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Trump Pulls Back On Criticism Of Dr. Anthony Fauci; Israelis Demand Economic Relief As Restrictions Resume; Corporate Earnings Kick Off In Coming Day. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired July 14, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi welcome, to our viewers joining us from all around the world, you're watching CNN I'm Robyn Curnow. Just ahead California closures, opening and now closing again as the coronavirus dictates the pace of business, retail and education in America.
Plus politics versus the pandemic, the Trump White House squaring off against the man, that Americans trust most to guide him through these dark times.
And in a region, run by oil, the lockdown of the coronavirus, could spell economic disaster in the Middle East.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM. With Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Great to have you along for the next hour, thanks for joining us.
With the number of COVID-19 cases, surging across the U.S. the latest figures show that nearly one out of every 100 Americans has tested positive for the virus. The California's governor, is ordering bars to close and, ending indoor dining. They're also closing gyms and places of worship.
Florida is also seeing increased infections. If Florida was a country, it would rank fourth in the world in new cases. Globally we know the infections are now topping 30 million, with the death toll near 600,000 people.
Also new infections in Brazil, are skyrocketing there and the health ministry reporting nearly a quarter million cases in just the past 7 days. Meanwhile cases are rising in at least 35 U.S. states, only Maine, New Jersey and Delaware, are trending down.
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TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Let me be blunt. Too many countries are headed in the wrong direction.
The virus remains public enemy number one, but the actions of many governments and people do not reflect of this.
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CURNOW: But the surge in U.S. cases, comes as the White House has been trying to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci. They sent out talking points at the weekend, criticizing the top disease expert.
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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Unprecedented in what it is. One thinks about the worst nightmare of an infectious disease person who's interested in global health and outbreaks, is the combination of a new microbe that has a spectacular degree of capability of transmitting and also has a considerable degree of morbidity and mortality.
And here it is, it's happened. Your worst nightmare, the perfect storm.
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CURNOW: Dr. Fauci also says that we haven't even begun to see the end of the pandemic here in the U.S. We also know the spike in cases means long delays in getting test results. Quest Diagnostics said soaring demand is causing delays of up to 7 days. And many U.S. states, are rolling back their efforts to open and Nick Watt has the day's headlines.
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NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California is closing down again.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Effective today, requiring all counties to close their indoor activities, restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums, card rooms and the shuttering of all bars.
WATT: For counties like Los Angeles on the governor's watch list of the worst, there's even more shuttering.
NEWSOM: Fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services -- that includes hair salons, barbershops -- and indoor malls.
WATT: Meanwhile, Florida is smashing records, more than 15,000 new COVID cases Sunday, the most logged in any state, any day, ever.
MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ (R-FL), MIAMI: We have to get control of these numbers. These numbers are out of control.
WATT: Disney World just opened two parks, but if you don't wear a mask, you won't get the photo from your ride. Seriously, that's part of the enforcement.
As for masks around the country, there is still no federal mandate. Even though --
DR. JEROME ADAMS, SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: We can turn this thing around in two to three weeks if we can get a critical mass of people wearing face coverings.
WATT: Meanwhile, in Texas the average daily death toll just doubled in a week. Harvard researchers say these eight states should also roll back reopening.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You don't necessarily need to shut down again but pull back a bit.
WATT: Dr. Fauci says in large part because --
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FAUCI: People in some states who went from shutdown to complete throwing caution to the wind.
WATT: Atlanta already rolled back to phase one, the mayor and her family recovering.
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D-GA), ATLANTA: We are a textbook example of how quickly this virus spreads. We had one child in the house who was asymptomatic. I was also asymptomatic and my husband doesn't have any underlying health conditions and this has hit him really hard.
WATT: Internal CDC documents uncovered by "The New York Times" suggest fully opening K-12 schools and colleges would be the highest- risk option and that's what the Trump administration wants.
MERCEDES SCHNEIDER, PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER: It is a political roll of the dice for us and we are the dice, the teachers in the classrooms.
WATT: Los Angeles, second largest district in the nation just said school will start back in August, online only. There is a way out of all of this. New York City opened slowly,
(on camera): Now in Los Angeles and San Diego school districts have both said that kids will not be back in the classroom for the start of the fall semester. They say they will only be back in the classrooms when the public health conditions allow and as the governor of California said, this virus is not going away any time soon -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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CURNOW: Dr. Neha Nanda is a health care epidemiologist and an infectious disease physician at Keck Medicine.
What do you make of this latest study that immunity wanes even if you have COVID-19? DR. NEHA NANDA, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MEDICAL SCHOOL: There's new data that just came out in the last few hours suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 may be behaving like a cold virus. As in the study was conducted, with about 65, people and 31 health care workers.
And what we learned was, all except to, had an antibody response, within 2 weeks of the infection. And interestingly, as you pointed out, almost all of them had waning titers at 3 months. Which is not surprising. It belongs to the family of coronaviruses but we've had other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, where the antibodies remained in our system longer.
So what this tells us is that this can, in fact, impact the vaccine development. And it can pose a challenge, in our reaching our herd immunity threshold. It definitely is enlightening, based on their results as we know them today.
CURNOW: What does this mean, you briefly mentioned it, if it has an implication on the concept of herd immunity, it is certainly not going to be helpful, if you're not immune after 3 months.
But how does that impact vaccine development?
NANDA: I think, with the vaccines, the way we designs vaccines, we have to design them in such a way, that the immunity is longer lasting, than when we acquire through natural infection. And this is something, that obviously so many groups are working on actively.
CURNOW: Yes it's just that's the case in point, so many groups working on vaccines and so many unanswered questions. It's still such early days, which is why we are seeing in California where you are, a reversal essentially you being shut down again.
And as a doctor is this something you would advocate or do you think that basically many places just need to stay at home and self police?
NANDA: So I think we will talk about, how this virus, this pandemic that has taught us, that there is a new norm. And then there is a fine balance, where we have to, will be sensitive to our economic condition and, to the safety and health of everyone.
Now that we are again, in the mode of shutting down or slowing down, next time when we reopen, I think we should learn from history. Let's not -- we don't want history to repeat itself, that would be really sad. But numbers are increasing, so I think we have to be conservative without a doubt.
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CURNOW: As parents, obviously the school year starts again, in August or September here in the United States. As parents and teachers across this country, trying to figure out whether or not kids should come to school, again there's political pressure that they should.
What is the advice you would give to parents who are watching this now and thinking I just don't know what to do. My kids need to go to school but what is the danger here?
NANDA: Education and safety go hand in hand. At the same time, we do have to look at what is happening in the community when we decide to open schools. It is not wise, it's not wisdom at all, when the slope is upwards, to consider opening us up, where we know we are getting more people thereby setting up, a congregate setup.
That is not advisable. So education and safety go hand in hand and we have to be sensitive to what is happening in the community as we decide on a date and time, when we decide to reopen schools.
And when we do reopen it has to be a very slow, staggered process. It has to be a cautious approach, where we adapt ourselves to a new way of teaching. Even when, it is in person.
CURNOW: Doctor, thank you very much, Dr. Neha Nanda, a health care expert and epidemiologist. Thank you so much.
NANDA: Thank you, Robyn.
CURNOW: So Mexico has now confirmed more than 300,000 cases of coronavirus becoming only the 7th country to reach that number. Health officials say another 4,600 people were infected on Monday and at least 485 others have died.
The country has the fourth highest death toll in the world, only behind the U.S., Brazil and U.K. Peru's death toll has risen to 12,000 people, after another 184 fatalities reported on Monday. It is the largest one day spike they had this month.
The government is moving ahead with plans to reopen the economy with transportation services continuing this week. Peru has the 5th highest total in the world and the second highest in Latin America.
And Brazil remains the worst hit country in the region, with nearly 2 million cases confirmed. Many infections are now being reported in rural towns, where indigenous communities have been devastated. Bill Weir reports now it's happening as the president continues to downplay the threat.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A long lens found Brazil's most famous COVID-19 patients up in about this weekend. And this Twitter selfie was part of a post that inform the nation there on the verge of recession, as he called for families to depoliticize the pandemic, after so much, quote, "misinformation was used as a weapon."
To his critics, that is outrageous since President Bolsonaro often defied a judge's order to wear a mask in public and pushed out two health ministers who disagreed with him. Now he has a team of doctors, in his own palace ICU at the ready, hospitals across his country are jammed.
Here in the geographic center of Brazil, a husband and wife suffer in adjoining beds. A son comforts his ailing father and their doctor is still regaining his strength after 10 days in intensive care.
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WILSON VILETA, BRAZILIAN DOCTOR: So today, my boss, our boss, is inside with the ventilation with tube.
WEIR: Really?
VILETA: Yes. Be better.
WEIR: My gosh.
VILETA: And does not respond to the chloroquine.
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WEIR: Chloroquine is among the cheap, abundant, antimalaria drugs pushed by Bolsonaro as a COVID cure, along with vitamins, steroids and medication for parasitic worms. Dr. Vileta says he has tried them all with wildly mixed results.
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VILETA: I do not know what to do. What do I do?
WEIR: Right.
VILETA: Water?
WEIR: Yes, water.
VILETA: Yes. Yes.
WEIR: You have very little -- you are trying everything you can.
VILETA: Yes. Yes. It is a new disease.
WEIR: Yes.
VILETA: It's a new -- it's a new pandemic. So we don't have things to do it.
WEIR: He says it's even more challenging treating the indigenous Brazilians who once had this edge at the Amazon to themselves but are now surrounded by farms and ranched, a soybean trucker first brought COVID-19 to this region. And it is tearing through a community already struggling with vulnerable immune systems, diabetes and a deep mistrust of the outside world.
"I would like Jair Bolsonaro to stop talking stupid nonsense," Crisanto Rudzo tells me.
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WEIR: The doctors have to prescribe, not the president. His government did not take prevention seriously. It did not prepare. The indigenous leader was on a ventilator when his mother died of COVID-19.
"We have a very strong spirituality. So she was there. And took my hand and told me I would get out of this to take care of my people. Five days later, my father died.
As the pandemic spread, Brazil's Congress passed a bill that would provide clean water, disinfectant and hospital beds for this country's 850,000 indigenous natives. Last week, those efforts were vetoed by Jair Bolsonaro -- Bill Weir, CNN, Brazil.
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CURNOW: Thanks to Bill for that piece.
You're watching CNN. Coming up, new rules for shoppers in England and fines for those who don't follow them.
And in England, children are suffering because of COVID-19, we'll explain that we get back.
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CURNOW: Hopefully customers won't have a shocking time at this British pub. The Star Inn in Cornwall has installed an electric fence, near the bar as you can see here. It's to ensure customers maintain social distancing during the pandemic.
Johnny McFarland (ph) says the fence is not turned on but customers are treating it like it is and keeping their distance.
And the U.K., is set to make wearing masks, mandatory in English shops beginning July 24th. Boris Johnson, seen wearing one here, confirmed the support of face coverings on Monday.
Masks have been mandatory on public transport since June 15th and they are really required in shops in Scotland, which has its own power over public health. The U.K. has the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe, almost 45,000 people.
Let's go straight to London; Anna Stewart is joining me now. So we are not talking about electric fences here in shops but certainly masks, another way to get people to keep themselves safe.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes no electric shocks for people not wearing masks in shops, later in July but there will be in fine of up to $125, hopefully that will go some way into encouraging people to wear the masks.
[02:20:00] STEWART: Robyn, it has been such an about turn from the U.K., I know the WHO's guidance only turned last week on this. But the U.K. is behind England is behind Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece and Scotland in wearing face coverings mandatory in shops.
We've undergone something of a revolution here in the U.K. At the beginning of the crisis in March, one of the chief doctors said that they thought that wearing a face covering could help spread the virus. It could help contain it in front of your mouth and if you touched your face taking your mask on and off, it could not be good in terms of spreading the virus.
So much mixed messaging from the government over this. And on Friday the prime minister said that he thought it should become stricter on face coverings, saying that this would happen.
And then on Sunday, one of his top ministers, thinks it should not be mandatory; it should be common sense. Today that announcement is expected to come this afternoon in the House of Commons. So a complete about turn for England but it will become mandatory to wear face masks by the end of July.
CURNOW: So just I think you're around the corner from shops there and it's densely packed London shops.
Do people not wear masks in those shops?
Or is it going to be a big shift for folks?
STEWART: It will be a huge shift for folks, I think that's why the fine is there, if you go out the shops in England, I was in a big shopping center in Westfield, very few people are wearing face coverings. And the polls actually say it's about 25 percent to 35 percent of people in England that actually wear face coverings in public and even on public transport.
And it was mandatory to wear face coverings from mid-June. Even then on buses and tubes, you will frequently see people not doing that. It brings back the question of the enforcement of this as well.
During the whole quarantine debacle, which has been left up to many countries, you know, it's never been recorded even of a single fine being put against anyone.
So the big question I guess will be will this be enforced by the police?
If it is, you will see a huge shift in people wearing face coverings. And possibly feeling more comfortable in doing so. If they feel it is mandatory and there's a good reason for it, I think perhaps people in England will get on board. Robyn.
CURNOW: Anna Stewart there in London thank you.
So staying in the U.K., the coronavirus has been having problems in the British provisions. After 23 hours a day, against U.N. guidelines but English and Welsh prison officials say it's necessary, to help save lives. Here is Phil Black.
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JUDE LANCHIN, LAWYER: Start a conversation, God.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The wheels of English justice are grinding painfully slowly because of COVID-19. Lawyer Jude Lanchin and a colleague are trying to establish a video call to a client's prison.
LANCHIN: Miracle, wow, very frustrating as you can imagine.
BLACK: After all these 30 minutes they finally bring in the client.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
LANCHIN: Hello.
BLACK: COVID-19 prison rules made Lanchin and the person she's representing have never met or even seen each other until this moment.
LANCHIN: Nice to meet you properly and see you. Wow, baby face. Honestly. Gosh.
BLACK: We can't identify him. He's only just turned 16. In custody since early April, his trial is postponed indefinitely because of a vast legal backlog created by the pandemic. And COVID-19 prison restrictions mean he must wait alone in his cell for 23 hours a day. Little education, exercise and support, no visitors, including lawyers and family.
LANCHIN: How was your, just for final thing, how is your mental health?
How is this all impacting on how you are feeling?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I'd say I'm very stable in that sense but now it's like this yes, I can be fine in one second and then the next second it's just, I would say it's deteriorating and I realize it's myself, that's what's kind of the worrying part like, I see it myself.
I can be fine one second and then I'll think of something and then my whole mood just changes. I struggle to sleep.
BLACK: He is not alone. The latest figures from May show 614 children in custody in England and Wales. This is what some of them have told their lawyers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being stuck in prison is awful, never mind coronavirus, now it's even worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're in your room 23 and a half hours a day. I'm used to it now, but it's depressing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm bored, stressed out that it's just alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stressful behind my door all day. [02:25:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting to my head.
BLACK: They've all been living through what the United Nations guidelines define as solitary confinement, 22 hours a day without meaningful human contact and those guidelines say it should never be used on children.
The prison service for England and Wales hopes to begin relaxing that confinement in the coming weeks. It says it knows the restrictions are difficult for children but they are based on expert advice and it says that's helped save lives.
Not good enough says lawmaker David Lammy.
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DAVID LAMMY, BRITISH LABOUR M.P.: On report, coronavirus is a challenge for the system but it is not a call for Democratic countries like our own to abandon norms that we have fought hard for in this country. It's very disappointing and worried that we're treating young people in this way.
BLACK: Lammy's review into English and Welsh prisons confirmed a well-known suspicion, black and other minority children are disproportionately represented. They now make up just over half of children in prison, while minorities are only 14 percent of the U.K.'s general population. Lammy says that means they're also suffering disproportionately in solitary confinement.
LAMMY: Many children will have experience trauma in different aspects of their life and many of them will have been pinned or abused by adults and have put them in this criminal setting. And that's why it's hugely serious to treat them in a way that further damages them and further impacts on their own well-being and state of mind.
BLACK: But Jude Lanchin and her colleague are still working to get their client bail.
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LANCHIN: OK. Yes, take care.
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BLACK: The U.K. has made many difficult decisions to stop the spread of COVID-19.
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LANCHIN: My God, he's so young, I mean, he really is a child.
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BLACK: Few should be more difficult that depriving vulnerable children of freedom and support -- Phil Black, CNN, London.
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CURNOW: So police in China say that a man deliberately crashed a bus full of passengers after learning that his home had been demolished. We know at least 21 people were killed, including the bus driver, when he crashed the vehicle into a reservoir.
Authorities say the driver was unsatisfied with his life and upset that his house had been demolished, leaving him homeless.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM, the White House is taking aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci but President Trump says they have a good relationship.
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CURNOW: A new day and another reversal of sorts from the U.S. President Donald Trump. After appearing to publicly discredit the nation's top infectious disease expert in the middle of a pandemic, now, the President is downplaying the tensions that he himself created. Here's Jim Acosta with more on that.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After spending days railing against Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Trump and his top aides seem to be pulling back from what appear to be a campaign to undermine one of the nation's most trusted health experts.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci. I've had for a long time right from the beginning. I find him to be a very nice person. I don't always agree with him. I know I get along with him very well. I like him.
ACOSTA: Even though his access to the president is all but cut off and his T.V. appearances had been blocked by White House officials, it's Fauci who is still offering Americans a dose of reality, warning the Coronavirus pandemic remains a danger to the public.
ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We haven't even begun to see the end of it yet. But until you get it completely under control, it's still going to be a threat.
ACOSTA: Even as Coronavirus cases reach record numbers in multiple states over the last few days, White House aides have blasted Fauci anonymously, telling reporters several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.
Why not have the guts to trash Dr. Fauci with your own names?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, PRESS SECRETARY, WHITE HOUSE: So President Trump, I'll refer you back, there's no opposition research being dumped to reporters. The notion that there's opposition research and that there's Fauci versus the president couldn't be further from the truth. Dr. Fauci and the President have always had a very good working relationship.
ACOSTA: While sometimes questioning the expertise of Fauci who was once awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Mr. Trump appears to be putting his faith in people who aren't scientists, retweeting this tweet from former game show host Chuck Woolery who claims "The most outrageous lies are the ones about COVID-19. Everyone is lying, the CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors not all but most, that we are told to trust."
Even though he's just recently embraced wearing a mask and is still downplaying the threat posed by the virus.
TRUMP: Were about 135,000 and will be somewhat higher than that by the time it ends.
ACOSTA: Mr. Trump is offering up a new conspiracy that unnamed forces are working in cahoots to keep schools close to damage his reelection chances.
TRUMP: We have to open the schools. We have to get them open. And I think there's a lot of politics going along. I think -- they think they'll do better if they can keep the schools closed in the election. I don't think it's going to help them frankly, but I think they feel that by keeping schools close, that's a bad thing for the country, and therefore that's a good thing for them.
ACOSTA: That came a day after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos falsely claimed there was no health risk in sending children back to school, when it's likely some students will pass the virus on to teachers.
BETSY DEVOS, EDUCATION SECRETARY, UNITED STATES: There is no nothing in the data that would suggest that kids being back in school is dangerous to them. And in fact, it's more a matter of their health and well-being that they'd be back in school.
ACOSTA: Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is acknowledging there have been problems with the administration's response writing in an op-ed on CNBC's Web site, "I know it isn't popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a testing problem in this country."
MCENANY: Our reaction is that we've tested -- we lead the world and testing.
ACOSTA: As for his decision to commute the sentence of former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone, the President is standing by the controversial move that was opposed by some top officials in his own administration.
TRUMP: I'm getting rave reviews for what I did for Roger Stone.
ACOSTA: Attorney General William Barr who said he approved of the Stone prosecution is now praising the president. WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL, UNITED STATES: First, let me say what
an honor it is for me to serve under a president who was such a strong supporter of law enforcement.
ACOSTA: As for Fauci, the last time he spoke with the President was on June second more than a month ago. White House officials concede it would be difficult to fire Fauci and I'm told Fauci believes that best thing you can do is to continue to tell the truth about the virus to the American people, and that he has accepted the fact that he cannot do much to stem the criticism coming from the White House. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
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CURNOW: Well, joining me now to talk more about this is CNN Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor for the Atlantic Ron Brownstein. Ron, hi, good to see you. So, we've just heard Jim Acosta laying out the facts there. The U.S. President is creating a scenario where someone else is to blame, this time, it's Dr. Fauci. I mean, that's a very familiar part of this President's playbook no matter what the crisis they have at the moment.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And not only as president, but really through his whole life. I mean, you know, loyalty has always been very much of a one-way street to the president and everybody who doesn't share the same last name as him and even some, maybe you do have been disposable to him throughout his career.
This is you know, kind of a hopeless quest on his part. I mean, the idea -- he may not believe the buck stops here, as Harry Truman famously said, but in a crisis of this magnitude there's no question the American people will judge him and judge his decisions far more than any other figure inside the government.
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CURNOW: So what's the strategy? What is the political win or the political thinking behind going after Dr. Fauci as if this is an episode of, you know, Survivor or Bachelor or whatever?
BROWNSTEIN: Right, the Apprentice, you're fired. Look, I look, I think it intersects two trends -- two aspects of outbreak that we've been dealing with politically from the outset. One is that the President is utterly (AUDIO GAP) possible, no matter the external conditions. I mean, he made this judgment very early on, which I think is an incorrect judgment, that he will be hurt if -- his only way out of this is to -- is to have the economy up and running as quickly as possible.
But that has put him in a position where he seems to simply (AUDIO GAP) denying the reality that Americans are seeing around them every day. And you know, a (AUDIO GAP) that we have it under control or it's just going to disappear. And it just produces enormous credibility problem for him.
And the second I think instinct that you see here is this desire this extends far beyond the Coronavirus to govern as an outsider in effect with his own government to try to portray himself as someone who is not -- who is not really part of all of this, and that he has kind of steal the voice from the bleachers of bringing the you know, the grievances of the common man into government.
And again, that, you know, has had an appeal at points to an audience in his coalition. But during a pandemic when we're with three million cases, 130,000 people dead, back to 50, 60,000 cases a day, two-thirds of Americans have said in polling that they are concerned that the President disregards experts and substitutes his own gut for what experts are telling him. And in this case, the instinct to kind of position himself outside of the government only reinforces those doubts.
CURNOW: Yes, I mean, it's interesting because he's basically telling Americans, Jim mentioned the one tweet, but even just by his actions, he's telling Americans not to listen to doctors, to not trust science. Why also does that message full on easy is among many Americans who, particularly here in the south, find that in some way persuasive, and their behavior reflects that.
BROWNSTEIN: Right. Look, the essence of modern conservative populism in the U.S. and in other countries, for that matter, is that the virtuous real America, you know, essentially White Christian America is under siege from two directions. It's under siege for minorities and immigrants who threaten their jobs and their security, and it's under siege from elites and experts who allegedly destroying their values.
And, you know, they're -- you know, when this started, it looked as though they were kind of the bright line around medical experts that would separate them from that traditional attempt by conservatives to portray them as kind of ivory tower, you know, professors who are telling everyone else how to live their lives. It didn't sustain especially when the news got bad.
And so, the President has kind of fallen back into the same way he talks about Hollywood elites and media leads and coastal elites. He -- you know, he wants to portray the medical profession as an essence, not necessarily people who know better, but who simply desire to tell everybody else what to do with their lives. And there is an audience for that in the Republican Party. It is not a majority of the country, however.
It is a particularly damaging message for the president among the college-educated white-collar voters who have moved away from him since 2018 and on and with whom he is underperforming any Republican presidential candidate ever at this point.
Just a final question on Joe Biden. We're talking about Mr. Trump because in many ways, throughout his presidency, he has dominated the conversations, and it sets the narrative day by day it seems, where is Joe Biden here? Is this his strategy that he pulls back and lets the president perhaps stumble or is this -- has COVID in some way helped to silence the Democratic nominee?
I mean, I know the polls that might give us some indication of whether or not that's working either way.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think by this point you have to say that it is Joe Biden's strategy to remain relatively less visible and to allow the debate essentially to be the president against the virus rather than the president against him. I mean, he has chewed up four months March, April, May, and June with his lead expanding without him really being very visible on these debates.
Now, he is getting out more. You know, he put out a first plank of his economic program last week tomorrow. He is putting out another major proposal on clean energy and moving the economy to all clean power generation by 2035, a very ambitious goal. But by and large, you know, they do seem content to kind of let it -- let it be Trump in the spotlight really battling the virus, as I said.
The risk and all of this is that Biden isn't that well defined to a big chunk of the electorate, especially to those younger non-white voters with whom he ran very poorly during the primaries, and with whom polls show he still has a real enthusiasm problem.
So, he does have some work to do, but by and large, it has served his purpose to have a shorter election in which I think we're going to go all the way through July without much engagement between the candidates, given the trajectory that we're seeing in the cases, that is going to be the big story in America for the next few weeks.
[02:40:29]
CURNOW: OK. Ron Brownstein, good to speak to you as always, live there from Los Angeles.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
CURNOW: Thanks. So, a grieving daughter is lashing out to politicians after a father died from the coronavirus. Kristin Urkquiza wrote an emotional obituary that expressed both her love for her father Mark and her anger over what she says was his unnecessary death. She says Arizona Governor Doug Ducey failed the people of his state by opening up too early. Take a listen to Kristen reading a part of what she wrote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN URQUIZA, DAUGHTER OF COVID-19 VICTIM: Mark, like so many others, should not have died from COVID-19. His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, Kristin says her dad only left the house for work during the stay at home order. And he began going up more though when the governor encouraged people to resume their normal lives. URQUIZA: My father, I believe, was robbed of life. And I have endured a living nightmare over the course of the last three weeks that he was sick and passed. And I knew that if I didn't speak up, who would. And the best thing that I could do to continue to fight for my father was to fight for other families out there, and to make it known that these deaths are preventable as long as we are focused on a coordinated response that minimizes risk and puts people first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, the governor's office has responded, and a spokesperson said this. "Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Mark Antony Urquiza. We know nothing can fully alleviate the pain associated with this loss, and every loss from this virus is tragic."
So you're watching CNN. Virus restriction restrictions are back in Israel after surge in new cases there. And all of these people are now very frustrated with their government.
[02:45:00]
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CURNOW: So there's growing anger in Israel over the government's response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters demanded economic relief after a spike in new cases caused restrictions to be reimposed. Here's Oren Liebermann for that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On the streets of Tel Aviv, the numbers are going up. First, there's the number of protesters. Police say more than 10,000 people filled Rabin Square to demonstrate against the government's handling of the Coronavirus crisis, demanding economic aid and health signs that read economic war and free the money.
YIGAL SHILOAH, PROTESTER: I don't feel that they're doing enough to support us. We eat our savings, we don't get any money.
LIEBERMANN: Then there's unemployment which hit 21 percent this week according to the Israel employment service. Over the weekend, 1,250 citizens returned to work with more than twice that number filed for unemployment.
MAAYAN ELIASI, PROTESTER: I can't train, I can prep, I can work. I can get money from the country. My clients can't come and train and I had enough of it.
LIEBERMANN: And there's Coronavirus which has surged to record numbers of new cases a day. Israel is struggling to contain in July what it thought it had under control in May. The numbers have all put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who promised up to $2,170 and soon the unemployed and business owners who qualify.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): This support, this grant is not dependent on legislation. And we ordered that it will be acted already today. The button will be pressed so the money will arrive in account in the next few days.
LIEBERMANN: One number that is falling, Netanyahu's approval rating in the handling of the Coronavirus crisis from 74 percent in May to 46 percent now. Last week, Netanyahu held a zoom call with business owners trying to placate their fears. Instead he became the target their anger.
My husband and I, we don't know what to do. How are we going to live? This woman tells the Prime Minister. We never got anything in the first round or the second round. There's nothing that we can do. We need a serious solution.
Politically, Israel's longest-serving prime minister faces no real threat from the right or the left, but he has to contend with a second wave of Coronavirus on a tide of economic hardship.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: That report there from Oren Liebermann. Now, COVID-19 is deepening the recession all over the Middle East and causing into the International Monetary Fund to slash its full cost for the region. That's due in large part to much of the world staying home and not using much oil. And that affects so many aspects of these economies from fighting poverty to stimulus plans.
Well, John Defterios is standing by live in Abu Dhabi with more on all of that. John, hi.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Hello, Robyn. Yes, this is quite a nasty combination that we have in the system right now because, as you suggested, we know that it is a global pandemic. It's slowed down economic growth, but it's undermined oil demand. It was down at one point nearly 30 percent, but it's still for the year, roughly down 10 percent.
So this is the way the IMF sees as the major challenges. They call what I just described there, the double whammy, which is hitting the economy's particularly hard, negative 7.3 percent for the Middle East oil exporters overall. They're going to be losing $270 billion vis-a- vis 2019. That is serious erosion.
And something that was overlooked beyond the borders of the Middle East here is that the stimulus packages are some of the lowest in the world. So the International Monetary Fund is suggesting with this snapback there's going to be a wave of new pressure and more challenging times ahead. Let's hear the regional director from the IMF.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIHAD AZOUR, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, IMF: Defeated ahead will be marked by high uncertainty amid the unclear shape and the speed of the global recovery. Risks of second round pandemic with more protracted impact are elevated. Therefore, navigating the uncertainty in the period ahead will require agility and preparedness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: That's difficult to do if you don't have money in the bank that the Gulf states here on the Arabian Peninsula have $2 trillion of sovereign wealth that's being eaten up. If you have to think of the context of the Iraq, Iran, Angola, countries like Kazakhstan in Central Asia, Libya, the failed state, this is very, very difficult. So you can't be that agile, if you don't have money in the bank and your oil revenue represents 90 percent of your budget.
CURNOW: So bad news on that front also, expecting a little bit of bad luck, bad news, and when we talk about the earnings coming out this weekend, particularly when it comes to banks. So many -- so many bankruptcies, certainly going to have an impact on the world.
[02:50:03]
DEFTERIOS: Yes. And Robyn, they're out of the starting gate if you will. They're the first to report their quarterly earnings here. And the bigger names JPMorgan Chase and groups like Citigroup, Wells Fargo, which may give up its dividend, they've set aside $35 billion for toxic loans because of the bankruptcies that you're talking about. That's not going to be nearly enough.
Their earnings are probably going to go down by 50 percent. And that's why we saw a spike up in prices early in the day and then a wake-up call saying, OK, earnings start tomorrow, what's going to happen? So we had a fall of nearly one percent for the S&P 500, two percent for the NASDAQ. But if you look at the futures right now, they're at their high for the early morning Asian trade, although we see some of the Asian markets down.
And if we circle back to oil in the impact of the Middle East, OPEC is going to be talking about maybe easing some oil back on the market. And this is keeping oil prices under pressure in the Asian trade.
CURNOW: OK, thanks so much. John Defterios there in Abu Dhabi, live there. Keep us posted on how things go for the rest of the week. Thank you. So, some news from South Africa. Zindzi Mandela, the youngest daughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela and activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has died. She was 59 years old.
Mandela was South Africa's ambassador to Denmark at the time of her death. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says Mandela brought home "the unshakable resolve to fight for freedom." No cause of death has been announced.
You are watching CNN. An English Premier League star opens up about the racist abuse he received while playing in Eastern Europe. That story is next.
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CURNOW: I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. So now to racism in European football. In part two of our interview with the English Premier League's Christian Kabasele, he reflects on being racially abused every two weeks in Bulgaria where he played from 2011 to 2012. From monkey chants, to bananas being thrown at him, and even be called the N-word by a fan. Kabasele faced horrific, racist behavior.
Well, Watford's star defender spoke to multiple contributor Darren Lewis in March and gave a candid account of his time playing in Eastern Europe. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARREN LEWIS, CNN WORLD SPORT CONTRIBUTOR: It was worse when you were in Bulgaria, in Ludogorets, wasn't it?
CHRISTIAN KABASELE, WATFORD DEFENDER: Yes, yes. There he was -- it was every two weeks when we were playing away, monkey chant and sometimes banana. I remember especially one situation, I was waiting for the bus to leave so I was outside the bus. I was in on the phone with my wife, and fan just came to me and said you are F and the N-word -- you are F and the N-word just like this. Just like this.
I didn't even -- I think I've been doing the game but he just came to me and say this and after, he left with his friends. So when you see this kind of thing, you understand that people there are really, really close and they don't want to be open to someone different, somebody different, somebody from another tradition, another country. And even for the federation, there it's normal because nothing is changed.
[02:55:04]
LEWIS: Christian, educate me here. Why do players go and play football in countries where there is racism?
KABASELE: To be honest, at that moment, I was young. I was 20 years old. And I didn't realize that the problem was that big there. I just wanted to play football and Bulgaria at that moment was for me the best place to play football. And I didn't realize that there was such a residence in that -- in that country.
If now you tell me, you can -- you can go there in this -- in this kind of country, I would probably say no, because I don't want to live -- to live this again.
LEWIS: A lot of players are going to countries where there's a big racism problem and no real will from the people who run the game in those countries to deal with it. Do you believe that black players are thinking more about -- or thinking twice about going to those countries now to play football?
KABASELE: Yes, I think. I think they have to. Because before signing there, you know how the situation is, and you know that you will not get the same support as you as if you play in England or France or I don't know where. Sometimes it's difficult as well because some player doesn't have many choice to play -- to play football, and sometimes Bulgaria is the only place that you -- where you can play football. So, to live, to live your dream sometimes you need to make a sacrifice.
And when you accept to go there -- to go there, you need to be -- to be strong in your head and know in advance that you will probably be alone against everybody. Because even my teammates or even people from my home team, from the staff of my own team, and they said to me, this was nothing. So, you are -- you are alone against everyone and you need to be strong in the head to not -- to not give up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, a spokesperson from Kabasele's former club denied his allegations of abuse. The club's press officer told CNN, it's very strange for me to read this because it's not true. We, meaning Bulgaria, are a very tolerant nation. CNN also contacted the Bulgarian Football Association asking for comment and we are still waiting to hear back.
Well, I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for your company. You're watching CNN.
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