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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. Passes 500,000 COVID-19 Deaths; Biden's Nominee to Lead OMB in Political Peril; Boeing Recommends Grounding Some 777 Planes After Engine Failure. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired February 22, 2021 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:05]

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new CDC study of COVID clusters at reopened elementary schools in Atlanta found teachers played a significant role in any in-school transmission.

Every cluster involved less-than-ideal physical distancing and, in most, inadequate mask use by students. Across society, some things might never be the same.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think the handshake, for example, is probably going away. I hope so. I do think masks in the cough/cold/flu season in the winter months would make a lot of sense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: So, nearly half-a-million dead, that's the entire population of Kansas City, and more.

Now, how many more people are going to die? Well, the CDC projects that another 30,000 could die, Jake, in just the next three weeks -- Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right, Nick, thanks so much.

I want to bring in CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, let's start with the U.S. death toll. You and I have been talking about this pandemic since February. We're about to hit a half- million lives lost in the U.S. in this pandemic. We were at 400,000 just 37 days ago.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

TAPPER: The number of deaths reported every day, it seems like it's going down. But we're still losing people at an alarming pace.

GUPTA: Right, losing people at an alarming pace that would have been unimaginable certainly at this time last year, or even several months ago.

I mean, Jake, it's one of these things. And I think it's going to be one of these longer discussions that you and I have, but this idea that, I mean, there was such concern, and there's obviously still concern, but such concern at the beginning when a few people's lives were lost.

And, somewhat ironically, as more and more people have died, there's almost been this sort of empathy fade, this compassion fatigue that happens sometimes. We become to inured to this. And I'm glad we still put the numbers up on the screen and people are reminded. I'm glad Nick Watt still does that piece and reminds us that there are stories behind all these numbers, because this should never feel normal.

It just should -- I mean, what else can we say, Jake?

TAPPER: Yes.

GUPTA: I remember a year ago we were talking, could not believe that we would possibly get to 60,000 by August or whatever the number was by that point.

I cannot look at that side of the screen and in any way think that that's -- it's OK or normal in any way.

TAPPER: Yes. And a year ago tomorrow, the then president was saying that they had it all under control.

A new CDC study out today raises questions about in person learning. The study looked at elementary schools in Atlanta, Georgia. Researchers found nine clusters of coronavirus. Eight of the nine clusters involved a teacher and eight clusters involved probable educator-to-student spread.

Significantly, the CDC says -- the CDC says, in these nine clusters, physical distancing was less than ideal and student mask use was inadequate.

What do you take from this study?

GUPTA: I think that that's -- those last two caveats, I think, are perhaps the most -- the crucial points here.

I mean, we have seen so many studies like this, and I'm sure people are getting whiplash hearing about all these studies, saying, OK, well, this study seems to suggest you can't open in person school safely. This one suggests you can do it.

But when you start to really drill down on the data, Jake, I think it comes down to this idea that it can be done, if -- and the ifs are the same things, frankly, that we have been talking about for a long time. We now have evidence to show that those basic sort of ideas of what can decrease risk are true. We now have the data behind that.

But if you have the square footage, you can keep the physical distancing. If you have a diligent mask-wearing, it makes a huge difference. And if you can actually improve ventilation and objectively show that, show carbon dioxide levels or whatever it requires, to basically show that there's not a lot of exhaled air in an environment, you can dramatically reduce transmission. It can be a safer environment than the surrounding community. I know it's a provocative point. And people don't like to know -- everybody wants the data around this, but the data has shown it can be done. And when you don't do it, it can lead to problems.

TAPPER: Yes.

Take a listen to CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. This is a couple weeks ago. I had her on "STATE OF THE UNION." She was talking about the challenges of making kids wear masks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Mask-breaching is among the reasons that we have transmission within schools when it happens.

We have other data that was just published in CDC's MMWR that demonstrate that somewhere around 60 percent of students are reliably masking. That has to be universal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, this is interesting because she was she was saying to me 60 percent. Is this a problem we're not paying enough attention to, theory vs. reality when it comes to kids wearing masks and social distancing?

The idea that we can say here on TV, yes, it needs to be 98, 99 percent masking and social distancing. And we're still talking about kids. And they're not going to do it.

[16:35:08]

GUPTA: Right. Yes.

No, I think it's a really good point. You and I are both dads, in addition to being reporters. And I think you're absolutely right. I mean, I think this is a -- we can talk about the objective data all we want and how well masks work.

If it doesn't translate into something that is substantive for kids and their behavior, it doesn't matter. That is the reality.

I do think, when we talk about that Wisconsin study, again, which the CDC also had up on their Web site, and we can show you the data, it was really low transmission rates.

But if you go back and look at this critical issue of masks, it was around 92, 93 percent mask adherence. Jake, I think there's a problem here. First of all, some of these school districts may not just have enough masks. And that is a legitimate problem. I didn't think it was initially, but it's true.

I have talked to lots of educators around the country. They don't have basic resources in some of these places. And that's a problem. But in other places, there's still this sort of hangover effect, I think, from last spring, where, do I wear a mask, do I not wear a mask? How much is this really sound advice or not?

And I think we're still feeling the repercussions of that in some of these school districts.

Having said that, Jake, it doesn't take away from the fact that the evidence does show, if you do wear the masks, it can have a significant difference.

TAPPER: Yes.

GUPTA: Without vaccinations, without all the other sort of big sledgehammer sort of tools that we're talking about. It's not to take away from vaccinations, but school districts that did this safely did not yet have vaccinations.

TAPPER: Yes.

And I don't want to pick on kids because I think kids are probably much, much better at wearing these masks than adults have proven to be. It's just a question of reality vs. theory when it comes to telling anybody to wear masks.

Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Always great to have you on.

Tonight, CNN is going to honor through personal tributes, through prayer, and through song the half-million Americans who have lost their lives to this pandemic.

"We Remember 500,000: A National Memorial Service for COVID-19" airs tonight on CNN at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Please join us.

Facing a failed confirmation, a potential one, at least, one of President Biden's key nominees loses the support of a Democratic senator. Can the White House get the Republican support they need now?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:41:52]

TAPPER: And I have some very sad breaking news for us now.

The United States just crossed into the 500,000 landmark. We have now more than 500,071 deaths due to COVID, a devastating toll. That's according to Johns Hopkins University.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta prepared this piece to share some of the stories of just some of the more than 500,000 victims of this horrible pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To heal, we must remember.

GUPTA (voice-over): No one is immune from COVID-19, not the young and healthy, not the elderly, and not health care workers who risk their own lives to save others.

Samantha Diaz dreamed of becoming a nurse so she could help others. She was working toward that dream in her job as a medical assistant. Although worried about being in the office during the pandemic, she also needed the money to care for her children. And Samantha died just nine days before her 30th birthday. The single mother leaves behind a 1-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 15-year-old.

Diaz's mother has quit her job to raise her three grandchildren, but worries she won't live long enough to see them all reach adulthood.

Dr. Susan Moore was a mother, physician and advocate. When Dr. Moore was diagnosed with COVID-19, she documented her battle on her Facebook page.

DR. SUSAN MOORE, COVID-19 VICTIM: I was hurting.

GUPTA: And she detailed her fight to receive equitable health care as a black woman, according to "The New York Times."

The Indiana doctor loved practicing medicine, helping others, and was a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, according to a GoFundMe created in her honor.

BIDEN: Let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred Pool of Reflection and remember all whom we lost.

GUPTA: When racial tensions in the 1970s erupted onto New York streets, Corky Lee captured it all, a crusader of photographic justice. His work memorialized the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a legacy he thought was often ignored in American history.

He began his career photographing protests that followed the beating of a Chinese American man by New York City officers. Over the next five decades, Lee's lens exposed the hard truths of racism, labor and housing, while capturing the beauty of the Asian American community.

His latest work documented racially motivated attacks toward Asians during this pandemic. At the time of his death, Lee was producing a film about his life's work.

Award-winning NBA reporter and analyst Sekou Smith had a career spanning more than two decades. He reported for NBA TV and NBA.com and spent 11 years reporting for Turner Sports. Public tributes honoring Smith's life came from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and retired NBA great Dwyane Wade.

He leaves behind his wife, Heather, and their three children.

Marshall McKay was one of the most prominent Native American leaders in the country.

[16:45:01]

"The L.A. Times" reports that MacKay pushed for economic independence for his people and help set up a successful tribal casino and resort near Sacramento. McKay sat on the boards of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, and the Autry Museum in Los Angeles, where he became the first indigenous person to chair the museum's board of trustees.

In December, McKay and his wife both tested positive for the coronavirus. She recovered. He did not. Marshall McKay was 68 years old.

Jonathan Coelho was just 32 when he contracted the virus. He spent 28 days in the hospital, 20 of them on a ventilator. But he seemed to improve. Then his wife Katie got a call from a hospital nurse telling her to come quickly. By the time she arrived, he was gone.

When she got home he turned on his phone and found he had left his life insurance information on it along away heartbreaking final love letter. It had read in part: You are truly one of a kind. Make sure you live your life with happiness and the same passion that made me fall in love to you. Seeing you be the best mom to the kids is the greatest thing I've ever experienced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say that you love me so I have it on video.

PAUL COELHO: I love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And tonight, CNN will honor through personal tribute, through prayer and through song the half million Americans, 500,000, who have lost their lives to this cruel pandemic. "We Remember 500,000: A National Memorial Service for COVID-19" is tonight on CNN at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Please join us.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:50:50]

TAPPER: And in our politics lead today, President Biden's call for unity is being put to the test as Democrats work to pass his massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal and with the confirmation of one of his cabinet picks on shaky ground the president needs his party to come together now more than ever, as CNN's Kaitlan Collins now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden's pick to become budget director is teetering on the brink of the collapse today.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: As it relates to Neera Tanden, let me just say that the president nominated her because he believed she'd be a stellar OMB director. She's tested.

COLLINS: After four senators announce within four days they won't vote to confirm Neera Tanden to run the Office of Management of Budget, the White House says they're standing by her for now.

PSAKI: So, we simply just disagree with whether she's the right person for the job with the senators.

COLLINS: Tanden is under fire for pass comments directed at lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, which she was grilled about during her confirmation hearing.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I have to tell you, I'm very disturbed about your personal comments about people. The comments were personal. I mean, you called Senator Sanders everything but an ignorant slut.

COLLINS: So, President Biden did not have any concerns about her past statements?

PSAKI: I think I'll leave it at what I said so far.

COLLINS: As the White House searches for votes for Tanden, Biden is focused on getting his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed amid staunch Republican opposition.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now critics say the plan is too big. Let me ask them a rhetorical question -- what would you have me cut? What would you leave out?

COLLINS: The current package from the House includes $1,400 in stimulus checks, an extension of unemployment benefits and a $15 federal minimum wage, which two Democrats senators have said they don't want to see in this bill.

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): These things don't happen like magic in one day. There's negotiations. There's many opportunities to advance this. So, stay tuned.

COLLINS: While Biden waits for Congress to pass his plan, he announced he's making changes to the pandemic loan program designed to help American businesses stay afloat.

BIDEN: Today, I'm announcing additional changes to the PPP program that will make sure we look out for the mom and pop business even more than we already have.

COLLINS: Starting Wednesday, small businesses with fewer than 20 employees will have an exclusive two-week window to apply for funding while bigger businesses are excluded.

BIDEN: They're getting crushed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (on camera): Now, Jake, when it goes back to Neera Tanden, the White House says they have been on the phone with Democrats and Republicans trying to get support for her confirmation. But we just heard from Republican Senator Rob Portman who says officially he will not be voting to confirm her, making the path way to confirmation even slimmer for Neera Tanden.

That we are still waiting to hear from a few others who have not weighed in yet. We should note that if she does not get confirmed, if she fails to get confirmed it will be first casualty for President Biden among his cabinet and cabinet level picks.

TAPPER: It's really remarkable seeing all these Republicans who are now offended by tweets.

Kaitlan Collins, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

A plane engine falls apart midflight, catches fire and showers Denver with debris. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:58:43]

TAPPER: In our national lead, Boeing is now calling on airlines to ground their 777 airliners with one specific engine, the Pratt & Whitney 4000. That's the engine that failed minutes after takeoff Saturday, sending debris crashing to the ground in Colorado.

CNN's Pete Muntean is in Denver for us.

And, Pete, what are federal officials doing to make sure that these planes are -- will be safe?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 engine is specific to 777s is now at the center of this investigation. And sources tell me the FAA could mandate much more frequent inspections of that engine in an emergency order that could come as soon as today. The focus here are the engine's fan blades. Those are the large parts, swirling around at the front of the engine, 4 feet long, 4,000 rpm, very high speed under incredible stress, and we're told they're particularly hard to inspect. In fact, many times nicks and cracks could not be found by the naked eye.

What's so interesting here to NTSB investigators is that they found yesterday one of the fan blades broken at the base, another one broken at the midpoint and damage to other fan blades within the confinement ring of the jet engine. This is a really significant finding, Jake, and it could be a big window into what led into the failure.

TAPPER: All right. Pete Muntean in Denver, Colorado, thanks so much.

And a reminder, don't forget to join me and the CNN family as we mourn the half million Americans who have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That's tonight at 11:00 p.m. on CNN, 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks for watching.

The news on CNN continues now.

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