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New Day

Obama to Hit Campaign Trail; Saban Tests Positive for COVID; GOP Doubles Down on Private Ballot Boxes; Taylor's Boyfriend Speaks Out. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 15, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That there was then a misconception about who President Obama actually can move.

I do think that there is a segment of the Democratic Party, but they -- it's a more moderate sort of center left segment of the Democratic Party that, obviously, loves President Obama and the levels of enthusiasm definitely are affected by his presence on the campaign trail. I definitely think there's been a shift away from President Obama among the most liberal of liberals, like sort of the Bernie Sanders liberals out there. So I really don't think those are the kinds of people that he is really trying to appeal to.

But you heard him talking specifically to minority men, in particular, black voters, in particular. You know, it's worth a try. Again, four years ago, he had the same message, telling black voters, get out there. Saying to black voters, if you don't get out there, I will view it as a personal insult to me. So it is really an open question to me whether that kind of message is going to work again. I think the circumstances, obviously, are different, but President Obama really has to kind of give it his all because he's tried to motivate Democratic voters in the past and it hasn't always worked.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Abby, I want to talk about what was supposed to be happening tonight and what will be happening tonight.

So there was supposed to be the second presidential debate, but instead there'll be dueling town halls.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: Why can you cue it up perfectly during the commercial break. Every time I have said "dueling," Abby, during the commercial break, John does this, OK? It's quite distracting.

BERMAN: Because I'm contractually obligated. When anyone ever says the word "dueling," you've got to play dueling banjos.

CAMEROTA: OK. So that's what's going on behind the scenes.

Here's my question, Abby, is that --

PHILLIP: You can just keep playing it while -- while we're talking, John. Go ahead.

BERMAN: Sorry.

PHILLIP: Yes.

CAMEROTA: I can't tell if the dueling town halls create a problem for voters or solve a problem for voters. And so meaning, like, now you'll have to click back and forth if you want to compare and contrast, or each candidate will be able to finish a sentence.

PHILLIP: Honestly, this is, to be honest, it's ridiculous, if you're a voter. You know, I mean what are you supposed to get out of it?

I -- what we're going to see tonight are people who are inclined to vote for bidden tuning into bidden, people who are inclined to vote for President Trump tuning into President Trump. That is not the purpose of debate night, what this was supposed to be.

I -- I think that tonight is going to be, honestly, a travesty for the American public in terms of really seeing these two candidates up against each other, unless you're really, really committed and you Tivo the whole thing and watch it back later. And if you're that kind of person, you probably already know who you're going to vote for.

So, look, I mean, I don't know that there's anything that can be done about it tonight, but I think that this is going to be really people with preconceived notions tuning into what they want to listen to and I don't think it's going to really do anything to move the ball forward in terms of what we know about the differences, obviously, between the two, but how they stack up against each other, how they -- how they can really go up against each other in terms of policy and character and temperament and all of those other things.

BERMAN: I know there was a lot of outrage out there in the liberal twittersphere over the fact that NBC is doing this, but I also know that there are people within Biden world who don't mind the idea of a lot of people watching President Trump on TV?

PHILLIP: Yes.

BERMAN: When was the last time he went on TV in front of millions of people and helped himself? That, I mean, in all honesty, it's not clear to me that his desire to maybe pull more ratings than Joe Biden is going to help him the way he thinks it will.

PHILLIP: Yes. Totally. I -- I mean, obviously, the president is focused on this idea of ratings. But that really doesn't matter if the people who are tuning into you either already agree with you or already disagree with you and you're not changing their mind.

The president needs to have a good session and -- and I -- I think it would be a mistake, though, for the Biden campaign or Biden allies or whoever to assume that it -- that it will definitely be a terrible town hall session for the president. I don't think that you can assume that. I think it is definitely possible -- like, we've seen President Trump, you know, four years ago, have decent town hall sessions. He has the ability to do it. The question is, does he want to?

So far I haven't seen any evidence that he's -- he's willing to sort of moderate his demeanor for -- for, you know, independent voters, but I think that he has the ability to. So we'll see what happens tonight.

CAMEROTA: Abby, thank you. Thank you.

BERMAN: It's your --

CAMEROTA: John's going to play us out.

BERMAN: It's your walk off music.

PHILLIP: I love it.

BERMAN: Abby Phillip, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, Abby.

BERMAN: Thank you very much for being with us this morning.

CAMEROTA: And --

BERMAN: OK, wait. There we go.

So other major news overnight. We learned that Alabama Coach Nick Saban, legendary college football coach, has tested positive for coronavirus.

[06:35:06]

This has just huge implications in the sports world. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Developing overnight, major news in college football. Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus and is isolating at home. The news comes three days before the Crimson Tide scheduled to face off with Georgia.

Joining us now, Nicole Auerbach. She is the senior college football writer for "The Athletic."

Nicole, great to have you with us.

Look, for our purposes, I'm not as interested in how Saban may coach from home over the phone during the game, but for our viewers who may not watch college football, this guy is a towering figure in all of sports. Alabama is the team in college athletics. So talk to me about the symbolism of Coach Saban, who, by the way, has been masking and promoting social distancing, the symbolism of him testing positive.

[06:40:02]

NICOLE AUERBACH, SENIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER, "THE ATHLETIC": Yes, it's a big deal. It was one of those moments where you go, wow, you know, this virus really is in control because, as you mentioned, he has been masking. He has been tested daily. Alabama has been really a model for testing and behavior. But, as we know, you can't test your way out of a pandemic. And there have still been a lot of issues in every league, even those with a lot of resources like the SEC. You've had two other games postponed this weekend in addition to now the marque game of the weekend, not having the Hall of Fame head coach.

The good news is, Nick Saban is asymptomatic, so that's great and he's feeling good and he practiced via Zoom the other day, yesterday. But, yes, this is absolutely a wake-up call for anyone who felt like, you know, sports returning was a sense of normalcy and, you know, the virus wasn't that big of a deal.

BERMAN: Well, the SEC, which is the conference that Alabama plays in, they are the conference that basically said, we're going to play no matter what. They were playing anyway. And they have had some games, but they've also had to cancel some games. LSU, national champion, just had to cancel a game they were going to play this weekend. Florida has nearly two dozen players who just tested positive. So what does that mean for the efforts to play at all costs?

AUERBACH: Well, honestly, it's not going to change much in terms of protocol. These were disruptions that those in charge of the SEC and other conference felt were going to happen. They built in extra buy weeks in the back end of the schedule so that they could make up games that mattered for conference races. They had coaches come up with plans, like Nick Saban is dealing with right now, for if they were unable to coach a game, who would take over, who would essentially almost be a head coach in waiting.

So these were part of the plan all along. I think they said, if we are going to have a college football season, we will play through these issues and disruptions. So I don't think it will ultimately change anything, but, again, it certainly reminds you who's actually in charge, and that's the virus.

BERMAN: That's right. And, look, the Big Ten postponed their season and is now coming back to play. President Trump is taking credit for that. I don't know that it was necessarily President Trump as much as college football fans and just college football reality. But what does it mean for them? I mean it's clear that people will get sick. As you say, the virus is in charge. People will get sick. And they have no pad in terms of their schedule.

AUERBACH: Yes, the Big Ten is interesting. And, like you said, I mean it certainly wasn't one phone call from the president and more so that everyone else was playing and that there were advances in testing to make it possible to justify returning. But really the Big Ten has no wiggle room. There's no games, no -- no buy weeks to make up any games and there's actually a 21-day shutdown period, which is more than the other league. So if a player or coach tests positive, they're out for three weeks minimum, no matter what, even if they have no symptoms. So they're playing, they're -- they're moving forward in a way where they can say we're playing in the fall, but they're going at it with really strict protocols that are going to make it very difficult. BERMAN: Right.

AUERBACH: But, again, they will get through some sort of a season.

BERMAN: You say that. I do wonder, with several dozen or nearly two dozen players on Florida testing positive, and it does seem to be moving about the country, what it would take for there to be a complete reckoning or rethinking of college football?

AUERBACH: Well, I personally thought that we would possibly get to there earlier in the calendar when regular students returned to these campuses. But you saw college football programs power on, Alabama in particular. There were over a thousand positive cases in the regular student body and they were still practicing and moving forward with games. So that is still something that is -- you know, that -- that they were able to play through and continue to play through.

So I think, you know, obviously it's about a possibility that a place like Florida or a Vanderbilt, which also had to cancel their games, could get to a point where they can't finish the season. We haven't had that happen yet. But it's possible that if multiple teams and programs get to that point, Baylor's another potential candidate that have kind of been dealing with ongoing outbreaks, it is possible that, you know, you could get to the point where other people decide it's not worth it for them. But, like I said, I thought we would get to that point earlier and people decided to play through it.

BERMAN: It will be interesting to see. You can't will this virus away. As you said, the virus is in charge. And let's just hope that all these players and the coaches and all of their families remain safe and as healthy as can be.

Nicole Auerbach, always great to have you on. Thanks for being with us.

AUERBACH: Thank you.

BERMAN: The California Republican Party refusing to comply with a state order to remove unofficial ballot boxes. What is this going to do? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:42]

CAMEROTA: Developing this morning, California's Republican Party is refusing to comply with a judge's order to stop using unofficial ballot drop boxes.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now with more.

So, this is a twist.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alisyn, this is a really striking escalation in what is likely to be a political showdown ahead of November 3rd. They didn't just say they weren't going to comply, they actually said that they might add more ballot boxes because the program is going so well.

And just a reminder here, the California Republican Party started putting up these unofficial ballot boxes in at least four counties. This alarmed election officials who said it was illegal. They then issued a cease and desist. Now, of course, we know that the party is not actually going to comply.

However, they have said that they will take down any boxes that are labeled as official.

And, Alisyn, I want to note one thing here, which is this decision to not comply came after President Trump tweeted at the party, saying, stay strong.

CAMEROTA: That's very interesting. That's an important note.

There was also this major development, Kristen, overnight in regards to absentee ballots in North Carolina.

So what's happening there?

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. So it was a mixed decision. A judge was overseeing three big voting cases there, but he essentially said that the state must ensure that every single ballot has a witness signature.

[06:50:01]

So earlier on in the year, around September, the state issued out a directive that said that if there were missing witness signatures from an absentee ballot, that that was OK, the voter would just have to be notified and issue an affidavit saying that they -- it was, in fact, their ballot. The judge is saying absolutely not, that there must be witness signatures.

But in a small twist, he is allowing some other things to be fixed during what is called the ballot curing process. And I want our listeners, our viewers, to be very aware of that term, "ballot curing," because it's something they're going to hear a lot about in the days up to the election and afterwards. This is the fixing of a ballot, an absentee ballot, that has some sort of correct information. So he is allowing for some of these minor fixes and have the ballot still count, but witness signatures will not be one of them.

In a win for voting rights, advocates, though, he has said that ballots can be counted up to November 12th if they're received up to November 12th, after the election.

CAMEROTA: Ballot curing. Thank you for alerting us to yet another strange voting phrase that will become part of our lexicon. Thank you very much.

OK, now to this, Breonna Taylor's boyfriend speaking out for the first time. What he says happened the night Breonna was killed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:55:23]

BERMAN: Breonna Taylor's boyfriend speaking out for the first time since a grand jury declined to indict the police officers in connection with her death.

CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us now with the very latest.

Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, good morning.

Yes, Kenneth Walker goes into vivid details of the events that happen on March 13th when police say they were serving a warrant connected to a drug trafficking case, even though no drugs were ever found in Breonna Taylor's apartment. And Walker describes the panic he felt, the fear, the confusion about not knowing it was police that were barging through the door that night. And those final moments where he just continued to hold the hand of his girlfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNETH WALKER, BREONNA TAYLOR'S BOYFRIEND: I don't think I ever heard so many gunshots, like, all at the same time. I never been to war, but I assume that's what war probably sounds like.

GINGRAS (voice over): Breonna Taylor's boyfriend speaking out about the night that she was shot and killed by police.

WALKER: It was a loud bang at the door. And nobody was responding. And we were saying, who is it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You all did ask, who is it?

WALKER: Several times. Several times. Both of us. And there was no response. (INAUDIBLE) sure that nobody identified themselves.

GINGRAS: Police knocked and say they did identify themselves before breaking the door down. Kenneth Walker fired one shot from his licensed gun. It's uncertain if that was the shot that hit Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. The three police officers at the scene fired 32 shots back.

WALKER: She screamed. Like, I was holding her hand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were holding her hand.

WALKER: Yes, like while this was happening. I pulled her down to the ground. Well, you know, she was just scared, so she just didn't get down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So in the middle of all of this, you realize that she's been hit. Was she alive at the time?

WALKER: She -- she was still and when all the gunfire stopped. And I was holding her. GINGRAS: Once the shooting stopped, Walker called his mother, then

911, still not realizing it was the police who fired at them.

OPERATOR: 911 Operator Harris, where is your emergency?

WALKER: I -- I don't -- I don't know what's happening. Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.

GINGRAS: Walker went outside, seeking help for his girlfriend and there he saw police with guns drawn, threatening him with police dogs.

WALKER: Officer asked me, was I hit by any bullets. I said, no. He said, that's unfortunate.

GINGRAS: Walker was arrested outside the house. Officers then entered Taylor's home where she lay on the floor.

WALKER: They're still like casing the apartment with her laying right there on the ground. Disrespectful.

GINGRAS: Walker says he learned from the news that his girlfriend had died. He was charged with attempted murder of a police officer and assault. The charges were later dropped.

DANIEL CAMERON, KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL: According to Kentucky law, the use of force by Mattingly and Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves.

GINGRAS: At the conclusion of a grand jury last month, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that the three officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor would not be charged for her death. Officer Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of felony wanton endangerment for shots fired into a neighboring apartment in the raid. He pleaded not guilty.

GINGRAS: Protesters marched through Louisville after the decision. Taylor's family still wants justice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does justice look like for you for Breonna Taylor?

WALKER: Breonna Taylor should be right here next to me. That's the only justice for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And something else that was very striking about this interview is Walker says he firmly believes, had he not lived, we may never have known anything about Breonna Taylor, Kenneth Walker or what really happened inside that apartment. Walker has filed a $10.5 million lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution and false arrest and assault.

John.

BERMAN: Clearly still in a lot of pain. Brynn Gingras, thank you very much.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Across this country, we're averaging more than 50,000 new cases a day for the first time in two months.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NIAID: The family gathering around Thanksgiving is a risk. You may have to bite the bullet and sacrifice that social gathering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden participating in dueling town halls after their second debate was canceled.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump wants this. Trump wants a head-to-head matchup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Biden campaign deploying former President Obama as we get ever closer to the general election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He reminded us what a president should do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:00:02]

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world.