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Don Lemon Tonight
Trump Denies Atlantic's Report; Joe Biden Ask Trump to Apologize; Trump Skeptical of Alexei Navalny's Poisoning; IHME's Grim Predictions; Bill Barr's Data Obsolete. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired September 04, 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]
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I'm sure that's part of your advice as well.
ERIN BROMAGE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS DARTMOUTH: It is.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you, Erin Bromage. We appreciate you joining us here on CNN.
BROMAGE: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Thank you.
So, everyone, top of the hour. This is CNN Tonight. I'm Don Lemon.
Ten p.m. is when usually I join you. So, I am glad that you are here with us on this Friday evening, this long holiday weekend.
The president wants you to believe that he would never say anything bad about members of the military. He wants you to believe that he didn't call fallen U.S. soldiers losers and suckers, as the Atlantic reported. He wants you to believe that he didn't bail on a ceremony at an American cemetery in France because he didn't want to get his hair to get wet in the rain. He wants you to forget what you've heard him say about members of the military for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is nobody that feels more strongly about our soldiers, our wounded warriors, our soldiers that died in war than I do. It's a hoax. Just like the fake dossier was a hoax. Just like the Russia, Russia, Russia. It was a hoax. No collusion. Just like so many other things. It's a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's like a broken record, a bad record. It's just one that the needle keeps sticking, hoax. He says it all the time. He used the same kneejerk excuse that he used over Russia.
Now CNN confirmed has not independently confirmed that Atlantic report. But we do know it's, is that, this president has repeatedly disparaged members of the military. We know that. And he did it again tonight when he threw his former chief of staff, General John Kelly right under the bus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know John Kelly. He was with me, didn't do a good job, had no temperament. And ultimately, he was petered out. He got -- he was exhausted. This man was totally exhausted. He wasn't even able to function in the last number of months. He was not able to function. He was sort of a tough guy, by the time he got eaten up in this world. It's a different world than he was used to. He was unable to function. And I told him, John, you're going to have to go. Please give me a letter of resignation. And we did that. And now he goes out and bad mouths.
Now there are people that are jealous. There are people that are upset that they're not here anymore. There are people that we've done an incredible job the virus came in and now we're doing an incredible job. Again, we're going to build it up bigger than it was before the virus came in. But I don't know that it was him. I haven't seen that. I mean, see anonymous. But it could have been a guy like a John Kelly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Remember when you were a kid and you would -- your parents ask you something you would deny and just wouldn't shut up. And they would say, you know, why are you talking so much if you didn't do it? Or we say as adults, doth protest too much. Hey, Don, did you say that? No, I didn't. Does that sound like something I would say? OK, next question.
Instead, well, this person, I didn't -- it's a hoax, loser, they're upset. They got this, they're mad at this person. They're trying to get me -- everything, me, me, me, me, me. Everybody is out to get me. Look how horribly I'm treated.
He can't say it doesn't sound like him because it sounds exactly like something he would say. And by the way, he is speculating that John Kelly might have been a source for that Atlantic article. He doesn't know. We don't know that to be true, neither does he, randomly detouring into false claims that he's doing an incredible job with the pandemic. What does it have to do with that? He is saying he's doing an incredible job with the pandemic on the day the death toll in this country passed 187,000.
And can we remember that regardless of John Kelly, you may disagree with him on a lot of things. On policy, on a lot of things and the way he conducted himself or something, whatever. That's your business. But John Kelly is a retired four-star general, a member of a gold star family. His son died, made the ultimate sacrifice.
The irony seems to be completely lost on this president that he is attacking a military man while trying to deny he tack -- attacked members of the military. I don't attack members of the military, would never do that. I have too much respect.
You're attacking a member of the military. It's interesting that General Kelly hasn't spoken out to deny the story. Now it would be a good time for the anonymous sources to come forward. To attach their names to the story of the president's claim. That he claimed didn't happen, I should say.
[22:05:07]
Compare all of that to a furious Joe Biden, demanding that if the story is true, the president must apologize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Quite frankly, if what is written in the Atlantic is true, it's disgusting. And it affirms what most of us believe to be true. That Donald Trump is not fit to be the job of the president and be the commander in chief.
The president reportedly said, I emphasize reportedly said, that those who sign up to serve instead of doing something more lucrative are suckers. Let me be clear. When my son was an assistant U.S. attorney and he volunteered to go to Kosovo while the war was going on as a civilian. He wasn't a sucker.
My son volunteered and joined the United States military as the attorney general, he went to Iraq for a year. He won the bronze star and other commendations. He wasn't a sucker. The servicemen and women he served with particularly those did not come home were not losers.
If these statements are true, the president should humbly apologize to every gold star mother and father and every blue star family that he's denigrated and insulted. Who the heck does he think he is?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Good question. Good question. But Joe Biden says he should absolutely apologize. He must apologize. But do you think this -- the man doesn't apologize for anything, nothing.
Does this president actually expect you to believe him when he says that he would never disparage our military? Remember, like you have to have credibility. Right? We have been talking about the credibility gap in this administration.
So, in times like these, if someone is actually attacking you, if someone is actually spreading something that's false about you, and you have actually built credibility, then you can come out and say that is not something I would never do. And guess what, people would believe you.
Because to believe that is -- to do that you have to ignore all the many, many times you heard him do exactly that, out loud, on camera, for all to hear, and on Twitter, on social media for all to see. Let's remember what he said about John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I supported him. He lost. He let us down. But, you know, he lost. So, I never liked him as much after that because I don't like losers. But Frank let me get to it. He hit me --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.
TRUMP: He's not war hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.
TRUMP: He is a war --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five and a half years --
TRUMP: He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured. OK? I hate to tell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Asked tonight if he regretted saying that about McCain. The president answered I say what I say, which sounds an awful lot like his statement about the pandemic. It is what it is.
He called John McCain a loser and doubled down criticizing him for being a war hero. Donald Trump who got a draft deferment for bone spurs in his heel. Slamming John McCain's wartime service? Really? John McCain who was awarded the silver star, the bronze star, the legion of merit, two purple hearts and the distinguish flying cross, that John McCain.
Look at your screen. This is a man who served in the United States Navy for 23 years who was a prisoner of war for nearly six years. Look at your screen. Nearly six years in the infamous and brutal North Vietnamese prison known as Hanoi Hilton. A man who, though he was crippled in the crash of his bomber, refused to be released before American prisoners who had been held longer than him, who was then tortured and kept in solitary confinement for more than two years, who bore the scars of that experience of the rest of his life, heroes, who weren't captured, you prefer.
[22:10:00]
This is a John McCain who went on to serve in the House and the Senate and ran for president in 2008. A man who served his country until the day he died. And Donald Trump wouldn't even fly the flag at half-staff until he was pressured into it two days after John McCain's death. Then he complained that he wasn't thanked for approving the funeral the senator wanted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I don't care about this. I didn't get a thank you. That's OK. We sent him on the way. But I wasn't a fan of John McCain. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Every single time. Come on, people. Do you hear what comes out of this man's mouth? I would never say that. I would never that. I would never say that. Do you see the way he treated John McCain who was a war hero, a prisoner of war? But I would never say that about men and women of uniform. Please.
Donald Trump has insulted gold star families. You heard from Khzir Khan just a few minutes ago. Donald trump told the widow of a fallen soldier her husband knew what he signed up for and on and on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: His wife if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president said that he knew what he signed up for. But it hurts anyway. And that was, it made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it. He couldn't remember my husband's name. If my husband is out here fighting for our country, and he risk his life for our country. Why can't you remember his name?
TRUMP: I don't know him. I don't know as he says the lieutenant colonel. I understand somebody had the misfortune of calling him mister and he corrected them. I never saw the man. I understand now he wears his uniform when he goes in.
No, I don't know Vindman at all. When you look at Vindman, the person he reports to, he said horrible things. Avoid the chain of command, leaked, did a lot of bad things. And so, we sent him on the way to a much different location. And the military can handle him any way they want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said repeatedly to Americans that after Iran retaliated for the Soleimani strike, no Americans were injured. We now know at least 11 U.S. servicemen were airlifted to Iraq. Can you explain the discrepancy?
TRUMP: No, I heard that they had headaches and a couple of other things. But I would say -- and I can report it is not serious, not very serious.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you don't consider potential traumatic brain injuries are serious?
TRUMP: They told me about it, numerous days later, you have to ask the Department of Defense. No, I don't consider them very serious injuries relative to other injuries that I've seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I'm just playing you back his words. I don't want to hear it on from any -- on social media from anyone, any apologists for this president. All I'm doing is playing back the president's words in the context of what he said. And what he meant.
That is what the President of the United States everything I play, everything I'm tell you is the truth. If you want to hear it, stay tuned. If you don't, ba-bye.
This president ignored U.S. intelligence saying that Russia is paying the Taliban to kill U.S. troops. Not even bringing it up on a call with Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been widely reported that U.S. has intelligence indicating that Russia paid bounties or offered to pay bounties to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers.
TRUMP: Right. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had a phone call with Vladimir Putin on July 23. Did you bring up this issue?
TRUMP: No, that was a phone call to discuss other things. And frankly, that's an issue that many people said was fake news. It was a fraud.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who said it was fake news?
TRUMP: I think a lot of people. If you look at some of the wonderful folks from the Bush administration, some of them not any friends of mine were saying that it's a fake issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Outrageous. Outrageous really. Outrageous. The commander in chief just doesn't seem to care about American heroes putting their lives on the line and doesn't seem to care about their families. Now what he does seem to care about? Himself.
[22:15:00]
So, we have heard nothing so far from General John Kelly, who the president attacked tonight. Does his silence speak volumes? General Wesley Clark is here, David Axelrod as well. They're going to discuss after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump dismissing the damming report that he called U.S. service members killed in battle suckers and losers. He claims it's a hoax by one magazine but multiple other news organizations including Fox News, a Fox News reporter have confirmed key details in the Atlantic's reporting.
Let's discuss now. General Wesley Clark is here. General Wesley Clark is a former NATO supreme ally commander, David Axelrod here as well. David is a former senior adviser to President Obama. So good to have both of you on. Thank you so much.
Let's talk about this -- David. This president -- I'm sorry. I'm exasperated. Because every time just reading the open and all the examples of what this president has said and then he denies, it's like, OK. Whatever.
He's calling the Atlantic report a hoax. But after everything he has said and done why should we even believe him?
[22:20:00]
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So that's his problem, Don. The story is too awful to defend. And it's too believable to deny given everything that's happened and everything that we've seen. All the clips you have run and others. It makes it very believable that the president can say such things and you raise a good point.
We haven't heard from General Kelly who is central to some of this reporting. He was obviously the person who the president spoke to at General Kelly's son's grave site in Arlington. And General Kelly was the chief of staff in charge when the president was in Europe and pull -- and the trip was pulled down to the cemetery to honor our lost servicemen in Europe.
And so, he would have direct knowledge of all this. And I presume if it were untrue, he would have denied it by now. So, you know, I think the president has a problem here. And he will deny it. He will deny it as he has denied every other bad story, he will call it a hoax.
By the way, Jeff Goldberg at the Atlantic is really one of the most distinguished reporters in our country.
LEMON: Right.
AXELROD: Assiduous, careful, there's no doubt in my mind that he reported this story thoroughly. And so, we are where we are. And it's a very horrifying story. Particularly for the men and women in uniform, for families of those people who were serving, those who have been lost, those who have been wounded that the commander in chief would think in these terms.
LEMON: So, I think -- hey, listen, General Kelly may very well come out and deny it. But I mean, boy, what's taking him so long. Right? General Clark, you know, we've heard plenty of denials from team Trump but nothing from the former White House chief of staff John Kelly who the president attacked earlier today not even knowing if he's a source or not. You know John -- you know Kelly personally. So, is his silence, is that telling?
WESLEY CLARK, FMR. SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER, NATO: I think the silence is telling. But I think, you know, it's a very tough call for him like John Kelly to come out. He's had a distinguished service record. And he did his best duty for the country as he saw it. When the president of the United States asked him to serve, he did or as his homeland security secretary and chief of staff. And that's in keeping with his own personal believes, his integrity, his sense of duty to the country.
And now they're engage in a public name calling exercise with the President of the United States is a tough call because, first, it offends his own sense of propriety. Secondly, he knows that there's no resolution to it.
LEMON: Right.
CLARK: And third, this brings a lot of pain to his family. There will be death threats. There will all kinds of dirt pushed on him. And he knows from personal experience with Donald Trump, these things don't go away.
LEMON: Yes.
CLARK: So, he'd like to -- he's trying to have it both ways honestly. He knows Trump didn't do a good job. This is my speculation. I haven't talk to him about it. He knows -- he knows how Trump operates. He knows he's emotional, he's volatile. He was a disaster trying to manage. He's a poor leader, doesn't take responsibility, doesn't organize, doesn't think logically, doesn't listen to the facts. That's what John was trying to help work in the White House.
LEMON: Yes.
CLARK: On the other end, he knows how ugly this can be. And he hopes the American people will make the right decision.
LEMON: Well, let me ask you --
CLARK: And he hopes he doesn't have to do it and get in it.
LEMON: So, your general reaction upon reading this. How do you feel about this?
CLARK: Look, first of all, I mean I think all of us who served feel a deep sense of betrayal by the President of the United States. We're not suckers. We're not losers. We went there to Vietnam to the Gulf War to Grenada to Panama to Iraq to Afghanistan because we love this country because we believed in it.
Because we believe there was something more important than money because we believed in each other and the principles of this country. Our president doesn't believe in those things. He doesn't accept us and our willingness to sacrifice? What is this about? If he is the kind of person who is that callous, who is that transactional, who is that materialistic. He has no business in office.
And I think this is the deepest of the sentiments that's comes through this. Not only for the men and women in uniform but those of us who have retired those whose who serve, the families the children. We all felt there was something very special about the call of duty.
[22:25:01]
The president has disavowed it. For the people who have been around him the generals, the people who have seen the policy, process that he leads, it's chaotic. Read John Bolton's book. It's the best of the inside stories, day by day, hour by hour. It shows chaos around Donald Trump.
LEMON: Yes.
CLARK: And so, he's lost that support.
LEMON: I want --
CLARK: A lot of soldiers out there were maybe attracted to him initially because he's a big tough looking guy and maybe they thought the Republicans were the daddy party and he made a big thing about taking care of veterans and soldiers. But they see he doesn't mean it.
LEMON: Yes.
CLARK: It's hollow.
LEMON: Well --
CLARK: Steadily losing support.
LEMON: Well, speaking of --
CLARK: This is deal.
LEMON: I want to play something. This is former Army captain Jason Kander was on earlier with me tonight. And then we'll discuss. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON KANDER, FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN: You know, one of the hardest things it's something I've never had to do, is to get that last long hug before your child deploys. And you know, I can get emotional thinking about it. My family has been through it. Imagine doing that and thinking that the president thinks that you and your family are suckers. And that if he or she doesn't come home, then he's a loser.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: General, do you think this article changed and what Jason is saying changed any views of the president within the military?
CLARK: Yes. Yes, I do. I think -- I think it seeps in, it percolates down through the ranks. People are still watching Fox News out there. He's going to deny it. Some people are going to be sympathetic but bit by bit by bit. He's lost the support of the armed forces.
LEMON: Yes.
CLARK: And especially the people at the top. And that's a dangerous thing for a democracy. You know, our army is not political. Our armed forces are not political. We're going to serve the commander in chief no matter who he is. But it's very difficult when the people who are around him closest those in uniform don't respect him.
LEMON: David --
CLARK: And don't respect his values.
LEMON: David, what do you think it changed, what do you think of Jason's remarks and do you think it changed any minds in the military?
AXELROD: Well, look, it is already true if there was a recent poll of active duty military that showed Biden leading Trump, which is really unusual in the context of modern American politics. Generally, the Republican candidate has a sizable lead over the Democrat. That is not the case here.
So, I think there's already a great deal of skepticism among the military about this president. And part it has to do with the fact that he cloaks himself in the military. He loves the pageantry. He wants parades of our military might through the streets of Washington. But when it comes to confronts Vladimir Putin over bounties on our troops in Afghanistan, he won't do it. And then you see expressions like this.
These young people and not so young people who are in uniform, they understand this. They see this. And you know, there's one piece that you should put together with all this and with the very insightful remarks of the general about this president.
You mention his days as a young person when he essentially scammed his way out of the military. Claiming bone spurs. And so, when he says that people who go are suckers, you can understand why. Because he took the easy way out while others went in his place. And that too, I think should be important to people who choose to serve.
LEMON: David, this is how the president explained why he skipped that ceremony honoring Americans killed during World War I. During the -- it was a, I think it was 2018 Paris trip. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I was all set to go. They had a rainstorm, the likes of which you rarely see. The fog was so great, it was -- it was as dense as I've ever seen. And I almost knew that you couldn't use the helicopter. And because they had to drive through -- I guess certain parts of Paris. The Secret Service who, by the way, we have people here that were on the trip. They're writing a report, unable to even think about it. And I said, nope, I want to go. I insist on going. It would have taken us forever. It just was not a possible situation. The helicopter would have been very quick. The helicopter was all set. But the helicopter could never fly in that kind of weather.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, David, listen, it wasn't that far. You know what logistics are like for a presidential overseas trip. Do these excuses make any sense? The president wanted to go to that cemetery. Wouldn't Secret Service have found a way? [22:30:05]
AXELROD: Yes. And other leaders did go by car to pay their respects on the same -- on the same day. John Bolton who in fairness said he did not hear some of the exchanges that were reported in the Atlantic article. Said he also did not hear the president object at all to pulling down the trip.
And so, now John Kelly would be key to all of this because he was the chief of staff and would be the hinge on a decision to pull down that trip. But, no, it doesn't make sense to me at all. If the President of the United States wanted to go, they would have gone. And there's just no question about it.
LEMON: Yes. Well, we'll see. Maybe John Kelly will come out and confirm some of this or deny. We'll see. But thank you, gentlemen. General, thank you for your service. I appreciate it. Thank you, David. I'll see you soon.
So tonight, the President of the United States claiming that he has done an incredible job on the pandemic. He has not. He's not ready to believe Russia poisoned an opposition leader there. Investigators say he was poisoned. And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to claims tonight. Daniel Dale gives us the facts. Daniel is next.
[22:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Trump making a series of misleading claims during a press conference tonight on the coronavirus pandemic, veterans and of course, Russia.
Our resident fact checker Mr. Daniel Dale is here to break it down for us. Daniel, hello to you. Thanks so much. I want you to take a listen to what the president said about Biden's plan to handle the coronavirus pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Do you know he said we want to shut it down. We would be willing to shut it down and you don't shut down when we're setting records. And by the way, we're rounding the corner. We're rounding the corner on the virus. Joe Biden's blanket shutdown would collapse our economy. It could cause countless death from suicide, drug, alcohol abuse, heart disease and more. You know, shutdowns cause a lot of problems, a lot of very serious problems, more so than the virus itself. Biden's plan is not a solution, it's a virtual surrender. And our country is doing so well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The facts, Daniel?
DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Biden has not said that he wants to impose some sort of shutdown and he has not introduced any plan for a supposed shutdown. Biden was specifically talking in an ABC interview about the need to respect and listen to scientists. An interview pressed him on the hypothetical in which we the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. And scientists said we need to do a shutdown.
What we need to do in that case. Biden said in that case I would shut it down. So, this was a future hypothetical. And subsequently in the following days Biden said he doesn't think there would be a need to impose a shutdown regardless.
LEMON: The president claiming again that he has done more for veterans than John McCain by this time. He's claimed that his was more on accurate than usual. Explain. What does that mean?
DALE: Yes. So, Trump repeated an egregious lie last night. He said he's done way more for veterans than McCain, of course, a famous veteran. And part of his evidence or supposed evidence was that Trump, he says, got the veterans choice healthcare program passed.
As I've had to say over and over Barack Obama signed that into law in 2014. And it was Jon McCain's bill. So, Trump was wielding McCain's own bill as evidence that he, Trump, has done more than McCain.
Now today we had some extremely rare fact check progress, Don. Donald Trump said for I think the first time that he signed the V.A. Mission Act which modified the choice program. So, this is something that I don't think he said before. He said what Obama signed was bad. So, he's still insulting Obama this small progress. But it's a little bit of progress nonetheless.
LEMON: Yes. Well, there you go. He also denied Russia poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Take -- take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We haven't had any proof yet but I will take a look. It is interesting that everybody is always mentioning Russia. And I don't mind you're mentioning Russia, but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so than Russia. Because the things that China is doing are far worse if you take a look at what's happening with the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Give us the truth.
DALE: So, Mr. Navalny was taken to Germany. Germany investigated and found in the words of Angela Merkel unequivocal proof that he was poisoned with a nerve agent associated with Russia from the so-called Novichok group. Now the secretary of general -- of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, subsequently came out and said the same thing.
He said there is proof beyond doubt that Mr. Navalny was poisoned using a military grade nerve agent from the Novichok group. And he said that Russia needs to answer for this.
Now Germany briefed the entire group of NATO allies. So whether or not Mr. Trump himself has seen that proof, Americans certainly have.
LEMON: Daniel Dale, the hardest working man in the news business right now.
DALE: Thank you.
LEMON: Our resident fact checker. Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it. We'll see you soon.
So, make sure you tune in. CNN is bringing you the stories of Joe Biden, Donald Trump and their fight for the White House. The back to back documentary event starts Monday at 8 Eastern right here on CNN. Make sure you tune in.
And next, the president's new coronavirus adviser says that he laughs it off when people bring up the fact that he is not an infectious disease expert. OK. But shouldn't the doctor who has the president's ear on coronavirus, a very infection disease be an infectious disease expert?
[22:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A new model often cited by top health officials is surging its projection. The IHME model now predicts over 410,000 American coronavirus deaths this year. That would mean another 224,000 deaths in just the next four months. This is just a model. But when you look at their track record, their estimates tend to be lower than what we end up seeing.
I want to bring in Dr. Jonathan Reiner. OK. Doctor, hello. That's disturbing, the IHME predicting a staggering 3,000 deaths a day by December due in part to declining vigilance of the public? I mean, how much -- how much of this is due to the comments of the president like this. Listen. And then we'll talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[22:44:58]
TRUMP: We're rounding the corner. We're rounding the corner on the virus. The job we have done is incredible and we're really rounding the turn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What do you think?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think we have a commander in chief who believes in magical thinking. You know, all along he's hoped for the quick fix. And I think what he believes now is that, you know, a vaccine is the quick fix.
You know, the truth of the matter is if we had a vaccine approved, let's say we had it in November, it would take about a year and a half to vaccinate the country. So, we would still need to do what we're doing now. If we're lucky it would take a year and a half.
So, it's not -- we're not rounding a corner. I mean, I'm afraid that we're rounding a corner into an oncoming train. Because if the University of Washington estimates are correct, you know, by new year's we would have 400,000 people dead.
So, it's still boggles the mind that the president refuses to endorse the strategy that we know works, which is for everyone to wear a mask. And if he was looking to get reelected and he wanted a dramatically drop the infection rates in the weeks leading up to the election, he would insist that the entire country wears a mask. Because then the infection rates would drop. But he won't do it.
LEMON: Well, he did, though, real the teleprompter remarks that had, you know, advice for Americans over the Labor Day weekend. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We ask all Americans to remain vigilant especially over Labors -- Labor Day. We need everybody to be careful to apply common sense, and do all of the things that we've told you to do as quickly as much as you can. Social distancing, wearing a mask whenever the distancing is not possible. And staying like, staying with a group that you know. Let's try and get through this one weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, you know, of course just this week we've seen the president in front of larger crowds, remember that with, you know, on the campaign trail, something that he has been itching to do. There's not much social distancing or none at all and very few people wearing masks, sort of do as I say, not as I do.
REINER: Yes. He had 2,000 people on the South Lawn of the White House last week.
LEMON: That's right.
REINER: Right. You know, six blocks from my office 2,000 people, you know, yucking it up shoulder to shoulder in the middle of a pandemic. And you know, he stayed just far enough away to protect himself from contagion. But he doesn't really care so much about the supporters and the people in the crowd because they are, you know, they are props.
So, he refuses -- he refuses to model the kind of behavior. In fact, he mocks it. He mocks the behavior that Vice President Biden shows when he wears a mask everywhere he goes.
LEMON: Yes. Let's talk about Dr. Scott Atlas. He is the newest member of the White House task force.
REINER: Yes.
LEMON: He said today it's silly to think that he would need to be a virologist or an immunologist. I imagine you don't agree with that sentiment? REINER: Well, what he needs to be is somebody who believes in the
lethality of the pandemic. And the problem with Dr. Atlas besides the fact that he has to training in infectious disease or any branch of internal medicine. He's a radiologist. He doesn't believe that the virus is lethal. He believes that it's more lethal to shut down. He believes it's lethal not to send kids to school. Right?
He believes that basically the virus if it kills is just calling the herd. And when he testified before the homeland security in government affairs committee in May, what he said was social distancing and quarantining is getting in the way of herd immunity. He can deny it. But you just have to Google it. He said it. He believes in herd immunity. And he was brought in to create the echo chamber for the president. To say what Fauci and Birx won't say.
LEMON: Doctor, thank you. Be safe. Have a good weekend, OK?
REINER: You too, Don.
LEMON: The attorney general telling our very own Wolf Blitzer voting by mail is, quote, "playing with fire." But take this. The evidence he's giving just doesn't add up.
[22:50:00]
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LEMON: So, take this. All right, we have another truth bomb for you. Because it's about another lie from the Trump administration about mail-in voting.
In an interview with Wolf Blitzer the attorney general, William Barr tried to make the case that there is widespread voter fraud through mail-in ballots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: But elections that is have been held with mail have found substantial fraud and coercion. For example, we indicted someone in Texas 1,700 ballots collected he -- from people who could vote. He made them out and voted for the person he wanted to. OK?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Because --
BARR: That kind of thing happens with mail-in ballots.
BLITZER: There are --
BARR: And everyone knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, it sounds like he knows what he is talking about. Right? Argumentative emphatic. Well facts first. Experts say there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud with mail-in ballots. And the alleged 1,700 fraudulent ballots in Texas, well prosecutors from a 2017 case tell the Washington Post it's not true.
A former prosecutor on the case speaking to the Post says, that's not what happened at all. Adding, we didn't find any evidence of widespread voter fraud, and instead, the ballots that were returned were consistent with the voter's chase.
[22:55:01]
One man pleaded guilty for improperly returning a ballot but prosecutors couldn't find a scheme with thousands of fraudulent voters, according to the Washington Post, Mike Snipes, the number two prosecutors in the office then, said investigators initially suspected there were potentially 1,700 fraudulent ballots initially suspected. But we did not uncover that at all.
But what was Barr talking about? Well the Justice Department now says prior to his interview the attorney general was provided a memo prepares within the department that contained an inaccurate summary about the case which he relied upon when using the case as an example.
But he was so emphatic about it. If widespread voter fraud by mail was real you would think the attorney general would have come prepared with an abundance of accurate evidence saying so. But of course, that evidence simply doesn't exist.
As I say to you, almost every night on this program, don't fall for the okey-doke.
Thank you for watching. Our coverage continues.
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