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Four Family Members Tested For Coronavirus On Ship Docked in New Jersey; Fmr. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-South Bend, IN) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on top of Iowa, 100 percent of results counted; Sources Say, Acting Chief Of Staff Mulvaney's Job In Doubt. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired February 07, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: -- seven others killed in a helicopter crash just outside Los Angeles last month.

Well, a very good busy and newsy Friday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington.

The breaking news we are following this hour, doctors are assessing a family on a cruise ship in New Jersey for the coronavirus. This is video from just moments ago. You'll see a long line of passengers walking off the ship. A spokesperson for the CDC says it will test all four family members in question aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked not far from Manhattan. Officials say that two family members became ill and crucially, this is key, they have a travel history to mainland China, of course, the epicenter of this outbreak.

11 Americans are among a group of 61 people who tested positive for the coronavirus aboard another cruise ship this one quarantined off the coast of Japan. The number of passengers testing positive on that ship tripled overnight.

For more on the ship docked here in the U.S., let's go to Polo Sandoval in Bayonne, New Jersey. And this just really measures the level of concern, the abundance of caution that authorities around world are operating here. So they stopped the whole ship because of a concern about this family of four.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what you have here, Jim, is essentially this ship that docked early this morning, and as you mentioned, out of an abundance of caution, they assessed about two dozen of the passengers on board. After that, they identified that family of four as needing further screening. So the result was they were taken to a nearby hospital where those samples were taken and it could be in the coming days that we'll know what further action, if any, will be needed here.

But what we do know at this point is that two of those four individuals aboard the ship reported feeling ill during the course of this about 12-day cruise. So when it docked here this morning, CDC officials met the ship and screened them.

Now, the reason why they were identified, as you point out, is that they reported having recent travel to mainland China, however, not the specific province that is considered the epicenter of this outbreak so that certainly would speak to these kinds of actions that were taken today. And the fact that many -- in fact, mostly all of the passengers were allowed to disembark and proceed as scheduled earlier this morning.

But it really does go, as you mentioned, to that point. They are certainly not taking any chances when you have a family four, had recently traveled to mainland China, two becoming ill during the course of the trip, you can imagine why officials took this step this morning to make sure that they get screened.

SCIUTTO: Wow, well, that kind of decision -- you know, you're making thousands of decisions like this all over the world right now, really gets to the level of concern. Polo Sandoval, thanks very much.

Let's speak now to Dr. Celine Gounder. She's an internist, specialist in infectious diseases at the NYU School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital. Doctor, thanks so much for taking the time this morning. You've been following this for a while. We spoke just a few days ago about it. We're seeing countries around the world take really remarkable steps here, canceling flights to and from China, you have cruise ships quarantined. This one in this case stopped because of just four people on board. Based on what you know, are these steps reasonable and necessary at this point?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, to address your question about this particular cruise ship, you know, I think when you're talking about two people who are symptomatic who may have the coronavirus, who sounds like have been exposed, who traveled to China, it certainly makes sense to make sure they get appropriate medical care, especially older persons could have a very severe case. So they really do need to be stopping -- you know, I've had to do emergency plane landings before where someone needed emergent care. This is sort of similar to that, where they need immediate medical attention.

SCIUTTO: Understood, okay. So big question now, and, again, we're learning as we go on, so I know that a lot of these questions don't have final answers, is what category is coronavirus going into now?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the air just a few moments ago, he was saying that the more we learn about it, maybe this is, you know, dangerous, but not -- you know, not an alarmist kind of situation with this the more we learn. What category are you putting this in based on death rate and based on how quickly it spreads?

GOUNDER: So it's looking more and more like a really bad pandemic flu, like an H1N1 flu as opposed to SARS. So that means two different things. So, one, it's probably more transmissible, so we're seeing a huge increase in the number of cases, but in one person infected, your risk of dying is much lower than it was for SARS. However, if you have many, many people who are infected, even if per person, it's a low risk of death, the total number of people who might die could still be very high. SCIUTTO: Yes, that's a good point. SARS had a 10 percent death rate, but lower number of people who caught it, some like H1N1 had more people, far fewer who died.

[10:05:03]

So folks at home in the U.S. they are watching this. And they're seeing these cruise ships Stop and so on. Is it too early for people here in the U.S. to be taking steps about this? I mean, folks always say to me, just, heck, wash your hands, that's the most basic thing you should do. But is there anything more people at home should do?

GOUNDER: I think you should -- if you're feeling sick, don't go to work, don't go to school, don't take that cruise ship trip. And I think that can be really hard for people because there can be very real financial costs to doing that. So I think some of what needs to happen is we need to have contingency plans, airlines, cruise ship companies, so that if people aren't feeling well, they have a way of canceling or rescheduling that trip without a penalty.

SCIUTTO: Okay. Final question, if I can. I know you're not in China. But based on China's response so far, because right now, it is like a police state there now, right? I mean, they are closing down entire regions with tens of millions of people there. This is a global thing. And countries around the world have to cooperate to respond to it. Are you seeing that now? Are you seeing enough information transfer go back and forth? Are you seeing the cooperation that's necessary?

GOUNDER: I mean, my sense is that it kind of keeps swinging back and forth. So you had initially China in terms of sort of internally not being totally transparent. And then in terms of the science, you know, we had very rapid release of the sequencing of the genome made available to scientists across the world, but then more recently it seems like there has been a clamping down again on information.

And I think, you know, really, this is the kind of situation where you want credible journalists embedded in every step of the response, so that the public feels they can trust what's happening.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And there are even questions about that in China, the doctor who first blew the whistle on this, he was initially silenced, and sadly has now passed away from the disease. Dr. Celine Gounder, thanks so much for joining us.

GOUNDER: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: Well, you've been waiting, it's been a few days, 100 percent of the Iowa results are now in. And look at those results, Pete Buttigieg still leads Bernie Sanders but, boy, is it tight, just 0.1 percentage point. But still questions, that result might not be final. A CNN analysis has shown errors in the count and now the Democratic National Committee wants a re-canvass.

Joining me now is Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Now, my understanding of this is that Iowa is saying, sure, we'll re-canvass if the campaigns ask us to. Are they going to do that or are we going to settle with the results as we see them now?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Jim, that's very much an open question. There is a deadline of noon here in Iowa today, 1:00 in the east for any campaign, any candidate to make a request to re-canvass.

Now, a couple of things could happen. One, there could be an extension since the votes are finally all just now tabulated. There could be an extension to ask for that re-canvassing, or the candidates could simply move on. And that was the sense we were getting from both Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. Last night in New Hampshire, on CNN, they both said, look, they both declared victory, and it's certainly in their own respective interests to do that and they don't necessarily want to go back into this. But it is very much an open question what happens here. We'll find out more in a couple of hours to come.

But the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, made clear this morning on CNN he's not pleased by this process. And he believes that there should be a re-canvassing. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM PEREZ, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: This was unacceptable. And that's why we had people -- we still have people on the ground there, we completed the counting last night and we're going to continue not only to work in Iowa, but also to learn the lessons of Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, clearly, a lot of blame to go around, but some of that is squarely on the Democratic National Committee as well. They have been in charge of this operation here for the last several days. And they certainly were also involved in the rules for these Iowa caucuses and the app that failed. So the autopsy of that will come much later, Jim. But we do expect in the coming hours there to be some type of announcement here if there is going to be sort of a re-canvassing of these results or not.

But the bottom line is this, the Iowa voters essentially sent a message that they like Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. So as the campaign goes on, as this Democratic nominating contest goes on, this is the choice facing this party. Certainly vastly different candidates here, but both of them had a strong showing in Iowa and they will split the delegates almost exactly. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Yes. And that part seems not to be in dispute. Jeff Zeleny in New Hampshire -- in Iowa, I should say, thanks very much.

New job numbers out this morning, they show a surprisingly strong start to the New Year. The Labor Department reporting the U.S. economy 225,000 jobs added in January. That far exceeds expectations with strong growth in particular in construction and healthcare, although drops in manufacturing. We're going to talk about all the numbers in depth. [10:10:01]

The unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6 percent as more people entered the workforce.

Senator Bernie Sanders says, enough about Iowa now. It's time to focus on New Hampshire, this as several candidates get ready for a big debate there tonight.

Plus, there could be a potential shake-up at the White House after President Trump's acquittal. We're going to tell you who could be headed out the door now.

And the impeachment trial may be over, but Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani's indicted, we should note, associate, may have more information to share. CNN's exclusive reporting, it's new, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Even as questions remain over the Iowa results, the candidates, they moved on, some making that point more explicitly than others. Here is Bernie Sanders at last night's town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we should -- we've got enough of Iowa. I think we should move on to New Hampshire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Yes, poor Iowa.

Joining me now from Manchester, New Hampshire, CNN Washington Correspondent Ryan Nobles. I mean, that's certainly where the candidates' attention is being focused now. Of course, you've got a big debate tonight.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I don't think there is any doubt about that, Jim. And actually I caught up with Senator Sanders yesterday. And he said the same thing to me. I asked him explicitly, are you ready to move on from Iowa and focus on New Hampshire, in Manchester in particular? And he said, absolutely.

But we should point out that his campaign does have the option here before this afternoon to ask for a re-canvass of the Iowa vote and they have yet to say that they are not going to invoke that option. So they're still holding that out as a possibility right now.

But it is clear in terms of the campaign and the focus, that is definitely shifted here to New Hampshire. In fact, Senator Sanders right now speaking to a group at the Politics and Eggs Forum at Saint Anselm College. This is kind of an interesting environment for Senator Sanders, there a lot of corporate sponsors here, including Bank of America, which is a corporation that he regularly rails against and he's already talked about economic inequality during this speech this morning.

But Sanders feels like he is in a strong position here in New Hampshire, as leading in most polls, this is, of course, the state that he won pretty handily four years ago. And they believe that if he can come here to New Hampshire, win big on Tuesday, everyone is going to forget about Iowa and that pushes him in to the contests in Nevada and then beyond to Super Tuesday in California.

So the things we have to keep in mind about the Sanders campaign right now, Jim, they still have a lot of money, he raised $25 million just in the month of January. That's the most his campaign raised to this point. They have unloaded a $5.5 million ad campaign across ten different states, announcing an ad campaign in Colorado right now.

So, Jim, they are ready for the long haul. They believe that long haul begins here in New Hampshire. Jim?

SCIUTTO: A lot of money. It's not quite Bloomberg money but it's money. Ryan Nobles, thanks very much.

Let's break down all the headlines. Joining me now, Daniel Strauss, he's Senior Political Reporter with The Guardian Newspaper, and Laura Barron-Lopez, she is CNN Political Analyst and National Political Reporter with Politico. Good morning to both of you.

Laura, let's begin with you because have a piece just out on Perez, chairman of the DNC. And now, because of a whole host of things, you know, some folks are saying, he's got to go. You need new leadership.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. I have -- there is Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, as well as Congressman Bennie Thompson, who said that they feel as though his leadership has been virtually nonexistent and that Iowa, on top of other host of issues that have led to this is why they think that it's time for him to step down.

But a number of party chairs as well as Iowa Democrats have vented frustration because they feel as though Perez left Troy Price, the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, pretty much out to dry, just left him to handle this on his own. And there was a phone call earlier this week between party chairs and they were very upset with DNC officials that were on it saying, how come Perez wasn't side by side with Price?

Perez's team maintains that he was updated hourly, that they sent staff on the ground to help with the aftermath, but there is growing frustration among Democrats nationally.

SCIUTTO: Listen, this is not the kind of infighting you want. And, Daniel, it's not less than four years ago, right, we were at the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, you had that famous Sanders/Clinton fighting exposed for the world to see here. Well, what is the level of concern within party about this sort of eating their own alive here? DANIEL STRAUSS, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: I mean, look, it is sort of reminiscent shaping up to discontent with the last DNC chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And in New Hampshire, a lot of Democrats I'm talking to are still unsure and there are a lot of questions right now about whether the New Hampshire primary will have the same problems.

Now, there is sort of a menacing shadow of like whether there is going to be an app and if that app is going to dysfunction in the same way that it did in Iowa. And the Nevada Democratic Party has just said that they won't be using any kind of mobile app like the Iowa Democratic Party did, because they don't want any kind of malfunction like that.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I think the idea of voting app has been punted for some time.

Laura, to play devil's advocate here for a moment, primaries are messy, right? You can't say that the Republican primaries in 2016 were particularly friendly or warm. Just remember the back and forth between Trump and the other candidates. At the end of the day, voters vote and you have a candidate. And by the way, you have two candidates, Buttigieg and Sanders, who emerged fairly strong from Iowa and look strong in New Hampshire.

BARRON-LOPEZ: That's true. And in 2012, the Iowa caucus there amongst Republicans was messy as well and didn't have the exact correct result until two weeks later.

SCIUTTO: We didn't Rick Santorum --

[10:20:07]

BARRON-LOPEZ: Yes. And so right now, it still looks as though the validity of the vote is not in question, even though Perez thinks that there have been some irregularities and he on his own called for a recount, but, again, only a candidate can call for that. And also I think the reason that there is so much frustration is this larger question about technology in the primaries and what that means because there is a lot of not understanding about what danger that technology can present.

And Nevada was planning to use an app. They scrapped it. But there is a question of whether other primaries or caucuses that are yet to come in the contest will be using a form of technology that could either be vulnerable to security hacks or could have bugs with coding.

SCIUTTO: That's the thing prior to this course, the concern was foreign actors, such as Russia, you know, using the technology to disrupt. But this appears to be, at this point, an internal issue.

Daniel, question here, where is Joe Biden? And he's preparing for tonight's debate in Delaware. But real concern within his camp that the fourth place finish in Iowa puts him in a weak position, needs to show something in New Hampshire, but the numbers aren't pointing in that direction at this point, at least the polling leading into it. When you speak to folks in the Biden campaign, what are they telling you now?

STRAUSS: I mean, look, there is -- I mean, on its face, they say that they are still a strong sort of movement in the States and that South Carolina is going to be their safe zone, that they will be able to perform extremely well there, and then move on to the Super Tuesday states showing a new level of viability.

But even then, there is a lot of questions right now among voters in New Hampshire and elsewhere about what his path is, even in the best case scenario that Biden does do well in South Carolina, it's unclear if he's going to have the money and whether -- what states on Super Tuesday and beyond are really going to favor him.

And beyond that, there is an ongoing desire within the Democratic Party to support a candidate who seems extremely viable. If Biden does not do well in these next two states, New Hampshire and Nevada, it is going to bring -- it's going to exacerbate questions about how viable he is.

Democrats this cycle really want a winner. That's what they're more interested in than ideological purity. And if any candidate doesn't win a lot of these early states, that will come into question.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And the money follows the winners, right? We have seen that for some time. Daniel Strauss, Laura Barron-Lopez, thanks to both of you.

Well, just days after he was acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial, President Trump may be looking already for a new chief of staff. Why Mick Mulvaney could be on his way out, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: President Trump may be looking for a new chief of staff, the fourth of his presidency. CNN has learned that Mick Mulvaney could be on his way out soon, and that the president was just waiting to be acquitted in the Senate to make this move.

CNN White House Correspondent John Harwood joins me now.

John, so why is Mulvaney on shaky ground?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president moves through staff at quite a rapid pace. He tends to discard people if he thinks that they have slowed him down or constrained him or created problems for him. Obviously, Mick Mulvaney went into the White House briefing room and was honest about the quid pro quo on Ukraine, so that's one reason.

But events like the acquittal, turning point events, are often a trigger for events like this, so we have every expectation that the president is going to move ahead. I don't know if it's going to be 15 minutes from now or a week from now or a month from now, but it's likely he will. Leading contenders include Marc Short, who is the chief of staff to Vice President Pence, Eric Ueland, long-time Republican political professional, who is the head of Legislative Affairs. But the frontrunner for that job, Jim, is on the plane with the president today, going down to North Carolina for that opportunity zone event. Mark Meadows is not running for re-election, so we're going to stand by for news coming out of that trip potentially.

SCIUTTO: Okay. So, another victim, it appears, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, National Security official, testified during the impeachment inquiry, veteran, serving U.S. Army officer as well as Purple Heart recipient. He got on the wrong side of the president.

HARWOOD: No question about it. And, you know, we all remember during the impeachment trial that Republican senators were offended at the notion that Trump would put people who defied and put their heads on a pike. Well, we see from Alexander Vindman that he's expected to be transferred to the Defense Department. That might be a relief for him, because it's uncomfortable to be working in the White House after an episode like that.

But we've also seen the president go after, and his family in a vicious way, go after Mitt Romney, go after Adam Schiff, we'll see whether they go after Nancy Pelosi or any of the other figures who have assailed him. This is a president who is going to feel emboldened, does not feel constrained by ethical norms.

And one of the things, Jim, I think may add to his sense of feeling bulletproof at this moment is that strong jobs report today.

[10:30:02]

The economy is in very solid shape for president running for re- election that will certainly boost the confidence of the president --