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Five Men Charged in Michigan Governor's Kidnapping Plot to Appear in Court; Michigan Supreme Court Denies Extension of Governor's Virus Executive Orders; Russia Smashes Records for Coronavirus Cases And Deaths. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 13, 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]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A Trump supporter in Texas thought the coronavirus was a scam, that the pandemic was overblown by the media. Then he caught COVID and got horribly sick. Then 14 members of his family got sick. Then two of them died.

Now he's speaking out. And joining us now is that man, Tony Green. Tony, thank you so much for being here, I've really been looking forward to talking to you. Your story is so intense and we're really sorry for your loss. And so, let's just start at the beginning. You thought -- you called coronavirus a scam-demic. Why didn't you originally believe it?

TONY GREEN, FOURTEEN MEMBERS OF FAMIILY INFECTED WITH CORONAVIRUS: Well, originally, I just -- it seemed to me like there was -- I don't know, misinformation coming from all different angles, didn't seem like there was clarity.

It wasn't a unified front. So, you know, there's a little bit of skepticism there. But, there was also, you know, I mean, a very important election that it seemed to me like there was not a whole lot of things to really go after with Trump. I mean, there's definitely personality issues, I don't disagree with that. But --

CAMEROTA: But you thought, I mean, when you say there weren't things to go after with Trump, you mean that you thought that the media was intentionally over-blowing it to what? Try to bring him down or something?

GREEN: To an extent. I think that there was just -- I mean, in any campaign. there's got to be negatives and positives. I mean, we go after each other as far as candidates go, and, you know, there are a lot more issues out there that are very important. Not just coronavirus.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and I do want to get to those, because I know that that is part of what motivated you and colored your thinking on all of that. But is it true that you made fun of people who wore masks originally? GREEN: For a period of time, yes, I did.

CAMEROTA: OK, and so, you -- we have pictures, I know that you come from such a tight-knit family. Your family looks really close, and I know that you guys like socializing with each other of course, as so many families do.

Here's just a couple of pictures that you sent us of all of you together. So, you in June, you know, you -- I guess we're trying to go about your business. You organized a relatively small family gathering, just six people. You, your partner, both of your parents, I think it was outside, and then what ended up happening?

GREEN: Hell, we all got together, there was no symptoms. Governor Abbott had come on earlier that week, which was June 12th, and he had said that smaller gatherings should be, you know, considered a little bit more safe. And they were increasing the restaurant and bar capacity from 50 percent to 75 percent. So by that point, it really seemed like, you know, the worst is behind us, and, you know, OK, well, we haven't seen each other in a couple of months here, and let's try to just get together and just enjoy ourselves at the home.

CAMEROTA: And then how soon after that did you and some of your loved ones start feeling symptoms?

GREEN: Well, that's important. You know, our symptoms began to develop very quickly. And you know, they're talking about an incubation day or incubation time that's upwards of 14 days. And that was not the case with us for sure.

Certainly, someone was a host that was here at the house. But there was also, you know, I mean a total of six people that were sick within a matter of maybe 48 hours beyond that, maybe 72 hours that -- that it had transferred over to 14. So --

CAMEROTA: And, Tony, at your worst, what were your symptoms?

GREEN: I felt like a radiating heat on the inside, like you know, just my body just vibrating from the inside out. My eyes felt like they were in a fishbowl just kind of bouncing around and still looking -- you have a little bit of a headache issue, you know, at the very -- like mid part of my head. Beyond that, not a lot. My appetite was still there. I didn't lose my taste buds, I didn't have really a cough.

[07:35:00]

I didn't have a lot of congestion, anything like that. But those were predominantly the symptoms. Little bit of vertigo, dizziness, and that's what led me to being in the hospital, and that was on June 24th. I thought I was over it. You know, I didn't go out and do anything, I've stayed here at the home and I did some projects --

CAMEROTA: Yes --

GREEN: And felt great. Like I said, three days, and then all of a sudden, bam, I just -- I hit the staircase like I was drunk and paralyzed.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, it sounds horrible. And I know that two of your family members died, including your father-in-law who you were really close to. He was just 52 years old. And I know that you've been devastated by that loss --

GREEN: Right --

CAMEROTA: And so, I know that you say you feel horribly guilty about all of this. I mean, why do you blame yourself?

GREEN: Well, you know, I've kind of explained it a couple of ways, and really the way that it sends the messages, I feel like a drunk driver that killed his family. I know logically that, you know, we all came here on our own accord.

We knew that, you know, there was a possible risk. But, you know, it's my home. I'm the one that hosted. And, you know, somebody got sick, we don't know who? You know, actually brought it in. It very well may have been my father-in-law, we don't know. I mean, in other words, the outcome may have been the same as far as the two that passed away.

But it wouldn't have spread beyond that, possibly. You know, we don't know what the outcome would have been. So it's hard to really assign blame. And I think that's just God working right there is just not letting that happen. But, yes, I mean, there's a difference between emotion and there's a difference between fact. And, you know, right now, emotions are really -- I mean, they're winning.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I understand. I mean, that is really devastating. And is there anything, Tony -- I don't know where you get your news or where you get your information, but is there anything that we, in the media, could have done differently to, you know, get the message out better so that you wouldn't have doubted it for all of those months?

GREEN: Well, I would just say that, you know, over the last, you know, four years, it's been predominantly negative. There's not been a lot of focus on any of the positives. And, you know, I understand that. And that's coming across the border. I watch "Fox", I watch CNN, I read a lot of different papers, I'm actively involved in trying to understand, you know, what's going on in the world.

But, it seemed to me like the credibility had really been shot with the media, not just with any particular network. So, it was very difficult to trust that information when it's been very partisan to come back to a point where this is, you know, a national emergency, really a worldwide emergency.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, I know that we're running out of time. What's your message to other people who are disbelievers like you were? And I know that you have said that despite all of this, you don't think that President Trump has done a good job at handling the pandemic at all.

But you still are going to vote for him when last we checked because you like some of the other things that he's done. So if you could just quickly tell us how you've reconciled that and then what your message is to people who are in the same place now that you were six months ago.

GREEN: Absolutely, and I'll start with that. You know, my job, I guess, my duty, why I'm doing this, you know, I'm doing it, I'm falling on my sword. It's humiliating, it's embarrassing, it's very hurtful, and it's just reminding me constantly, you know, what our family's been through. So I'm doing that basically for awareness.

You know, I want to stop the spread. So, if there are people, whether they're Trump supporters or they're Biden-Harris ticket, you know, and I see a lot of deniers or people that are not taking it seriously on both sides in my neighborhood. You know, I want everybody to know that, yes, I mean, this is a national emergency, it's bipartisan, so I want to stop the spread as much as I can as far as still supporting the president, there are more issues, like I said, than just the coronavirus.

And two that are very important to me is I'm an expert in criminal justice reform, I've donated tons of money, thousands of hours to helping in the last five years consulting all around the country. And I also believe that the manufacturing jobs are very important. You know, the fact that he was able to get first step back done was great. But then all of a sudden, you know, we got a few other things to do.

CAMEROTA: Yes --

GREEN: So, I think there's more that can be done in the past, you know, four years or the next four years. So --

CAMEROTA: Yes --

GREEN: I'm hopeful in the manufacturing jobs, they help people like, you know, ex cons, felons, offenders --

CAMEROTA: Yes --

GREEN: Because that's the type of work that they're able to really obtain.

[07:40:00]

CAMEROTA: I hear you. And I know that you've been really laser- focused on helping people who have been in prison, and that the first step back was really important to you. Well, this is really important to so many people, Tony, and I'm really grateful that you are -- as you say, falling on your sword and talking about all of this and the grief that it's brought your family. I know it will help other families to hear from you. So, Tony Green --

GREEN: I hope --

CAMEROTA: Take care of yourself and your family, thanks so much for being here with us.

GREEN: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: John? JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: An important message. We want to remember

some of the more than 215,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. Lonnie Norman became the first black mayor of Manchester, Tennessee, population 10,000 back in 1991.

Known as a dedicated public servant, Norman worked closely with the world famous Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival which is held every year in Manchester, except this year. He was 79 years old. New Jersey barber Domenic Parisi claim to fame was one particular client. He cut Richard Nixon's hair for the last nine years of the former president's life. Parisi once said that he and Nixon chatted about family and sports, but never politics. He was 76.

Choua Yang was a principal and CEO of a charter school in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Staff members described the 53-year-old as the backbone of Prairie Seeds Academy which she co-founded with her husband in 2004. Yang was the mother of five, and one staffer said grandmother figure to many of the students who came through her school. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00]

BERMAN: So, you have no doubt heard that Job Biden is leading in the polls. You have also no doubt been reminded that Hillary Clinton led in the polls in 2016. So, what can we take from that? How does 2020 compare to 2016?

One man has the answer. Joining me now is CNN senior politics writer and analyst Harry Enten. Harry, I was hoping for this to be the sort of official televised explanation of how 2020 compares to 2016. Let's start with the top line number as we sit here right now.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER & ANALYST: Yes, I mean, I don't know how official be, but here's the situation. Take a look at where the polls are right now and compare it to where they were in 2016. Look, Hillary Clinton was ahead at this point back in 2016. She was up by 6 points. But look at where Biden is right now.

He's up by 10 points. More than that, look at that, he's above 50 percent, Hillary Clinton was well below 50 percent. And that essentially means that even if Trump wins all the late deciders, those undecided voters, he still won't get enough to catch up to Biden versus where we were four years ago, where all really Trump needed to do was win those late deciders, and he did, and that's why he won the presidency.

BERMAN: And underneath those top line numbers, we are also seeing some things that are very different when it comes to support among some sub-groups.

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, take a look here among white voters and white voters without a college degree. Both of those groups favored Trump fairly heavily in 2016 in the final pre-election polls. And look at the margins now. Look, Trump's still ahead with both of those groups, but among whites, the lead went from 13 to 2, among non-college white voters, Trump won those by 30, he's only ahead right now by 18.

And that transforms itself into some key swing states, right? Like Iowa and Ohio. Ohio, a place that Joe Biden was visiting just yesterday, look at that, back in 2016, Trump won that state by 8. Right now, Joe Biden's ahead by 1 there. Iowa, Trump won by 9, now Biden is ahead by 2. So, Biden is the one who is expanding the map, he is on offense.

BERMAN: Yes, this is really key because it explains why Joe Biden was in Ohio yesterday and why the president's going to Des Moines, Iowa. Those are not the types of things you saw by and large four years ago. Again, a key difference. Also, a key difference, you know, we had David Gregory on earlier in the show and Alisyn asked, are we seeing more of an anti-Trump vote or a pro-Biden vote? There are some signs that Biden has done well for himself recently.

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, you know, I often hear people say, oh, people are just voting for Biden because he's the anti-Trump. Here's the facts, if you look at the numbers, you actually see that Joe Biden is a well- liked individual compared to where Hillary Clinton was four years ago at this point.

Look at this, Joe Biden's favorable rating, 53 percent, his unfavorable rating just 41 percent in the recent average of polls. Compare that to Clinton, who was very much disliked, her favorable rating was 42 percent, her unfavorable rating in fact was over 50 percent. And that essentially meant that all Trump needed to do was win the groups of voters who didn't like either candidate.

He won those -- won that group by 17 points in the exit polls. Right now, even if Trump wins the voters who don't like either candidate, that won't enough because Biden's favorable rating is over 50 percent.

BERMAN: And that is a huge difference. Trust also a big difference, Harry.

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, look, Donald Trump is going to -- the president is going to say a lot of weirdo things over the next final three weeks. Rightly, we heard it last night at his rally, he says a lot of things about the coronavirus. But the fact of the matter is, when it comes to the honest and trustworthy issue -- look at this, who do you believe is more honest and trustworthy?

Joe Biden in our recent CNN poll, with a 25-point lead on who is more honest and trustworthy, compare that to four years ago where Trump was the one who actually had that slight honesty edge. So, as we enter into the final two weeks and the two candidates are basically going to say, that candidate is not telling the truth, right now Joe Biden is the one who most voters believe is telling the truth, and it's a big reason why he's ahead.

BERMAN: Trump had an edge on honesty four years ago. Think about how much has changed during his time in office. Also, when it comes to the biggest issue of the day, Harry, you're seeing some stuff there.

ENTEN: Yes, I think this is rather important, right. It's not just about personalities, right? It's about issues and who you trust most on them. Obviously, the big issue of the day right now is coronavirus, but essentially Gallup asked late last month, who do you trust more to handle the nation's most important problem? They basically said what is the nation's most important problem?

[07:50:00]

Which party do you trust more to handle it? Right now, Democrats hold an 8-point lead on that particular question. Now, compare that to 2016 where Republicans, in fact, held a 4-point advantage.

So when it comes to personalities, and when it comes to the issues we're just not seeing the picture that we saw in 2016, right now, Democrats are ahead on the personalities, on the trust, and on the most important problem, and when you add that all together, that's a big reason why you're seeing Joe Biden with a much bigger lead than Hillary Clinton had --

BERMAN: And look, three weeks to go until people can finish voting, we don't know what will happen, but I think people have such selective memory about 2016, they remember that Donald Trump was losing in the polls overall, but what they don't remember, and I think what you just pointed out so successfully, Harry, he had a lot going for him. He had a lot of advantages underneath those numbers that ultimately prevailed on election day. They don't exist as we sit here today. Harry Enten, thank you so much for being with us.

ENTEN: My pleasure. Always a nice cup of coffee with you, my friend.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, Harry. All right, five of the men charged in the plot to kidnap Michigan's Democratic governor will appear in court today for a bond hearing. Thirteen men are charged with conspiring to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Officials say the group was trying to retaliate against Whitmer for restrictions that she imposed amid the pandemic. They face a life sentence if convicted.

BERMAN: At the same time, Michigan's Supreme Court ruled against the governor there, ending her executive orders related to the pandemic. Governor Whitmer had extended the state's emergency declaration by executive order back in April after the Republican-controlled legislature passed a bill that would not have renewed it. Her executive orders included an expansion of unemployment benefits from 20 to 26 weeks. Russia smashing records for coronavirus cases and deaths. Now Vladimir Putin going to extraordinary lengths there. We have a live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:00]

CAMEROTA: Russia reporting record high coronavirus cases and deaths. The country added more than 13,000 cases and 244 deaths yesterday. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen live in Moscow with more. What have you learned, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Alisyn. What comes as in a general spike here, coronavirus cases in Russia over the past couple of weeks. You can see or you could see on that graph how the numbers have been going up pretty much every single day. And the worst place that's been hit actually has been where I am right now, is the capital, Moscow. They had 4,600 new cases in the span of 24 hours.

And you guys, remember that the Russians came out and they approved a vaccine against the coronavirus without actually going through the main testing. But now, the mayor of Moscow has acknowledged that it's actually going to be quite a while before that vaccine is going to be available to most of the people here in Russia.

He said, he thinks it's going to be several months before the vaccine is going to be available on an industrial scale, and he's urging people to play it safe until then. And one of the people who is definitely playing it safe is the president, is Vladimir Putin. He's taking a very different approach than President Trump, who of course, has been very much out there over the past couple of months. Vladimir Putin has been inside an absolute bubble. Apparently, there are some people in his staff who are cleared to work in his residence, but even his closest ministers, everybody who needs to see Vladimir Putin has to self-isolate for two weeks.

So, popping in and getting that quick signature certainly isn't going to be happening. And as far as that vaccine is concerned, Vladimir Putin also so far has not taken that vaccine yet, John.

BERMAN: Interesting to see if Donald Trump takes any lessons from Vladimir Putin whom he so admires there. Frederik Pleitgen, thank you so much for being with us, appreciate it. So one city in China administering millions of coronavirus tests after only a dozen or so people test positive. CNN has reporters around the world covering the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Culver in Beijing. China's government now testing millions of people for COVID-19 after only a handful or so tested positive for the virus in the city of Qingdao. This latest cluster outbreaks led to health officials testing all of the city's roughly 9 million residents.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that they had already tested more than 3 million people and they've processed about a million of those tests. They claim no new confirmed cases have surfaced. This follows last week's major travel holiday here, and if the numbers spike, it could challenge China's strict containment efforts.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in Seoul. From today, South Korea is making mask-wearing mandatory across the country on all public transport. These are rules that had already been in place in the capital Seoul and other cities. But also now across the country and places like cafes and restaurants when you're not eating and drinking, medical facilities, rallies, you have to wear a mask.

There will be a 30-day grace period, but from November 13th, if you're caught not wearing a mask or wearing it incorrectly, you can be fined the equivalent of $87. Now, it comes at the same time as social distancing rules have been relaxed across the country. From now on, churches and sporting events can have a 30 percent capacity.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I'm Nic Robertson in London where the British Prime Minister is facing push-back from the government's scientific advisors after the Prime Minister's press conference Monday night where he announced new lockdown measures for the country.

They released minutes of a meeting from three weeks ago where they recommended the government back then take tougher measures. This indicates they're not satisfied with the measures the Prime Minister is taking now. Indeed, England's chief medical officer said at that press conference, Monday night, that the measures that the government is taking right now alone do not go far enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Nic Robertson and all our reporters. NEW DAY continues right now.

All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is NEW DAY. Asking for trouble, that is what Dr. Anthony Fauci says this morning.