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The Lead with Jake Tapper

March on Washington; Trump Continues Biden Attacks; Biden Set to Campaign in Battleground States. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 28, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:07]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We begin today with the national lead.

Right now, thousands of people are in Washington, D.C., for a new March on Washington for racial equality coming 57 years to the day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream," speech, in which MLK demanded racial equality, saying -- quote -- "We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Less frequently quoted, but also part of that iconic speech from 57 years ago, King saying that we can never be satisfied as long as black Americans are victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

More than half-a-century later, these inequities still plague the United States. This year's march was planned in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. Members of Floyd's family joining the march today, along with loved ones of Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and a man whose life was forever changed by a police shooting just this week when his son Jacob Blake was shot by police seven times in the back, Jacob Blake Sr., telling CNN earlier today that his son is not only fighting for his life, but that he was shackled, his leg cuffed to the hospital bed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: The thing that bothered me the most is that my child is -- there's so many things that bothered me, but when I walked into that room, he's paralyzed from the waist down.

Why do they have that cold steel on my son's ankle? He can't get up. He couldn't get up if he wanted to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's get right to CNN's Sara Sidner live in Kenosha, Wisconsin. And, Sara, have police explained why Blake was handcuffed to the hospital bed or, frankly, why he was arrested in the first place?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have heard from the sheriff that he was cuffed to the bed because there were warrants out for his arrest. We did see some warrants, one of which was because of the charge of a third-degree sexual assault charge.

But we are learning new information. I just got it just two seconds ago from the attorney for Jacob Blake, who is the attorney here locally, Patrick Cafferty, and he told me that the warrant has now been vacated, and that Jacob Blake is no longer cuffed to his bed.

The cuffing to the hospital bed took such a toll on the family. They were just exasperated that he is there paralyzed cuffed to his bed. They said his leg -- his father saying his leg was cuffed to the bed. And here is a man who was paralyzed, who can't go anywhere. They said it added insult to injury sitting there seeing him like that, not only that he's paralyzed, but that they are cuffing him to the bed.

They just felt that that was such an insult to the family and to Jacob Blake himself, after being shot seven times in the back by a police officer.

But, yes, we have learned from the sheriff there were some warrants for his arrest and that is the reason why he was initially cuffed. But now we are getting -- and I just want to be clear that his attorney is telling us just few seconds ago that indeed those cuffs have been removed, that police are no longer at the hospital waiting for him, and that the warrant that was out for his arrest has been vacated, Jake.

TAPPER: And, Sara, the Kenosha sheriff just said that he still has not seen the cell phone video of the shooting of Jacob Blake. That's pretty remarkable.

But what else did he have to say at today's press conference?

SIDNER: That's truly shocking, really, that, if you're going to be investigating something -- and I know the sheriff's department isn't the investigating agency. That is now left to the State Department of Justice here. That is how it works in Wisconsin, that the local police force cannot investigate themselves.

But it is pretty stunning that, if you're going to come out in public and you're going to speak on behalf of the department, you should know the details that the entire world has been able to look at and parse and go through.

It is pretty stunning that he hasn't seen that yet. And so we should be clear that the public has certainly seen it. The family has certainly seen it. And it's very disturbing video.

But, yes, we're in a situation now -- we should also mention that Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who is accused in two shootings, in actually three shootings, two killings, is going to have a new court date in a month from now.

They're trying to extradite him here from Illinois to Kenosha, Wisconsin -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Sara Sidner in Kenosha, thank you so much.

Let's turn now to the case involving 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, facing six charges total, including intentional homicide and first- degree reckless homicide after police say he shot and killed two people at a protest in Kenosha on Tuesday night.

His attorney, John Pierce, is claiming self-defense, and he asked for more time before Rittenhouse is extradited to Wisconsin from Illinois.

[15:05:05]

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live for us in Lake County, Illinois, where Rittenhouse is currently being held.

Shimon, how are his lawyers justifying the self-defense charge?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have not specifically said how they are.

But when you read the criminal complaint that the Kenosha County district attorney has released and filed, you could see where it may perhaps some of these -- some of his attorneys can argue this, because what the DA has done in their complaint is, they paint quite a chaotic scene where there were individuals that were approaching written Kyle Rittenhouse.

Also, in some ways, they were trying to get the weapon away from Kyle Rittenhouse. That's the picture that the DA is painting. One of the people who was shot and killed used a skateboard. The DA talks about another person they talk about who had actually had a pistol, had a pistol in his hand.

But he puts his hand up. And they talk about how this person has the pistol in their right hand. So those are the types of things that you can see a defense attorney using to try and justify why their client would open fire on someone.

TAPPER: And, Shimon, this 17-year-old is being celebrated in conservative circles. What do we know about his legal team?

PROKUPECZ: Yes, GoFundMe pages and conservatives certainly coming to rally on his behalf.

John Pierce, as you mentioned earlier, has represented Rudy Giuliani, has represented other folks in the conservative world. There's also other people who are raising money for him. The Fight Back Foundation is trying to raise money to help his defense.

When I came here this morning, I spoke to the to the court staff here. They had told me that had been four different people had reached out to them claiming that they were going to be representing Kyle Rittenhouse. But all along, it was the public defender who'd been defending him, until today, when we learned that the new attorney, John Pierce, and his team were coming in to defend him.

TAPPER: All right, Shimon Prokupecz in Illinois for us, thank you so much.

Joining me now to discuss, civil rights activist and former president of the North Carolina NAACP Reverend William Barber.

Reverend, good to see you, as always. His latest book is called "We Are Called to Be a Movement."

Reverend, today, we saw Jacob Blake Sr. in Washington for this anniversary march 57 years after MLK. Just tell us, reflect for us, if you will, on the moment in which we find ourselves.

REV. DR. WILLIAM BARBER, PRESIDENT, REPAIRERS OF THE BREACH: Well, thank you so much, Jake.

And let me just say, on behalf of the Poor People's Campaign, the National Call for a Moral Revival, where I'm co-chair with my colleague Liz Theoharis, we cannot forget that the original March on Washington was not, "I have a dream."

The speech was, "normalcy never again."

And it was not about a single issue. It was about addressing justice and jobs. So, a march is often a sign, but it's not the whole. And so we have to penetrate through that. And what we -- what's going on, we can't miss right now, is, what's happening is people are coming together, whereas the March on Washington, the Black Lives Matter, Poor People's Campaign had a virtual March June 20, three million people showed up, Women's March, all these things.

They are saying, this can't be normal. What can't be normal? Black people being lynched by police, being killed him on camera, voter suppression, 180,000 people dead because we didn't handle the coronavirus right, the denial of stimulus checks, denial of sick leaves, trillions of dollars given to corporations, refusal to help communities, 140 million poor and low-income people, before COVID, 700 people dying a day, before COVID, 80 million people uninsured, underinsured.

People are saying something's wrong. Immigrants dying in concentration camps. The march, just like in '63, is a penetration point. It's not the whole. It's a penetration point that people are calling out the politics of death, necro-politics, systems that are costing people their lives, and saying it's not normal and we're not going to let it be normal.

TAPPER: So, Jacob Blake's father today highlighted the way police had treated his son, seven shots to the back, compared with how police treated 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who, frankly got to go back home to Illinois after prosecutors say he shot three people.

BARBER: Right. TAPPER: Blake Sr. said -- quote -- "There are two justice systems

right in front of us."

You agree with that?

BARBER: There are two justice systems. They are multiple problems that are creating death. You could go back to Dylann Roof, who ended up getting a hamburger after he murdered people in the church in South Carolina.

What we have is two Americas, two realities. And it's not just something black/white. Just like the original March on Washington understood, jobs and justice, was not just about black/white. They were pushing for a Civil Rights Act that was going to expand and open up things for black people and for women and for Latinos.

[15:10:03]

The is, this killing of people, cops killing people, using the power of the state to kill people, also points to the problems in our judicial system, the denial of health care, the denial of living wages, that also, Jake people.

That's what I want to drive home. America is going to have to deal with death, because we say life is our first principle, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

There's a lot of death, unnecessary death, going on, the death, people -- all these people that are dying who were forced to go to work in lethal situations, people dying because of police, people dying because they don't have health care.

We are at a moment in this country where we're going to have to decide whether or not we're going to honor that first principle, life, and that first principle of the Constitution, the establishment of justice, because separate and divided systems create the policies of death.

And I'm reminded of Coretta Scott King, Jake. She said -- Coretta Scott King one time said violence is not just my husband being shot. But violence is dying people health care, denying people labor rights, denying people living wages.

We are in a situation of policy violence that must be transformed by policy justice.

TAPPER: So, Reverend, I do have to ask.

We're in the middle of a pandemic, a pandemic that is hitting communities of color and lower-income communities harder than it is hitting white people and wealthier people. And I have to say, just looking at these images, a lot of people are wearing masks. That's true.

But, in general, it's a lot of people in one place. And there is no social distancing. And I am concerned, just as an American, about the people who are there. We are in the middle of a pandemic.

I understand the moral call to be there and protest. But do you have any concerns about the fact that this might be, in addition to an important event, also a potential super-spreader event?

BARBER: I have got great concern. And I have to be honest about that. That's why we're doing a digital gathering that I'm speaking at tonight. And June 20, we did a digital gathering. Three million people showed up online.

It's hurtful, and the fact that we really didn't have to be here in August, if we had dealt right as a country.

But I also want to flip that question. What's going on when people are hurting so bad, and in fear so bad, and see so much racism and so much hurt, and so much destruction, that they would, in fact, go into the public and would say like me, I have an immune deficiency, I can't, we're going?

This is public mourning, Jake. People are hurting. And when George Floyd, when he said, "I can't breathe," that was shorthand for how a lot of people feel. I can't breathe because I'm being forced into work in a lethal situation. I can't breathe because I don't have health care. I can't breathe because I don't even have living wages to make it.

And that was not just a I can't breathe for black people. It was an I can't breathe for the way in which the system will, particularly under Trump, has weighted itself against the people.

And sometimes (AUDIO GAP) mourning, people have no option but to scream. I am deeply aware. I have friends that were out there. I saw people I know.

But I also know people are hurting. They're upset. They feel their -- LeBron James said the other day, they are afraid.

And when Trump the other night trying to make suburban America afraid, let me tell you what people are really afraid of. They're afraid of dying. They're afraid of not having health care. They're afraid of being killed by the police. They're afraid of not having living wages. They're afraid of their rents and their mortgages and being evicted.

They're afraid of their water and their utilities being cut off. And that's just not a fear of black people. That's a fear of all people. They are afraid of voter suppression in the midst of a democracy.

They are afraid and they're hurting. And what we see today, and when you see any other march, you're seeing public mourning. That's why I said to Vice President Biden the hope is in the mourning.

TAPPER: Yes.

BARBER: What we have (AUDIO GAP) M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G. We must turn this mourning into public policy of justice and freedom for all.

Otherwise, America is in some serious trouble if we can't do that, in the midst of a pandemic.

TAPPER: Reverend William Barber, god bless you, sir. Thank you so much for your time today.

BARBER: Thank you, my friend.

TAPPER: We have got some breaking news.

Moments ago, in the Oval Office, President Trump granted a full pardon to Alice Johnson. Johnson was visibly emotional as President Trump signed the document. Johnson, of course, was sentenced to life in prison. She served 21 years for a first-time offense related to drug trafficking.

President Trump commuted Alice Johnson's sentence in 2018. She spoke at the Republican National Convention last night. The pardon comes, in fact, just hours after she did. Alice Johnson is going to join me in the next hour on THE LEAD to discuss this emotional moment and more.

Also ahead, President Trump returning to the campaign trail. And if last night's speeches any indication, the fact-checkers are going to need some B-12 shots.

[15:15:00]

And a new dire forecast for where the coronavirus crisis is headed in the U.S., the death toll possibly hitting an even more unimaginable milestone.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our 2020 lead today: President Trump returns to the campaign trail today with a rally in New Hampshire, just hours after he formally accepted the Republican nomination for president with a speech, frankly, riddled with misleading claims and, in some instances, flat-out lies.

President Trump once again labeled himself the law and order president and denounced the violent protests in Wisconsin and elsewhere, but he still has not mentioned the reason that those protests began, the police shooting with Jacob Blake.

CNN's Ryan Nobles joins me now live from the rally site in Londonderry, New Hampshire.

And, Ryan, President Trump wanted to define his agenda for a second term last night. What's the message he's hoping to take on the campaign trail?

[15:20:07]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it seems as though President Trump is spending a lot more time learning about what a Joe Biden administration would look like, as opposed to laying out a positive agenda for what he would do, if given another four years in office.

Just take a bit of a sample of what Trump had to say last night as he accepted the Republican nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How can the Democrat Party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?

If the left gains power, they will demolish the suburbs, confiscate your guns and appoint justices who will wipe away your Second Amendment and other constitutional freedoms. We must always have law and order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And while that was a lot of what we heard last night during that acceptance speech, Jake, it really matches a lot of what President Trump has been saying on the campaign trail since this race really started.

It's been a lot more about Joe Biden, a lot more about Democrats and warning of the gloom and doom that could potentially await, as opposed to talking about what he hopes to accomplish.

Still remains to be seen about how that's going to connect with the average voter. It does play well in these rallies filled with Trump supporters. But if the president hopes to reach out to independent swing voters, maybe people who haven't made up their mind, it might be a more difficult message to sell -- Jake.

TAPPER: Ryan, Republicans today talking a lot about Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who was surrounded by protesters when he tried to return to his hotel after the president's speech last night.

What is Senator Paul saying about what happened?

NOBLES: Well, Jake, essentially what Senator Paul says is that, as he was leaving the event, that he was surrounded by protesters, and he said that he literally felt that his life was in danger. He also accused the protesters of assaulting a Washington, D.C., police officer who was guarding he and his family as they walk back to their hotel.

We haven't gotten the full story of exactly what happened, just video from onlookers that were passing by. But Senator Paul was certainly concerned about his safety as he made that walk back to his hotel last night -- Jake.

TAPPER: Well, he was once violently attacked and had part of his lung removed because of a confrontation with a neighbor, understandably afraid perhaps.

Thanks so much, Ryan. Joe Biden says he's also planning on returning to the campaign trail,

but in a much different fashion than President Trump. Biden is planning smaller in-person events in battleground states, starting after Labor Day, the campaign says.

The campaign stopped holding regular rallies and town halls because of the coronavirus pandemic, of course, leading the Trump campaign to accuse him of hiding out in his basement.

CNN's Jessica Dean joins me now live.

Jessica, what do we know about these Biden events? How is he going to campaign?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, he made this news last night during a fund-raiser, telling supporters that he hopes to and plans to get back on the road after Labor Day.

But expect these events to closely mirror what we have seen over the summer. You will remember we have seen Joe Biden going to communities, to small businesses, sitting with small groups of people, social distancing in place, masks on.

He says he wants to be able to do this without jeopardizing any rules and making sure that they're following the science as they have. That's been a big contrast for the Biden campaign. That's an issue they focus very closely on, their handling of the coronavirus pandemic vs. President Trump's.

We're also learning that he named and ticked off about four battleground states he really wants to get to, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

So, again, this happening after Labor Day, and within the rules that will be in place in these various states.

But, Jake, we will see just how many of these he can do and what exactly they will look like. But, again, I would anticipate they are going to be these smaller events, and he even said himself, we're not going to be doing rallies. So that's what we know for now.

TAPPER: All right, Jessica Dean covering the Biden campaign for us, thank you so much.

Coming up next, the historic protests among professional athletes, refusing to play to raise awareness about police brutality and racial equities.

My next guest says the games should go on. I'm going to talk to three- time NBA champion Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors about why he wants games to go on.

That's after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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TAPPER: In our health lead today, nursing homes were basically ground zero for the coronavirus in this country, with nearly 50,000 COVID deaths in these facilities, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Now the U.S. Department of Justice is going to investigate how four states handled outbreaks in long-term care facilities and if poor policies were at play.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a special look now at how serious conditions have been at these homes during the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She didn't deserve to die like this.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These were the heartbreaking scenes at some of the first coronavirus outbreaks in the country, long-term care facilities.

They have since been described as tinderboxes for this pandemic, so many people closely clustered and vulnerable.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, more than 300,000 confirmed and suspected cases in the United States had been recorded at these facilities.