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Erin Burnett Outfront

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Stop Trump Rally; Juneteenth Rallies Across The Country Underway as Trump Threatens Protesters Eyeing His Tulsa Rally; California, Florida & Arizona Break Records for New Cases; World Health Org. Warns of "New & Dangerous Phase" of Pandemic: "Very Small Percentage" of Attendees Could Catch Virus; Federal Judge Skeptical He Can Stop Publication of Bolton Book; Phoenix Mandates Masks Ahead of Trump Event Next Week; Federal Judge Skeptical He Can Stop Publication of Bolton Book; Phoenix Mandates Masks Ahead of Trump Event Next Week. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 19, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Thanks for watching.

Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the President threatens protesters ahead of his rally in Tulsa tomorrow. This is a last-ditch effort to stop the rally fails.

Plus, the President called John Bolton's accusations lies but also says the book contains classified information. How can both be true? We're going to ask Trump's former Acting Director of National Intelligence.

Plus, mask wars. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she won't wear a mask at Trump's rally. Campaign manager signals he will. Why is this issue dividing America?

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, full speed ahead. A last-ditch effort to stop President Trump from holding an indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 10s of thousands of people fails. The State Supreme Court just rejected an appeal to stop the rally over coronavirus concerns.

And as Tulsa braces for many 10s of thousands of people to come to downtown, the President is threatening anyone who is planning to come to protest his rally tomorrow, "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene."

That is the President's message even as the country is, obviously, still reeling over the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks which have set off the protests that he's talking about. That is the President's message on Juneteenth as people across this country marched to commemorate the end of slavery in this country and one day before the President heads to Tulsa, which is home to one of the bloodiest massacres of black Americans in U.S. history.

And in a moment, I'm going to speak to former Republican Congressman J. C. Watts. He represented Oklahoma for eight years and you'll see him in just a moment.

Trump's rally comes as top medical officials, though, are pleading with the President to cancel the rally to protect his health and the health of his supporters. Cases in Oklahoma are trending up. In Tulsa County, they have more infections than any other county in the state and you can see those numbers starting to jump.

That is partly why the nation's top infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, says he wouldn't go to the rally and reminded Americans today of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The best way to protect yourself and to prevent acquisition of and spread of the infection is to avoid crowds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And it's not just Fauci, here's the Executive Director of the Tulsa Health Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BRUCE DART, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TULSA HEALTH DEPARTMENT: I recommended that it'd be postponed until it's safer until the data tells us that it's not as large a concern to have people indoors and enclosed spaces with the threat of a COVID-19 transmissions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The President acknowledging that people are going to get sick at his rally. He told The Wall Street Journal, "It's tiny. You know, it's a very small percentage." And it comes as he has required every person attending to sign a waiver that they won't sue him if they get sick or the campaign even as the campaign says masks are not required. His Press Secretary says she won't even wear one and that there won't be social distancing.

Ryan Nobles is OUTFRONT live in Tulsa. And Ryan, this has become - he's going to do it no matter what. This rally comes over the objections of medical experts. It is going ahead and the President has issued threats at those who would come to protest it.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Erin. There's no doubt that the President is going to appear here in Tulsa tomorrow and you're right, an ominous warning for those who say that they're going to come out tomorrow and peacefully protest the President's visit here.

We're right now in Greenwood. That, of course, the neighborhood where the Black Wall Street massacre occurred back in 1921. This has been a very peaceful night. In fact, it's been much more of a party than a protest. They remember and honor the memory of those that were killed here so long ago.

But what we're going to see tomorrow could be very different, Erin. We're expecting a massive crowd outside the BOK Center where President Trump is expected to appear. The campaign says some 1 million people of have RSVP'd. They're expecting as many as a hundred thousand to show up.

Many of them will be outside. They'll hear from the President at a stage outside. But a big portion of them, some 19,000 at least are expected to pack inside that venue. Now, there will be some safety precautions in place. They're going to hand out hand sanitizer, they're going to offer people masks, but they're not going to require anyone to put those masks on. They're also going to do temperature checks as well.

And you mentioned that Supreme Court decision that was handed down late this afternoon. There was concerned by business leaders here that this was going to be too dangerous in terms of coronavirus. The state Supreme Court ruling tonight that this rally can go on because it was - is within the confines of the Governor's order to reopen the state.

They said that social distancing protocols are on the responsibility of the campaign and the venue. But, Erin, as the campaign has told us over and over again, there will be no social distancing practice at this event tomorrow night.

[19:05:05]

And everyone in there is expected to be shoulder to shoulder and we'll have to see how many of them end up wearing masks, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Ryan.

I want to go OUTFRONT now the former Republican Congressman of Oklahoma, J. C. Watts. Also the Chairman and Acting CEO of Black News Channel. And Congressman, I appreciate your time. I'm glad to see you again.

President Trump just came out with these tweets or this threat, "Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, loot looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene." Exclamation point. What do you say to that?

J. C. WATTS, (R) FORMER CONGRESSMAN FROM OKLAHOMA: Well, Erin, I don't - I wish he would have used different language. How do you distinguish between who the lowlifes are and who the troublemakers are. The Constitution allows people to protest. I hope that they will do it peacefully and the Constitution doesn't allow me or you or anyone else to pick or choose the protests that we like and the ones that we don't like.

So I don't think that that adds to the type of discussion that we need right now. I think we all can do ourselves through the country of great service by listening to hear as opposed to listening to respond. I mean, when you look at all that's happened, especially over the last two or three months starting with Aumaud Aubrey, I think that was the tipping point. I think with George Floyd, hopefully that was the turning point and we can get to a turning point or make the turn to where we need to be using that type of language in my opinion.

BURNETT: I think that's so well said, listening to hear instead of listening to respond. I mean, you I know, Congressman, have been speaking to the Vice President's team about the rally and other things. I mean, do you think it's a good idea for the President to be holding this rally in Tulsa tomorrow?

WATTS: Erin, that's the $64,000 question for many people and I know that the media and many others they've asked that question and I not a part of the President's scheduling, his advance work. I don't work with the RNC. I don't work with the City of Tulsa.

I think the Presidents have the ability to go where he wants to go to have a rally. However, I think this particular rally or this particular time and I'm not so sure the people around him served him well to say that that's what happened or rally should happen on June 19, Juneteenth, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I think Juneteenth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it's significant to the African American community all over the country, but I think it has even a deeper significance because of what (inaudible) for slavery, what it is to the massacre of 1921.

You've got all that rolled in that people are memorializing and celebrating the end of slavery and memorializing Juneteenth. All of that is wrapped up in this weekend. And, again, kudos to the President for coming to Oklahoma and I'm sure the state party they didn't advise me either. I mean, they didn't consult me either.

But I'm sure if they were to use their great wisdom, they would have said, Mr. President, thank you for coming, but the leadership of Tulsa, the African American leadership in the state, the Legislative Black Caucus, I've talked to pastors in the area, I've talked to friends in the area, I've talked to people all over the country, they just thought the timing was very cruel.

BURNETT: Well, when you talk about who is around him, as you know yesterday in the interview he gave, he turned to the black Secret Service agent who was in the room to find out about Juneteenth. And I wonder if that's telling, his inner circle is nearly all white, that photo op he took in front of the church, everyone there is his white.

Do you think if he had had someone in his inner circle, I mean, just to be blunt and direct about it, who was black, he would have been told and would have understood that this was inappropriate?

WATTS: Erin, one of my - and this is my assessment of my time in Congress, especially the full years that I served in leadership.

[19:10:03]

I have enough credibility with my colleagues that being an American of African descent, I could say to my colleagues, guys, I see what you're trying to do. But I wouldn't do it like that. I see what you're trying to say, but I wouldn't say it like that. Doing it like that or saying it like that, you're going to get us all shot.

And I think there was enough of a respect from the majority of my colleagues that they would take my thoughts and my ideas into consideration. And I think having somebody that can say to you, Mr. President, this is why HBCUs are important to the African American community, this is why Juneteenth is important to the African American community.

This is why making sure that African American businesses have a stake in the system and have opportunities and there's so many industries that African Americans don't have opportunities in. And so someone that can say that to him and I think telling the President what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear, I think he needs that.

And as a matter of fact quite frankly I think someone that would have the boldness to do that, hopefully he would appreciate it and say, Mr. President, we're not trying to be hostile to you. We're not being hostile to your agenda, we just think this makes sense for building bridges (inaudible) ...

BURNETT: I hear you ...

WATTS: ... now.

BURNETT: Well, it clearly didn't happen and look when it comes to history, when it comes to the African American community, the black community, President Trump has self-aggrandized himself. He has compared himself to former President Abraham Lincoln. By the way, multiple times, right, to Abraham Lincoln about civil rights, about poll numbers, how he's being treated, here are just a few examples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think I've done more for the black community than any other president and let's take a pass on Abraham Lincoln because he did good, although it's always questionable. In other words, the end result.

HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS: Well, we are ...

TRUMP: They always said Lincoln - nobody got treated worse than Lincoln. I believe I am treated worse.

I went back to the first lady. I said, first lady, I just beat Abraham Lincoln in a poll."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: At the beginning there he said the end results and the interviewer who was black said, "Well, we are free." I mean what's your reaction to that, just to his focus there on Abraham Lincoln?

WATTS: Well, Erin, I don't have a reaction to that. I didn't understand it. However, you're going to have - what President beating any incumbent president do you think that you didn't do better than they did or you're not better than they were. I don't - I just think - I think we should be able to - and my football, my athletic background taught me, J. C., you can take all of the credit in the world when you get it right, but you also have to be responsible when we get it wrong.

And then I would say that about me about you, me being the Chairman of the Black News Channel that if something is going wrong there, I can't be held harmless and I don't just say that to the President, I say that's a good principle for all of us to apply.

BURNETT: Yes.

WATTS: I learned that in athletics, but it's a good principle for all of us to apply and to be responsible for.

BURNETT: Before we go, Congressman, you did express doubts about whether you could support President Trump, then candidate Trump back in 2016, will use support him in November?

WATTS: Erin, back in 2016, I didn't support the President. But I don't come on here as someone that's not supporting the President or someone that was against the President. I come on this show tonight trying to say, hey, we've come a long way. But we've not yet perfected our union. We got a lot of work to do, Erin. You have a responsibility there. I have a responsibility. The President has a responsibility as I said earlier.

I find right now that we spend so much time chattering and talking at each other and I learned as a parent, if I listen to my kids, to hear what they're saying as opposed to listening to them to respond, I think we'll have better police forces. I think we'll be better parents. I think we'll be better politicians.

[19:15:03]

Politicians are masters at listening to respond, not listening to hear and so I just think that's important that at this point in time. And again, I'm not on your show tonight to be anti-President Trump or to say that you I didn't vote for President Trump. I don't care who I voted for.

I have a responsibility as an American citizen, especially considering that I have a minister's cap to wear as well, I have a responsibility to try to help us do like better, to do to do citizenship better not just get up every day trying to join in the fight and contribute to the consternation rather than trying to take it out of the system.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Congressman. I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you, sir.

WATTS: Thank you for having me on.

BURNETT: And next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta in what the WHO is calling a 'new and dangerous phase' in the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, the Trump administration in court today trying to stop the

Bolton book from being published. The man who knew Bolton very well, Trump insider Richard Grenell is OUTFRONT.

And the war over masks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's a personal choice. I won't be wearing a mask.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:04]

BURNETT: Tonight, record high numbers of new coronavirus cases reported in California, Florida and Arizona. This comes as the World Health Organization warns we're in a 'new and dangerous phase' of the pandemic. Erica Hill is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: We're in the midst of the greatest public health failure in American history and if we're going to continue to open up and not open up safely, we're going to continue to see increased cases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight states now seeing their highest seven-day averages of new cases since the virus first hit. Arizona and Florida reporting single day highs for new cases again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN RIVERS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Florida is headed in the wrong direction. What we don't want is to recreate the conditions of March and April when the health systems were under threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): On Thursday, just 25 percent of Florida's ICU beds were available. But on Friday, the Governor said there's nothing to worry about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The total number of COVID patients statewide has always been a small fraction of the total hospital beds. There's plenty, plenty of capacity here in the state of Florida. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): Florida's aging population remains a concern. Nationwide, 80 percent of deaths are people over 65. Of states that reported a breakdown, 40 percent have been at nursing homes. Though young people are getting infected and they could spread it, in Mississippi, a cluster has been linked to fraternity parties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. THOMAS DOBBS, MISSISSIPPI STATE HEALTH OFFICER: I do implore the young folks in Oxford to please demonstrate a modicum of restraint, because we're all going to pay for it, if you don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): One of the most effective ways to prevent the spread, wearing a mask, North Carolina considering a statewide mandate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL ILODIGWE, OWNDER, DOC'S PHARMACY: The number of people wearing masks has decreased.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): In Dallas County, Texas, they're now required for businesses. Ignore it and risk of $500 fine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: I believe in mask mandates as a way to maintain public health. What I'm worried about is that we're ignoring it and hoping that the virus goes away by itself, which we know it won't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): Friday, as New York City, an early epicenter prepared to enter phase two, the Governor gave his last daily update.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D) NEW YORK: It's clear that over the past three months, we have done the impossible. We have done a full 180 from worst to first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL (voice-over): The goal now, to keep it that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Erin, interestingly enough in North Carolina today, the Governor has said for number of days, he's concerned about what's happening. He vetoed a bill that would have allowed gyms and fitness facilities to reopen. We're seeing more happening though in other states on Sunday, nursing homes and long-term care facilities in New Jersey can welcome visitors to see their loved ones, so that's going to have to happen outside, Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Erica, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT now Dr. Sanjay Gupta. So Sanjay, California, Florida, Arizona, highest number of new cases reported today. Again, as you've pointed out, this is not a reflection of increased testing across this country. How concerning are these trends with the magnitude that you're seeing now?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We're five months into this, Erin. I mean, you've seen these graphs around the world where people have - these large territories have been able to bring their case counts down very low. Some places even down to zero and we've sort of established this basement now at 20,000, 25,000 new people getting infected every day in the country and obviously some of these places as real hotspots.

So it's concerning. It strikes me, Erin, that the metric for success became - flattened the curve, right? That was the whole term. But that was to basically keep hospitals from becoming overrun. It's kind of like we sort of - if someone was bleeding it was like you put pressure on the wound for a period of time and then we get more bored and we took the pressure off the wound and we're starting to see the reflection of that now in the United States as case numbers start to go up.

BURNETT: So you wrote a column on the CNN website today, Sanjay, where you say President Trump's rally in Tulsa has the potential to be a super spreader event. And you explained that if even just 20 people, just 20 people in that ...

GUPTA: That's right.

BURNETT: ... that this could be an overflow, but just in the initial place, 40,000 people, you only need 20 to shed a significant amount of the virus that they could potentially infect 1,000 other people and it could spread even further. How risky is a rally like this?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, we keep talking about these things are risky and I realized as we've been reporting on this that that means different things to different people. So giving some context, I thought, was important. You have a 20,000-person arena, the question, first of all, was how many people are likely to show up infected. We can put up some of these numbers.

We did this with Professor Bromage at Dartmouth, say, well, a hundred people, let's say, show up, already carrying the infection in their body. Many of them may not know it. They can be asymptomatic as we know. There's this principle (inaudible) ...

BURNETT: So you're a hundred out of 40,000 is like - that's reasonable given what we're seeing in Oklahoma statistics, basically. GUPTA: Correct.

BURNETT: OK.

GUPTA: Yes. So a hundred may show. Now, out of the people that show up, it's usually about 20 percent of people that are responsible for the vast majority of spread.

[19:25:07]

So out of those hundred people, 20 people may actually be the spreaders as you pointed out, Erin. Given the environment inside close quarters long duration next to people, masks, obviously not mandatory, lots of virus being expelled into the environment, what is the risk then, how many people will each person spread it to and we find that they can spread it to 40 or 50 people in an environment like that.

So 20 people spreading it to 40 or 50 people each, 800 to a thousand people now could become infected at an event like this. They then go home and potentially spread it to their family members, their community members. We're seeing the anatomy of an outbreak here. But I wanted to really quantify the risks for people. There's a good chance that people may walk in there uninfected and walk out infected.

BURNETT: All right. Well, I think that's really important in that bottom line also just showing those are the numbers. Those are the numbers in Oklahoma so people can really understand that risk. And I think we're all waiting to see whether people do choose to wear those masks. Thank you so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

GUPTA: Yes.

BURNETT: And next, Trump versus Bolton in court today. Why is the White House calling Bolton's book lies, but also trying to stop publication because of its classified information?

And Arizona has a big coronavirus problem. Could this be why?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have - our family, personally, who's been lost to coronavirus so like, I should be wearing a mask, but I don't - not with my friends though.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:26]

BURNETT: New tonight, the federal judge expressing doubts that he could stop the Tuesday release of John Bolton's scathing book about President Trump, saying the fact books have shipped across the country, means in part, quote, the horse seems to be out of the barn.

In the book, Trump's former national security adviser accuses him of personally asking China's president to help him win re-election and telling the president of China to move forward with building of concentration camps for the Uyghurs among other things.

OUTFRONT now, President Trump's former acting director of national intelligence and the former ambassador to Germany under President Trump, Richard Grenell.

Ambassador, it's good to see you.

So, you know John Bolton very well. You know, you know the president well -- you know John Bolton well. You were Bolton's spokesman when he was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

So, he says that Trump asking China's president to help him win in 2020 was just the tip of the iceberg. That was the story people didn't know was there and then he said that's just the tip of the iceberg. He writes: I am hard pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my White House tenure that wasn't driven by reelections calculations.

What's your response to that, Ambassador?

RICHARD GRENELL, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, first of all, Erin, thanks for having me. Good to see you.

I was Bolton's spokesman. I was at the U.N. for eight years and he was there for one of those eight years. He was there for only one year on a temporary appointment because he couldn't get confirmed by the Senate. And so, he had to go away after a year.

John's got a very interesting style. What I will say is I would ask the question of the audience and of people, why -- if everything leaks at the NSC under John Bolton and during his tenure, every conversation, most transcripts, every little thing leaked, why wouldn't any of these salacious stories leak now? Why -- why are we just hearing about them when they're packaged for a book deal? And so, I think that's a very serious question.

The other thing I would say is when you sign up to work for the president, you have to understand that you didn't run for president. Your name wasn't on the campaign poster. Nobody voted for you.

And so, John has a real problem when it comes to these issues because whether it's the issue of Kosovo and Serbia, which I'm the presidential envoy for, and John had an idea of land swaps. He was pushing this idea of land swaps between Kosovo and Serbia. That wasn't President Trump's policy and we had to walk that back.

Whether it was talking about war with Iran or not trying to follow through on a peace deal with North Korea, John has his own ideas. He's been around foreign policy for a very long time.

BURNETT: Right.

GRENELL: And I think he was frustrated that the president he didn't have his ideas that he was pushing for. So, he tried to do his own. And as you know, that's a conflict.

BURNETT: I totally understand that. But, I mean, are you saying he literally just made all this stuff up, that John Bolton at this point in his career decided to just make it up?

GRENELL: Well, it looks like that. Yeah, that is what I'm saying because multiple people in the room said that's not true. I think that there's an incentive to make a whole bunch of stuff up to get a really big book deal.

I think the proof is that everything leaked and this didn't leak, none of this leaked. And I think that he demonstrated that he wanted to push his own agenda and was frustrated that he didn't have his agenda being acted upon by the president.

But, look, I signed up to work for President Trump early on in 2016 because he was the guy that said I don't want a war. I'm going to talk to the North Korean leader. I'm going to talk to other people.

That as you know, Erin, is not a very popular Republican foreign policy issue.

BURNETT: Right.

GRENELL: There are multiple issues that Donald Trump has challenged the Republican foreign policy establishment on, and John Bolton is the epitome of the foreign policy establishment.

BURNETT: So, the president has tweeted that Bolton's book is, quote, made up of lies and fake stories. I understand that you are saying you agree. But then he also said this to Sean Hannity about the book. Here's President Trump.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is highly classified. That's the highest stage. It's highly classified information. And he did not have approval.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, which is it, Ambassador? I mean, he's saying it's highly classified or it's fake. It can't be both.

GRENELL: Of course, it can be both. What are you talking about? Life is not simple --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: You're saying highly classified information that the president is aware of is made up sitting there that Bolton put in the book?

[19:40:05]

GRENELL: I'll answer the question if you'll let me. So, here is the point. There can be a nugget of classified

information. There can be something in there that shows sources and methods. It can be talking about things that are classified but then completely gone in another direction, completely made up, completely misused.

Life is not so simple that it's either/or. You can tell a story that has a nugget of classified information that is a totally erroneous story that goes off on a tangent and gives a false impression.

I mean, let me give you one example of a nugget of information that completely is made up and wrong that people believe. It's when CNN reported for a very long time that Kim Jong-un was brain dead. Now --

BURNETT: OK.

GRENELL: -- I can't go into great details, but the fact of the matter is that was erroneous but had a nugget of classified information in there. And we couldn't correct the record because of classified sources and methods.

But that story ran for a very long time and people believed it and then it never really was corrected later on.

BURNETT: I don't believe we ever said he was brain dead. That was another network just to be clear. I think we said he was very ill. But thank you very much, Ambassador.

GRENELL: No --

BURNETT: I appreciate your time. I understand your point. I just want to make sure I go with the reporting as far as I understand it. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

GRENELL: Thanks, Erin.

BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, Arizona, home to the next Trump campaign rally reporting a record number of coronavirus cases as masks become a flash point there.

And Juneteenth marches growing around the country as we speak to one NYPD commanding officers, he says he's changed the way he polices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I tell my officers and officers in general is sometimes when things are difficult and things are down, this is when you pull out your best moves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:41:15]

BURNETT: Tonight, Phoenix, the next city to host a Trump rally, now mandating masks. Arizona is seeing nearly 30 percent increases in coronavirus in just one day.

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pandemic? What pandemic?

(on camera): What do you see when you look at that bar?

AMANDA HAY, TEMPE RESIDENT: Obviously they're definitely not social distancing and not wearing masks. Those are my friends over there. If they have coronavirus, I have coronavirus.

LAH (voice-over): This is the next state to host a presidential rally, Arizona, a growing COVID-19 hot spot and home to a fight over masks.

Look up and down the street, and the impact of the virus is everywhere. Some businesses still shutdown. Bright signs warn to socially distance.

One bar worker in a mask, but many of these Arizona residents --

CHARLES GBEKIA, TEMPE RESIDENT: It's just going to get worse until we do something about it.

LAH (on camera): You're not wearing a mask though.

GBEKIA: No, I'm not wearing a mask. I think the masks are good, but I think they kind of act as a placebo to some extent. I have a family personally who's been lost to coronavirus, so I should be wearing a mask, but I don't -- I don't -- not with my friends, you know?

DR. MURTAZA AKHTER, ER DOCTOR: It angers me and I'm trying to be calm for the camera.

LAH (voice-over): Dr. Murtaza Akhter is an emergency room doctor in Phoenix where he's seeing a dramatic increase in COVID patients, just like the rest of the state.

This is what's happened to cases in Arizona since March. The number of new cases continues to break records nearly every day this week.

Arizona was among the first states to reopen. Businesses back. The gatherings followed like the protests of police brutality. And masks in public as we saw in Tempe, not always used.

AKHTER: To tell the whole world that basically I'm a social Darwinist, if you die, I don't care, I just want my beer and burger is really -- I mean, even kindergarteners have more empathy for other people. It's really upsetting.

LAH: Dr. Akhter is one of more than 3,000 doctors and nurses to sign this letter, the goal to get Arizona's governor to issue a statewide mandate requiring masks, writing: Please stand up and help educate as well as protect those who do not understand the importance of masks. Doug Ducey instead says he will leave those policies to each mayor.

AKHTER: The governor of each state is going to let the mayors decide. The mayors could potentially say, I'm going to let the neighborhoods decide. And as you can imagine, that breaks down quickly.

LAH (on camera): So ineffective.

(voice-over): Publicly, Governor Ducey has shifted. Last week in his weekly news conference, he carried his mask in his pocket. This week, he arrived wearing it as Ducey prepares his state to host the perpetually maskless president on Tuesday for a rally at an indoor megachurch. The governor says the White House protocol will call for masks. Ducey stressed the 3,500 capacity event should go on.

GOV. DOUG DUCEY (R-AZ): We're going to protect peoples' right to assemble in an election year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: So, when the Trump campaign is here on Tuesday, will they be subject to the Phoenix mask ordinance? The city of Phoenix says yes, and they've already reached out to the Trump campaign to inform them of this ordinance. If the president is not wearing a mask, Erin, will that mean he could be subject to a ticket or fine?

Technically, yes, but in reality, unlikely. The city plans to lead by education, that's what they want the ordinance to do. Only the worse offenders, repeat offenders will be subject to a fine -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung, thank you very much.

[19:45:00]

And I want to go to Dr. Jonathan Reiner who advised the White House medical team for eight years under President George W. Bush, obviously now heart surgeon at cardiac lab at G.W.

So, Dr. Reiner, you know, I don't know if you saw that one young man in Kyung's piece who said that one of his family members had died from coronavirus but he is not wearing a mask around his friends, saying he thinks they act as a placebo was I guess a way of saying it may be a false sense of security or, you know, they don't work. What is he missing?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CARDIOLOGIST, ADVISED WHITE HOUSE MEDICAL TEAM FOR EIGHT YEARS: Well, he's missing a message from the administration that should be promoting the use of masks universally by all Americans. We heard today the president's press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, say that in Tulsa, she won't wear a mask and that to her that's a personal choice.

But do you know what? That's not a personal choice. That's a public choice. If you decide not to wear a seat belt, well, that's a personal choice because the person that's going to die is you. When you decide not to wear a mask in public, you're making a very public statement that you don't care if you spread the virus, you don't care if the pandemic continues, and you don't care that you kill your neighbors.

BURNETT: Well, it's also, you know, I'm sure someone like Kayleigh McEnany is getting tested every day. Maybe on some level she feels secure. But no doubt someone like her should be aware of the powerful example she can set for others who may not, who do not have that peace of mind.

REINER: Exactly. This administration has made some kind of crazy calculus that not promoting adherence to universal mask in public somehow is a politically advantageous for them. It's really an act of political coward cowardice not to promote something like this across the population and something that's going to result in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans.

I'll just say this. Hong Kong, a city about the same size as New York, has had 1,100 cases and 4 deaths. New York, again, about the same size as Hong Kong, 211,000 cases and 17,000 deaths. And the big difference there, universal mask-wearing in Hong Kong. That's what's at stake here.

BURNETT: And at this point, I guess on a personal level, Doctor, how let down do you feel by the fact that wearing a mask which is a health issue and purely a health issue has become to some a political issue, including the president, who says he thinks some people wear them because they don't like him?

REINER: I wore a mask -- I wore an N95 mask today in the hospital for about eight hours. Not comfortable to wear. I wore it because I care about -- I care about the people I work with. I care about my patients. I care about my community.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. Dr. Reiner, I always appreciate your time.

REINER: Be well.

BURNETT: And next, changing policies for changing times. An NYPD commanding officer says he's already doing things differently as a result of George Floyd's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just disappointed with the whole situation. I was disappointed at his partners. I just -- just -- we don't have to be in this position right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:25]

BURNETT: Tonight, you're looking at live pictures out of Brooklyn where people gathered to mark Juneteenth as the nation reels from the deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks.

One black assistant chief opens up about how his officers and department have changed.

Jason Carroll is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE

JEFFREY MADDREY, ASSISTANT CHIEF, PATROL BOROUGH: I think we need to sit down and just explain what happened --

JASCON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): NYPD Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey begins his day trying to dissolve a dispute between one of his officers and protester. Then a briefing where a thousand of Juneteenth demonstrators are marching.

All the while the department is facing an internal struggle with morale.

MADDREY: What I told officers in general is sometimes when things are difficult and things look down, this is when you pull out your best moves.

CARROLL: But it's when officers are caught at their worst that's driving the national conversation. Maddrey says what happened to George Floyd struck a nerve with him not only as an officer but as an African-American man.

MADDREY: It was horrible. It was horrible. I was just disappointed at the whole situation. I was disappointed at his partners. I just think we don't have to be in this position right now.

CARROLL: How did we get to this point?

MADDREY: I mean, listen, it's a historical context with policing, police, police and black community and communities of color. There's a lot of history with it.

And we see incidents like Minneapolis. It takes us back to those difficult times. We have such a young department. You have a lot of young black men in the department and, you know, they see an incident like Minneapolis and then hear the chatter.

CARROLL: Much talk within the ranks about changes in policing. Calls to out right defund police is what deeply considers Maddrey.

MADDREY: I'm confident there is a large population saying no. We have to work better with our police.

CARROLL: Later at a demonstration, a group of his officers, some on the force only a few years, others veterans spoke out about the most pressing issues they now face.

KAZ DAUGHTRY, NYPD DETECTIVE: Cops are angry. Cops feel like they are being targeted.

JONADEL DORREJO, NYPD: Everyone is angry. We're angry at ourselves, as well. We want to let people know, we're trying to do better. CAPTAIN TANK SHEPPARD, NYPD: You can train folks. At the end of the

day, they are human beings. There is going to be mistakes. There is people that will intentionally do wrong things. You have to have a system in place to make sure there is true accountability that is transparent.

CARROLL: It's not lost on Maddrey, on this day marking the end of slavery, the country has seen significant changes but there are also reminders more systemic change is needed.

[19:55:08]

MADDREY: I just want to see everyone treated fair, too. I want to see an increase in policing in communities working together, all right? So, I understand that. We'll have to make changes to make that come to fruition.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And, Erin, back out here live as we head across the Brooklyn Bridge with hundreds of demonstrators, really wanted to end on that point because Chief Maddrey and many of the other officers that we spoke to say, look, we know there needs to be changes going forward. You can debate what they should be but everyone that we spoke to out here within that department say that whatever changes are going to be made, it's going to have to be with police working together with folks in the community -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Jason, thank you very much. Those are really fascinating piece. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Thank you so much for joining us. Have a good weekend. And don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT any time on CNN go.

Anderson starts now.