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Friends and Family Honor Rayshard Brooks; Dr. Fauci Warns of Coronavirus Surge. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 23, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:02]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, Juliette, Fred, thank you so much to both of you on that.

CNN's special coverage will continue now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Hi there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me. You're watching CNN.

Here we are five months after the very first case of COVID-19 confirmed in the U.S. Several officials key to the U.S. response to the pandemic, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and the head of the CDC, are testifying before Congress today.

And they're contradicting President Trump on where things stand and what needs to happen next. One week ago, the president said that the coronavirus was, in his words, dying out.

But let me show you the numbers, because the United States now has posted at least 30,000 new cases -- that's per day -- three times since Friday, and those are numbers we have not seen since early May.

And now half of the 50 states are reporting a double-digit increase in new cases. That is compared to the previous week, eight of those states seeing a spike of 50 percent or more, and Dr. Fauci today calling the latest developments, his words, very troublesome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: In other areas of the country, we're now seeing a disturbing surge of infections that looks like it's a combination.

But one of the things is an increase in community spread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And then, on this issue of testing, listen to what the president said just yesterday:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We test much more than

any other nation. So you hear about all these cases. So, instead of doing 25 million tests, let's say we did 10 million tests. We'd look like we're doing much better, because we'd have far fewer cases. You understand that.

I didn't -- I wouldn't do that. But I will say this. We do so much more than other countries. It makes us, in a way, look bad, but actually we're doing the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So here's what members of the president's own Coronavirus Task Force have to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: So it's the opposite. We're going to be doing more testing, not less.

DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: As Dr. Fauci said, all of us have been and continue to be committed to increasing readily, timely access to testing.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We are proceeding in just the opposite. We want to do more testing, higher quality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And just to add to all of this, breaking just now, CNN has learned that the European Union is now considering blocking American visitors from entering the E.U. due to the surge of coronavirus cases here in the United States.

So, Kylie Atwood is breaking the news for us.

Kylie, tell me more.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Brooke, as the E.U. is concerning which countries it will allow to have visitors come back into the E.U. as they prepare to reopen, they are considering blocking American visitors from being on that list of acceptable visitors.

Now, this is not a done deal. This is still very much an ongoing conversation. But one of the European diplomats that I spoke to said that this is going to be based on -- the criteria is going to be based on the surge of cases in countries.

Obviously, we are seeing a surge here in the United States. So it makes sense that they could potentially, the E.U., keep out American travelers and let in travelers from other countries.

Now, we have to consider the fact that this is something that would be devastating for Americans. They would be put into a bucket possibly with other countries that are seeing surges, like Brazil. So it is really a significant move that the E.U. would be making here.

But I want to stress this is not a done deal. However, we do expect that we are going to get some news from the E.U., a final decision this front, early next week, ahead of July 1, which is their own deadline -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, we will wait for that. Kylie, thank you so much.

Let's get some fast reaction.

Elizabeth Cohen is our CNN senior medical correspondent. And Erin Bromage is CNN contributor and biology professor and immunology specialist at UMass Dartmouth.

And so, Elizabeth, first to you.

Again, not a done deal, but just given the surge in coronavirus cases here in the U.S., would this be warranted?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, you have to understand why they're considering it, Brooke. I mean, we are one of the hot spots. It does make sense. They're trying to protect their own countries.

And I think that this is really a sad testimony to the job that this country has done, the United States has done, in bringing coronavirus under control. I mean, look, back in January, when this was all hitting, the U.S. had the same opportunities as other countries to get things under control, and other countries simply did better. Their numbers came down.

Ours have not been coming down. And it's sad that we're in this situation right now.

BALDWIN: Erin, what do you think?

ERIN BROMAGE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I mean, we were very quick to close our borders when we saw what happened with the U.S. being peppered with new infections from Europe.

It goes back the other way. We did not handle our business here. And because we didn't do that, we now get put in a time-out until we can get things under control.

[15:05:09]

BALDWIN: Let me go back to the president of the United States seemingly at odds -- you just heard the sound, right, from Capitol Hill today -- seemingly at odds with top health officials about the ongoing threat, for both of you, and then, Professor, will come back to you.

What do you make of all this?

BROMAGE: Sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: This is an important--

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Oh, sorry.

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Elizabeth. Go ahead. You take it.

COHEN: Go ahead. OK.

I think that this is an important moment when we look at what the president has said about the -- that things are dying out, that that just isn't the case. Things are not dying out. The situation is getting worse, and he needs to start being honest about that.

BALDWIN: Listening to Dr. Fauci's testimony today -- Erin, this is for you -- he testified that he's never seen a single virus with such a wide range of symptoms as we have seen with COVID-19, and that some people may wonder why they should be concerned if they don't have more serious symptoms.

And so, just with that in mind, and as you see more and more Americans hanging out, gathering over the summer, many of whom not wearing masks, not observing social distancing, what concerns you the most?

BROMAGE: It's just we have had our focus on the people that are older with comorbidities, and we have seen the devastating effect the virus has had on them.

We took our eyes off what's happening to the younger people, and I'm seeing pediatricians banging the drum talking about what they're seeing in Children. We saw the double lung transplant in a 20-year-old this past week. We really don't know what the long-term effects on the health of younger people who may show milder disease, but we don't know what the longer-term effects are going to be on lung function, neurological function.

There's just so much that we don't know. We're guessing right now.

BALDWIN: I want to stay with you on this, because I read your opinion piece on this, and you give this great -- it helped me really understand that almost like a forest fire metaphor. And I will ask you to repeat that in a second.

But to your point about really worrying about the young people who get sick, here's Dr. Fauci on that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: What you can't forget is that, if you get infected, and spread the infection, even though you do not get sick, you are part of the process of the dynamics of an outbreak.

And what you might be propagating inadvertently, perhaps innocently, is infecting someone, who then infects someone, who then is someone who's vulnerable. That could be your grandmother, your grandfather, your sick uncle, whom have you, who winds up dying.

So it's a very difficult messaging when people say, I'm young, I'm healthy, who cares? You should care, not only for yourself, but for the impact you might have on the dynamics of the outbreak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You should care.

And, Erin, using your metaphor of the embers of the young people in this country, why do we need to start paying more attention to the role of the 40-and-under crowd when it comes to viral transmission, and soon?

BROMAGE: Yes, so, they -- they're just as equal to be infected as anybody else, but they're more likely to show fewer symptoms of actual infection.

And, therefore, they feel a little bit more protected, armored against the virus. And so they're out there moving around. And what we're seeing is a real explosion of infections in these younger people. And we're just sort of saying, oh, that's what we want.

Some people are thinking that, well, one in 1,000 is OK, if we're willing to accept that as a mortality rate for younger people. But they have a bigger role. They're not isolated from the rest of society. They actually move around in society. They're part of our essential work force.

But they also have parents and they have grandparents. And so the more it spreads, the more it transmits through this group of people, the more likely it is to hit those more vulnerable populations, the sentinel populations where we have these terrible outbreaks and lots of deaths that come up.

They have a very important role with what's going on.

BALDWIN: Thank you for making that point.

And then, Elizabeth, I wanted to ask you about -- we have heard Dr. Fauci today saying that a licensed vaccine for the general public won't be ready until the end of this year, maybe the first bit of 2021. Is that timeline realistic?

COHEN: You know, many people think that it's not, Brooke. Many people think that maybe by this time next year, June of 2021, maybe we will have a vaccine, but that is no sure thing.

It's also not a sure thing that it's going to going to be a terribly effective vaccine. Some vaccines, like measles, for example, is very, very effective. Other vaccines, like the flu, kind of does OK. We don't know which this is going to be.

[15:10:03]

A concern that I have been hearing over and over again from vaccine experts, Brooke, is that the vaccines that the government has chosen to support and sort of get through these large-scale clinical trials are vaccines that can be made quickly.

However, the three that so far have been supported in these trials, none of them have actually had a vaccine make it to market yet. In other words, the technology used for these three vaccines has never resulted in a vaccine being put out on the market. That's a little bit worrisome. They're quick, but are they good?

We're not 100 percent sure if they're good, because they have never been put out there on the market for millions of people. That is very concerning to some of the experts that I'm speaking with.

BALDWIN: Here's my last question for you, Elizabeth, just following up on that, because I'm thinking, all right, play it forward, coronavirus vaccines, that's still TBD on when that happens.

But then I'm thinking of flu, right, and flu shots. And we heard the CDC chief saying that get all of us getting our flu shot is like the single act that could save lives. When you think of COVID and then compounded with the flu in a couple of months, how bad could it be?

COHEN: Oh, it could be very bad, Brooke. I mean, really, everyone should pray for an easy flu season, because, even if it is just easy, it is still compounded on top of COVID. And Americans don't really love to get flu shots.

I mean, only 45 percent of American adults get one. We are really hoping that the government comes up with a way to get people to get vaccinated. It would also be interesting to see, is Mark Zuckerberg going to step up to the plate?> Many people have said, look, he's the guy in charge.

Facebook is where many people get their vaccine information. He does not have a great track record with vaccine information Facebook. He has allowed these anti-vax groups to flourish, so that, on your -- you look at Facebook and you see all this craziness, all these falsehoods and lies about vaccines.

Is Mark Zuckerberg going to step up to the plate so that, A, people will get flu shots in the fall, and, B, will they get the COVID vaccine when it's available?

I can't tell you -- I can't emphasize enough how much of a worry it is that people are going to say no. There was a CNN poll that found that one-third of Americans did not want the COVID vaccine, even if it's free and easy to get. They didn't want it because they didn't trust it.

There is so much vaccine hesitancy and skepticism in this country that we shouldn't just be worrying about getting a good vaccine. Obviously, that's huge. But perhaps an even larger problem is convincing people to get it.

BALDWIN: Yes. Those are the conversations I think we're going to be having in the coming months. For now, Elizabeth and Erin, thank you both so much on all of that.

And all of this is happening as the president is in Arizona today. And keep in mind, Arizona is a state that is reporting a record number of new COVID cases, nearly 4,000 just in the last 24 hours.

And this hour, the president will tour part of the border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and will be delivering a speech this evening at a Phoenix church.

But before he left the White House, the president addressed this new back and forth around testing and whether or not he really was joking when he said he ordered officials to slow the testing down.

After several White House aides said it was an obvious joke, this was the president earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't kid. Let me just tell you. Let me make it clear.

We have got the greatest testing program anywhere in the world. We test better than anybody in the world. Our tests are the best in the world. And we have the most of them.

The reason we have more cases than other countries is because our testing is so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Only, his top advisers on the pandemic say, that's not what they were told.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREG WALDEN (R-OR): Has President Trump ever directed you to slow down testing for COVID-19 in the United States. Dr. Redfield?

REDFIELD: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Congressman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, is traveling with the president. He is there in Yuma, Arizona.

And, Jim, I'm dizzy over all of this. Like, the contradictions, they change almost every day. What's going on?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Contradictions of contradictions, Brooke. And we're dizzy too.

Recall on Saturday night when the president said that he has ordered officials to slow down testing of the coronavirus. And then in the days that followed, the couple of days that followed, the president's top aides, people like Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, Peter Navarro, the president's top trade adviser, were saying that the president was just kidding when he said that.

And then out on the South Lawn of the White House earlier this morning as he was on his way down here to Arizona -- he's holding a meeting right now with the Border Patrol here in Yuma -- the president on the South Lawn of the White House says he doesn't kid.

Now, put aside for the moment the president has used the kidding excuse in the past on several occasions, for example, when he said Americans could inject themselves with disinfectant to ward off the coronavirus. The next day, he said he was just kidding about that, he was being sarcastic about that.

[15:15:02]

But putting all of that aside, we're getting a new version of comments and a new version of events from the White House press secretary, who was on Air Force One with reporters earlier today saying, the president, when he said he doesn't kid, was trying to make a serious point about testing and that he was being sarcastic about it on Saturday night.

So, if you're having trouble following, we're having trouble following this too. But contrast all of that, Brooke, with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who very soberly up on Capitol Hill earlier today was saying, no, they are not slowing down testing. They're ramping up testing, because there is a very serious problem in this country right now.

This pandemic is not under control in the U.S., and they're seeing cases spiking in places like Arizona, where we are right now. Now, the president is not just facing a health emergency, Brooke. He is also facing a political emergency.

If he doesn't win Arizona, it is hard to see how he wins reelection in the fall. And that's a part of the reason why he's here tonight and going to be at this church event in Phoenix later on this evening -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Jim Acosta, we will be looking for all of that tonight and all your coverage. Thank you very much in Arizona.

I want to talk about Atlanta right now, live pictures here as the funeral for Rayshard Brooks is coming to a close. He is the man who police shot and killed in a Wendy's parking lot a couple weekends ago. And so let's take you to that service coming up.

And President Trump continues to defend monuments with histories of racism, and now he's issuing a threat of serious jail time for anyone who tries to remove them.

And we are approaching a major deadline for Major League Baseball players. We now have less than two hours to go for them to agree on terms for a shortened season. So we could have baseball this summer. We have got the details. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

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[15:21:10]

BALDWIN: We're back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

An emotional day for family and friends of Rayshard Brooks, as they close out the funeral for the 27-year-old who was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer earlier this month.

Live pictures, as you see the casket in the hearse. They gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, a powerful service as they honored Brooks and remembered the life of a beloved husband, father and friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMBREA MIKOLAJCZYK, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: Through ray's death, he will save the lives of our daughters and sons. There is a movement, a shift in the atmosphere, for this will be his legacy.

The battle is won.

ROCHELLE GOODEN, MOTHER-IN-LAW OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: He would have the biggest smile, the smile that -- I mean, I look at my grandbaby right there. She looks just like him. And when I look at her, I know that he's not gone, because I see her. And that's what he would want us to do, to love, not the love that he gave us, but to love one another.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let my uncle's death make us better people no matter the race. Let's treat each other how we want to be treated, as people. Let's love one another and fight for everyone's rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's go to Atlanta and CNN's Ryan Young.

And, Ryan, tell us more about the service.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, unbelievable, Brooke.

When you think about this, all the people who were scheduled to speak today, and it was the youngest voice who was there, who we just heard from, who probably really brought the crowd to tears.

Her voice kind of piercing through one about the love for her uncle, but the need for all of us as a community and a country to come together, was sort of inspiring to sit there and listen to such a youthful voice talk about things that obviously adults are struggling with right now.

And as you can see behind us, you can see the images of the family who's just left this emotional service. And they're getting ready to take the body off from here. And I can tell you, a lot of people were sort of reflecting on the fact that they feel like we have been here too many times. But one thing that was made clear in this is, the family loves the city of Atlanta and they love the outpouring of support that they have received.

But there was a call for action.

In fact, listen to Reverend Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, talk about what's needed in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: This is about a whole system that cries out for renewal and reform.

America, the city on the hill, Atlanta, the city too busy to hate, rather than trying to destroy one another, maybe God has summoned us here. And maybe God wants us to use Rayshard's tragic story and this dark story to move us toward finally turning the page.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Brooke, if you have lived here before -- and you have -- you know a lot of people love the fact that this is called a city too busy to hate, where white people and black people get together and have some of these discussions sort of just in open air.

So it hurt a lot of people that this is a conversation that's going on right now. I can tell you right after now we have lines of people on three different blocks who are waiting for this casket to drive by. Not sure what they're going to do afterwards.

We have been told the attorneys for the family were also going to come over and make some statements.

Just to talk about everything else that goes on in this story right now, we know that the police department, there were several officers who've been calling out sick. Those officers have all shown up to work apparently today. So that has sort of stopped.

[15:25:01]

There was also a court appearance for the officer involved in Rayshard Brooks' case. That was rescheduled, so that wouldn't happen during the funeral.

So, a lot of news going on today. We're also hearing about more developments in the story moving forward, but, Brooke, we will get some of those details for you a little later on.

BALDWIN: I know you will. You have done an amazing job covering all this there in Atlanta.

Ryan Young, thank you. We have some breaking news now about, a former prosecutor for the

Roger Stone case is now speaking out ahead of this congressional hearing that set for tomorrow, and he is saying that Roger Stone was treated differently because of his close relationship with the president and -- quote, unquote -- "The highest levels of the Justice Department" politicized the sentencing of President Trump's longtime friend and adviser.

Those breaking details -- next.

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