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Don Lemon Tonight

Protesters Try To Topple Statue Of Former President Andrew Jackson; Rate Of New Coronavirus Cases Up In 23 States, Led By California, Texas, Florida And Arizona; Six Pro Women's Soccer Players Test Positive For Coronavirus; Dem Primary To Choose Who Takes On Mitch McConnell Upended By Reckoning On Racism And Police Brutality. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired June 22, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

Eleven p.m. here on the East Coast. Breaking news tonight, the Secret Service telling reporters to leave the White House grounds tonight as police pushed protesters out of the Lafayette Park who tried to topple the statue of the former President Andrew Jackson.

We are going to have more on that in just a moment.

At least 23 states are now seeing a rise in the number of coronavirus cases as compared to last week. The hot spots are states across the south and the west. There are more than 2.3 million confirmed cases in the U.S. More than 120,000 Americans have died from the disease.

President Trump claiming tonight that too much coronavirus testing is putting the United States at a disadvantage. And the White House officials now claiming that the president was joking when he said at his rally on Saturday that he asked his staff to slow down the rate of testing.

Also, the press secretary Kayleigh McEnany trying to defend Trump's use of a racist slur at his rally when describing coronavirus, saying the president was pointing out that China is responsible for the virus spread.

CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is on the scene for us near tonight -- on the scene for us where all of this is happening and they are trying to topple that statue.

Kaitlan, reporters were told to leave the White House grounds that was earlier tonight, dramatic scenes were playing out as they were doing that in Lafayette Park. Explain to us what happened, please.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we still really haven't gotten an explanation, Don, from Secret Service on why reporters were asked to leave the White House grounds. That incredibly unusual. It's hard to remember it happening in recent years except for potentially after 9/11.

But today, they did have the White House reporters to leave the ground immediately. That came as those protesters were in Lafayette Square putting those ropes around the Andrew Jackson statue and trying to pull it down.

And I do want to update you now. You know, the protesters have been pushed back. We have been standing here for a little over two hours now watching the scene as these clashes between this people and the people have been going on for the last several hours after they pushed them out of the park.

And the interior secretary David Bernhardt just said he just left Lafayette Square; he condemned those protesters trying to bring down the statue of Andrew Jackson. And the president himself tweeted about it moments ago. I'm going to read that to you, Don.

He said, numerous people have been arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism in Lafayette Park of the magnificent statue of Andrew Jackson in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John's Church across the street.

He said that that comes with 10 years in prison under the Veteran Memorial Preservation Act. And to be aware, what he's refencing, Don, with the church thing is they have spray painted b-h-a-z on the columns of St. John's Church, of course that historic church here outside the White House blocked -- house autonomous zone is what it stands for as this imitation of what we've been seeing happening in Seattle.

But the president there defending the statue of Andrew Jackson saying he doesn't believe it should be brought down, not a surprising position for the president of course, Don, as he has said many times in recent days, he does not think that military bases named after confederate general should be renamed. he doesn't think statues should be pulled down.

They've often repeatedly seen the White House pushing back on that. And so, of course, now it's happening right in front of the White House where the president is in there tonight and he is coming out saying they should not be trying to tear that statue of Andrew Jackson down.

LEMON: Kaitlan Collins on the scene. Kaitlan, thank you very much. Let's discuss more now. White House correspondent -- CNN's White House correspondent John Harwood and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang both join me this evening.

Gentlemen, good evening. So, let's talk about you see what's happening there, and then the president is really on a tear about the lack of expectation or for crowds this weekend.

[23:05:00]

He is making excuses about the empty seats at his rally. This is what he said tonight. Watch this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, there were many things. First of all, there was a curfew that was enforced the first night, where many people had to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

TRUMP: And it was enforced by the mayor. Where many people, the first night, meaning a couple of nights out, they had to leave. They've been waiting there and then all of a sudden, they are forced out.

But there were many things that happened, including protesters including black lives matter, including probably antifa, we'll find out because they are looking at it now. They had protesters. And also, for two weeks we have been hammered that if you walk in to that arena, you are going to be in big trouble. Big, big, big trouble. And you know, we had a good crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So, John, there's no sign that what he is saying is true at all. But there are always protesters at Trump rallies. There are protesters at Biden events. They all -- that's part of the thing. But there's no truth to, no evidence of there's any truth to what he is saying, John.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, Don, the president was humiliated by that rally on Saturday night. You could see it on his face when he got off Marine One at the White House. And it was humiliating in a couple of different ways.

First of all, he was, he is down in the polls significantly to Joe Biden and that was reflected in the fact that that arena was one-third filled. The second was alluded to by the president himself when he talked about people being hammered by information about the coronavirus, and how dangerous it would be to walk in to that arena.

Well, guess what. What that indicates is that people did not believe President Trump, who says, essentially, it's over and we should move past it. They believe the news media over him. If that is one of the reasons why people didn't show up.

So, it was a very bad night for the president. He is lashing out, making excuses. And by the way, in terms of the press warnings we now know that eight Trump advance staffers who worked on that rally have tested positive for coronavirus, plus two Secret Service agents.

LEMON: That's true. Yes.

HARWOOD: It was dangerous to go there. And the president got burned by it.

LEMON: Yes, I kept watching, you know, tuning in and out, and I was saying -- I was thinking maybe I had the wrong time zone. Because I was looking at the pictures and didn't see the, the, you know, the tons of people that he had said hundreds of thousands of people that were supposed to come. So, I kept waiting.

Andrew Yang, I want to move on and talk about the coronavirus, if you will, if you'll allow me. The president referred to coronavirus as the kung flu at his rally, and his press secretary is actually defending his use of the racial slur. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEIJIA JIANG, CORRESPONDENT, CBS NEWS: Last July the President Trump declared himself the least racist person there is anywhere in the world. Why does he use racist phrases like the kung flu?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president doesn't. What the president does do is point to the fact that the origin of the virus is China. It's a fair thing to point out. As China tries to ridiculously re-write history, ridiculously blame the coronavirus on the American soldiers. This is what China is trying to do and what President Trump is saying, no, China, I will label this virus for its place of origin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So, Andrew, Americans are taking to the streets to demand racial justice. And this White House is defending making excuses for racial slurs?

ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, this is right out of Trump's playbook, whenever he is down, he tries to distract with inflammatory or racist rhetoric. Kellyanne Conway, the president's own adviser said that using the term kung flu is wrong and offensive not that long ago. And it clearly is a racist term that is trying to distract from his administration's complete mishandling and botching of this pandemic that has now claimed over 120,000 American lives.

We are number one in the world in cases and deaths. And no amount of racist distraction is going to take our attention away from that toll, unfortunately. It's why he is suffering so badly and I congratulate the judgment of the people of Oklahoma who decided to stay home. Because that was the right move.

His administration, his campaign really messed up by trying to over hype the attendance, if they hadn't crowed about how many people were show up, the damage might not have been as bad.

LEMON: Interesting. I wonder, you know, there are people who are saying even staunch Republicans who support him are saying that this is going to stick with the president and the imagery at least and the messaging coming of that is not good for him.

Andrew, you are launching a new project to compensate Americans when companies use their data. What is that all about? Tell me about it.

YANG: Well, Facebook, Google, these giant tech companies, Don, are generating tens of billions of dollars a year in revenue off of our data and we are not seeing a dime of it.

[23:10:04]

So, I've started a new initiative data dividend project web sites ddpforall.com where Americans can sign up and we will fight for your data rights. Because if anyone makes money off of our data, shouldn't it be us?

And I'm happy to say that California and Nevada already have laws on the books to activate our data rights and we are looking to have states around the country follow California's lead. But we can make it so that we actually get paid for the use of our data which is the way it always should have been.

LEMON: I think a lot of people would be down with that. Because they certainly use it. Thank you so much, gentlemen, I appreciate it.

The killing of George Floyd last month unleashed protests against systemic racism and police brutality against African-Americans. It also sped up the drive to remove monuments to confederate leaders and generals. And that started a national conversation about which figures in American history deserve to be immortalized in monuments and who doesn't deserve that honor.

As we saw protesters in Lafayette Park near the White House tried to topple a statue of President Andrew Jackson tonight. More on the debate over monuments from CNN's tom foreman.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Theodore Roosevelt, outdoorsman, conservationist has ridden proudly in front of New York City's Museum of National History for 80 years, now he is being unhorsed because of two flanking figures, one black, the other Native American.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY): The statue clearly, you know, presents a white man as superior to people of color. And that's just not acceptable in this day and age and it never should have been acceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: President Trump's response, ridiculous. Don't do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take it down.

(CROWD CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Statues honoring southern leaders of the Civil War are falling all over, driven by the movement to recognize injustices against black people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It brings tears to my eyes. So, I'm excited for to not look at it anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: But the monument wars are rapidly expanding in one community after another, statues of Christopher Columbus have come under fire. He is a hero to many.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, he is an Italian immigrant.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this, this here --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let him speak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- represents something, my Italian history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: But to others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO COSME, ACTIVIST, THE RAIZ UP: Oversaw the genocide of three million people, nobody talks about that we don't discuss, that's not told in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: In New Mexico violence broke out over the removal of monuments to a Spanish conquistador who brutalized Native Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a monument to hatred. It's a monument to white supremacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: In California statues of a Spanish missionary were toppled. So as one union general and U.S. President Ulysses Grant who led the fight to defeat the confederacy but owned a slave for about a year. And to Francis Scott Key who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner. He also enslaved people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do we think slave owners should have statues?

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOREMAN: Much so did Thomas Jefferson and George Washington whose

statues have been attacked. It has all raised a fierce debate over who deserves public honors and words of caution from historians such as Douglas Brinkley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: We don't want to be like the old Soviet Union ripping down every monument to put new ones up for a new regime, we just need to have the monomerization of America reflect true American history not just white male superiority history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Now philosophically, this is one possible solution, put up more statues to people of other races, other cultures, and other genders who played a big role in America's history but haven't been properly recognized over the years.

I suspect though, Don, with tempers running very, very hot right now, there may be a lot more clashes before any new construction goes up. Don?

LEMON: Tom Foreman, I appreciate it. Thank you so mushy. So, what should America do about all these statues. Much to talk about. Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who took down confederate statues when he was in office, and also author Michael Higginbotham. They're right after the break.

[23:15:00]

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LEMON: So, protesters who tried to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park pushed back by police tonight. Monuments and statues coming down around the country as America confronts its racist past.

Let's discuss now with CNN Political Commentator Mitch Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans, and Michael Higginbotham, professor of constitutional law at the University of Baltimore. He is the author of "Ghosts of Jim Crow: Ending Racism in Post Racial America."

It's good to have you both of you on this evening. And this is an important and complicated subject. So, mayor, I want you to check out what the president is saying about monuments coming down. He spoke to our affiliate EWTN tonight. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's a disgrace. Also, remember, some of this is great art work, this is magnificent art work. It's good as there is anywhere in the world. As good as you see in France, as good as you see anywhere. It's a disgrace. Most of these people don't even know what they are taking down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anything you can do to add to the national --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Yes, we are going to do something very soon, we are going to have an executive order. And we're going to make the cities guard their monuments. This is a disgrace. Now for the most part, they're not federal. It was up to them. They are already talking about Thomas Jefferson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: An executive officer, can he really tell cities to guard these monuments?

MITCH LANDRIEU, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. He has no authority to tell cities what to do or what not to do with property that they own, number one. Number two, it's not a disgrace to take down Robert E. Lee who fought to split this country in half in order to protect slavery.

And so, there are now 1,700 confederate monuments that dirty the soil of the United States of America, and my opinion is that those particular monuments that were put up to revere, not to remember, but to revere should be taken down.

[23:20:07]

LEMON: Can either of you, before we move on, mayor, I want to talk to you because you -- about what you did in New Orleans when it comes to confederate symbols and these monuments and statues.

But can either of you explain to me why a white man from Queens, New York continues to refer to confederate generals as our heritage as the president has. Mitch Landrieu, can you?

LANDRIEU: Well, you know, I can't explain what's in the president's mind. It's hard to ascertain that on a regular day. But I think it's a dog whistle, it's not our heritage. There are many, many people that didn't support the confederacy which is, you know, it's clear what they did and why that war was fought.

And so many times when you begin to take this down, one of the first defense is where is it going to end? And I would answer that and say, you know, I don't really know where it's going to end but I know where it has to begin and it should begin with the confederate generals, clearly.

LEMON: OK. Professor Higginbotham, let me bring you in now. You saw the protesters in Lafayette Square attempting to bring down the statue of Andrew Jackson. From a historical perspective, what do you think about that?

F. MICHAEL HIGGINBOTHAM, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE SCHOOL OF LAW: Well, I think it's long overdue. I believe that the truth will set us all free, and really haven't told the truth. When you talk about the president and many Americans, they have sort of a movie version of American history like a birth of the nation or "Gone with the Wind" version.

And it's false, it's one-sided. And it's superficial. So, when you ask what's in Donald Trump's mind, when he says our, you know, our heritage when he is from New York City. What's in his mind is this one-sided view of our history. And it, it's a wrong history.

We need to be more sophisticated about our analysis of, you know, our founders and of our history. For example, Trump says we are erasing history and we can't, you know, take down the Jefferson memorial, the Washington monument. The memorial to the James Madison. And he lumps all these founders together. And founders were very different.

For example, you know, Washington freed his slaves at the time of his death. Jefferson freed five of his 200. Madison freed none of his slaves. And so, we need to, you know, make sure we're clear about the positions of our founders. We also need to have much more balance.

We need to add some people whose morality has stood the test of time. People like George Wythe, who signed the Declaration of Independence and freed all of his slaves at the time he inherited them. And then he made a decision in 1806 where he said all people under the Virginia Bill of Rights no matter what color they are, are entitled to the presumption of freedom.

LEMON: Let me --

HIGGINBOTHAM: Those are the kind of people we need to be honoring today.

LEMON: I want to ask you about Grant. Because how you feel about the protesters toppling Grant's statue. He literally fought the confederacy. Some people are pointing out that he owned a slave for a short time. But also, I think people are forgetting that Grant's complicated history. Especially when it comes to Native Americans as well. It's not just about black people or African-Americans. What do you think of -- what do you think of that?

HIGGINBOTHAM: Well, I think that you have to look at the entirety of the individual and yes, Grant owned one slave, freed that slave and his wife inherited some slaves as well.

But, if you look at what Grant did as president, eight years in office, supported the radical Republican reconstruction plan which involved the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution. Also involved the 1870 and 1871, 1875 Civil Rights Acts.

These were anti-discrimination provisions in the Constitution that are very significant. Grant also created the Justice Department and prosecuted, investigated, prosecuted and pretty much destroyed the original Klu Klux Klan. So, he deserves a great deal of credit, overall balance. His monument doesn't need to come down, it needs to stand up and stand strong.

LEMON: And no one is perfect. Mayor Landrieu, I said I was going to talk to you about this quickly, and I don't want to give you a short trip, you can respond to this as well. But you had these -- you had these monuments and statues removed in New Orleans, that was -- that was not an easy task. You got a lot of pushback for that.

LANDRIEU: It was not. It was dangerous. There were a lot of threats. But we had a lot of support from a lot of people, the people of New Orleans didn't think that those monuments reflected the diversity of New Orleans or our place in the American landscape.

[23:24:57]

But the professor is exactly right. You know, you have to take a lot of these individuals' person by person, but one group that you can't lump together is all of the folks that fought on behalf of the confederacy.

Because they fought to destroy the country for the purpose of preserving the institution of slavery. So, to me, that whole group is not really a debatable group. When you start talking about Jackson, and Lincoln, and Jeff -- I mean, and Washington and Jefferson. You take them all individually. It's a complicated history and then on top of that, by taking a monument down, you are not changing history. You are just changing how you choose to remember it and or revere it.

And on top of that you are giving people another opportunity to add context and texture and complexity to how we adorn our cities and our public spaces and how we choose to remember our history in its totality.

Because these monuments they didn't -- they didn't have a lot of permission to put them up. And they only reflect a small and very narrow and often wrong version of our history.

LEMON: Yes.

LANDRIEU: And I think it's, it warrants a brand-new look. And one that invites the complexity and invites the debate.

LEMON: Thank you both. I appreciate it. We'll continue this conversation, obviously.

HIGGINBOTHAM: Thank you.

LANDRIEU: Great to be with you. Thank you.

LEMON: For the time -- for time to come in the near future and probably even beyond. Thank you very much.

At least two dozen public health officials across the country have resigned, retired or been fired during the coronavirus pandemic and now states that pushed to reopen early are seeing a surge in coronavirus cases. We've got the latest, next.

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Data shows that 23 states are now seeing a rise in new coronavirus cases compared to last week, and the hot spots are states across the south and the west. More than 120,000 Americans have now died from coronavirus. One hundred and twenty thousand Americans did not have to die from this. Here's CNN's Nick Watt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Florida reopened early, now paying the price, fewer than a thousand cases reports at the day they began. Saturday is a new record, more than 4,000.

MAYOR DAN GELBER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: Right now, we know exactly what is happening. Young people are going out because they do think they are invincible. They are getting the virus and they are spreading it in to the community.

WATT (voice-over): Meanwhile, in New York, which waited until today to reopen restaurants and retail in the city --

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We went from the highest transmission rate in the United States to the lowest. The other places basically did reopening as a political exercise. It was politicized by the White House.

WATT (voice-over): Nationally, we had largely flattened the curve of new cases, but they are now rising again, fuelled by those early openers in the south and the west. Record high hospitalizations right now are in Arizona, the Carolinas, and Texas.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas and it must be corralled.

WATT (voice-over): Oklahoma, where the president just set a new record Sunday, nearly 500 new cases.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said to my people, slow the testing down, please.

WATT (voice-over): In Arizona, where the president will be tomorrow, the average new case count has quadrupled in just three weeks.

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself. It's the lack of global solidarity and global leadership.

WATT (voice-over): The U.S. is the global superpower and the largest economy on earth and natural leader, yet, this country can't even manage its own crisis. It makes up around four percent of the world's population but 25 percent of global COVID-19 cases and deaths. The White House is now prepping for a second wave.

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: We are filling the stockpile in anticipation of a possible problem in the fall.

WATT (voice-over): And the CDC expected to publish new guidance on masks any moment.

GELBER: The CDC has been late and they have not been giving us a great playbook if one at all, frankly.

WATT (voice-over): New Jersey chose a cautious path, only start some indoors barbers, tanning salons and such today, and the governor is still preaching caution.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): We are now going inside. Folks are going to have to be careful. Obey the rules. And this is a big step for us today.

WATT (voice-over): Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thank you very much, Nick Watt. The president is contradicting his own team, who say that he is just -- he was just joking when he said he told his staff to slow down testing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to clear up, there wasn't a direct order, if you will, to the staff to stop the testing.

D. TRUMP: No, but I think we put ourselves in a disadvantage. So instead of doing 25 million tests, let's say we did 10 million tests, we would look like we are doing much better because we would have far fewer cases. You understand that. I wouldn't do that, but I will say this, we do so much more than other countries. It makes us in a way look bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, the fact is though this president has been clear on how he feels about testing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D. TRUMP: If we stop testing right now, we would have very few cases, if any.

When you do more testing, you have more cases.

If we didn't do any testing, we would have very few cases.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So let's discuss. Dr. Jonathan Reiner is the director of the Cardiac Catheterization Program at George Washington University Hospital. Sir, thank you very much. Doctor, I appreciate you joining us. First, can I get your reaction to the president saying that he told his people to slow down the testing?

JONATHAN REINER, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION PROGRAM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Yeah, I was shocked when I heard that.

[23:35:00] REINER: Look, the original sin of our response to this pandemic really has been our pathetic ramp up to testing. The first patient that tested positive in the United States was tested positive on January 20th, and it took about seven weeks to test 20,000 people. That's about the number of people that we test in an hour now. It took almost seven weeks to test 20,000 people.

And, you know, many wonder whether that slow march to test effectively was all incompetence or whether it was also driven by a policy directive from the White House. And to hear the president articulate that was really chilling.

We have heard the president many times say that he didn't want his numbers to go up. He didn't want his numbers to go up when the Grand Princess was docked off the coast. He said in The Wall Street Journal about a week ago that testing was overrated.

And now to hear him say that he has told his aides to go slow on testing, to slow it down, makes a lot of sense. And if true, is an incredible breach of trust, really shocking.

LEMON: It's an interesting way that -- thing that he does to try to shape his own reality. If he doesn't like the poll numbers, the poll numbers are at faults here. Testing the people who are doing it --

REINER: Yeah.

LEMON: -- it's fake. If he doesn't like what the testing is showing, then the testing is faulty. It's never him. It's always something else that is faulty or bad or fake or what have you, but is never him.

By the way, two more Trump staffers tested positive for coronavirus after this weekend's rally. Before the rally, we heard about six staffers who tested positive, two of Secret Service people. That's 10 in total. Are you concerned that there could be a whole rash of positives even though the attendance numbers were only 6,000 or so?

REINER: Well, I'm sure there are. Let's talk about the White House staffers first, the advanced people. When they do an event like the event in Oklahoma this weekend, you know, sometimes, a couple dozen people will go to the venue at least a week before. So, it's probable that they acquired the virus in Oklahoma. But, it's not definite. They may have acquired it back at headquarters.

Remember the photo from a couple of weeks ago when the vice president visited Trump/Pence headquarters and they had several dozen people packed in a tight space, none of whom were wearing masks. So, it's possible that they got it back in Arlington here at Trump/Pence headquarters, which would mean that we are going to hear about a lot of people in the campaign who are coming down with the virus.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. Doctor, thank you. See you soon. I appreciate it.

REINER: My pleasure. Sure.

LEMON: We will be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The coronavirus is spreading across the sports world, infecting an alarming number of professional athletes. Six players on the Orlando Pride of National Women's Soccer League are tested positive, forcing the team to withdraw from the tournament that is supposed to mark a return to play.

So here to discuss are CNN contributor and NFL player for the New Orleans Saints, Malcolm Jenkins, and Dr. Michael Chang, professor of infectious diseases at UTHealth McGovern Medical School.

Gentlemen, thank you so much. Malcolm, you first. We have seen cases reported across nearly every major sport. The NFL is planning to start on time. The NBA is planning to resume its season on July 31st. Will players want to play if this keeps up and keeps getting worse?

MALCOLM JENKINS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think they are concerned. As we see, you know, college players who are coming back to campus for these voluntary workouts, they are not practicing, they're not playing games, and you're starting to see outbreaks there and across other sports.

I think -- I know the NFL is really watching kind of how these other sports handle it and see what they are doing. The NBA has the opportunity to isolate, you know, fully in one place where we don't have that option.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. Well, let's talk about that, OK, because you mentioned college, right? So, Dr. Chang, at least six colleges have reported coronavirus cases on their sports team since Friday. Louisiana State, LSU, where I attended, also quarantined dozens of football players as a precaution. Does this add another layer of complication since this, you know, it's also students, they are also students?

MICHAEL CHANG, PROFESSOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UTHEALTH'S MCGOVERN MEDICAL SCHOOL: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, universities have a responsibility to the health of their students not only as players but as, you know, members of their university community.

So, you know, and I think parents trust that these universities have their children, the students, kind of in their best interests. So, you know, I think adding the complexity of college campus is another major issue that needs to be really thought carefully about.

LEMON: Malcolm, you were saying?

JENKINS: I'm saying, you know, when we have students coming back on, you know, what happens then? Because, right now, this is the off- season for football and we are having problems already. So, what happens when you add a population and you add practice and contact? [23:45:03]

JENKINS: How does that work? I think we still have yet to see, you know, what those plans are.

LEMON: Dr. Chang, if this keeps up, the numbers keep going up, do you think leagues will have to reconsider whether it's safe to play? That goes for even college football.

CHANG: Yeah, absolutely. I think if cases continue to increase, you know, you really have to consider the safety of everyone involved. We have talked about before, it's not just the players and the staff, but everybody else involved in the running of the leagues and the games and the facilities.

And so, you know, I think you really need to consider the safety of everyone involved and be very cautious about pushing ahead with opening up all the locations and all the games.

LEMON: Yeah. So, I'm just wondering if this is going, you know, set the season back or if they are actually going to be able to play it. I don't know if college footballs are going to see like the NBA and the NFL and hockey league and so on and so forth really have to end their seasons because of coronavirus.

We will continue to check in. Malcolm, thank you. Dr. Chang, thank you so much, as well. I appreciate it.

Who will Senator Mitch McConnell -- absolutely. Who will Senator Mitch McConnell face in November? Tough questions, considering the Democratic primary to pick his challenger is heating up fast.

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LEMON: As America grapples with the deadly toll of racism, the protests over killings of people of color by police are having a direct impact on the democratic primary race in Kentucky, upending the battle over who will take on Senator Mitch McConnell in November. CNN's Jeff Zeleny explains what's going on. Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don, there is no question Democrats have had their eye on this seat for so long. As Mitch McConnell tries to seek a seventh term, they thought they had the race all planned out. Things here changed dramatically.

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CHARLES BOOKER, KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: This is happening in Kentucky right now. We are in a moment, y'all. We are in a moment.

ZELENY (voice-over): A sleepy senate primary race, suddenly electrified in Kentucky.

BOOKER: This time has to be different. For my cousins, for my little ones, for y'all, this has to be different. For Breonna, for Mr. McAtee, for everybody that has a hashtag.

ZELENY (voice-over): A national reckoning on racism and police brutality is resonating loudly here, where Louisville police killed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, an EMT, in March, and David McAtee, the owner of a barbeque restaurant in June.

Weeks of protests have injected fresh uncertainty into the campaign over who Democrats will choose in tomorrow's election to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): She is Kentucky's best chance to move on from Mitch McConnell.

ZELENY (voice-over): Amy McGrath, a former marine pilot, is the handpicked choice of party leaders in Washington. Her primary victory was seen as a foregone conclusion. But state Representative Charles Booker is now riding a wave of momentum.

BOOKER: From the hood to the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holler!

BOOKER: From the hood to the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE/UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holler!

ZELENY (On camera): You have said that you are campaigning from the hood, to the holler. Explain that.

BOOKER: Well, I'm trying to build a movement here by speaking to our common bonds and there's a reality that there are so many similarities in the hood that you would see in places, in the hollers of Eastern Kentucky and in the mountains that if we realize our common bonds, we can change the world.

ZELENY (voice-over): With a political awakening underway, McGrath has struggled to find her footing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you been on the ground in Louisville with the protesters in the last three days or in Lexington or elsewhere, Ms. McGrath?

AMY MCGRATH, KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: I have not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And why?

MCGRATH: Well, I've been with my family, and I've had some family things going on this past weekend. But I've been following the news and, you know, and watching.

ZELENY (voice-over): Booker turned that moment into a TV ad. While she's dramatically outspending him, $14 million to his $1 million on advertising alone, the closing momentum is on his side. The race is playing out here in Trump country where the president won the state four years ago by nearly 30 points.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): President Trump and Mitch McConnell, delivering for Kentucky.

ZELENY (voice-over): From the streets of Louisville to small towns like Campbellsville, Booker is making the case for progressive change. His policies closely align with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, both of whom have endorsed him.

BOOKER: We got to be that change. We got to bend that arc.

ZELENY (on camera): Do you wonder if he is too progressive for Kentucky?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes, I think about that. But it's time for a change. Everything is evolving, man.

ZELENY (voice-over): A more urgent test is the mechanics of voting. While tens of thousands have voted early, only one polling place will be open tomorrow in Louisville with precincts consolidated because of coronavirus.

BOOKER: It's been hard to vote in Kentucky for a lot of us for a long time. And what we're seeing now is really a continuation of that. It's just naturally going to disenfranchise people. And that is a concern.

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ZELENY: But that is the central question. How difficult will voting be tomorrow? When polls open at 6:00 a.m., normally, there would be 3,700 polling places across the state. Now, in the wake of this pandemic, only 170, and one in the city here of Louisville, but it will be a giant polling place.

We will see if Kentucky repeats the errors of Georgia and Wisconsin. Officials here say they believe they will not because many people have already voted absentee. Don?

LEMON: Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much. I appreciate it. And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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