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NYU Suspends Students For Violating Health & Safety Rules; Celebrity Chef, Tom Colicchio, Discusses NY Restaurants Struggling To Survive Amid COVID Restrictions; Trump Would Support Removal Of Postmaster General If Proven He Repaid Former Employees For GOP Donations. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 07, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:31:01]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We just heard from President Trump, just wrapped up the press conference at the White House where, among other things, he painted quite a rosy assessment of his coronavirus response.

But look at the numbers. They're on your screen. They tell a different story. The virus has now killed more than 189,000 Americans. Nearly 6.3 million have been infected.

And health experts are increasingly worried about a new surge in COVID cases in the weeks ahead. That worry is due, in part, because of images like these, right? People are at on the beach, at parks, gathering in large groups, parties. Not everyone is wearing face coverings.

And travel numbers from over this weekend show Americans are a bit more relaxed. They're more on the move. TSA says it screened nearly one million at airports on Friday. That is the most air travelers on a single since the pandemic began.

Now college campuses have also become this epicenter for new cases. And schools are really cracking down. More than two dozen students at NYU have been suspended for violating social distancing rules.

And in Boston, at Northeastern University, they have cancelled the fall term for 11 students for gathering in a hotel room. The school has banned them, not only from campus classes for the semester that just began, but they can't do online courses. They will not get a refund on their reported $36,000 tuition.

Kelly Chan is the editor-in-chief of Northeastern's independent school newspaper, "The Huntington News."

So, Kelly, thank you so much for coming on with me.

And that's quite a tuition that they're not getting refunded because this is how serious the schools are getting.

Tell me about these 11 first-year students. My understanding is they were stay in a hostel and part of some study-abroad program.

KELLY CHAN, STUDENT, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "THE HUNTINGTON NEWS": Northeastern has what we call a NUN Program. Yes. Northeastern has what we can an NUN Program, which is for freshmen, and their first semester of their freshman year, they get to go abroad.

A lot of those were cancelled due to travel restrictions. And obviously, due to COVID, they can't travel. And it would put Northeastern community in danger.

So what they did was they created NUN Boston Program where they would set them up at the Westin Hotel. And that's where a majority of the NUN Boston students stay.

As far as I know from Northeastern and from covering the 11 students, it was 11 freshmen in a hotel room. And they caught them and Northeastern had them go through, basically, an appeal process and they have to be kicked out within 24 hours.

Unless they test positive for COVID-19, otherwise, they'll be in Northeastern's housing for isolation or quarantine.

BALDWIN: Wow.

Listen, I know social distancing, you know, everyone's trying to practice everywhere, including on college campuses. And it may be hard to get a campus feel.

But is this punishment for these 11 students, Kelly, is it reverberating among Northeastern students. I mean, because of this, are you hearing a change of attitude where people are really getting serious about it?

CHAN: I think definitely I've heard a lot of chatter among student populations saying, one side of the story is, the university is justified in holding students accountable for their actions and suspending them to keep the community safe.

And on the other hand, was this too harsh of a punishment? They are just freshmen. This was one mistake. And freshmen are put in a very tough situation.

We always come to college campuses expecting to make new friends, socialize, and it can be fun to gather and they want to salvage that college experience.

So I've heard both narratives among the student population. But I think a lot of people feel for the students in that they still have to pay the tuition when the semester hasn't even started yet.

[14:35:07]

BALDWIN: The school is not messing around.

Here's the note from the senior vice chancellor warning, before this happened, quote, "Current students can expect removal from the community, including the immediate loss of university housing. Disciplinary processes will be expedited so that Northeastern can move quickly to protect the health and wellbeing of everyone."

I want to play one quick clip. One health policy expert and a parent with kids in college said what's happening to the students at Northeastern was not fair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SLAVITT, FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES: Let's face it, 18 and 19-years-old, they've been locked up probably all summer or longer.

And when you find out what they did, which is they gathered together, then let's hope we can all deal with each other with a little more humanity.

Putting a bunch of people in dormitories and then say, but stay in your room and, if you go out of your room, it's your fault, not ours. I think that's not quite right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Kelly, quickly, can any of these students, if they're not sick with COVID, can they appeal?

CHAN: I believe that everyone goes through the appeal process. I'm not currently updated on individual students and where they are in that process.

But as far as I know, in terms of covering that event, I believe every student has an appeal process.

BALDWIN: What a story for you to be covering there at Northeastern.

Kelly Chan, thank you very much.

CHAN: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: You've got it.

Coming up next, a new warning that two-thirds of New York restaurants could be forced to shut down because of the pandemic. We'll talk to chef, Tom Colicchio, live.

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[14:41:25]

BALDWIN: The coronavirus pandemic is taking a terrible toll on restaurants nationwide, but especially in New York. Nearly two-thirds of restaurants could close for good by January or as early as November if they don't get help soon. That's according to a survey completed by the New York State Restaurant Association.

For now, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is sticking with his order barring any indoor dining in New York City's -- the five boroughs. Outdoor dining is allowed.

But now Cuomo and other officials face this $2 billion class-action lawsuit from hundreds of restaurant owners who say this indoor ban is ruining their businesses.

With me now, renown chef and restaurant owner, Tom Colicchio. You know him from Bravo's long-running show, "Top Chef."

Tom, I know this is incredibly personal to you.

Thanks for coming on.

TOM COLICCHIO, CELEBRITY CHEF & CO-FOUNDER, GRAMERCY TAVERN: Thank you for having me, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I was telling you in the commercial break, I live in downtown Manhattan. Some spots that have been open for decades are closing.

I think about not only the chefs, the staff, but the delivery drivers, the farmers, the wine growers, the whole chain.

So, when you hear two-thirds of restaurants could be closed in New York, Tom, what's your reaction?

COLICCHIO: Well, two-thirds of restaurants closing in New York, we're talking about eight million people losing their jobs.

Independent restaurants employ about 11 million people. When you factor in the fisherman, farmers and all the ancillary businesses, we're talking about probably close 18 million people.

We're at risk. Those numbers, they're low.

BALDWIN: Really?

COLICCHIO; There are other surveys that suggest maybe 80 percent of restaurants will close nationwide. So, we're looking at an extinction of restaurants right now.

And unfortunately, our government is not stepping up. We have the Restaurants Act. It has support in the House and Senate. We're closing in on about 200 signatures, our cosponsors in the House. About 30 percent of the Senate has signed on. And yet, we can't get a stimulus bill passed.

BALDWIN: For people who don't understand what the Restaurants Act is, explain the meat of it.

COLICCHIO: Sure.

BALDWIN: And obviously, you want it to pass to help all these millions of people to keep their jobs. COLICCHIO: Sure. It's $120 billion bill. It goes to restaurants not

publicly traded and restaurants that have fewer than 20 locations.

And it's income replacement. It will come in, go to pay rent, pay our suppliers, keep people employed to get through the period until we have a vaccine, and give us cushion when we get open.

I think the same survey you referenced suggests the restaurants that remain open, that 90 percent are saying they won't be profitable for the next year --

(CROSSTALK)

COLICCHIO: -- and will lose money for the next year.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Have you had -- I'm just sitting here thinking about, because everyone is having to eat outside and it's cold in New York in five seconds, and at the moment, no one can serve indoors.

COLICCHIO: Sure.

BALDWIN: As a New Yorker, have you had conversations with the governor? What do you think of the lawsuit to get indoor dining restored?

COLICCHIO: I think eventually Governor Cuomo is going to have to install -- restore indoor dining. I believe, right now, that the goal is to keep the spread low so kids can get back to school.

And so, listen, it's -- I think the governor is between a rock and a hard place. I want to see my restaurants open. But on the other hand, I also want to make sure people are safe. Indoor dining is going to put more people at risk. It's as simple as that. So it's a tough decision.

[14:45:16]

Right now, I have seating outdoors. And we're doing about 30 percent of our normal business right now.

Eventually, it's going to have to go indoors. But I think the governor is waiting as long as possible before that happens.

BALDWIN: You founded Gramercy Tavern, one of the best of the best places --

COLICCHIO: I did.

BALDWIN: -- to grab food in New York City.

You have built up the mini empire of Kraft restaurants. And the pandemic hit New York, especially hard in March, which completely shut the city down.

I know you had to lay off a number of your employees. I think you said 30 percent of your normal business right now.

What else have you had to go through, for people watching at home, understanding how this has hit you, Tom?

COLICCHIO: We did bring some of the employees back. The hard part is making sure people are safe.

I'm torn between wanting to go full throttle and get back opened and making sure my employees, who are coming on public transportation, that they're going to stay healthy. I don't want to put someone at risk if they don't want the come in.

The $600 federal unemployment has to happen right away. Some of those employees I haven't brought back are really struggling. It's been tough knowing so many people are out of work.

It's hard when you think about the amount of work and time and effort that, not only myself but everyone that works for me has put in. And it's really disheartening.

But if our federal government steps up, we can actually save the restaurant industry and we can come back and we can come back stronger. We just need help.

BALDWIN: I'm sure members of Congress are watching this show right now and, hopefully, they're paying attention and we can step up and help all the millions of people who, in New York alone, are affected by all this.

Tom Colicchio, a pleasure. Thank you so much.

COLICCHIO: Thank you. Happy Labor Day.

BALDWIN: Same to you.

Coming up next, former employees of the postmaster general claim that he pressured them to donate to Republicans and them reimburse them through bonuses. Here the president's response to the allegations moments ago.

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[14:51:42]

BALDWIN: Moments ago, at the White House, President Trump said that he would support the removal of his postmaster general if new allegations against him prove to be true.

Former employees of the company previously run by Louis DeJoy tell "The Washington Post" that they were pressured to donate to Republican candidates and then were reimbursed through bonuses.

DeJoy testified before Congress last month that he never repaid executives for making donations to the Trump campaign.

Amy Gardner is a national political report for "The Washington Post" and is one of the reporters who broke the story.

So, Amy, thank you so much for coming on with me.

And you tell me, what do these employees say happened?

AMY GARDNER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, so we talked -- we tried to talk to every employee we could find through our reporting. We tried to reach out to more than 100. And we wound up speaking to more than a dozen.

And of those we spoke to, we learned of two different sorts of types of behavior concerning to people.

First were people who felt pressured, as you noted, who felt that Louis DeJoy was keen on getting as many of his employees to donate to his favorite candidates as possible, through 2014 when he sold the company.

But then we also spoke to two former employees of New Breed Logistics, who say that not only people were pressured to give donations to Republican candidates, but that they were then reimbursed at Mr. DeJoy's instruction with additional bonuses.

BALDWIN: A spokesperson said the company followed campaign laws.

But this report has obviously sparked calls for an investigation by the North Carolina attorney general. That is the state where DeJoy's business is headquartered.

Amy, what kind of potential campaign violations could he face?

GARDNER: It is illegal to hide the identity of the actual donor. And that is what this would be if these allegations are true.

It is known as a conduit contribution or a straw man, straw donor scheme. Meaning you try to exceed the limits set by statute, both in state law and federal law, by asking others to give and then paying them back for what they gave. And so that is the main infraction that could be investigated.

The statute of limitations has expired on the federal elements. And some of the campaigns that he was encouraging his employees to give to were federal candidates.

Rudy Giuliani back in 2007 and 2008, running for president, John McCain, running for president, Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Senator running for a federal office, Richard Burr, also a U.S. Senator from North Carolina running for federal office.

But he also encouraged them to donate to Pat McCrory, the former Republican governor of North Carolina. That is at a state office. And that one could be subject to investigation by state prosecutors.

And that is an investigation that would start with the North Carolina state Board of Elections, which actually has subpoena power. So they could ask the new company that bought New Breed, which is known as XPO Logistics, they could subpoena payroll records, personnel records to get to the bottom of this.

BALDWIN: We know you'll be watching if and when that happens.

Amy Gardner, with "The Washington Post."

Amy, thank you so much.

GARDNER: Thanks.

[14:54:59]

BALDWIN: I can tell you right now the Senator Kamala Harris -- there she is -- touring a union facility in Milwaukee on her first solo trip since accepting the vice-presidential nomination. She also met with the family of Jacob Blake today. We'll take you live to Wisconsin just ahead.

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BALDWIN: The German hospital treating Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, says he is now out of a medically induced coma. The Putin critic became seriously ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow last month.

The German government says there's evidence he was poisoned by the same military grade nerve agent that used against Kremlin critics in the U.K. back in 2018.

Doctors say it is still too soon to know what the long-term effects may be. The Kremlin, meantime, denies that he was ever poisoned.

[15:00:09]

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.