gasoline on the fire, every place he goes.

What we want to do is we've got to heal. We've got to put things together, bring people together. And so my purpose in going will be to do just that, to be a positive influence on what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN's M.J. Lee joins us now with a preview of what we will see in Kenosha today -- M.J.

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, in a normal election year, it would not be at all unusual to see a presidential nominee travel to the Midwest, but this is an unusual trip for Joe Biden, because as you know, he has largely avoided getting on planes. He has very much limited in-person campaigning in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis.

And he and his wife, Jill Biden, are traveling to Kenosha today, to deal with the city and meet with people in a city that is still grappling with the shooting of Jacob Blake.

You heard Joe Biden saying there that he hopes to be a good influence, that he wants to try to help unite people. And to try to help the community heal as they deal with this very painful aftermath of the shooting.

And yesterday in Wilmington, Delaware, CNN was there when Joe Biden held a press conference, and we asked him about the officer who shot Jacob Blake and the officers who were also involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, and he made some news. Here's that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Ahead of your trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, tomorrow, last week your running mate, Senator Harris, said that the officer who shot Jacob Blake, based on what she has seen, should be charged. Do you agree with her? And do you also believe the same for the officers who are involved in the death of Breonna Taylor?

BIDEN: I think we should let the judicial system work its way. I do think there's a minimum need to be charged, the officers, and as well as Breonna Taylor. Let the judicial system work. Let's make sure justice is done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: It is very clear that Joe Biden is trying to draw a contrast with his trip to Kenosha and Donald Trump's trip earlier this week to Kenosha, as well.

He pointed out yesterday that some local leaders did not want Donald Trump to come. He said that Democratic leaders had asked him to please come to Kenosha to help the community heal.

Another big way in which these two trips are going to be different, of course, is that Joe Biden is going to be meeting with the Blake family when he was there later today. Of course, Donald Trump, when he was there earlier in the week, he did not say the name "Jacob Blake," and he has not spoken with Blake's family.

Of course, both Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, held a long phone call with Blake's family earlier this week -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, M.J., thank you very much for all of that.

Also developing this morning, President Trump issuing a new threat to withhold federal funding from Democratic-led cities over what he says is the unrest. The news prompted a blistering response from New York's governor.

CNN's Joe Johns is live at the White House with more.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

The president threatening to cut off federal funding to several major U.S. cities on the grounds that they are allowing anarchy and destruction.

The president named a number of cities, including Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; right here in Washington, D.C.; as well as New York City. He issued a memorandum calling on the attorney general, as well as the

Office of Management and Budget, to identify cities that could be targeted for this type of treatment, also laying out a timeline.

That memorandum says, in part, "My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones. It is imperative that the federal government review the use of federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence and destruction in America's cities."

So a number of officials around the country responded angrily to this memo, including the governor of New York. In his response, he even got a little bit personal when talking about the president. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY) (via phone): It really does speak volumes about him. Changed his residence to go to Florida. Why? He can't come back to New York. He can't. He's going to walk down the street in New York? Forget bodyguards, he better have an army if he thinks he's going to walk down the street in New York.

People died unnecessarily because of this president's negligence. Fact!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So what's it all mean? It may be symbolism more than anything, simply because Congress controls federal funding directives. Also, any action like this is very likely to be challenged in the courts and certainly could be held up way past the election.

However, it's another example of the president using the federal funding to try to punish people he doesn't like, and it's also another indication that the president is trying to put the focus on law and order and not on coronavirus, which is what everybody is worrying about.

Alisyn, back to you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Joe, thank you very much. I mean, does he think that starving cities of funds will help the situation on the ground?

BERMAN: This isn't serious. I mean, the president threatens stuff. This is fundamentally an unserious thing that he's doing that won't hold up in court. He's doing it to get another day of coverage, which he's getting, by the way, on this. He's not going to withhold funds.

As for Governor Cuomo, I understand why he's upset. I mean, I do understand why he's upset. But to say that the president needs bodyguards or an army when he goes anywhere is irresponsible.

Look, when Jesse Helms said it about Bill Clinton in 1994, he said that Bill Clinton would need a bodyguard if he went to the south, there was mass uproar and outrage, because you shouldn't say that. It's irresponsible to suggest that violence will be done on anybody, let alone the president of the United States.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we need to lower the rhetoric. We'll talk more about this throughout the program.

Coronavirus cases are spiking in Iowa and South Dakota this morning, two states where governors refused to mandate the wearing of masks.

The first death has now been reported after that massive motorcycle rally in South Dakota last month, so we have an update on all of that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: So I really want to use this opportunity almost to have a plea to the people in this country to realize that we really still need to get our arms around this and to suppress these types of surges that we've seen. We can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's Dr. Anthony Fauci, pleading with Americans to not let their guards down this holiday weekend as a number of states in the Midwest report alarming spikes in cases.

Now, the governor in Iowa continues to resist a mask mandate, despite the state having the highest infection rate in the country.

Joining us now is Dr. Ali Khan. He's the dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Public Health.

So you are neighboring Iowa. You're right next door. This is not an abstraction to you, Doctor. And I know that the cases are rising in Nebraska, as well.

Let's stipulate, it was astonishing that Iowa state was going to put 25,000 people in stands. They've backed off that decision. I mean, that was astonishing, that until yesterday, they were going to do that, which tells you the mindset in that state.

What's your concern now about how seriously this is being taken there, given that the governor in Iowa will not issue a mask mandate?

DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: Good morning and thank you. Absolutely, and this is absolutely expected, right?

So if you look at Iowa, they had over 100 cases per million per day on their seven-day rolling average. It made no sense for them to open colleges. And they opened them anyway.

So you saw the -- you could have predicted these outbreaks. I believe Iowa University has 3 percent of the student body infected. Iowa state, 2 percent of the student body infected.

And yes, one more time, the athletic director was completely out of sync with what was going on in his own community. So the community is reporting increased cases and the athletic director is talking about how they're going to put fans in stadiums.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Khan, it's so strange that when people resist, when they're having an outbreak, a mask mandate. You know, I happen to live in a state where everybody's wearing a mask, I mean, at least in my area. And I see people, they put it on when they get out of their car. They walk into the store. They walk down the street. They have the mask on.

There's something sort of -- I don't know, it gives you a good feeling about humanity that people are all doing it and trying to protect each other. Even when I encounter somebody on the street, just walking down the street in open air, they see me coming, and they put their mask on.

And there's -- I just guess I don't understand why the governor, for this moment -- not forever, for this moment -- do you understand why no mask mandate?

KHAN: It doesn't make sense. The science is unequivocal at this point. And this is the one thing that we individually have control over, to wear a mask.

And by wearing a mask, we're protecting others. So it's a kind thing for us to do, because the primary reason to wear a mask is to protect others.

And yes, if we could link this mask wearing with, actually, a better public health strategy around containment and seeing how our response is -- is doing, we could get this disease contained in this country.

Denying the disease is not going to fix the problem. Addressing the disease is going to put people back in stadiums and put our kids back in school.

BERMAN: So Dr. Khan, a potentially major development when it comes to vaccine development in the United States. The CDC sent a letter out to every state and the biggest cities in the country saying, put a plan together for the distribution of a vaccine that could be coming by next month, October, at least, for frontline workers and people in vulnerable communities. Get ready to distribute it if it comes.

Now, "Be Prepared" is a good motto for the Boy Scouts and others, and I understand wanting to be prepared. But there are concerns now being raised that there are political implications here, that this is being rushed. Because the date, the before date that they're pushing for is before election day. How do you read this?

[06:20:12]

KHAN: I concur with you. Absolutely spot-on. So, we do need to be prepared. And CDC is always preparing for these events. For example, if you have a measles outbreak, communities need to be

able to vaccinate people very fast. And there's a lot of complex logistics about vaccinating the United States.

But there is a big concern about the sort of political expediency and when this date was being picked. And there's already a lot of concern in our community about Operation Warp Speed. Are we going too fast? And just picking these dates before the election sort of stokes those fears that the government isn't being duly diligent to make sure that any vaccine really is not just efficacious, but has few side effects.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, President Trump has said that he wants to have a cure or he wants to be able to announce something. He has said for a long time, Very soon. Oh, we're going to have a big announcement very soon.

I mean, you know, he loves the tease, the art of that. And so if -- if somehow the Trump administration goes along with releasing the vaccine before election day, because they are under political pressure, what's the risk? What could happen?

KHAN: So, the risk is that rare side effects would be missed. So, we're all optimistic that there's three -- currently three vaccines in Phase 3 trials, that maybe one of these vaccines is so excellent that you don't need to vaccinate 30,000 people to find that it's going to work.

However, the concern is that, if you don't do a full set of these so- called Phase 3 trials, that you will miss rare side effects. And we've seen this happen previously.

For example, with the swine flu vaccine, that there was a rare side effect called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. And I don't want to frighten people. These are very vary side effects, but this is why you want to make sure you're duly diligent about the science before releasing a vaccine.

BERMAN: And the FDA and certain public health officials have squandered public trust with what they did on hydroxychloroquine, with how they stated the efficacy of the convalescent plasma. You need trust, which is why people are raising these questions now.

Dr. Khan, mask on.

KHAN: Mask on.

BERMAN: All right. Thank you, as always, for being with us. Stay safe.

CAMEROTA: That's a great one.

KHAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: We have sad news from the world of baseball. Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver has died of complications from dementia and also coronavirus. He was known as Tom Terrific, and was he ever. I mean, the franchise for the Mets, a 20-year career. He won 311

games, three Cy Young awards, a 12-time all-star. He played for a bunch of teams but best known for his time with the Mets, as a member of the 1969 miracle Mets team that won the World Series after being awful for nearly a decade.

He was just dominant. One of the top three right-handed pitchers of all time. The definition of a workhorse dominant pitcher. I had the honor of getting to watch him pitch in his last season, which was with the Red Sox in 1986. A legend in the game, and he will be missed.

Protests in New York overnight following the death of an unarmed black man after a police encounter. We have new details about this and the disturbing video, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:27:42]

CAMEROTA: President Trump, who has railed against mail-in voting for months, now appears to be encouraging Americans to commit voter fraud. Here's what he said in North Carolina yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They're going to have to go and check their vote by going to the poll and voting that way, because if it -- if it tabulates, then they won't be able to do that.

So let them send it in and let them go vote. And if their system is as good as they say it is, then obviously, they won't be able to vote.

The absentees are fine. We have to work to get them. You know, it means something. And you send them in, but you go to vote. And if they haven't counted it, you can vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I'm confused. But just FYI, voting twice is illegal.

Joining us now is CNN chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Also with us, CNN security analyst Juliette Kayyem. She's a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

Juliette, I don't think that some states have been doing this already. They are primarily mail-in voting states, like Colorado. There are Republican secretaries of state and heads of the election process in these states. They say that it's working. There is not voter fraud when you do mail-in ballot.

I don't think that he understands that there's a bar code on your mail-in ballot that election officials and the U.S. Postal Service scan and track, so that you can't do what he's suggesting. JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Right, and he's actually asking

people to test the system, to make sure that it -- that it works, so the president has, as we know, voted absentee, he certainly knows that the system, at least for him, is reliable.

And all of this -- all of this noise from Donald Trump, from Bill Barr, the attorney general, is essentially greasing the runways for November. They are simply creating, or trying to create enough noise that if -- if it's close, if there's a question about the mail-in ballots and they have to be counted to -- to win a state, like say Michigan or Wisconsin, they have at least engineered a narrative that we are now talking about, about absentee ballots, about this crazy notion that Barr alleged yesterday with Wolf Blitzer about a foreign country's mailing in votes to try to control our voting system.

You've never met two people, Donald Trump and the attorney general, so -- so weak or have such weak feelings about the American system of -- of elections. And this is part of the strategy.