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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Doubles Down, Won't Commit to Peaceful Transition; New York State Will Review Any COVID Vaccine; Pac-12 Resume Football in November. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired September 25, 2020 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:20]
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump embedding seeds of doubts about the election results in the minds of Americans. It could be working.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And an erosion of trust at the state hardest hit by coronavirus says you cannot trust a vaccine approved by the Trump White House.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Abby Phillip, in for Christine Romans this morning.
JARRETT: Abby, so great to have you.
PHILLIP: Hey.
JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Friday, September 25th. Happy Friday, everyone.
It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York. Thirty-nine days until the election.
And we begin this morning with President Trump escalating his threat to topple a pillar of American democracy. After first refusing to peacefully commit to the transfer of power, he loses the election. The president dug in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, we have to be very careful with the ballots. The ballots, that's a whole big scam. We want to make sure the election is honest, and I'm not sure that it can be. I don't know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots. They're unsolicited, millions being sent to everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: OK, here's the thing. These are not unsolicited ballots. In 41 of 50 states, voters have to request a mail-in ballot before one is set. Only a handful of states automatically mail ballots to all registered voters. Even the president's own FBI director say mail-in ballots pose no real threat to a free and fair result. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Now, we have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: And, remember, 25 states are already voting despite President Trump's continued baseless warnings about voter fraud. Republicans seem compelled to respond to the idea he wouldn't step aside peacefully if not re-elected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: No questions. No qualms. No concerns. It's going to be peaceful.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): People wonder about the peaceful transfer of power. I can assure you, it will be peaceful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a peaceful transfer of power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a peaceful transition of power no matter what anybody says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: This from the same Republicans who just did a complete reversal on whether to hold a vote on a Supreme Court justice in an election year and they said little to nothing about the steps this administration is currently engaged in.
CNN has learned that the Trump campaign and Republicans at the state and local level are trying to make it harder for voters to cast a ballot, harder for states to count them and more likely that the final counts will be challenged in court. That includes key swing states like Wisconsin and Michigan.
JARRETT: And in an extremely unusual move, the Justice Department announced Thursday it's investigating a handful of military ballots that it says were discarded in Pennsylvania. But what's even more unusual about this is that the press statement revealed seven of the nine ballots were cast for Trump. Meanwhile, election officials and voting experts want to make sure the president's baseless claims don't take hold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: We need voters of all backgrounds to know that whoever they cast their vote for, their ballot will be counted and their vote will be secure.
BENJAMIN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: I spent 38 years as a Republican lawyer going into precincts looking for evidence of fraud. There are to be sure isolated cases, but there is nothing like the widespread fraud that would somehow invalidate an election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The truth is, the system has never been tested like it will be. It already is. 25 states already have ballots in the mail, including Florida where the president has actually been encouraging people to vote by mail.
A CNN tally shows a whopping 71 million ballots nationwide either requested or set to be mailed automatically. That's far more than the 50 million pre-election day ballots cast in 2016.
PHILLIP: President Trump's threat to intervene in vaccine approvals is already having real effects. New York state will create a task force to conduct its own review of coronavirus vaccines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Frankly, I'm not going to trust the federal government's opinion and I wouldn't recommend to New Yorkers based on the federal government's opinion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: New York officials don't generally play a role in approving drugs or vaccines, but they could delay distribution in the state if they believe the vaccine was not safe. This erosion of trust is already having big consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: How big of a problem is growing skepticism?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's enormous, because once we do develop a vaccine, obviously, we want people to accept it.
[05:05:01]
What's not represented is the skepticism and the concern in the medical profession, they're very concerned. I hear that almost literally every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: A key model used by the White House now projects more than 371,000 coronavirus deaths in the U.S. by January 1st. That's 7,000 lest than before yet still there could be 3,000 deaths a day by the end of the year. Nearly 100,000 people could be saved if most people would just wear masks.
Right now, about half of them are wearing them. The average immune cases are up 27 percent in two weeks. Now when people are heading indoors for the season, a reality check from Dr. Anthony Fauci.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Given the fact that we have never gotten 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 winter?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Now a big loss in all of this, America's children. Remember what President Trump said earlier this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody young, below the age of 18, like, nobody. They have a strong immune system. Who knows? Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. It affects virtually nobody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: So, let's take a look at what happens as he said that. Up to 27 colleges and 15 states have now switched from in person to remote learning. Just yesterday, the ruby red state of Tennessee released data showing significant learning losses for K-12 students following school closures.
This week, CNN reported that a number of people needing food assistance has tripled since the pandemic began. In the New York area alone, the New York City area, the campaign against hunger this year compared to 3 million in a typical year.
That is a lot of hungry children. And unemployment remains staggeringly high. Families have faced job losses and eviction. So, that idea that the virus affects virtually no one except for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions really does not hold up.
JARRETT: All right. Breaking overnight, a federal court ordering the Trump administration to drop plans to rush the census to a conclusion and extending counting for a month. Now, the Census results determined future congressional districting and how federal funding is divvied up across the country.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had ordered the Census Bureau to finish counting by September 30th, one month earlier than originally planned so the first set of results could be delivered to the president by the end of the year. The ruling is expected to be appealed.
PHILLIP: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be laid to rest today. First, she'll be moved from the U.S. Supreme Court steps to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, becoming the first woman in history to receive the high honor.
Joe and Jill Biden are expected to pay their respects today.
And you can hear President Trump was greeted with jeers and boos as he paid his respects on Thursday. He's expected to nominate her replacement tomorrow.
JARRETT: New overnight, more protests in Louisville after a grand jury failed to indict a single police officer in Breonna Taylor's death. An unlawful assembly was declared last night but the protests were peaceful. Some vigilantes did clash with demonstrators at one point, risking a repeat of the deadly violence we witnessed in Kenosha after Jacob Blake was shot.
There are growing calls for more information about the Breonna Taylor investigation. The city of Louisville said they're working with Kentucky's attorney general and the FBI to determine what can be released without interfering in the ongoing investigations. Still, representatives for Breonna Taylor's family are running out of patience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR BREONNA TAYLOR'S FAMILY: We do believe it was a cover-up from the go. They always intended to sweep this under the rug as if Breonna Taylor's life didn't matter, and it continues a long pattern in America that they disrespected and tried to marginalize the lives of black women but Breonna's legacy will be that black women lives matter, too, America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, posted an illustration of her daughter on Instagram with the hashtag, #thesystemfailedBreonna.
PHILLIP: You may have predicted it, Florida would be the focal point of this election, but you may not know how.
CNN reports coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:13:47]
PHILLIP: It may be the least surprising thing in American politics, election drama in Florida, a critical battleground state.
But what is surprising is how both sides are making a last-minute push for support.
CNN's Randi Kaye takes a closer look for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a state where razor thin election margins are a regular occurrence, every Florida vote counts. Enter billionaire Michael Bloomberg, now pouring big money into the Sunshine State to help former Vice President Joe Biden win. His latest move, more than $16 million raised to pay off debts owed by ex-felons. In 2018, Florida voters approved an amendment restoring voting rights to more than 1 million people with felony convictions. Republicans in the state then passed legislation blocking felons from voting unless they paid all fines and court fees.
A few years ago, Rosemary McCoy was convicted of illegally occupying a property. She hopes Bloomberg can help.
ROSEMARY MCCOY, UNABLE TO VOTE: I applaud him. I thank him. I think other people will join.
KAYE: The money Bloomberg raised will go toward helping more than 30,000 black and Latino former felons in Florida cast their ballots.
Florida political expert Susan MacManus.
SUSAN MACMANUS, RETIRED PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: Florida is the perennial purple state with the huge 29 Electoral College votes.
[05:15:06]
KAYE: And winning here is expensive. Bloomberg is funneling $100 million of his own money to the state and in addition to the $16 million to pay off the debts of felons, his money's also backing a TV ad blitz targeting, among other things, President Trump's response to the pandemic.
Bloomberg's cash will infuse the ground game and get out the vote efforts by black and Latino groups.
MACMANUS: It's like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle with all different kinds of shapes of pieces, and yet, you have a limited amount of time to do it if you want to win.
KAYE: No Republican has won the White House without carrying Florida since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. So Florida is crucial for Trump. He's now claiming residency in Palm Beach. And during a recent visit to the state, the president announced a ten-year extension of the ban of oil drilling off the coast after officials voiced concern about how drilling might affect tourism, all in an effort, it seems, to shore up votes.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean.
KAYE: Both campaigns are making a play for Puerto Rican voters. Tens of thousands of people fled Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, and resettled in Florida.
Mario Rosa relocated and will soon vote in his first presidential election.
(on camera): What did you make of President Trump's response to the hurricane hitting Puerto Rico?
MARIO ROSA, PUERTO RICAN VOTER: Well, not sufficient is putting it lightly. Inadequate.
KAYE (voice-over): Perhaps attitudes like that inspire the Trump administration to suddenly announce $13 billion in aide to help rebuild Puerto Rico three years after the storm.
For his part, Biden is also promising to rebuild the island's infrastructure. He recently visited Florida as well, to mark Hispanic Heritage Month.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's great to be back in Florida.
KAYE: The campaigns are also flooding the airwaves, committed to spending upwards, with outside groups like super PACs throwing another $50 million or so into the mix according to data from Kanter Media.
The Lincoln Project released this ad against Trump about the coronavirus pandemic.
AD ANNOUNCER: More than 175,000 Americans have died from a deadly virus Donald Trump ignored.
KAYE: An America First policy of pro-Trump group is airing this one, warning voters that Biden wants to raise taxes.
AD ANNOUNCER: Joe Biden will raise taxes on all --
MACMANUS: It is the most challenging state to figure out how to win all 50 states, by far.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: Our thanks to Randi Kaye for that report.
Still ahead, a big reversal from a power conference. College football is coming back to the West Coast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:22:23]
PHILLIP: And a follow-up true story we brought you yesterday. The husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein is one of several people named in a scathing report for helping unqualified students get into the competitive University of California system. Richard Bloom has been named as the U.C. regent who sent a letter of recommendation for an unqualified applicant to U.C. Berkeley's chancellor. That student was on the wait list and had a 26 percent chance of getting in on merit.
Senator Feinstein's spokesman declined to comment.
JARRETT: All right. A big reversal from the Pac-12 conference. The football season will begin in November. Carolyn Manno has this morning's "Bleacher Report".
Hey, Carolyn.
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Laura.
So, this is the last of the power five conferences to return to play in a pandemic. Decision makers citing updated health and safety guidelines both at the state and local level and also improvements to daily testing as reasons for the change.
So, if everything goes according to plan, and, of course, you know, that's a big if, the league is going to kick off on the November 6th. Without fans in the stands, they're going to play a seven-game season that wraps up with the championship game on December 18th. So, that will allow Pac-12 teams to be considered for the college football playoff as well.
The conference had initially decided to postpone play until the spring due to COVID-19 concerns. The SEC and Big-12 start their seasons this weekend. The ACC began play in September and the Big 10 kicks off in late October.
Meantime, LeBron James didn't hide his emotions last night when speaking out for the first time against the decision in Breonna Taylor's case. He called it one that hits very close to home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMS, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: We want justice no matter how -- you know, how long it takes even though it's been so many days, so many hours, so many minutes for her family, for her community. I mean, I've got a daughter of mine at home and a wife and my mom. I mean, so many predominant black women in my life to think about if they weren't here the next day, or, you know, think if they were gunned down it would be something I would never be able to forgive myself or forgive who did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: James with a superstar finish on the court last night. The Lakers one game away from reaching the NBA Finals. James has never lost a playoff series when up 3-1. The Nuggets have come back from that deficit twice in these playoffs. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with scoring with 34 points. He says he is fine for game five after rolling his ankle in a fourth quarter. L.A. can reach its finals in a decade with the win tomorrow night.
And nobody plays better against the Jacksonville Jaguars than the Dolphins Ryan Fitzpatrick.
[05:25:03]
The journeyman quarterback good for three touchdowns in Miami's 18- point lead Thursday night. Fitzpatrick now the first quarterback to beat the same opponent six times with six different teams. He's played for eight teams since being drafted out of Harvard back in 2005.
And, you know, Laura, Fitzpatrick's beard sparked a great facial hair debate on social media. I think it adds to the grizzled veteran look. I don't know if you agree.
JARRETT: Yes, it makes him look very distinguished.
(LAUGHTER)
JARRETT: All right. Carolyn, nice to see you this morning, thanks so much.
MANNO: You too.
JARRETT: All right. Still ahead, Americans in 25 states are already casting votes.
The president keeps trying to sew the seeds of distrust in the system suggesting results he doesn't like won't suffice for him or his supporters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
