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Don Lemon Tonight

President Trump Doubling Down on False Claims that Mail-In Voting is Ripe for Fraud; United States Coronavirus Confirmed Cases of COVID-19; Fact-Checking President Trump at his Campaign Rally in Virginia; Florida's Governor Wants Full Super Bowl in February; A New Vaccine Showing Strong Immune Response; U.S. Coronavirus Cases Spiking In 23 States; Vehicles Used as Weapons Against Protesters; Breonna Taylor's Family Calls for Justice; Newspaper Deliveryman Became a Lifeline for Senior Citizens on His Route; Champions for Change: Judaline Cassidy and Tools and Tiaras. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired September 25, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon. 11:00 p.m. here on the East Coast. 39 days until Election Day, and we're following multiple breaking news stories that could impact how Americans cast their votes in the 2020 election.

Requests for mail-in ballots surging all across this country, especially in key swing states like Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan as the president doubles down on his false claims that mail-in voting is rife for a fraud and hints that he won't accept the results of the election if he loses to Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, I don't know, you know, with this ballot situation. It's -- you're not going to see it. November 3rd, the Democrats are playing games. It's a very terrible thing that's happening. Very, very terrible thing. We may end up in a dispute for a long time, because that's the way they want it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tonight, we're fact-checking the president's claims. Also, tonight, the United States passing another terrible milestone in the coronavirus pandemic. Now more than seven million confirmed cases of COVID-19. More than 203,000 Americans have died from the virus, and 23 states are now seeing an uptick in the number of cases.

Dr. Anthony Fauci warning the surge in cases could make for a challenging fall and winter in the United States. But on a positive note, he says, vaccinations for COVID-19 could start in November or December.

Let's discuss now. Mark Mckinnon is here, former adviser to President George W. Bush and John McCain and the executive producer of The Circus. Also, Susan Glasser, the staff writer for the New Yorker, and Tim O'Brien, senior columnist for Bloomberg opinion.

Good to see all of you. Thank you so much for joining. Susan, I'm going to start with you, because President Trump is telling these wild stories tonight about voter fraud, a rigged election, baseless claims. That they've consumed him all week. So, at this point, he thinks lying is the only way that he can win this election?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I mean, frankly, he wouldn't be talking so much about a rigged election if he wasn't concerned that he was going to lose it. Look, this is Trump's playbook. It's been his playbook in every election year that he's talked about publicly.

In fact, he said that the 2018 election was going to be rigged. He said that the 2016 election was going to be rigged. You know, he still, you know, was casting doubt on the results of the 2016 election, even after he won it.

So it's not unfamiliar for Donald Trump to be questioning the legitimacy of this institution along with all the other institutions. But I think the level of alarm that people have listening to this is off the charts. Let's be real.

No one, no one has ever heard a president of the United States refuse to guarantee the peaceful transfer of power. It is at the core of what our democracy is all about. And I think that this week is yet another unbelievable red line that Trump has crossed. Frankly.

LEMON: Yes. I think everyone can concur with that. Everyone agrees with that. Tim, do you believe Trump's threats are empty?

TIM O'BRIEN, SENIOR COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG OPINION: Well, I think Donald Trump himself is empty, Don. And I think voters need to take a breath here for a minute and look at who he has been historically. Donald Trump is a bully. He is a coward, and he is corrupt. And he has -- his entire business career pointed at other people for problems that he's created in both his business life and his personal relationships, and now as Susan mentions, he has done it in politics.

He did this repeatedly during 2016 when the polls showed him trailing Hillary Clinton. His claims that there was a rigged election afoot reached a crescendo. The way to deal with bullies and to deal with people who are corrupt is to remember that we still have strong institutions in this country.

They may have been dented by Donald Trump, but they are not back on their heels. We have voters who first and foremost have to vote. They should remember that Donald Trump himself uses mail-in voting, that he has encouraged his own supporters to use mail-in voting.

And in none of the swing states where this election is going to be I think determined mail-in ballots are not just sent out randomly. They have to be requested. But if Donald Trump wants to make this a referendum on democracy, let's take him at his word. Let's vote. Let's monitor the elections. Let's make sure the secretaries of state in all of the states where this will be contested are vigilant and empowered to do their jobs. They've already said they will.

[23:05:15]

And if Trump wants to bring it into the streets after the election to try to contest something that's plain to everyone else, then we can take appropriate action at that time. But I think a lot of this right now, Don, is someone who is essentially a Toddler reveling in the fact that he can stir the pot and upset everybody around him.

LEMON: Mark, what is the impact of this? What has it done to this race? People are on high alert now?

MARK MCKINNON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, one thing I will say, Don, is that I think by raising the specter of voter fraud and saying that the only way he loses is if they cheat and also trying to denigrate the whole notion of mail-in ballots that has been one of the greatest geo-TV mechanisms to ever for the Democratic Party.

I think Democrats are going crazy right now not only showing up to the polls, but showing up early. So, a lot of people are actually voting in person more than they would have otherwise.

Anyway, I think that it is merely -- it is merely motivated Democratic voters. By the way, the greatest voter fraud in this country is the notion of if there's voter fraud. I live in Colorado where they've done mail-in ballots for the last seven years, 16 million votes.

The Conservative Heritage Foundation examined all of those. There were nine instances out of 16 million. The fact is mail-in ballot works. The fact is there is no voter fraud in this country, very little fraud, and if there is, it's unintentional.

The president himself put together a commission of hand-picked people, the best that he could find that met for a year to find voter fraud, and you know what they did? They broke up the commission because they couldn't find it.

LEMON: Do you think with this -- I'm glad you mentioned that. Because do you think with this whole idea about a rigged election, Mark, and what he is doing with the postal system, is he unintentionally motivated Democrats? Is he shooting himself in the foot?

MCKINNON: I think so. I really do, Don. When the whole postal thing came up. I mean, first of all, it's an attack. I mean, people aren't very fond of very many institutions of government, but they love the post office, particularly old people, many of whom are Republicans, most of them are Republicans. People who rely on their medicines and veterans as well. So, you know, that's like -- that's a Norman Rockwell kind of thing. So, it's an American institution. It's iconic.

So attack that -- to attack that is first of all it is not smart. It's very popular. It's got like a 70, 80 percent favorable rating and when they feel American government institutions that do. So, people like the post office. They believe in the post office. And by raising the specter that there is going to be problems with the post office and you're taking out vote sorting machines, just mobilized Democrats. If that's the case, we're going get our ass up to the polls right now and vote.

LEMON: Susan, tonight we heard from two people who used to work for Trump and one life-long Republican, all speaking out against the president. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT CARDILLO, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGANCY: -- I find the president's behavior and his approach and his thought process to be putting our national security at risk.

OLIVIA TROY, FORMER TOP ADVISER, VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: I think it's only going to get harder like this pandemic, it's not going away. This virus, the president can call it a hoax, but the truth is we have increase in cases. People are still dying from it.

SEAN O'KEEFE, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY MAXWELL SCHOOL, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: It's all about winning at any cost, on policy, on issues, on debates, whatever it is. And less about how do you find some way to move the agenda forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So let's be clear here, Susan. We have never, ever seen so many high profile people come out against a president that they served as we are seeing now.

GLASSER: Well, Don, I'm so glad you're spotlighting that, because I'm really -- I agree with you that this is a key thing that's happening in this fall campaign that is unlike anything we've ever seen. First of all, the testimonies coming from inside the room. Second of all, it's coming from Trump's own appointees. Third of all, it's largely coming from life-long Republicans or nonpartisan career or national security officials. So those are not people who are easily dismissed as liberal critics of the president.

And I'm also struck by the fact that they tell the same story. The story we're hearing from inside the room from the beginning of really the Trump administration is that the president prioritizes himself and in particular his own reelection and political interests over any concept of the national interest.

You know, Olivia Troy, who you quoted there, she talks about the coronavirus task force (inaudible) and the president (inaudible) about Fox News and he focus on the urgent -- literally life-and-death questions in front of him. This is very similar to what we heard on the Woodward tapes. It's very similar to all the accounts that have come out. And I just think that's a political factor in this election as well.

[23:10:07]

LEMON: Tim, I want to get this in before we run out of time here. The first debate coming up. What is the best way to handle debating someone who constantly lies? I mean, Biden has been prepping a lot, but I doubt anyone can fact check everything Trump says in real-time. O'BRIEN: And Donald Trump is going to go on the attack with Joe Biden.

What Joe Biden needs to do is keep Donald Trump off balance. And the easiest way to keep Donald Trump off balance is to remind him that he has let down his father, he has let down his family, he has let down the country, and he has let down all of his voters because he is a conman who has not delivered economic growth. He has not kept the country safe during a pandemic, and he is willing to shred institutions so he can keep his desk in the Oval Office.

As long as Biden I think retains his composure, stands up for who he is, which is a much -- someone who is a much more decent and capable man than Donald Trump, but does not let Donald Trump steamroll him with insults, he'll be fine. Because nothing in this debate will be about granular policy issues. It will be about character.

LEMON: I just keep, you know, hearing the Biden people saying, you know, they put a lid on it because he is preparing for the debate. Look, it's great to be prepared, but don't be over prepared because all you have to do to end this debate is point out how many people have died from the coronavirus in this country and how the president has let people down. And it's just really that simple. Thank you, all. I appreciate it. I'll be watching the circus this weekend, Mark. So, thank you, sir.

MCKINNON: Thank you.

LEMON: See you.

I want to get to our fact checker now, Daniel Dale. Daniel, the president made multiple claims about ballots and including this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're not going lose this except if they cheat. That's the only way we're going to lose is if there is mischief, mischief. And it will have to be on a big scale. So be careful. And we do want a very friendly transition. But we don't want to be cheated and be stupid and say oh, let's transit. We'll go and we'll do a transition. And we know that there were thousands and thousands of ballots that made the difference through cheating. We're not going to stand for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow, that whole thing that was fear. I mean, you could -- wow. Anyway, just the facts, Daniel.

DANIEL DALE, CNN FACT CHECKER: It's wrong. Look, Donald Trump is a president who has had in excess of 50 percent disapproval for almost the entirety of his presidency. Donald Trump is an incumbent who is trailing in either every national poll or almost every (inaudible) a caveat in case I missed one were to.

But this is a president who if he loses, it's because he will have lost. There is simply no basis for this repeat suggestion the only way he could lose is with mass cheating. There is no sign of mass cheating either Democrats, the radical left as he likes to say or the foreign countries he likes to invoke. It's just all baseless, Don.

LEMON: The president was speaking in Newport News tonight, and here is what he said about campaigning in the state back in 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I was told not to go for Virginia. We did really well last time, and I never came, I never did anything, and we did really well. I said why didn't I go for Virginia?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Give us the truth.

DALE: This was especially bewildering to me because I personally attended three of Trump's campaign rallies in 2016 in Virginia. He did at least five Virginia events in 2016, including one two days before Election Day and another in late October. So he did try to win the state. I'll leave it up to viewers to decide whether he did very well or not, but he lost by more than five percentage points.

LEMON: Daniel Dale, much appreciated as always. Thank you, sir.

DALE: Thank you.

LEMON: Florida's governor is reopening bars and restaurants at 100 percent, and he says he wants a full Super Bowl in February. Is there any way that could be safe?

Plus, drivers plowing into crowds of protesters. It's happening again and again, and cars -- our cars, I should say, are they being weaponized.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:15:00]

LEMON: The United States now topping more than seven million known coronavirus cases. More than any other country. We're also outpacing the rest of the world in deaths, more than 203,000 Americans have now died from the virus.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner is here. He is the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Program at George Washington University Hospital. Doctor, hi. Wow, just reading that off, I mean, this is supposed to be the greatest nation on earth, right? The best health care. Well, you know. We're supposed to be the best in everything. What is happening here?

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We've been very poorly led. You know, I think every leader of every great country faces a crisis that defines their legacy, right. Think about the great American presidents, Lincoln, Roosevelt. They faced their moments where they rose to prominence, where they showed what they were really born to do, Winston Churchill. And this president had a time where he could choose to be a historic leader, but instead he chose his own narcissistic needs. He chose to protect himself rather than protect the country. And that's where we are now. We will get through this, but I have to say that it's going to require a regime change in this country.

LEMON: Can we talk about Florida? The Governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an order allowing bars and restaurants to operate at full capacity immediately.

[23:20:00]

How dangerous is that when their positivity rate has been above 10 percent over the last seven days?

REINER: It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. So you're right. The moving seven-day positivity rate in Florida is exactly is exactly 11 percent. They had 2,500 new cases today and about 100 deaths. They have more than 10 percent of the country's total daily deaths. So the virus is still very active in Florida. This is not the time to widely open. It makes zero sense. It will only go up.

You know, the inside environment of a bar is how you transmit the virus. People have -- their inhibitions are down from the alcohol. They're speaking loudly. They're in enclosed spaces. They're standing closely together. That's what the virus wants.

LEMON: Yes.

REINER: So it's a terrible mistake.

LEMON: I was just looking at -- I'm not ignoring you. I was just looking at Florida's current rate. They're likely to pass 700,000 total cases over the weekend or by early next week, and they'll be the third state to do so behind California and Texas, and yet they're opening everything up.

Let's talk about vaccines, OK. A single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine produced a strong immune response. That's according to earlier results. This study hasn't been peer reviewed yet, but is this encouraging?

REINER: It's super encouraging. Look, I think we're going have multiple vaccines that are effective. And we need different vaccines because, first of all, we have to start studying these vaccines in different populations. None of these vaccines have been studied in children. I think some vaccines will be better in people over the age of 65 than others.

Some of these vaccines will be better in areas where you -- it's going to be difficult to institute the ultra-cold storage chain. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage. It's only a single injection. There are a lot of very encouraging things about it. And in that initial 1,000 patients study, that is leading now to their pivotal 60,000 patient phase III trial, 98 percent of people who received a single injection when tested 29 days after that injection had neutralizing antibodies.

So that's very exciting. But it needs to be confirmed in the big randomized clinical trial. So, you know, the more vaccines that go into these pivotal trials, the better. But you know, come springtime in the United States, we're going to be able to vaccinate a lot people. We just need to take the time to do it right. And even taking the time to do it right will be record pace.

LEMON: Thank you, doctor. I appreciate it.

REINER: My pleasure.

LEMON: Now I want to go to Erica Hill with the latest on the 23 states seeing a spike in coronavirus cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight months in, the numbers keep climbing. More than 44,000 new cases reported on Thursday, 914 additional deaths and a virus that just won't quit.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALERGY AND INFECTOUS DISEASE: Given the fact that we never got down to a good baseline, we are still in the first wave. Rather than say a second wave, why don't we say are we prepared for the challenge of the fall and the winter?

HILL: That challenge, more time indoors and the flu.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to keep on wearing masks, keep on physical distancing, avoid indoor gatherings as much as we can, and also get a flu shot now.

FAUCI: We have ordered 200 million doses this year, which is the highest amount we've ever tried to vaccinate.

HILL: An influential model now predicts COVID-19-related deaths could top 371,000 by January 1st.

It's up to us to change this. And as the model from IHME says, if we wear a mask, if we all wear masks, we can actually bring the number of new infections and the number of transmissions down significantly.

HILL: Right now only a dozen states show mask usage above 50 percent. If it was 95 percent nationwide, those same researchers say we could save nearly 100,000 lives between now and December.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are moving in the wrong direction and at a very critical moment.

HILL: 23 states, much of the West and the middle of the country seeing an increase in new case over the last week. They're down in Pennsylvania, but an outbreak at this nursing home has prompted officials to call in the National Guard for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will take as much assistance from the state and federal government as we can.

HILL: At least 47 residents and a dozen staff have tested positive. UNC-chapel hill now eyeing January for a return to the classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our hope is that we will bring students back to live and learn on campus this spring semester.

HILL: Is one of at least 27 schools that have shifted classes online because of the virus?

[23:25:00]

SEC Football returns tomorrow. Though the stands won't look like this. The pac-12 will now take the field in November after initially postponing all sports until 2021. In Florida, the Governor is also talking football.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We expect to do a full super bowl, and we're going to show that we're going to be able to do that.

HILL: First step, getting bars and restaurants the green light to operate at full capacity, overriding some local restrictions. Mask fines also gone.

MAYOR DAN GELBER (D-MB): This is really just not the way to handle either health care or an economic crisis.

HILL: Erica Hill, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Erica, thank you.

Protesters endangered by a new form of weapon, sometimes with deadly results. Cars plowing into crowds of demonstrators. Why is this happening?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Vehicles used as weapons. You heard me right. Vehicles are being used as weapons against Americans, taking to the streets in Black Live Matter protests in cities across this country. So what is behind this phenomenon?

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro has that. And warning, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Breonna Taylor! Breonna Taylor! Breonna Taylor!

CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER (voice-over): Everyone gathered around 7:00 p.m. They start marching around 8:00 p.m.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An hour later, came a terrifying moment.

MONTERROSA: They, you know, surrounded the vehicle to try and get it to stop, and the truck then accelerated. And the woman who was directly in front of it was swept off of her feet.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Christian Monterrosa, a freelance photographer, captured it all.

MONTERROSA: You go into this fight or flight sort of reaction where you see this very gruesome thing happening where, you know, a large vehicle is basically driving through a crowd of people. It feels very surreal.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Scenes like this are common now. Ari Weil is a PHD student at the University of Chicago. He has been studying vehicle-involved incidents at Black Lives Matter protests.

ARI WEIL, PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (voice-over): So far, I've tracked 104 incidents since late May through early September. The vast majority of those occurred at the end of May and early June.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Charges are not often filed, Weil says, and it's not always clear what motivated the driver.

WEIL: There are a few different types of people behind the wheel. At one end are the true clear extremists, the card-carrying members of extremist organizations. A step-down are those who are yelling slurs and are clearly racially-motivated. We also have some non-racially motivated ones with just angry drivers. And then there are true accidents like somebody's GPS brings them into a protest.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): But Weil says there are people who like to see cars running protesters down.

WEIL: There is an online environment encouraging these incidents.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Memes about using cars as weapons have spread on the right. Remarkably, some even celebrate the killing of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

Some conservative lawmakers have tried to pass laws that protect drivers who claim they're afraid for their lives. Those efforts have failed for the most part. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis introduced new legislation this week. The proposal is running into stiff opposition, including from some in law enforcement.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (on camera): If laws like that are not written carefully, do you think that we could see more of these cars being weaponized in these protests?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY EXPERT: Absolutely you could, because what it will do, it will allow those with nefarious intent. It will give them an escape to be able to use as to why they plowed through a crowd.

MCMORRIS-SANTORO (voice-over): Despite the danger, Monterrosa says he has seen no indication protesters will be pushed off the streets by fear.

MONTERROSA: I think this only adds fuel to the fire. I don't think that this stops anybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Don, we're seeing a lot of things that we call the new normal in 2020. And reporting this story out, I learned just how normal these horrific incidents had become. There are so, so many of them, including one last night. And it is really, really scary stuff, Don.

LEMON: Evan, what are protesters doing about this?

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: So I spoke to a protester who is involved in one of these incidents in Memphis in June. The driver there was actually charged with the crime. She said that people are now preparing for these to happen at protests.

They're assuming that these things are going to happen. They're putting together plans to try to slow cars down. They're putting together people to aid the injured. But they're just really getting ready to expect vehicles to plow into these protests.

LEMON: Evan, thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting.

A third night of protests in Louisville as protesters demand justice after the police killing of Breonna Taylor. Her family is calling for real meaningful change. But will we see it? Martin Luther King III joins me, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breonna Taylor's family is speaking out for the first time since the grand jury decision not to charge anyone directly in her death. Taylor's mother, too upset to speak, had her sister read the message on her behalf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIANCA AUSTIN, AUNT OF BREONNA TAYLOR: I was reassured Wednesday of why I have no faith in the legal system, in the police, in the law that are not made to protect us black and brown people. But when I speak on it, I'm considered an angry black woman.

CROWD: Mm-hmm.

AUSTIN: But know this: I am an angry black woman.

CROWD: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Cameron alone didn't fail her, but it ended when a lack of investigation failed her. The officer who told a lie to obtain the search warrant failed her. The judge who signed the search warrant failed her. The terrorists who broke down her door failed her. The system as a whole has failed her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:39:59]

LEMON: Joining me now, global human rights leader Martin Luther King III. Martin, thank you. It's good to see you. I appreciate you joining. A lot of black men and women agree with those words. Why does the system keep failing so many of us?

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR'S SON, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEADER: You know, what the real question I think, Don, is how do we build a system that works, because this one clearly does not work for the black or brown communities and people of color.

I think that's really where we are. I don't know -- you don't want to just say the issue is racism. That is a part of it, systemic racism. But the structure was never designed to work for all people. It was designed to work selectively.

That's why we have a criminal system that has 60, 70, 80 percent of the jail population being black folk, and we have 14, 13 percent of population. It has never worked for us. And therefore, I think we need a new system, and that's where the reforms need to be with some different kinds of policy.

LEMON: Do you believe that some are calling the police in this case terrorists?

KING: What I would say is that the actions were certainly terroristic actions.

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

KING: No-knock laws. It seems to me need to be abolished. There are ways to apprehend suspects. I mean, there are so many issues around this tragic case, and for the family of Breonna Taylor, for tragically Breonna Taylor losing her life while being in her bed.

Most of us do not ever expect police to just bust down our doors. But if they wanted to apprehend a suspect, they have the guy who actually was the drug dealer already apprehended. Why did they need to go to her house at that time in the morning and just bust in her door? I just -- it's perplexing to me.

LEMON: Yeah.

KING: And I think a logical-minded person hopefully would look at it in a perplexing way and say, look, the system is not working.

LEMON: Yeah. I want to talk about the Supreme Court now. Multiple sources tell CNN that President Trump is choosing Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. What kind of an impact do you think a 6-3 conservative majority will have for people of color in this country?

KING: An abysmal. An abysmal set of circumstances, particularly as it relates to health care, perhaps women's rights -- so many areas where the court could weigh in.

I mean, the president told us that he wants the court because he wants the court to decide whether or not he wins or loses the election. And this is a dangerous pathway, not the fact of putting a conservative on the court, but the court being all conservative.

The court should be, in my judgment, or hopefully it would be a balanced scenario. And it's very unfortunate that when the Republicans came into power, at one point they said, well, you know, if a justice gets nominated at the end of the session at this particular time, we should not do that, it should be the next president. But yet they've all changed their minds.

So it's clear that they're -- when I think about it, Don -- I mean, you know, some might say that even the country itself was founded upon hypocrisy. People came from Europe were oppressed and they felt bad. Some of them may have been criminals. Then they started a system to oppress others, which is really sad, as opposed to a system that empowers everyone.

I mean, think about it, 200 years of slavery that of course our community experienced. But we've got a lot of things that we've got to reckon with and reconcile. My hope is that we always do it in a peaceful and just and humane way, no matter what is thrown at us.

LEMON: Kamala Harris spoke to black voters in Michigan about voting rights earlier this week. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): Why are so many powerful people spending so much time to prevent us from voting? Why are they going through so much trouble to make it difficult or confusing for us to vote? And the answer is because they know when we vote, things change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This was John Lewis's life mission.

KING: No question. In fact, as you know, the House has passed the John Lewis Voting Restoration Act, and it sits on the senator's desk of Mitch McConnell, just like the George Floyd Policing Act with no action.

[23:45:04]

KING: That is why voting is more important than ever before. And the hope is that we would have a super large number of people voting this election and every election from now on.

Elections matter. If the court gets to a 6-3 where it's 6-3 super majority of conservatives, that is, again, why elections matter, because presidents have the ability to make these appointments.

LEMON: Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. You be safe, OK? And --

KING: And you, too.

LEMON: -- say hello to your family. Thank you so much. And I love that picture behind you. I really love it. It's a beautiful picture. Thank you so much.

KING: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: The CNN film "John Lewis: Good Trouble" premieres Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. We are going to have a lot to learn from this incredible legacy when you see that film. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In these trying times, it's easy to forget the good things happening around us. Tonight on our "Champions for Change" series, we meet a plumber building the next generation of skilled trade workers.

She runs a program that puts tools in the hands of girls as young as six years old with hopes that they will one day follow in her bootsteps.

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JUDALINE CASSIDY, PLUMBER: When I arrive at a plumbing job, most people do not believe I am the plumber. Being a woman in a male- dominated space, especially being a black immigrant woman with an accent, sometimes people doubt what you are capable of. That's what I'm trying to change, that stereotype.

When I first started Tools & Tiaras in 2017, my goal was to give little girls the exposure to different careers and a trade. We have a free monthly workshop for women and girls, and then a free summer camp where girls can come and be exposed to all the awesome careers in the building trades.

TANZIRA RASHID, YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD, TOOLS & TIARAS: I just graduated high school. I'll be going off to college, and I'll be majoring in civil engineering. Coming from a first generation of Mongolian immigrant parents, I was really pressured to go into the medical field or become a lawyer because my parents sacrificed everything to come to the U.S. But then soon with Tools & Tiaras, I got exposed to the construction trade.

PENELOPE AMAYA, PARTICIPANT, TOOLS & TIARAS: Thank you for Tools & Tiaras. The high school that I am going to is focused on engineering mostly. If it was not for you and Tools & Tiaras, I would have not considered this school. Tools & Tiaras showed me that women can do anything.

CASSIDY: With all my love, Penelope, future architect/engineer. And I still cried because sometimes I don't think I'm doing enough, and I struggle. And Penelope reminds me of what I'm doing is important.

I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago. Because I didn't have a mother or father, I grew up not having any self-confidence in myself. I didn't want any little girl to grow up feeling that way.

My great-grandmother, who was my caregiver, she passed away, and that leave me without any financial means to attend university. The trade was a free option in Trinidad, so I decided to apply for the trade school.

Good morning, everyone.

CASSIDY: Pre-COVID, I travelled a lot as a speaker to really highlight the amazing work that the trade could bring to students. This year's virtual camp projects include plumbing, carpentry, electrical, stage hand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the bottom of your bird feeder.

CASSIDY: Our instructors are women. We had to order different kits and ship it out in boxes for the girls.

Today's workshop was called leaky lender. The goal was to actually just give them a little glimpse into what plumbers do with fit-ins and pipe.

So at the end of the week, for every Tools & Tiaras summer camp, we actually take the girls to a construction site like this. And we couldn't change it up. We had to bring them to a virtual construction site visit.

I'll show you the dark side for right now.

My mission is to really just put tools in girls' hands and let them build the world that they so desire.

And whatever you decide to do in life, just remember, you can do it because jobs don't have gender.

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LEMON: We will continue to share these inspirational stories on CNN. And be sure to tune in to "Champions for Change," a one-hour special tomorrow night at 10:00.

This week's CNN hero is saluting New Jersey native Greg Dailey. He's had a newspaper route in his hometown for 25 years. In March, when he realized many senior citizens on his route were afraid to leave their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he began delivering much more than the daily paper.

[23:55:03]

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GREG DAILEY, CNN HERO: I deliver to three adult communities. There are a lot of people in there that are compromised. So I put out a note to all the 800 of my customers. If there is anything you need, you name it, I'm happy to go shop for it and deliver it to your home for free.

This is silk almond milk.

I've met just an unbelievable amount of beautiful, wonderful people. It's honestly amazing how grateful they are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, thank you so much.

DAILEY: My pleasure. If you need anything else moving forward, please give me a call, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will.

DAILEY: All right. Take care of yourself. Good night.

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LEMON: Greg and his family have now made more than 1,000 shopping trips for their neighbors. To see the full story, go to cnnheroes.com.

And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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