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The Lead with Jake Tapper

COVID Survivors; Florida Republican Candidate Targeted With Fake Texts; Interview With Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Trump Mails Election Ballot, Blasts Mail-In Voting. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired August 19, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:45]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Breaking news, we have just gotten a preview from the Democratic National Convention of what Hillary Clinton plans to say this evening, an excerpt from her prepared remarks, reading -- quote -- "For four years, people have said to me, I didn't realize how dangerous he was. I wish I could go back and do it over, or, worse, I should have voted. Well, this can't be another woulda, coulda, shoulda election."

Clinton will join former President Obama and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris on the dais this evening, speaking this evening.

Now to another story in our politics lead: the Trump campaign suing the state of New Jersey today for planning to mail ballots to every registered voter in the state.

Democratic Governor Phil Murphy noting that the state already tried this during the primary because of the coronavirus pandemic, and he says it was an overwhelming success.

The Trump campaign claims this would invite fraud, as happened in Paterson, New Jersey, when the state tried the same method of voting earlier this year. Nearly 20 percent of the ballots were disqualified, mostly because they were filled out improperly, but four people were charged with illegally collecting ballots from voters.

As CNN's Ryan Nobles reports, the lawsuit comes as the White House will not directly say if President Trump will accept the election results if he loses, noting that he wants to be confident that the results are legitimate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For months, President Trump has worked to undermine voting by mail, yet once again Donald Trump is:

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I'm signing today...

NOBLES: ... voting by mail himself. His campaign releasing this video of him signing his ballot, which the

state of Florida calls vote by mail, not absentee, despite the president's attempts to falsely differentiate between the two.

TRUMP: So absentee ballots are good. Universal mail-ins, when you get inundated with these things, are bad and will lead to terrible things, including voter fraud, et cetera.

A new CNN poll shows that 10 percent more Americans plan to cast their ballot by mail as compared to 2016. And despite the president's attempts to draw distinctions about the practice, he is still raising doubts, tweeting -- quote -- "If you can protest in person, you can vote in person."

And this comes as his press secretary today refused to confirm the president will accept the results of the election.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has always said he will see what happens and make a determination in the aftermath.

NOBLES: The president also picking a fight with a major American company. The Ohio-based tire manufacturer Goodyear warned its employees not to wear campaign paraphernalia like "Make America Great Again" hats to work, while allowing them to wear racial justice items, like Black Lives Matter.

So the president told his supporters not to buy their tires, this despite the president's Secret Service limousine known as the Beast being outfitted with the company's tires.

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): I think he thinks the only way he can win is by this disruption, by attacking iconic American institutions. It was Goodyear today. This last week, it's been the Postal Service. Who knows what it will be?

NOBLES: Meanwhile, the president's lawyers are adding to their long list of lawsuits by suing New Jersey for its plans to send ballots to every registered voter in the state. The state's governor, Phil Murphy, welcomed the challenge.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): So, as they say, bring it on.

NOBLES: Also on, the president's campaign rallies, hosting a packed event in Yuma, Arizona, last night, with supporters shoulder to shoulder and very few masks, Trump using the stop near the border to debut yet another proposal to pay for his wall.

TRUMP: We may do a toll for money being sent back and forth. They will pay for it, yes. They are paying for it, so 100 percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And the president continues his effort to counterprogram the Democratic National Convention this week. He will speak tomorrow just outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania, of course, Joe Biden's hometown, on the same night that Biden plans to accept the Democratic nomination.

And in just about an hour from now, Jake, he will appear in the White House holding a press conference on night three of the Democratic National Convention -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Ryan Nobles, thank you so much.

Let's bring in Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: So, your home state, Minnesota, requires voters to request mail-in ballots. It's not universal vote by mail. People have to request, but they can vote by mail.

[16:35:07]

Do you worry at all that the president's constant attacks on voting by mail are going to discourage your voters from voting that way?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, of course I do. That's what he is trying to do.

But something has happened, or, as we say, something is happening here, which the voters have figured it out. By the way, in the Republican primary in Maryland, over 95 percent of their voters voted by mail.

That just happened, Jake. And so people, Republicans, independents, Democrats, are discarding what he's saying. They're continuing to look at protecting their health. They would rather put ballots in the mailbox than their families in the hospitals. That's what's happening today. And that's why we are trying so hard to, one, save the post office, fund the post office.

That's why Speaker Pelosi is calling back the House. Mitch McConnell should do the same for the Senate. And why we want to pass my bill to put standards in place nationally and get the funding we need to help the states, as we have this major conversion of voting.

No matter what the president tweets to try to mess with people, people are still voting to keep themselves safe.

TAPPER: So, nine states do universal vote by mail, which is that the counties and the state send out ballots. They don't have to be requested. They just go out to every registered voter.

Most states do not have that. Most states are like Minnesota, Florida, where President Trump is voting, et cetera, which is you have to request a ballot and then you can vote by mail.

KLOBUCHAR: Exactly.

TAPPER: Would you concede that the extra step that Minnesota has with mail-in voting, requiring voters to request the ballot, that that does provide a layer of election security that doesn't exist in places like New Jersey?

KLOBUCHAR: I wouldn't concede that, because that just happens to be how we did it.

We also used to have all kinds of things like witnesses to get a ballot that we changed. We just changed to have the ballots be postmarked until the day of the election. So all states, including states with Republican secretary of states and governors, are looking at their rules and trying to make it easier.

And our job is to have that continue. And I don't have a problem with these states that are sending ballots out. You have had, by the way, states like Utah that have nearly 100 percent vote by mail. That's a Republican state. That's why Mitt Romney is such a strong supporter of it.

You have states like Colorado that have nearly 100 percent. And if you want to talk fraud, Oregon did a study for the last years and found that point 0.000,0001 percent fraud. And you don't have the hacking that we were concerned about in the last election and this one from foreign countries when you have an actual paper ballot to prove your stuff and who you voted for.

TAPPER: The Trump campaign is filing lawsuits to argue that this mail-in voting is not safe, President Trump using his platform to do the same.

A new CNN poll shows at 42 percent of the American people are not confident that votes will be counted and cast accurately. How do Democrats combat that with your message of, voting is safe?

KLOBUCHAR: You do it, first of all, like Michelle Obama did it, sitting in her living room, telling people straight out, one, you got to vote like your life depends on it, because it does, and, two, do everything you can to learn the rules.

Americans are going to have to get more educated themselves than they have ever had before in each state. Get your ballot in early. Make sure it was received. And then, if there's a problem or you choose not to vote that way, try to vote early, instead of on Election Day.

And if you choose to vote on Election Day, which we must make safe, then get there, as she said, pack your breakfast, and have your bag lunch, because what we don't want to have is what happened in Wisconsin, when the Republicans messed with it. And we saw African- American voters in line in garbage bags and homemade masks in the rain.

And then look at the other side of the split-screen, which you just pointed out, the president of the United States voting in the luxury of Pennsylvania Avenue in his slippers -- I don't know if he had slippers -- but sitting in there, being able to vote with this mail-in ballot from Palm Beach, Florida.

It's an outrage, and Americans get it.

TAPPER: So, Senator Kamala Harris will speak at the DNC tonight, the convention tonight, as the party's vice presidential nominee.

A campaign aide says that Harris wants people to see themselves in her speech. I don't know if you have spoken to her. I know that you guys are colleagues and friends from the Senate, as well as from the campaign trail.

What are you expecting her to say tonight?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, I expect her to speak from the heart. She -- I have talked to her since she was announced. And I am just so excited for her.

I think one thing I want America to see is not only this incredibly competent woman who ran the second biggest Justice Department in the country to the Justice Department, but I also want them to see the joy of Kamala Harris, her smile, how much she has a zest for life.

[16:40:05]

And that's something that gets buried sometimes in primaries, and I just think she adds a lot of excitement. And the one thing I'm looking forward to, like how I felt when Walter Mondale picked Geraldine Ferraro in Minnesota. I remember what she was wearing. I remember what she said.

And I think every little girl and boy in America, especially African- Americans, Indian Americans, they're going to look at that screen tonight, and they're going to think, anything and everything is possible. So it is an incredible night for America. So, tune in.

TAPPER: When Joe Biden was picking his vice president, some of the people advocating for you to be the nominee, the vice presidential nominee, said that you would help him with the Midwest, those Midwestern states that Hillary Clinton struggled with, Wisconsin and Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Do you think that Kamala Harris will be able to provide that to the ticket in a way that, say, you would have been able to?

KLOBUCHAR: Well, of course she will.

And could I also add that Joe Biden has incredible support in the Midwest? And I'm still helping him, Jake. I spoke the first night of the convention. I talked about being from a part of the country where we believe in solving problems and crossing the river of our divides, and getting things done.

And that's exactly what Joe Biden has been talking about from the beginning, as opposed to the divider in chief that we have in the White House today.

TAPPER: I saw. I watched the speech. You talked about the Minnesota bridge collapse and everybody coming together to fix the problem.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, good job the other night. Thanks so much for joining us today. KLOBUCHAR: Thank you. It was great to be on, Jake.

TAPPER: As Florida voters head to the polls yesterday, some got text messages with a video of one candidate dropping out of the race. The only problem, it was all completely fake -- that alarming story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:17]

TAPPER: In our national lead: A Florida congressional candidate almost had his campaign derailed after fake text messages were sent to voters and a YouTube video falsely claimed he had dropped out of his primary.

It's just the latest sign of the potential problems with last-minute misinformation. In this case, the candidate, Byron Donalds, went on to win the Republican primary for Florida's 19th Congressional District. But, nonetheless, this raises huge questions about misinformation and election security.

CNN's Alex Marquardt joins us now.

Alex, what does the campaign know about the attack and who might have been behind it?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, they haven't offered any evidence, but they certainly have their suspicions and they have made accusations.

I spoke with the campaign manager for the Donalds campaign. He accused what he called desperate opponents who lobbed a Hail Mary. And they specifically named the rival campaign of Casey Askar and his consultant Jeff Roe, saying that they were behind this.

We spoke with both the Askar campaign and Roe. They roundly denied this. I also spoke with the Florida GOP. They did not weigh in on the accusations, saying only that this was a dirty campaign tactic.

But, Jake, as you know, this couldn't have come at a more decisive time. This was a very tight race. This came in the morning, as voters were going to the polls.

I want to read you just part of one of the text messages that went out to voters in that district. It says: "This is Byron Donalds. Frankly, I hoped I wouldn't have to do this. But, today, I am officially dropping out of Southwest Florida's race for Congress."

And then there's a link to a fake video, part of which Donald says is from 2012. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Byron Donald has had a change of heart.

BYRON DONALDS (R), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: You want to make sure that things in your personal life are settled before you make a run like that. And in my life, with my family, everything is great at home, but we're in the middle of a lot of things and the timing just didn't work out for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: So, again, that was a fake video.

And Donalds responded to those fakes text messages very quickly on Twitter, saying: "I did not drop out of the race. This illegal text sent to the whole district is absolutely false and old edited footage from 2012."

Jake, we saw the numbers from which these text messages were sent. They were traced back to a company called Twilio, which is used for people to blast out mass text messages. They are working with the Donalds campaign, but the user information that they have handed over so far has not been useful in pinpointing exactly who is behind this.

Now, of course, this was -- this kind of backfired. It was all for naught, because Donalds did go on to win the race, but it just goes to show what can happen in very tight races in the last moments as voters are going to the polls -- Jake.

TAPPER: Yes, a cautionary tale.

Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up next: a crucial resource for doctors studying the coronavirus. I'm going to talk to a woman who has brought together nearly 100,000 people who are still feeling the effects of the virus months later.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: When 172,000 Americans are dead from COVID-19, it can be difficult to focus on anything else. But there are hundreds of thousands of Americans out there who survived the disease, but continue to suffer from it.

Understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19 is something Dr. Anthony Fauci called a work in progress.

Joining me now is Diana Berrent. She got sick with COVID back in march. She created Survivor Corps. It's a Facebook group to help people deal with the lingering effects of COVID-19. They now have more than 90,000 members.

Diana, thanks so much for joining us.

You started this not long after you got sick. What was the original purpose of the group? DIANA BERRENT, FOUNDER, SURVIVOR CORPS: Well, our mission when I

started it on March 24 remains our mission today. We are the largest COVID-related grassroots movement in the country. And we are mobilizing an army of survivors to donate their plasma and to support science.

And through that, we have amassed the real-life experiences of almost 100,000 people going back to March. These are not the people who were hospitalized, but those who were left to recover at home.

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And it turns out that they are not recovering.

TAPPER: Yes, tell us more about that. What is your situation and what is the situation of others you hear from in terms of not recovering -- I mean, surviving it, but still having long, lingering side effects?

BERRENT: So, Jake, as a country, we are tracking infections, and we are tracking hospitalization and morbidity.

But what most people who have COVID, 95 percent of people are actively told to stay at home and not seek medical help unless they literally cannot breathe, in which case they should go to the emergency room.

So, for the first time, we were told, when you are really sick, do not seek medical help. No one is going to their G.P. with COVID. And so they have turned to the Internet. And so we have tracked these people's experiences.

And what we have started to see is that people were not recovering in the amount of time that you would expect. So, I had COVID in March. It's now the end of August, and I am still having terrible G.I. issues, massive headaches, what feels like a deep ear infection, but isn't, problems with my vision.

But it pales in comparison to what many of our members are experiencing, really dramatic things, neurological issues, tachycardia, things as dramatic as COVID-onset diabetes and COVID- onset lupus. These are these are not trivial matters.

And people are going to their doctors and they're being given a diagnosis of anxiety, but they are really experiencing severe physiological ramifications from this virus.

TAPPER: Yes. Because this group you created attracted so many people, more than 90,000 at this point, you were able to partner with Indiana University School of Medicine to do a study on long-term effects of COVID.

Have there been any conclusions reached?

BERRENT: Well, absolutely.

So, if you think about the CDC's announcement a couple of weeks ago that one in three people are having long-term effects, and, of those, one in five are young, healthy, no preexisting conditions -- we're not talking about people who were put on ventilators. We're not talking about people who were hospitalized with acute COVID.

These are people like me. The average long-hauler there seems to be a 44-year-old woman looking just like me. But we are seeing 25-year-olds who were marathon runners who now can't -- they're on day 120, and they can't climb a flight of stairs.

And so if you look at the CDC announcement as sort of the headline, our study provides the color. So, they listed 12 symptoms. We listed 98. And we were able to sort them according to which organ systems they were affecting -- by the way, all of them -- and to the degree one was causing pain, because we know that 75 percent of E.R. visits are due to pain.

So, that's really an important metric to be aware of. And we need to get these people the medical help that they need. They're -- luckily, Mount Sinai has opened a post COVID-care center. But looking at the numbers, we could be approaching two million long-haulers, and the numbers are only continuing to increase as the infection rate increases.

So we're going to need those centers throughout the country, and clinicians aware of these symptoms, so that they can properly diagnose and treat these patients.

TAPPER: I want to give you an opportunity to talk directly to individuals out there who are, say, under 60 and are not worried about this, COVID, and go outside and don't wear masks, whether it's university students who think that their school opening up means it's OK to go to a fraternity party, or people who are refusing to wear masks on airplanes.

What's your message to them?

BERRENT: Very simple.

This is not a matter of either getting the flu or dying. There is a very, very large bucket in the middle, which seems to constitute a huge proportion of people who get COVID who are not recovering.

You do not want to end up in that group of people. Take a trip over to Survivor Corps. It's open to everybody. And start reading through people's stories. And when you look at the story of a 25-year-old who is writing their living will and they're on day 130 of COVID, and they don't think they're going to going to make it to see their wedding day, you will have a change of heart.

It's not just a matter official, do I end up on a vent or don't I? There's this large, large space in the middle they (AUDIO GAP) don't want to be in.

TAPPER: All right, Diana Berrent, thank you so much. And thanks for your leadership and your courage on this issue.

Stay in touch with us. We'd love to have you back. BERRENT: Will do. Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Join me tonight for CNN's special coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" starts right now.

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