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Don Lemon Tonight
President Trump Wants Law And Order But Fails To Denounce Violence; Yes To Protest, No To Violence; Trump Defends A Killer?; Coronavirus Continue To Infect And Kill; Biden's Edited Video Surfaces In Social Media; Left And Right Fighting Over Politics. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired August 31, 2020 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: You know who used to know this? McConnell. You just heard them. Republicans had high ground on this. They said, keep it separate. They tried repeating -- repeatedly during the Obama administration to ratchet up punishments for violating this law. Both sides do it, you say. But why don't both sides care?
A majority think most politicians are corrupt. This is why. That's why Mitch McConnell and his Republicans are counting on this, that you don't expect anything better from these people. And yet, he wanted you to expect better when it served him to do so.
Thank you for watching us tonight. D. Lemon, 34 seconds late, my fault, there he is.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I will let you get away with it.
CUOMO: Thank you.
LEMON: Because --
CUOMO: That's why I pay all the time --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: This is your first night back at 9 o'clock so I'll let you get away with it.
CUOMO: True. Feels good.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: It feels good.
LEMON: It's good to have you back. And isn't it good? It's like, not midnight or two in the morning?
CUOMO: Yes. I should be more excited. But as we were talking in the long-haul thing, I just don't have the emotional peaks or valleys that I had before I had COVID. I just don't get as excited and they tell me it's this clinical form of depression that they are seeing in a lot of post-COVID cases. I talk to Don about this all the time. He's trying to cheer me up --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I was just going to say, are we sharing what we talk about everything?
CUOMO: But I'm saying, you know, I want people to know.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: Because I keep hearing it from them and they are so desperate, Don.
LEMON: Yes.
CUOMO: They are so worried that they are alone. And I'm experiencing the same thing. I had somebody else on tonight, Alyssa Milano has got the same stuff. This whole community out there unfortunately which is why, you know, guys like you and me have such urgency about getting ahead of this COVID thing.
LEMON: Yes. And what you can do as i always tell you, deal with the personal. You'll deal with that. We'll deal with that. But you are in a position, you have a platform where you can inform the public. And you should take solace in that that you can help people and as I say you can keep it real.
CUOMO: Yes.
LEMON: Because we keep it real here. And just like you -- just like you talked about Mitch McConnell and the hypocrisy of the Republicans. We have to keep it real. And I think it's where you place your focus which I will tell you in just moments when I open with my take tonight about keeping focus and what's exactly real.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: I'll be listening. I may not remember it. But that's not about you.
LEMON: No.
CUOMO: It's the COVID.
LEMON: No. But you keep it. We got you. We got you.
CUOMO: Thank you.
LEMON: Don't worry about it. And a lot of people have you. And guess what.
(CROSSTALK)
CUOMO: I need you and I appreciate you. I'll be watching.
LEMON: You know what you have the most important thing you got? CUOMO: Hair.
LEMON: Well you don't really have that. Come on, let's not tell the truth about that.
CUOMO: What do I have?
LEMON: You have the church ladies with the hats on your side. When you have them on your side, they pray for you, they got your back. You're not going anywhere. You got the church lady with the hatch. You got my mom crowd. You're good. So just relax.
CUOMO: I'm trying.
LEMON: All right. I love you.
CUOMO: Thank you for the love.
LEMON: I'll see you soon.
CUOMO: I love you, D. Lemon.
LEMON: I love you too, brother.
CUOMO: I'll see you tomorrow.
LEMON: I'll see you tomorrow.
This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don lemon.
So, when I say keep it real, this is what I'm talking about. And placing focus where it should be placed which is what we should be doing especially in the media. Right?
So, I'm always going to tell you the truth here. I'm always -- and if I screw it up, I'm going to tell you I screwed up and I'm going to apologize. But here's the truth. OK? So just listen to me, always, always. I will tell you the truth. No shiny objects here.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
You're going to hear a lot of lies from the president this week and moving forward. OK? You already have. So here's the thing because, the liberal media, the liberal media. Not so sure about that because we're -- you know, we talk about the president a lot. We give him the focus.
So, I want to kick this show off tonight with the truth. And that is the truth about what Joe Biden says about violence and rioting. Not the lies. But we're going to start with the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm very clear about all of this. Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It's lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted. Violence will not bring change. It will only bring destruction. And it's wrong in every way. It divides instead of unite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, do we really need to hear more lies from the president? No. That is what Americans need to hear, the truth. We need to hear our leaders denouncing the violence in our streets, denouncing it. We need to hear them tell us the truth that rioting divides instead of unites.
[22:05:00]
But this president can't say that. He cannot denounce the violence. He just cannot. He cannot admit that it divides instead of unites. He can't do that. Here's why. Because election day is just 63 days away. He's desperate. And he desperately needs to change the subject. He can't run on his record, really. Think about it. Think about the truth. Not the propaganda videos that you saw last week.
America -- Donald Trump did this. Here's the truth. This is the record. He can't do that with more than six million cases of coronavirus in this country. Not with nearly 184,000 Americans dying, losing their lives in this pandemic, all happening on his watch.
Not on the hypothetical that if somebody else was in charge because he is in charge. This is on his watch. He cannot do it with his favorability rating a dismal 31 percent. Even after everybody in his convention tried to convince you with all those propaganda videos and speeches, not to believe what you have seen with your own eyes and heard with your own ears from this president for years.
You want truth, a jolt of truth. You have tuned to the right place. OK? He cannot run on any of that. So here is stoking fear. He is stoking division. Because he thinks that's what he needs to do to win. It's a tactic, maybe effective if you fall for the OK-doke. If you don't listen to the truth, if you don't do your research, if you don't -- and if you don't watch this show, you'll probably fall for the OK- doke. It's as simple as that.
The president spent about two minutes on the pandemic, two, during his press conference tonight. OK? Two minutes. How many people did I say died? One hundred eight thousand more, or more. How many cases? Six million. Two minutes, even refusing to take a question from CNN's Kaitlan Collins about it.
Instead, devoting and here's the talking points propaganda election scheming, devoting most of the time to an attack on Joe Biden. Refusing to call for an end to the violence in the cities, in the cities like Portland where Aaron J. Danielson was shot to death in clashes between pro-Trump groups and left-wing protestors that was on Saturday night.
His death mourned by the far-right group Patriot Prayer. But the president well, he wants you to think that Biden supports the violence, the violent rioters even though as a president knows Joe Biden had specifically denounced the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The violent rioters share Biden's same talking points and they share his same agenda for our nation. And even his strange speech today that he made in Pittsburg, he didn't mention the fact and he didn't mention the far- left. He didn't mention the far-left or for what I saw I don't believe he mentioned the word antifa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Joe Biden put him on his heels today. And as far as the president's absurd claim that Biden who has lived his political life in the public eye for nearly 50 years and was vice president for eight of those years is a radical extremist of some sort? OK. I'll let Joe Biden handle that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You know me. You know my heart. You know my story, my family story. Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?
I want a safe America, safe from COVID-19, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. Let me be crystal clear, safe from four more years of Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president tonight claiming his supporters in Portland who roll through the streets spraying a form of pepper spray firing paint balls as well, he is saying they were peaceful. Claiming to our very own Kaitlan Collins that firing paint balls at protestors was a defensive mechanism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You are just criticizing Joe Biden saying he didn't mention far- left or antifa during his speech today. You said he wanted to talk about left-wing political violence.
TRUMP: Yes.
COLLINS: But I notice you did not mention that your supporters were also in Portland this weekend firing paint ball guns at people, some form of pepper spray. So, do you want -- do you also take this chance to condemn what your supporters did in Portland, Mr. President?
[22:10:02]
TRUMP: Well, I understand they had large numbers of people that were supporters but that was a peaceful protest. And paint is not -- and paint is a defensive Americanism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Did anybody really buy that? OK, if you did, pay attention class in front up here to the desk at the black board. OK? Let's try to imagine a group of black people, mostly men riding around the streets of a major city firing paint ball guns and shooting pepper spray at people. What would the man who gassed peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square so he could cross the street for a photo-op say about them? What would police do about them? OK.
The president also defending the white 17-year-old Trump supporter who is accused of deadly shooting, of the deadly shooting of two protestors in Kenosha last week. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you condemn the actions of vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse.
TRUMP: We're looking at all of it. That was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw. And he was trying to get away from them, I guess. It looks like. And he fell. And then they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we're looking at right now and it's under investigation. But I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been. He probably would have been killed.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think --
TRUMP: But it's under -- it's under investigation.
LEMON: Very fine people 2020. That's what that is, on both sides, on both sides.
OK, the truth again. Here's what the criminal complaint alleges about Rittenhouse. That he made a call on his cell phone saying, quote, "I just killed somebody." He did that as he ran away by the way in front of the whole bund of police. People yelling. The guy just killed someone.
So, in spite -- despite the president's defense the fact is Kyle Rittenhouse has been charged with homicide in the deaths of two protestors. That answer that we heard just now, that we heard today, I should say earlier, we just played it, was first asked of the president over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's some folks who said conservatives are holding up this young man as, you know, having done so within his rights so sort of self-protect. And I'm wondering if you read much about this case, if you have concerns about ordinary residents with guns in situations like this and what danger that might present?
TRUMP: Well, you know, that's under investigation right now. And they'll be reporting back to me over the next 24 hours, 48 hours maybe max. And we'll have a comment about it. But that is right now. We're being -- we're looking at it very, very carefully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Very care -- very strongly that's always a thing. We're considering that. Looking at this very strongly. It's going to be a powerful defense. And whenever, it's going to be strong, big. Like nothing you've ever seen. Most people didn't know. Then that question was asked of Kayleigh McEnany today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president condemn the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse who was accused of shooting of some of the protesters.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is not going to again weigh in on that. You can ask him this evening. He may weigh in further. But at the moment he's not weighing in to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. And when the question came again tonight as you heard, the president did not condemn him. He defended him. You can get mad if you want because if you don't agree I'm just telling you the truth.
So, like I said, this president desperately needs to change the subject, determined to terrify you. He wants to -- that's what he wants. He wants to make you scared. He wants to make you think that the entire country couple city blocks of people who are rioting or looting. It shouldn't happen. Not condoning that. That should not happen.
But it's not the entire city suburbs where we've dealt with unrest in this country. We have the mechanisms who deal with the unrest in this country. We've done it before many times. And here we are. He wants to terrify you into voting for him because he is desperate. He thinks it is his only hope. And quite frankly, it probably is.
Time and time again, he is resorting to lies to do it. Retweeting a poster just yesterday falsely blaming Black Lives Matter and antifa for an assault on New York City's subway last year.
[22:15:03]
That poster was later suspended, meaning the poster online. The fact is that assault had absolutely nothing to do with either Black Lives Matter or antifa. The truth is a black man who has been arrested repeatedly for offenses on the subway shoved a white woman into a subway train in Brooklyn. It is awful. It should never happen.
But it was not Black Lives Matter. It was not antifa. It's a horrible crime. It happens all the time. It should not happen. None of that matters to this president. The truth about it because he's trying to scare you. That does not matter to him. All that matters is another opportunity to lie about violence and terrifying you.
What we could try to bring us together. Talk about how the country is gotten passed points like this. What we need to do in order to get passed these points. And how Americans need to come together, work together, we're all Americans. We're all in this together.
Nope. Separate, trying to scare you into voting for him. All that matters is his attempt to change the subject. Talk about saying the quiet part out loud here. The departing White House counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, openly saying that chaos and violence are good for the president's reelection message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who is best on public safety and law and order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Like I said, this president is desperately stoking fear and division in America because of his own fear, his fear that he will lose in November. That is what he is afraid of.
So, here's the thing. Everything that I just said to you and showed you, that's happening on Donald Trump's watch. What he's projecting about what could happen is a fantasy or hypothetical. We live in the now, in the present. He is the president. And in this present, the president is defending a supported charge with homicide while he tries to convince you that it is Joe Biden who supports violence?
Ryan Lizza, Amanda Carpenter, and Cedric Alexander, I can't wait to hear what they have to say after this break.
[22:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, the president telling a whole lot of lies about Joe Biden tonight., doubling down on his strategy of using fear to pit Americans against each other.
Let's discuss now. Ryan Lizza is here, Amanda Carpenter, and Cedric Alexander. Good evening one and all. So glad to have you. I hope I was clear enough in the open about what I -- my perspective on all of this.
So, Ryan, I'm going to start with you. The president has been trying to paint Biden as a supporter of violence. But it was President Trump out there today defending a supporter who has been charged with murder. What gives here?
RYAN LIZZA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he, President Trump keeps setting these tests for Biden that are incredibly easy for him to pass. Right? First, he lays out this argument all year that Joe Biden is cognitively impaired, right, and that he can't string sentences together. And then lo and behold, we watch Biden at the convention and he can deliver a speech. Right?
This is a part similar to that, now it's he is a fan of the violence left and refuses to condemn violence. Again, in what world is Joe Biden not going to condemn violence? I mean, the entire Democratic primary the case against him was that he was too tough on crime. Not the entire case. But that was a big part of it.
So, this was as very, very easy bar for Biden to clear. And now they are making the same mistake politically again today saying he didn't specifically call out violent antifa protestors. I don't know what the Biden campaign is going to do but it seems like it will be easy for them to put out a statement saying yes, we condemn it too.
So just on the politics level it's sort of amateurish. On the more serious way for our country and our democracy the fact that the president of the United States is defending what went on with Kyle Rittenhouse when one, he doesn't know all of the facts and the criminal complaint is pretty severe.
I recognize that he does have -- his a lawyer say they don't have a defense. That he felt under threat and that's what shootings were about. Fine. That will all be litigated. But for the president to interject himself and put him on the side of that person and refuse to condemn right wing, essentially militia violence in the streets of America is kind of scary, Don. Frankly, I never thought I'd see that.
LEMON: Yes. He should have a defense. We're all entitled to a defense as Americans. Everyone is entitled to a defense. And today Joe Biden says he defended violence of all kinds from everyone. I would imagine in that everyone thing that would include antifa. Yes, condemned violence, I should say. He condemned violence of all types. So, I would imagine that includes antifa and anybody else.
So, Amanda, I want to bring you in. Because the vice president is set out to remind voters that violence is happening in Trump's America. Here's what he said. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[22:24:57]
BIDEN: Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years. Poisoning how we talk to one another. Poisoning how we treat one another. Poisoning the values this nation has always held dear, poisoning our very democracy.
Now, it's just little over 60 days. We have a decision to make. Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make a permanent part. We make it a permanent part of our nation's character?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Biden also came out with a statement, Amanda, following Trump's presser. Here's what he says. He says, I urge the president to join me in saying that while peaceful protests is a right, a necessity, violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it. If Donald Trump can't say that, then he is unfit to be president and his preference for more violence not less is clear.
You believe Vice President Biden boxed President Trump in today. Tell me why you say that.
AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I do, because his speech was so clear. I will say I was among Republicans who are posing Trump who were getting nervous this weekend that Joe Biden wasn't doing enough. He wasn't being nimble. He was going to get creamed on this issue if he didn't do something fast.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You're not alone.
CARPENTER: And the speech today was --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I got to tell you, Amanda, I'm going to give you plenty of time. Everywhere I've gone for the past couple of days, everyone said the same thing that you are saying, whether they were Republicans or Democrats. What is going on? Why -- the same sentiment.
So, I understand what you're saying and quite frankly, it's exhausting to hear so many people, you know, approach me and talk about these things. Because when I'm off, I really don't want to talk about work, but go on. Sorry for interrupting.
CARPENTER: No, I mean, I will say, among the Trump, right, I do think it is over hyped. But it is their belief that somehow, he's held hostage by the progressive left and he's unwilling to speak out against the protestors who are doing, you know, real damage in the streets.
And so, the speech was good, particularly not so much his critique of Trump, which I agree with. But his words where he said rioting is not protesting. Burning buildings is lawlessness and will be prosecuted. I mean, that's a message that needs to be up at the top volume on repeat because it does box Donald Trump in so clearly.
Because Biden has a clear view of what's going on in the streets and he can tell right from wrong and can condemn violence on both sides. And so the side by side of Joe Biden doing that in a speech, and then the White House having no comment? Really? On Kyle Rittenhouse.
And I just wonder why is Donald Trump going to Kenosha then? What can he possibly say if he doesn't have a clear view of what happened here? You can't have a law and order message if you can't say that a guy who gunned down people in the street is in the wrong. And he can't do it. And so, it's very confusing.
But just because Joe Biden had a good message today doesn't mean he can take the week off.
LEMON: Right.
CARPENTER: This has to be repeated over and over because I am very worried. He doesn't have the ability to penetrate down on that, you know, Facebook level to the swing voters who aren't watching the speech in the middle of the day. Aren't watching cable news and just hear well, Donald Trump backs the blue.
LEMON: Yes. And especially in a media environment where I said earlier in the show. Joe Biden gave a big speech tonight but everyone leads with the lies of the president. So, spreading the lies more rather than what the truth is, and we should all be cognizant of that.
Cedric, I want to get you in here. And I hope your shot manages to stay up. What is it -- what message does that send when President Trump is essentially justifying Kyle Rittenhouse's actions offering up excuses for him and also describing the caravan of his supporters that went into Portland as peaceful protestors despite what they did, the paint balls and so on.
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW EXECUTIVES: Well, you know, to many people, and I'm going to tell you, quite frankly too, Don, a lot of police officers across this country who go out here and do this job every day, one thing they want to be seen as someone who is carrying out justice for everyone regardless of what side of the aisle you may have to sit on.
I think we're at a place now where what this country is begging for more than anything else is someone to find a way that direct us out of this mess that we're in. And that's not happening. People are begging and hurting for leadership.
I talk to folks all the time. I talk to chiefs all across the country who are friends of mine who are frustrated in terms of trying to keep those relationships going strong in their community. But when they see the footage that they see, it created so much distress for them and for people in the community as well, too.
So, we need people right now. We need leadership, quite frankly that is going to talk about what's wrong. And denounces what's wrong.
[22:30:02]
Because the politics that are being played at this particular moment, particularly in this environment of COVID and everything else that's going on here in this country. People are becoming very depressed. People are becoming distressed. People are becoming very anxious. And I say that to you, Don, --
LEMON: Yes.
ALEXANDER: -- with my psychologist hat on. Because I get to talk to a lot of people, I get to talk to a lot of professionals and it's just not a good place. We need the president now in both of these gentlemen who are running for president. We really wish that they just could run a race between the Republicans and the Democrats. That just didn't bring in all this meanness and nastiness and hatefulness --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And not division. Yes.
ALEXANDER: Because it's just dividing and becoming worse and worse every day quite frankly.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you all. I appreciate your time. Thanks so much. I'll see you soon.
LIZZA: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: You know, it is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. With over six million confirmed cases and more than 183,000 deaths. This president might want to change the subject but he can't ignore the reality of coronavirus in America. That's next.
[22:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The United States continuing to outpace the rest of the world when it comes to new coronavirus cases. There have now been over six million confirmed cases of the virus here in the U.S.
Let's discuss now. Dr. Larry Brilliant is here. He is a CNN medical analyst and an epidemiologist. Good to see you, doctor. Thank you so much for joining us.
LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALSYT: Good to see you, Don.
LEMON: The U.S. passing another terrible milestone. Six million confirmed cases now. So, with that, I want to ask you about a popular claim with some on the right that was even retweeted by the president.
The claim is that the CDC has supposedly said only 6 percent of people listed as coronavirus deaths actually died from COVID-19. Give us the facts first. That's not what the CDC said. So, can you clarify what they actually said for the audience, and everyone, please spread this on your social media so that people get the actual truth about it instead of the conservative media bubble and echo chamber. Go on, doctor.
BRILLIANT: What was saying that we have underreported the deaths from COVID-19 is wrong. I mean, saying that 6 percent of all the deaths we're on were due to COVID, the other 94 were due to something else is wrong. In fact, it's the other way around. We are underreporting COVID deaths because we're requiring that every person who died also have a positive test. And we don't have enough positive tests.
State after state are showing that there are far more deaths from COVID than they are actually reporting. And we have been using another metric. And this is where the confusion comes in. We've been looking at excess deaths. We're comparing the number of deaths in 2020 to those in 2019 and 2018 and seeing what percent of the deaths are occurring from unknown reasons and put down as pneumonia or something like that.
And there's a great deal of more deaths that are caused by COVID than are actually being reporting. So, it's just wrong to say that only 6 percent of the deaths were -- in fact, I'm just aghast at hearing that. LEMON: Well, this is where we are, doctor. I'm sure you know that.
So, the Washington Post is reporting that Scott Atlas, Scott Atlas is a neuroradiologist who is working in the White House as a pandemic adviser. That Scott Atlas has been pushing the president to embrace herd immunity.
I heard this early on from people I knew and it was just I kept sending them the fact checks on herd immunity and they just -- you know. Dunning-Kruger. Google Dunning-Kruger, please.
So, Atlas is pushing back on the reporting. But what does that tell us. You know, if that's the way that White House is looking at this fight against the virus?
BRILLIANT: Well, I think it means he doesn't understand herd immunity. Originally a concept to say how many vaccinations do you have to do to reach the level that the virus stops transmitting in the country. We think that the virus would have to infect or people would have to be immunized by about two-thirds or 70 percent of the entire country.
In order to get that way through a vaccine, we're hoping that will be without very many deaths at all. But if you want to go the route of letting everybody get the disease and reaching herd immunity that way, we've already got 185,000 deaths with just six million cases. If we want to go to 250 million cases at the rate we've gone so far, we would be killing two million people.
The route that he suggests is a route that takes us to two or more million deaths. I don't think he really means to do that. I think he is trying to -- I think he's a little bit confused about the way we want to get to herd immunity. I want to get to herd immunity through vaccination.
LEMON: Yes. You're being awfully kind. But thank you, doctor. I appreciate you joining us. I'll see you soon.
BRILLIANT: He's a neighbor.
LEMON: Yes. Well, you know.
BRILLIANT: He lives in northern California.
LEMON: OK. All right. You have to be kind. Thank you, doctor. I appreciate it. I'll see you soon. Be safe.
BRILLIANT: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: A video of the legendary Harry Belafonte falling asleep in an interview in 2011 it's parading around. Right? In the internet, edited to look like it's Joe Biden who fell asleep in that interview. It's not. It's Harry Belafonte.
But take this. President Trump social media director shared it anyway.
[22:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, so take this, everyone. Several Twitter accounts getting caught manipulating videos to make political attacks all of them in support of President Trump.
Congressman Steve Scalise the number two Republican in the House posting a video that splices together footage from an interview between progressive act -- activist Ady Barkan and Joe Biden. Remember, Barkan has ALS. He speaks using a computerized artificial voice.
Here's what you're looking at now up on your screen, the original video. But the now deleted clip tweeted out by Scalise splices together words from different questions to make it sound as if Barkan is asking the presidential candidate if he agrees that they can quote, "redirect some of the funding for police." In the doctored video, Biden says yes.
It was a blatant attempt to mislead about Biden's stance on police reform by inserting the words for police to Barkan's question. Facts first, OK? Biden has said that he does not support defunding the police. He does not support defunding the police.
President Trump's social media director Dan Scavino posting a video clip edited to make it looked like Joe Biden is sleeping during an interview.
[22:45:02]
Now labeled, right, it's label manipulated on social media. This one is just so flagrantly fake. It's really a local news interview from 2011 with the actor Harry Belafonte who appears to be unaware that he is on camera. Belafonte is denouncing the doctored video and saying please vote these guys out.
Remember, Dan Scavino isn't just a supporter. He is the deputy chief of staff for communications. And you pay his salary.
The Trump campaign also flagged today for manipulating video tweeting out a clip of Joe Biden saying you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America. Leaving out what Biden says before and after. Contact is key. Context is key, I should say.
So, in a context here is Biden making the argument that the violence that we see is happening in Donald Trump's America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Since they have no agenda or vision for a second term. Trump and Pence are running on this and I find it fascinating. Quote, "you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America." And what's their proof? The violence we're seeing in Donald Trump's America.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Not surprisingly the Trump war room account saying that it was
all a joke. Remember, as a joke. It's sarcasm, whatever. OK, so it's not funny. And it's not honest. And begs the question, if you have to change something dishonestly manipulate video or leave out context, are you really winning the argument? The answer is no.
And by the way, when people are doing interviews especially a number of interviews or, you know, sometimes they rest their eyes between interviews. Not unheard of. Not unusual. But to make it seem like there's something bad about it, come on or to say that it's the former vice president when it's not. It's Harry Belafonte.
Up next, President Trump trying to divide Americans and extremists are seizing on that. Will all of this turn into dangerous arms race between the far-right and the far-left?
[22:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The country is shock by the fatal shooting of two people and the unrest in Kenosha last week. The 17-year-old Trump supporter, Kyle Rittenhouse - that's his name, charged with homicide. Over the weekend, the shooting at a protest in Portland leaves another man dead reportedly wearing a Patriot Prayer hat, which is a far-right group. Police have not yet identified the suspect.
Let's discuss now. Daryl Johnson is here. Daryl Johnson is a former DHS senior domestic analyst. He is also an honorary board member for United Against Hate, and the author of "Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America's Extremist Heart."
So good to have you on. Thank you, Daryl, for joining us. I appreciate it.
DARYL JOHNSON, FORMER SENIOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM ANALYST, DHS: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: You say the action of far-right groups causing some far-left groups to begin arming themselves and this is basically turning into an arms race. Daryl, this is chilling if this is true.
JOHNSON: It is true and I've been seeing the video footage of the shootings, seeing other people carrying hand guns that did not discharge, so I think we're at the beginning of this arms race and this kind of tit-for-tat revenge retaliation type shootings.
LEMON: So then what do we do? How do we stop this? Because no one wants what you're saying.
JOHNSON: Yes. And these protests are actually kind of fulfilling what the militias have been predicting and want to facilitate in fear of the civil war that's happening. And so, this, you know, looting and arson activity and the street fighting is really reinforcing that notion of civil war is coming.
LEMON: Very well put. Go on. Did you want to say something else?
JOHNSON: Yes. So, what can we do about it? These people shouldn't be bringing firearms to protests. Some cities and states have banned it but others have not. We need to separate this two opposing protest groups by forming a perimeter if we have to keep them away, to form a buffer. By having this two opposing protest groups that have very strong opinions on both sides of the issue, you're just asking for trouble.
LEMON: So, the president turned his briefing today into a tirade against his political enemies and antifa, but when asked about his own supporters by our Kaitlan Collins, president had this to say. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Your supporters were also in Portland this weekend firing paintball guns at people, some form of pepper spray, so do you want to also take this chance to condemn what your supporters did in Portland, Mr. President?
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Well, I understand they had large numbers of people that were supporters but that was a peaceful protest. And paint is not -- and paint is a defensive mechanism. Paint is not bullets.
COLLINS: These are paint --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Your supporters -- your supporters, and they are your supporters indeed, shot a young gentleman who -- and killed him not with paint but with a bullet. And I think it's disgraceful. These people, they protested peacefully, they went in very peacefully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So, here's what you say, Daryl. You said the president's efforts to lay all the blame for the chaos at the feet of the left is disinformation and ignores the real, a real threat. What is that?
JOHNSON: Yes. So, he's piecemealing who he's condemning. He didn't say these remarks after Albuquerque when a militia affiliate shot a protester.
[22:55:03]
He didn't say this after Kenosha when another militia member killed two people and wounded a third. It's only when the left is linked to violence that he calls it out as terrorism. And I find it hypocritical.
The white supremacist violence has been going on not only for his entire administration but for the previous administration. Yet this president can't call out that threat and condemn it.
LEMON: Daryl, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
JOHNSON: You're welcome.
LEMON: Thanks so much.
Joe Biden, strongly and unequivocally condemning the violence in America's streets. The president refusing to call it, for an end to it. What they're saying, that's next.
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LEMON: Top of the hour. This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.
Thanks for watching, everyone. Eleven p.m. here on the East Coast, following multiple big stories tonight.
[23:00:03]
Here's the breaking news. The president, and this is incredible, comparing police shootings -- I can't believe I'm saying this.
