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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump to Relaunch Rallies on Juneteenth in Tulsa, Site of 1921 Race Massacre; Human Trials Underway on Antibody Cocktail That May Treat to Prevent Coronavirus. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired June 11, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our national lead today, next Friday, Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, President Trump is restarting his campaign rallies. He'll do so in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is home of one of the bloodiest massacres of black Americans in American history.

1921, after a young black man was accused of assaulting a young white woman, white Tulsans went on a rampage and slaughtered hundreds of innocent blacks. Historians estimate about 300 people were killed, mostly blacks, at the hands of white men and white police. It's called by some the 1920 Tulsa race massacre and it destroyed what was known then as black Wall Street, a thriving area in the Tulsa's Greenwood District -- black-owned districts, shops, theaters, doctor's offices.

Nearly 100 years later, it appears Tulsa is struggling with some issues of race. There's new body camera showing two white police officers confronting two black teens for jaywalking last week. One of the teens gets arrested, the other handcuffed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you -- why are you arresting me? Why are you putting handcuffs on my --

POLICE OFFICER: Because?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't done anything (ph), sir.

POLICE OFFICER: All he's doing is jaywalking. We want to talk with him and he acted a fool like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: On Monday, a white high-ranking police officer on a podcast said, attempting to make an argument there are not racial inequities in law enforcement that according to his research, police should actually be shooting black people more often than they do.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) MAJ. TRAVIS YATES, TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT: All of their research says we're shooting African-Americans about 24 less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: Today, Major Yates is claiming that he was misquoted and said he prefaced his statement with attribution to research.

I want to bring in Karlos Hill, department chair of African-American studies at the University of Oklahoma. He's also on the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission.

Professor, thanks so much for joining us.

President Trump's campaign manager said, quote: As the Party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of what Juneteenth represents and the Emancipation Proclamation. President Trump has a solid record of success for black Americans.

What's your reaction to President Trump restarting his rallies on Juneteenth in Tulsa?

KARLOS K. HILL, CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: Thank you so much for having me on the show, Jake. I really appreciate it. I love your show and I follow it all the time.

But I would say that I hope that president Trump is intending to unite the country instead of divide the country. He has an opportunity in coming to Tulsa, the site of the Tulsa race massacre you mentioned earlier to bring the country together and actually to raise awareness around the race massacre that has too long been a history that has been shrouded in mystery.

And so, I hope that his visit to Tulsa is about paying homage to the victims and survivors of the race massacre that died 99 years ago, and as well as paying homage to the memory and the life and legacy of George Floyd. I hope that's what he's coming to Tulsa for.

TAPPER: When asked why this was happening next Friday, the White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany pointed to the president's relationship with black Americans. Let's roll that tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The African-American community is very near and dear to his heart. He's working on rectifying injustices, injustices that go back to the very beginning of this country's history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In your opinion, if you're comfortable giving it, do you think the president is the right messenger for the message on race, racism, what happened in Tulsa, and what happened to George Floyd? This is a campaign rally after all. He's not coming to Tulsa on the

actual 99th anniversary which was May 31st, June 1st. This is a campaign rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth.

HILL: (AUDIO GAP) it's not a question of can he be, but should he be? He should be the messenger for bringing our country together. He should speak in ways that help us understand this issue in ways that bring us together.

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I hope when President Trump comes to Tulsa, he will visit the Greenwood Cultural Center. He will visit the John Hope Franklin Center. He will visit Reconciliation Park. He will visit sites connected to the race massacre. He will talk to people like my dear friend Tiffany Crutcher who started the Terence Crutcher Foundation to reform police -- to create police reform and law enforcement reform in this country and specifically in Tulsa in honor of her brother.

I hope he meets with those community leaders to make sure that his visit has the kinds of impacts that we hope it will have.

TAPPER: Former Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Kamala Harris, said about this trip that President Trump is making to Tulsa on Juneteenth, quote: This isn't just a wink to white supremacists, he's throwing them a welcome home party.

That's a pretty strong charge. Is it possible that some white supremacists will take it that way?

HILL: It's possible, but this is the wrong community. I mean, Tulsa and the Greenwood District is one of the wealthiest black communities in the country in terms of 1921. But in 12 hours, that community was destroyed by a white mob, and the violence was aided and abetted by police and the National Guard. Nearly 200 businesses -- and I want to emphasize this -- nearly 200 businesses were destroyed and as many as 300 people lost their life.

And I just -- I just hope that President Trump's team will help him to understand that he needs to bear witness to this reality if he comes to Tulsa and hosts a rally. He needs to understand that black Wall Street was past and present a symbol of black excellence and that he should raise awareness about this history in the wake of George Floyd's murder.

If he can do that, if he can muster the courage to do that, then I think many people like myself who is doubtful that the president can channel the courage and the wherewithal to unite the country, you might think differently about his decision to host a campaign rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth, which is a sacred moment for black Americans.

TAPPER: All right. Professor Karlos Hill, thank you so much. We really appreciate your voice today.

HILL: Thank you for having me, Jake. I appreciate you. TAPPER: It could be used as a treatment or even as a preventive

measure for coronavirus. Details on new medications being tested now. That's next.

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TAPPER: More in our health lead, drugmaker Regeneron announcing human trials are underway for an antibody cocktail that may -- may -- treat or prevent coronavirus. If the trials are successful, the company hopes, that it could be available by the fall.

Joining me now to discuss, CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

So, Elizabeth, this cocktail will be tested in four populations. One, people who are hospitalized with the virus. Two, people who have symptoms of the disease but not hospitalized. Three, people who are healthy but at a high risk for infection for whatever reason. And four, healthy people who have come into close contact with a person who is sick.

So, explain more. What will the process be?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, it's interesting that they are trying it in these groups because what this tells us, Jake, they want to know does this drug work in people who are very sick, so sick they are in the hospital, or just somewhat ill, they have the virus but they're at home, and -- this is the interesting part -- does it prevent infection?

So, for example, let's give it to nurses in the E.R. They have a high- risk of running into someone with COVID. Will this work to prevent it? So, this trial will be -- these trials, I should say -- will be both for people who are already infected as a treatment but also as a prevention, almost in a way like a vaccine.

TAPPER: So you're saying that it might help those with the virus in the hospital by helping them recover. But healthy people who are at high risk either because of their job or for whatever reason, they will be looking to see if it actually is prophylactic, it keeps them from getting it.

COHEN: Right, exactly. That's what sort of sets it apart from other treatments. So, they will be giving it, for example, for health care workers or people with a household contact. Let's say your spouse has been infected with COVID-19. You're therefore a high risk of getting it. They want to see, if we give this to you, will it prevent you from getting it?

TAPPER: And, theoretically, how quickly would it be manufactured and ready for mass distribution?

COHEN: Right. So Jake, you and I spent a lot of time talking about vaccines. Vaccines take months and months and months, if not years to test out. With treatments, it's actually quite easier. It's just a swifter process.

So they said maybe by the fall. You know, everything is a big maybe. We don't know. But, certainly, getting a treatment on the market is a much faster process than getting a vaccine.

TAPPER: Now, Moderna said today they expect to begin phase three of their vaccine trial next month, 30,000 people would participate in that.

How long before we'll know if it's effective, if it's an actual vaccine?

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COHEN: Right.

The hope is, is, that we would know, let's say, by the fall sometimes whether it's a safe and effective vaccine. You then have to look through all that data and really make sure -- be sure about it.

What Tony Fauci has been saying since January is, we hope that we can have a vaccine within 12 to 18 months. That puts us at the very end of this year or the first half of the following year.

TAPPER: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

And the "Sesame Street" crew is back on CNN for a brand-new family town hall about coronavirus and staying safe this summer. Tune in for "The ABCs of COVID-19." That's Saturday morning at 10:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Eighty percent of ICU beds occupied in Arizona, with a huge surge in new cases and hospitalizations. We're going to go to the ground in Arizona next.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Continuing in our health lead, 20 states are seeing an uptick in new coronavirus cases, as the total number nationwide surpasses two million.

Now, two of those states seeing rising numbers after reopening businesses weeks ago are Florida and Arizona.

Let's start with CNN's Rosa Flores in Lake County, Florida, with the latest.

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the past week or so, the number of daily cases in Florida have exceeded 1,000 multiple days in a row, according to data released by the state.

Now, you can say that that's because they're doing more testing, posting 20,000, 30,000, up to 40,000 test results in one day. But if you look at the daily percentage of positive cases, you will see that it's between 3 and 5 percent. Now, other states have increased testing, and they have seen their positive rates go up or down.

Many experts warn a second wave of infections is ahead if states relax the rules too aggressively. As for hospital bed availability, about 25 percent of hospital beds are available in Florida.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kyung Lah near Phoenix, Arizona, where the mayor of Phoenix says her city and her state is not recovering from COVID.

She said: "We reopened too much too early."

Now, Arizona did reopen on May 15. And if you look at this graph, these are the numbers of new cases in Arizona. The numbers have jumped dramatically in the last couple of weeks.

The state announced more than 1,400 new cases just today. Now, with restaurants, bars and businesses all open, the state Health Department is asking hospitals in the state to activate their emergency plans, with about 80 percent of ICU beds being used -- Jake.

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TAPPER: All right, Kyung Lah and Rosa Flores, thank you to both of you.

Coming up: With calls for policing reform, Hollywood is reexamining everything from "Live P.D." to "Paw Patrol."

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Breaking news out of Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz announcing he is endorsing a sweeping policing reform deal, saying he understands that Minnesotans are demanding real change.

The deal includes legislation addressing police use of force, new models that provide alternatives to policing, and banning choke holds.

And the 17th straight day of protests around the country have started. On the left, you see these are live pictures right now from Dallas near where President Trump is holding an event on race and policing.

On the right side of the TV, you see -- well, now we're not on the right side -- on the other side, there were dozens of people in Florida near Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, I believe it's called.

In our pop culture lead today, after weeks of protests against police brutality, backlash is growing against Hollywood's glamorization of police. Hit shows such as "Cops" and "Live P.D." were canceled this week.

And, as CNN's Tom Foreman reports, calls are even growing for the popular children's show "Paw Patrol" to be taken off the air.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the "Law & Order" franchise to "NCIS" to "Blue Bloods," police dramas are iconic, hugely popular and now under intense fire from activists who say these shows far too readily portray cops as good and trustworthy, while undermining real-life claims of systemic racism and abuse.

RASHAD ROBINSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COLOR OF CHANGE: These shows for years have normalized injustice.

FOREMAN: Rashad Robinson is the executive director of Color of Change, an activist group which is leading the charge. And he points out that TV dramas routinely bind to the trope of the bad apple cop, but almost never go further.

ROBINSON: They oftentimes show a world where black and brown people exist, but racism, and particularly structural racism, doesn't exist at all.

FOREMAN: Reality shows have so far been the easiest targets. "Cops" has been canceled after three decades of wild success and furious complaints about glorification of police violence.

Now "Live P.D." has also been pulled off the air, to the surprise and dismay of the host.

DAN ABRAMS, FORMER HOST, "LIVE P.D.": I'm disappointed, frustrated. I fought very hard to try to keep the show on the air. I thought there was a way to have a national discussion on the show about policing.

FOREMAN: Not likely, according to Color of Change, which says: "Crime television encourages the public to accept the norms of overpolicing and excessive force and reject reform, while supporting the exact behavior that destroys the lives of black people."

And in the highly popular and lucrative world of police shows, they suggest that goes all the way down to kids programs like "Paw Patrol."

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I can't trust you right now.

FOREMAN: But do these made-up stories really make a difference? Consider this. A 2015 study found viewers of crime dramas are more likely to believe the police are successful at lowering crime, use force only when necessary, and that misconduct does not typically lead to false confessions.

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FOREMAN: What's more, that study found, when police do use excessive force, it is most often portrayed to viewers as not only necessary, but also effective -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Tom Foreman, thanks.

And thank you for watching.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now. I'll see you tomorrow.

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