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McConnell Warns Against Stimulus Deal Before Election; Democrats Refuse to Stand By Feinstein Over Praise of Barrett Hearings; NTSB: Boat Disaster Likely Caused By Charging Cell Phone Batteries and Lack of Watchman. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired October 21, 2020 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Republicans doggedly objected to moving forward with any relief, insisted on major tax cuts to get anything. This is about three times the size of the real stimulus that was in that bill. This is what Democrats care about.
Providing support for American families who are struggling. That's why Joe Biden should be our next president. He knows how to lead us out of this pandemic. How to get our kids back to school safely. How to provide support for our seniors who are in skilled nursing facilities, who are most at risk. How to get a vaccine safely out to the American public and our economy reopened, and how to restore our place on the world stage.
Joe Biden will show tomorrow night in the presidential debate that he's presidential. He's going to be standing opposite a guy who's acting like he's president, but doesn't have any idea how to actually do the job.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Have you -- the former vice president had been off the campaign trail the last few days doing debate prep. Have you had a chance to speak with him?
COONS: We haven't spoken in person. We have spoken by phone. He is listening to the public health experts. He's following the guidance of scientists. And he's been very careful during this pandemic, appropriately.
He's been a great role model. As we saw at the debate in Cleveland, President Trump, his family, his senior campaign supporters, they all showed up unmasked and frankly, tragically, just a few days later, there was a pandemic outbreak at the White House that infected --
BERMAN: What did the former vice president --
COONS: Thirty five people.
BERMAN: What is the vice president preparing for most in this debate? What is he bracing for? COONS: I think he is bracing for another groundless, baseless, cruel
attack on -- excuse me, on former Vice President Biden's own family. And he will once again try and turn this back to what matters, which is the millions of American families who are looking for leadership, who are wondering how the outcome of this election will affect them, rather than having the two candidates standing there on the stage, exchanging barbs about each other's children, they want to know how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to have a positive impact on their children.
Joe did a great job of that on the debate stage in Cleveland, when President Trump was just unloading on him with this barrage of attacks and interruptions and sort of harassing the moderator. I think the moderator this time will be armed with a kill switch to cut off the president's mic, which means there may be something like a real debate. But at the end of the day, Joe Biden is bracing for Donald Trump to continue doing what he's done for four years, to be a disruptive bully, who has no clear plan for how to move our --
BERMAN: Let me --
COONS: Country forward. And Joe will show that he does have a plan for how to bring us together.
BERMAN: Part of your day job is being a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. And the ranking Democrat on that committee is Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. And there have been a lot of Democrats upset with her, saying that she did not do a good job representing the Democratic Party in the hearings for Amy Coney Barrett. As you sit here this morning, do you want her to be the lead Democrat on judiciary going forward?
COONS: John, let's be clear about these hearings. We were considering the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Ginsburg who had just passed, and who was appropriate to succeed her. And on that challenge, Senator Feinstein, who has a long record herself of fighting for reproductive rights and gender equity in her opening and her closing statements and her questioning of Judge Barrett was very clear and very effective at being one of the senators on my side who put the concerns of real people, of the risks to the Affordable Care Act front and center, and exposed Judge Barrett's extremely conservative record and the way she would do damage to our country.
One of the hardest things for me this week is that instead of constructively negotiating a relief package, the Senate is -- the Republican majority in the Senate is solely focused on trying to --
BERMAN: Senator --
COONS: Rush through Judge Barrett's nomination.
BERMAN: That my question, though, is going forward, do you want Senator Feinstein to be the lead Democrat on this committee, either as ranking member or maybe the chair?
COONS: Look, I have a lot of respect for Senator Feinstein and her long record of leadership. And I think this is an issue that's best worked out by the caucus.
BERMAN: So not willing to answer this morning?
COONS: I have a lot of respect for Senator Feinstein, I think she's contributed immensely to the Senate, and I understand how angry many Democrats are about the Barrett confirmation, I share that anger. But I frankly think folks are taking it out on her, that at the very end of the hearings, she engaged in a brief moment of civility with Chairman Graham.
I understand why folks are angry about the entire confirmation process, but I think that anger is more appropriately focused at the Republicans who are driving through this extreme nominee who is unqualified to serve because of her extreme views.
BERMAN: Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate your time, sir.
COONS: Thank you, John.
[07:35:00]
BERMAN: Thirteen days left to vote in the election. The stakes could not be higher, especially in the battleground state of Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WENDY CALDWELL-LIDDELL, FOUNDER, MOBILIZE DETROIT: I know that as a voter and as a black woman, that there's a job that I have to do in order to get a representative who will come close to protecting my people in office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: You will hear what some of these crucial voters have to say there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Black voters in Michigan will be pivotal in deciding who wins that battleground state. But deep within Detroit neighborhoods, people are struggling and disengaged from the political process. So one woman from that community is doing what she can to turn that around. And CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us now with her reporting. Kate, I've loved watching your interviews with some of these folks. So tell us what you're learning.
[07:40:00]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much, Alisyn, I really appreciate that. Look, we all know Donald Trump won Michigan by a razor-thin margin in 2016. Part of the reason for that is tens of thousands of people stayed home and didn't vote. Now, the backbone of the Democratic Party, black women, they are fighting to make sure that does not happen this time around, and they feel the burden and they're worried. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: OK, so let's say you don't -- you ain't registered. So let's get you two registered, OK? I think that the apathy has just grown and has just become so pervasive in our communities, because people are just trying to survive that we have to get back to empowering people. Let's cycle back this way.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Twenty nine-year-old Wendy Caldwell-Liddell is a woman with no shortage of energy.
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: Hey, did she talk to you already?
BOLDUAN: She doesn't work for any campaign, but since August, she says she spends three days a week every week between her full-time job and taking care of two kids using that energy to try and convince fellow Detroiters their vote matters.
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: On countless days when I go out and canvass, I will go up and talk to someone, and they will say, listen, lady, I know that what you're saying is probably right, I know that you just want me to, you know, get out and vote, but I'm sorry, I've got to feed my kids, I don't even have time to listen to what you're saying. And that's a part of why I started doing this work with Mobilize Detroit. Because at this point, this is our survival now.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Ten thousand, seven hundred and four. What does that number mean to you?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: Is that how many votes Trump won by?
BOLDUAN: That's exactly how many votes.
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: So that number, it hurts. It hurts.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Wayne County, which includes Detroit, went for Hillary Clinton by a wide margin in 2016. But she got about 76,000 fewer votes there than Obama did in 2012. Remember, Trump won the entire state by just 10,704 votes. Are you voting for Joe Biden or are you more voting against Donald Trump?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: Eighty percent against Donald Trump, 20 percent for Joe Biden. I would say that.
BOLDUAN (on camera): What does that mean?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: It means that I know that as a voter and as a black woman, that there's a job that I have to do, in order to get a representative who will come close to protecting my people in office, but I'm not necessarily excited about having another representative there who really does not inherently understand the needs of our community.
BOLDUAN: Kamala Harris, how does she make you feel?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: Kamala makes me feel a lot better than Joe, to be honest with you.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Markita Blanchard, like Wendy, has lived in Detroit her whole life. But at 63 years old, she sees the choice this election a bit differently.
MARKITA BLANCHARD, BIDEN SUPPORTER: I'm a 100 percent voting for Biden.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Does Biden make you excited?
BLANCHARD: Yes, he does. His enthusiasm, his past record. It's like a charge.
BOLDUAN: President Trump says often that he has done more for the black community --
BLANCHARD: That's -- go ahead, no --
BOLDUAN: I don't even need to finish.
BLANCHARD: He's full of -- you know what I'm saying? He has not done nothing. I've had people say, well, he's not my president. I didn't vote. I said, well, did you vote at all? They said, no, I didn't vote. I said, if you did not vote, you did vote for him.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Amber Davis is one of those Detroiters who voted for Obama in 2012, then didn't vote at all in 2016.
(on camera): Why didn't you vote in 2016?
AMBER DAVIS, DETROIT RESIDENT: I didn't want Trump and I didn't want Hillary. I didn't really care who won that election.
BOLDUAN: So what's your plan this election?
DAVIS: I don't like Biden, but I'm voting for Biden. This coronavirus, everything that's going on, it's just horrible, so he's got to go.
BOLDUAN: One path to flipping Michigan blue again and a critical pursuit of the Biden campaign is getting those voters who sat out four years ago to show up this time. And a sign the Trump campaign knows this, it has an office right down the road from the Democrats, specifically targeting black voters in Detroit.
(voice-over): How unusual is that to see Trump, but a Republican presidential campaign open an office in Westside?
MARY SHEFFIELD, PRESIDENT PRO TEM, DETROIT CITY COUNCIL: I've never seen it. I've never seen it ever before.
BOLDUAN (on camera): But what does it tell you?
SHEFFIELD: The importance of not only Michigan, but Detroit in the black vote. Because the party's -- both parties need us.
BOLDUAN: Really?
SHEFFIELD: Joe Biden is not really the most exciting person, and I think unfortunately in light of COVID, we lost that personal touch with him that a lot of communities need to get them excited and to get them engaged.
BOLDUAN: Are you concerned about just the lack of enthusiasm?
SHEFFIELD: Yes, I am. There is a mixed reaction, I believe, amongst our voters, some of which also feel that, you know, the Democratic Party has not done a great job at grassroots engagement. Making sure that they're going door-to-door and educating people.
[07:45:00]
But I do think that what we saw with George Floyd did spark a reaction in so many people, and I think that's going to help also increase some of the voter turnout that we see in Detroit.
BOLDUAN: Are you going to help me? Everyone always talks about on TV, they always talk about how black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party.
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: We are. We are. Black women are the backbone.
(LAUGHTER)
BOLDUAN: But do you think the Democratic Party takes you for granted?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: Absolutely. Absolutely, they take us for granted because they know that black women are going to help them get the big wins they need where it matters, but they also know that they -- that they can give us the bare minimum, knowing that we aren't going to choose the other side.
BOLDUAN: What does that say about the country?
CALDWELL-LIDDELL: It says, we still got a long way to go. When the backbone of the country is the most neglected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Look, this is a slice of the electorate, of course. It's not necessarily predictive of how Michigan or the election is going to swing, but what is clear regardless of who wins, John, long-term both parties have a lot of work to do to either hold on to or win over the support of this passionate -- these passionate and reliable voters, black women.
BERMAN: Kate, I've got to say, I was struck by the explicit nature of the message from the Biden campaign to these voters, which is to say, don't do it again. Don't sit at home again. They're directly addressing what the problem was. I'm curious, how people are voting? What you were able to see there. Is -- are they being encouraged to go early, vote by mail? Is there a mobilization, an active mobilization process? BOLDUAN: You can see it all over the place. We even had -- there is
even a plane flying over Detroit as we were going through the city that was saying, "vote early" was like a big sign hanging behind it. The women -- it's vote -- the signs were everywhere. Vote early -- vote early, know where your voting place is. The women we spoke to, they were going to go to the polls. Markita, she says she has been there. She's done it every time. She goes right down the street. That's where she's going to vote. But one thing that is clear when you talk about the message from the Biden campaign, John, one thing is clear as you well laid out at the very top of the show.
What these women are hearing overnight from the president, attacking journalists, attacking science, attacking Anthony Fauci, attacking Hunter Biden, that is going to do nothing to connect with these women. Because what they are talking about is -- this isn't about feelings or kind of what they'd like to read on TV or read in papers or see on TV, this is about survival. They -- as Wendy told me, John, why she's doing this, it's pain. It's the pain of living your life and feeling like you have lived in a city and a country that does not see you.
CAMEROTA: And good for her, with just that shoe leather determination, running around and registering people and getting them -- trying to gin up the enthusiasm and telling them how to change their feelings if they're frustrated. Kate, again, it's so interesting to hear you talk to these women. Thank you very much for bringing that to us.
BERMAN: Really, I've got to say --
BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys. Thank you so much for having me on.
BERMAN: The banner flying overhead there in Detroit telling people to go vote early really tells you everything. Terrific report. All right, more news this morning. The fire that killed 34 people on a dive boat off the California coast last year may have been sparked by cell phones and batteries left charging overnight.
Federal safety investigators say the fire could have been prevented by a night watchman. The NTSB is condemning the boat company Truth Aquatics for failing to train their crew on emergency procedures. The chair of the NTSB tells the company, "clean up your act". CNN reached out to the dive company's attorney for a statement, but we did not hear back.
CAMEROTA: Listen to this update. Five hundred and forty five children separated from their parents by U.S. Border officials enforcing that zero-tolerance policy a few years ago, they are still not reunited with their parents. A court filing by the Justice Department and the ACLU also says hundreds of parents may have been deported without their children. The lawyers say the pandemic has only hampered these court-ordered reunifications. But we are told that on the ground efforts to find these parents and reunite them with these hundreds of children are resuming.
BERMAN: All right. Listen to this, this morning. NASA makes history with the OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft. It touched the surface of an asteroid Tuesday, a first for the United States reaching out its long robotic arm to collect a handful of cosmic rubble. Again, the spacecraft touched down on an asteroid -- we can say that more clearly. Scientists are hoping to study the sample to piece together more about the solar system's evolution. The space probe has orbited the asteroid for nearly two years. It is scheduled to return to earth in 2023. That's just plain cool.
[07:50:00]
CAMEROTA: I know a lot about this because I watched "The Martian" last week --
BERMAN: Yes --
CAMEROTA: And you know, this stuff is dangerous, John, it doesn't look it, but it's really dangerous.
BERMAN: What did you learn about growing potatoes? How -- what can you use to grow potatoes?
CAMEROTA: OK, oh, you have to first turn something into H2O.
BERMAN: You don't mean it.
CAMEROTA: Well, I guess the H2O.
BERMAN: Yes --
CAMEROTA: I think the H2O you are free to watch --
BERMAN: Anyway, congratulations, NASA. It's very cool to land on an asteroid. So President Trump is bringing some people together like never before. We will tell you about this next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: So this morning, President Trump is uniting people and at least in one front in ways that have never been done before. John Avalon with a reality check.
JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We view American politics through a prism of division. We see a president rages as he tries to inflame his base. We see Congress bitterly divided along hyper partisan lines.
We see states where political opponents feel like personal enemies. And so, it can be hard to see a surprising sign of bipartisanship in this election, perhaps unprecedented in American history. I'm talking about Republican support for Joe Biden. Because there are at least 450 prominent Republicans, leaders of their party over decades who are supporting the Biden-Harris ticket.
[07:55:00]
You saw a handful speak at the Democratic Convention, but in the last few weeks, we've seen two former chairmen of the Republican Party, Mark Grasco(ph) and Michael Steele endorse Joe Biden. Five former senators and 24 former Republican members of Congress.
There are former Republican governors, CIA directors, cabinet secretaries, a U.N. ambassador, military leaders and Cindy McCain. But that's not all, there are 129 national security officials from Republican administrations, hundreds of George W. Bush administration alumni and 46 members of Mitt Romney's campaign.
In addition to the Lincoln Project, long time GOP operatives who have made some of the most viral ads of the cycle. This isn't normal, but then these are not normal times. It's common to have a handful of folks cross party lines, we saw Georgia Senator Zell Miller, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch back Bush 43 in his re-elect, and so- called Obama caucus in 2008.
But here is what's never happened. So many Trump administration veterans endorsing his rival for president. And that's not even counting senior administration officials who have directly or indirectly warned Americans about the dangers of Donald Trump. People like John Bolton, Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis and John Kelly.
These are all folks who worked closely with President Trump and their stories line up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact is that he was not interested in doing the business of governing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Preoccupied with profit-making and who was willing to betray the ideals of U.S. democracy and the rule of law in order to cozy up to dictators and sell weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were told by the White House not to raise issues about Russia with the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I've got to say if there's four more years of his self-centered, it's all about me and everything else is either part of a deep state or some sort of, you know, hoax, I worry about that confidence that's necessary for our democracy to continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: You go through all of American history, you can't find this many former administration officials warning against the re-election of the president they served. FDR had a few defections when he ran for a third term, Harry Truman splintered Democrats into competing Dixiecrat and progressive parties, and there are always a few critics writing books at the end of administrations, but nothing like this. And the question for all of the above is why? And some talk about Biden's decency, experience, commitment to finding common ground.
But here is what Sean O'Keefe; a former Navy Secretary and NASA administrator told me, offering up a quote often attributed to Evan Burke(ph), "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." And that's your reality check. CAMEROTA: Wow, John, wow. Having you put all of this together in one
place is so helpful because, you know, we often see these different feelings pop up on social media or whatever, but all at one, that is powerful.
AVLON: It's the isolated announcements are much more powerful when you view them together in context. So --
CAMEROTA: Thank you very much, John. Really appreciate that. So countries across Europe adding new restrictions amid a second wave of coronavirus. CNN has reporters all around the world to bring you the latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in Berlin where Europe's second wave of the coronavirus is showing no signs of slowing despite a patchwork of curfews and restrictions being imposed across the continent.
One popular vacation area in southern Germany has just kicked out hundreds of tourists and imposed a two-week stay-at-home order with exceptions for work and essentials. The worst hit countries here are the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic which has just recorded another record high case count.
With the health system nearing its capacity, the government is building a field hospital in Prague to deal with the expected overflow, it's also re-imposing an unpopular but effective mandate to wear masks even outdoors. This morning, the Czech parliament will meet in an emergency session to discuss even stricter measures.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I'm Nic Robertson in London where in nearby Ireland, the Prime Minister, the Taoiseach there has told the country he is putting it on the toughest lockdown in Europe.
It will last six weeks he says. The idea that they will be able to push down the surging coronavirus infection rate and thereby people will be able to have a better Christmas. People are being told to work from home, they're being told they cannot roam more than three miles from their houses, only essential retail stores will be open. There's a lot of division in Ireland about this. A lot of disquiet and discomfort.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Since July, Chinese drug-makers have been administering experimental coronavirus vaccines under an emergency use program authorized by Beijing.
Now, those receiving these vaccines are people working in high risk professions like medical workers and border patrol agents as well as some diplomats and state-owned company employees who travel overseas. Because a vaccine is still in clinical trials, some experts worry that it could cause unknown side effects, but an official with China's National Health Commission says so far, no serious adverse reactions have been reported.
