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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Defends His Retweet of Conspiracy About Biden Responsible for Death of Navy Seals; W.H.O. Says Remdesivir Has Little or No Effect on COVID Patients; Michigan Senate Race Tightens, Democrats Defend Seat Key to Taking Control of Senate. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 16, 2020 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our POLITICS LEAD today in one of the more infuriating moments of last night's town hall with President Trump, when pushed on the fact that he had retweeted several times a disgusting conspiracy theory about the Obama administration murdering Seal Team 6. Trump said, it was just simply a retweet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC "TODAY" ANCHOR: Just this week you retweeted to your 87 million followers a conspiracy theory that Joe Biden orchestrated to have Seal Team 6, the Navy Seal Team 6, killed to cover up the fake death of Bin Laden. Now why would you send a lie like that to your followers, you retweeted it.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That was a retweet. That was an opinion of somebody and that was a retweet. I'll put it out there, people can decide for themselves --

GUTHRIE: I don't get that, you're the President, you're not like someone's crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.

TRUMP: That was a retweet and I do a lot of retweets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Joining mew now to discuss, longtime aide and confidant of Senator John McCain and author of the new book, "The Luckiest Man -- Life with John McCain," author Mark Salter. Mark thanks for joining us and congratulations on the book.

I've read it and it's great. It's a lovely, lovely tribute and really interesting and I really recommend it. I want to ask you, because I'm sure you have your opinions, what do you think about President Trump unapologetically spreading these gross lies about Seal Team 6 and Bin Laden and Obama and Biden?

MARK SALTER, AUTHOR, "THE LUCKIEST MAN -- LIFE WITH JOHN MCCAIN": I think he is America's crazy old uncle. That's what I think of it, I mean it's -- it's just, well, fortunately, knock on wood, we'll never have another president like this. But, you know, fingers crossed, anyway.

TAPPER: You know what all these conspiracy theories make me think of, of course, is the fact that almost exactly 12 years ago when John McCain, your former boss, was running against Barack Obama, this happened.

SALTER: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's not -- he's an Arab. He is not --

JOHN MCCAIN (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope?

MCCAIN: No, ma'am, no, ma'am, he's a decent family man citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, obviously nothing wrong with being an Arab, but the point she was trying to make is she bought into this insane conspiracy theory about Obama. You write in your book that that would be remembered in later years and after his death as one of the finest, if not the finest, moments in his political career.

And I have to say it is the exact opposite of President Trump who not only doesn't push back on conspiracy theories, he's like the leading provider of them.

SALTER: Yes. You know, John had been sort of the subject of a few conspiracy theories in his life, his political career. And yes, we had told him -- some reporters had told him that they heard some people at his rallies yelling some unfortunate things, so he was sort of on his guard in that moment. But it wasn't anything he wrote down or prepared or staged or anything, he just reacted as he normally would at any town hall he had done before. Somebody said something that was just wrong.

[15:35:00]

I mean he didn't want to make issue with an elderly lady, and he didn't want to be too rude to her, but that happened at several times in that rally. And a few times, some in the crowd, not all and not even most, booed him for it, his own supporters. But, you know, he didn't think it was any big deal afterwards. Yes, of course I did. He was kind of surprised at the attention it got in subsequent years. It got more attention in subsequent years, Jake, than I think it really did at the time.

TAPPER: You write in the book, there's an interesting part where McCain completely is disgusted when then-candidate Trump is attacking the Khan family, who lost, they're a Gold Star family, they lost their son in Iraq, a hero. But he doesn't withdraw his support from Trump until after the "Access Hollywood" tape. He and Trump talk about it and McCain basically says that the real reason was the Khan family and his attacks on the Khan family.

What do you think John McCain would be doing right now? I know you're hesitant to speak for him, but I can't believe he wouldn't be speaking out against this indecency. His widow has endorsed Joe Biden, shockingly.

SALTER: Of course, I observed this before. He didn't vote for Trump last time, as you mentioned, and Trump is not someone who improves on longer acquaintance with him. He's been a disaster as a President, and you know, he's got an affinity for our enemies and sort of aspires to join the international thugs club, and he's openly hostile to our allies.

And that would have, you know, before John passed away, of course, he was a very acerbic critic of the President. He put out what I think was probably the harshest statement he ever made about the U.S. President after the Helsinki Summit when Trump took the word of Vladimir Putin over our own intelligence services. He did that just six weeks or so before he passed away, maybe two months.

But so he'd have quite a bit to say, I think, and I can't -- I don't want to say what he would do in this election, but, I'm pretty sure, as I said, if he didn't vote for him four years ago, he hasn't done anything to win his vote, so I'm sure he would probably be with his wife Cindy in supporting his long-time friend Joe Biden.

TAPPER: The world needs a healthy Republican Party, I think, the United States needs a healthy Republican Party, based in fact, based in science, based on decency, based on a lot of the values that John McCain stood for. Is it possible that Republican Party can exist again as opposed to what we have today, which is a bunch of cowards and QAnon adherents?

SALTER: Yes, I think, you know, I think this kind of stuff preceded Trump and it will follow Trump to an extent, and there will be a battle for sort of Trump-like, Trump without the insane tweets, or something. But it will be nativist and sort of quasi-isolationist and protectionist and culture warriors, you know, versus more traditional reform conservatives. But I think that will go on for several election cycles and I'm not sure of the outcome.

On the road we're heading, you know, we are heading -- we're now a party that tries to succeed by discouraging people from voting. That's not a party with a future. So I hope we get it right. I don't want to be a Democrat, and I don't think the Democrats would want to have me.

TAPPER: Yes.

SALTER: I'd like to have a Conservative Party with principles and a sense of honor, and right now that's in pretty short supply. TAPPER: Mark Salter, the book is "The Luckiest Man." It's a fantastic

book about John McCain. I highly recommend it. Thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

SALTER: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you now. CNN has learned that former White House Chief of Staff Retired Marine General John Kelly has told friends about President Trump, quote, the depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it's more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life, unquote.

This brand-new reporting comes from our CNN special report, "THE INSIDERS: A WARNING FROM FORMER TRUMP OFFICIALS." An inside look at the Trump Presidency from those who worked for the President who now say he is unfit for office.

"THE INSIDERS" airs Sunday at 9:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern. Right here on CNN.

A new update on when we could see a coronavirus vaccine and it's a reality check for President Trump. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:00]

TAPPER: Back now with our HEALTH LEAD, a major blow to the President's hopes of getting a COVID vaccine before election day. Pfizer confirming today that it will not seek Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine until the third week of November.

Let's get right to CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, this on the one hand is good news, a late stage vaccine developer providing a specific timeline and it's relatively soon, but we need to be clear this is not a guarantee. Put this into some context for us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake, it absolutely isn't a guarantee but it is a sign that things are moving in the right direction. Pfizer being seen as really one of the frontrunners in this vaccine race.

Let's take a look at what Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, had to say on his website. On the Pfizer website they published a letter from him and it says, assuming positive data -- and that's an important phrase, I'm going to come back to it -- assuming positive data, Pfizer will apply for Emergency Authorization Use in the U.S. soon after the safety milestone is achieved in the third week of November.

[15:45:00]

So as you pointed out, Jake, third week of November, that means not by election day, so yet more evidence, as if we needed more, that this vaccine is not going to happen by election day, but that "assuming positive data," let me sort of unpack what that means.

They're basically saying, look, we're going to have or we anticipate having some data about how our vaccine is doing. It's been in a clinical trial, a Phase III trial since the end of July. But it might not be positive. The data might show that the vaccine doesn't work. The data might show that it's unclear if the vaccine works and Pfizer needs to continue on with its clinical trial.

So just them saying we're going to have data doesn't mean the data is going to show the vaccine works.

TAPPER: Yes, but still, positive development and another reminder that Operation Warp Speed, run by President Trump and his team, is a good thing and is proceeding in a good way.

There is an alarming new study from the World Health Organization about the effects or the ineffectiveness of the drug Remdesivir, the only antiviral drug authorized right now to treat COVID patients. Now we're told it actually has little to no effect on patients?

COHEN: That's right, and I will tell you that this study is considerably larger, Jake, than the study that got Remdesivir its Emergency Use Authorization earlier this year.

Let's take a look as what the World Health Organization found. They looked at 2,750 patients who received Remdesivir. Compared them to patients who didn't, they found the drug did not save lives. It did not reduce your chance of getting hospitalized if you got COVID.

And if you were hospitalized, it didn't reduce your chance of being put on a ventilator. The study that got Remdesivir on the U.S. market in the first place showed that Remdesivir could shorten a hospital stay. This study showing, it didn't even do that.

One does have to wonder, what will the FDA say about this, will they reconsider whether Remdesivir should be on the market -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Elizabeth, thank you so much, appreciate it.

As Joe Biden tries to flip Michigan, there's another race you need to know about with the control of the U.S. Senate on the line, and no one is comfortable calling the race right now. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:00]

TAPPER: In our 2020 LEAD, Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden is holding two events in Michigan today. He's hoping to flip a critical battleground state that President Trump won by a razor thin margin in 2016. It's also a key state for Democrats to hold as they try to take back control of the U.S. Senate.

As CNN's Miguel Marquez reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Battleground, Michigan. Not just in the race for the White House but in the fight for control of the Senate.

SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): There is a great deal of energy right now on both sides because of what's at stake here.

MARQUEZ: First term Senator Gary Peters is facing a tough challenge. One of the few Senate contests where Democrats are on defense.

PETERS: It's incredibly important and we have to have the majority in the Senate for our President Biden to be successful.

MARQUEZ: The Republican challenger combat veteran and businessman John James who lost his 2018 bid for Senate against Michigan's other Democratic Senator by six points.

JOHN JAMES (R) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: People in the state of Michigan recognize that Gary Peters is all talk.

MARQUEZ: James declined a request to speak with CNN but he did appear twice Thursday on "Fox News" where he called out his rival.

JAMES: Senator Peters would be less than a speed bump against the leftist move toward move to anarchy and socialism.

MARQUEZ: While Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads President Trump in Michigan polls, one recent survey from "The New York Times" and Siena College shows the Senate race nearly even with Peters at 43 percent and James at 42 percent.

Democrats need to pick up four seats to gain control of the Senate if Trump wins re-election or three seats if Biden wins the presidency. Since his Vice President would break ties in the Senate. Right now the GOP is favored to flip one Democratic held seat, Alabama.

CAMPAIGN AD: Gary Peters shows up --

MARQUEZ: The race is one of the top ten most expensive this cycle with Peters and his allies spending more than $56 million on ads so far compared to $45 million by James and outside groups backing his campaign.

Peters has touted his bipartisan credentials and environmental record while James has attacked Peters on the coronavirus and for being an ineffective lawmaker.

Voters here already casting ballots well aware of the stakes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Having a blue Senate and having a blue Congress over the next four years is going to dictate all the legislation that our family cares about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If President Trump wins and he doesn't have the House and the Senate, then this country is getting nothing done.

MARQUEZ: Strategists and party officials from both sides say the outcome in Michigan could be crucial for the direction of the Senate.

(on camera): How important is it to flip a seat like Michigan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that there is a huge opportunity right now in Michigan for Republican Party to flip a seat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's critically important. There is no path for a Democratic Senate majority without Gary Peters returning to the United States Senate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now the Senator, his campaign, Democrats statewide, they don't seem particularly worried about this race. They expect it tighten up, they think it's about where they expected it to be. The bigger question for many is will President Trump be a drag to down ballots, candidates like Mr. James that certainly happened in 2018 when they cleaned up on statewide races and flipped two house seats and even made inroads in the state legislature -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Miguel Marquez, thank you so much, appreciate it.

President Trump in moments of speaking at another rally in Florida before heading to more coronavirus hot spots as health experts fear the virus is spreading so he can soak up praise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:00]

TAPPER: Welcome to our second hour of THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're continuing this hour with the 2020 LEAD. We are waiting for Joe Biden to speak any moment in Michigan as President Trump is on a rally spree in the final 18-day stretch of the Presidential race with more than 20 million ballots already cast in this election.

President Trump today making a last-ditch appeal to seniors in Ft. Myers, Florida.