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Source Familiar with Trump's First Task Force Meeting Since April, He still Doesn't Get Severity of Pandemic; Democratic Senators Want More Election Security Info Made Public; Several COVID-19 Cases Reported at Georgia Schools as Classes Resume. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 05, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: All right. It's the top of the hour, good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

He still doesn't get it. Those are the words of a source familiar with President Trump's Tuesday Oval Office meeting with the White House's coronavirus task force. Those are the pictures there. It was his first meeting with that team since April. A source saying the president is still not demonstrating that he has a firm grasp of the severity of this pandemic. We will have more for you on that exclusive reporting in just a moment, certainly consistent with the public comments we've heard from the president.

HARLOW: That's right. Take a look at this though right now in the United States. These are the numbers. They are alarming, ten times in the last two weeks. The nation has seen 1,000 coronavirus deaths per day, 1,400 dead in just the last 24 hours.

Also this morning the president continuing his strong push to opening schools despite many schools already seeing setbacks.

We are live across the country this morning. We'll get to that in a moment. Let's begin though with our Jim Acosta. Jim, you have some really important reporting from a source familiar with this meeting, and, again, we should say, the first time, right, the president has attended the task force meeting since April?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Poppy and Jim. I mean, this is the first time the president was meeting with his full coronavirus task force in a comprehensive way since April. And so it's been months and months since he's had this kind of sit- down meeting.

And what it sounds like that what the president was demonstrating behind closed doors of this Oval Office meeting, we have the pictures that he tweeted out late yesterday, it is sort of what like what we hear when he goes out in front of the cameras and talks to the American people.

According to a source familiar with this meeting in the Oval Office yesterday, the president, quote, still doesn't get it. The source repeated this throughout the conversation I had with this person about this. And the person going on to say he does not get it.

And, essentially, what was going on during this meeting, according to this source, is that members of the task force, as they often try to do, try to impress upon the president the severity of the outbreak. And during those exchanges, the president would try to change the subject in the words of this source familiar with the meeting, he starts talking about something else.

And so when the president gets out there on Fox News or at one of these coronavirus task force briefings and tries to downplay the number of deaths in the U.S. compared to the rest of the world, where the U.S. is performing just poorly in that category, or talking about how great testing is in this country, he tries to engage in that same kind of rosy talk behind closed doors.

And, obviously, the top health experts of the United States, they know the difference between reality and what's going on inside the president's head. And according to this source familiar with this meeting, the president just doesn't get it.

Now, one another interesting takeaway from this meeting according to this source is that there seems to be a difference between the president responds to information and Vice President Mike Pence responds to this information. According to the source familiar with the Oval Office meeting yesterday, the president obviously will demonstrate that he doesn't get it.

Mike Pence, according to the source, will imply or communicate to members of the task force that he does understand what's happening in the country with this pandemic, but he tries to temper his comments or censor himself in a way that he doesn't get out of line with the president, so he remains in lockstep with the president.

And it does send a message, according to the source, that vice President Pence is somewhat, quote, conflicted in how he deals with this pandemic. But the overall takeaway from this meeting is that the president just doesn't get it, something obviously we've been reporting on for months and months, interesting though that he demonstrates it behind closed doors.

The other thing we should point out, according to the source, the president just in a sour mood in this meeting, just not his usual self, according to this source, saying the president is just not in a happy mood these days and perhaps that's because the election is fast approaching. Jim and Poppy?

SCIUTTO: Jim Acosta, thanks for a view inside that meeting.

Joining us now to discuss, former director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden. Dr. Frieden, always good to have you on. First, it is important to look at where we stand as a country in this outbreak, and I just want to show a map of cases, states where case numbers are rising, falling and steady. And it's the first time we've had a map where most states are seeing falls.

Now, we should note, some context here that along the east coast, we are seeing some influence of the hurricane, Isaias, because there has been less testing, therefore, you're finding less cases there. But I wonder, does that reflect your sense of where we stand in the outbreak now? Are there any signs of hope in those declines?

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Well, there is hope in parts of the country, parts of the northeast where the virus remains at low levels, though far from gone.

[10:05:01]

But, overall, Jim, the virus is winning and the American people are losing, and we need to focus on what's happening. 1,400 dead in one day is just a toll that is unacceptable, and we need to up our game.

We need a strategic approach to rapidly fixing the testing charade where people are waiting a week or two for results and we're paying hundreds of millions of dollars for companies that are doing tests that are of little or no value. We need to get ready for the next phase.

What you're seeing across the south is, yes, the trends are getting better, but they're still at a very, very high rate.

SCIUTTO: Right.

HARLOW: We heard from the president this morning a number of things, but the most alarming, at least to my ears, as a parent, was to hear what the president said about children. Let's listen to this.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: My view is the schools should open. This thing is going away. It will go away, like things go away. And my view is that schools should be open. If you look at children, children are almost -- and I would almost say definitely, but almost immune from this disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Dr. Frieden, for any parent listening to that, are children almost immune from coronavirus?

FRIEDEN: Absolutely not. Children are much less likely to get severely ill from coronavirus. That's absolutely true. They may be a thousand times less likely to get severely ill, it's rare, but it happens. You have rare long-term effects, including inflammatory conditions.

Children may be a little less likely to get infected and we don't know how likely they are to spread it to other, but they're not immune from the disease. No one who hasn't had it is immune from this disease. This disease is going to be with us for the long-term. And the more we come to terms with that, the more we can protect ourselves and our kids.

All of us would love to get kids back to school in the fall in person if possible. But, frankly, Poppy, there's a choice. You can either keep your bars open or have a chance of having your schools open, but it is almost certain you can't do both.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned the need for a national strategy. Every expert, yourself included, has been calling on that for months. Not clear -- it's pretty clear we're not going one, at least with the president's leadership. He's not only not doing it, he seems to be opposed to it.

Is the patchwork that is developing in place of that, some states with a plan, a little bit more money from Congress now for testing, aid to states, is that enough to get this under control or do you need something that is comprehensive, a national plan, national standards and national testing?

FRIEDEN: Jim, I think the next best thing and perhaps the most important thing all of us can do right now is make sure that every state and every community has transparent information and we released a list of 15 essential indicators.

And most states, not through their fault but because of lack of federal guidance, are not reporting most of these, key indicators that tell us two things. One, what is your risk in your community? And two, how well is your community doing to reduce that risk so you can go out again, your kids can go to school, you can go to work, we can save lives and get our economy back. Those essential indicators need to be reported publicly.

Some of them are available, but not being shared with the public. That's not okay. We all need to know. This is a matter of life and death. And the more we're on the same page, the more we can work together to defeat the virus.

HARLOW: Thank you so much, Dr. Frieden, for being here and for that insight.

Let's go to our Dianne Gallagher. She is in Georgia for us this morning. And just talking about children, Dianne, you have a school in Northern Georgia where a second grader tested positive for COVID-19 after just the first day of school.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, children obviously not immune from getting COVID-19 because a second grader at a Cherokee County Elementary School here in Georgia did test positive and now all of that child's classmates and teacher are having to quarantine for 14 days just out of precaution because it is possible that COVID-19, they were exposed to it.

Now, school started in-person on Monday. There are some pictures that the district posted from Sixes Elementary from that first day of school. We don't know if this is that second-grade classroom, but it is the first day of school. And while most of the children are wearing masks, not all of them are, you can see in some of these pictures that there's not necessarily a whole lot of social distancing.

But the school has said they would provide masks for students who came and didn't have one if they wanted it, that they were not going to mandate masks unless the state mandated masks. And the governor has said repeatedly he's not going to do that.

[10:10:04]

Now, again, that teacher is going to be quarantining from home and continuing to teach virtually. At this point, we are told the teacher does not have symptoms. But, again, we're talking three days after classes started, already students having to go home to quarantine because of exposure. Jim? Poppy?

SCIUTTO: Dianne Gallagher, thanks very much. We'll watch closely.

Senate Democrats say, as the election approaches, that the American people need to know who is spreading false information just three months away from the vote. My next guest was in a classified briefing with the administration just yesterday and we'll speak to the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez.

HARLOW: With this pandemic still clearly not under control, how many students are going to go to classrooms? How many will physically return in school and be able to stay there for this semester? The mayor of Topeka, Kansas, who has two teenagers herself who want to be in school, she's going to talk to us about the struggle educators and parents are facing.

And thousands across the country do not have a home to quarantine in. The steps some cities are taking in to protect this vulnerable group from COVID-19.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Senate Democrats want to make more election security information public available to you after a series of concerning closed-door briefings this week. After those meetings with top election officials and intel officials, Democratic senators say they were largely satisfied with the information, but they say Americans, voters, should be able to see it.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was in one of those closed-door briefings. He also serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He joins me now. Senator, thanks for taking the time this morning.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): Good to be with you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: I know and you know better than me, these meetings, they are classified. But just in terms of the general threat here, one of your colleagues, Senator Richard Blumenthal, he tweeted yesterday after receiving the briefing that Americans need to see and hear these report, shocked and appalled, just left a 90-minute classified meeting on foreign maligned threats to our elections from spying to sabotage. Can you characterize the severity of the threat to the upcoming election and what we're talking about here? Is it just disinformation or is it potential attacks on voting systems?

MENENDEZ: Well, let me just say that we saw in 2016 that Russia played a -- put down a major bet on Donald Trump in engaging in that election in order to help President Trump, and that happened in 2016. And the reality is that we are under, I think, a very clear threat for foreign interference in our elections, Certainly in the same type of disinformation that they created in 2016. And I also feel that the reality is is that sophistication of how to interfere is one that extends beyond disinformation. Whether or not they can succeed is another question, but the fact that the threat is there, I think, is incredibly important.

SCIUTTO: Your Republican colleague, Senator Ron Johnson, is in touch with the Russian-backed Ukrainian politician, Andriy Derkach, regarding, it seems, getting information that he hopes to be damaging to vice president -- former Vice President Joe Biden. I wonder given Derkach's ties to Russia, is it your view that Johnson is facilitating Russian interference in the election?

MENENDEZ: Well, I would just simply point out to you what Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer said in a letter to the FBI, a public letter, where they raised the concerns that, in fact, Congress seems to be clearly under the threat of a foreign disinformation campaign aimed at Congress itself.

And so I would think that any member of Congress, any chair or ranking member of a committee has to hold with the high degree of suspicion, information that is coming to them from individuals who, in fact, may very well be on the dole, as well as directed by Russia or any other government.

And so, you know, that should send immediate alarm bells up about the truth and veracity about what they're promoting.

And --

SCIUTTO: That sounds like a yes. It sounds like Johnson might get played (ph) by Russia.

MENENDEZ: -- and not to -- well, you might very well get played by Russia. You might get very well played by someone else, but I would simply say that at the end of the day, one should be really alarmed and vigilant not to end up being either wittingly or unwittingly complicit in such an effort.

SCIUTTO: Let's talk about stimulus, if we can. You have some talk now of reaching a deal possibly by the end of the week, but the gap seems to be fairly wide. That said, according to Politico, Republicans have offered to extend the enhanced unemployment benefit at $400 while up from the original offer of $200 but below the Democrats' desire of 600. Could you vote for something that is below, that is less than $600 for that enhanced benefit? MENENDEZ: Well, I really think it's difficult to go back to New Jersey and to Americans and say, that in the midst of a pandemic where unemployment is still raging that, in fact, we -- you know, here is a major victory, we cut the amount that you're going to receive.

[10:20:07]

Now, of course, it will depend upon the totality of an agreement. For example, there's virtually nothing in here for states and municipalities. That is critical, the very people who needed in the midst of the pandemic, public health nurses, first responders, emergency management and others are on the chomping (ph) block, if, in fact, we can't get this money to states.

You earlier had the governor of Kentucky. I think he made a compelling case. Their reality is also amazing, zero for food, for families who need food assistance, but $3 billion for a 100 percent tax credit on a three-martini lunch. That is not the values and the needs of the American people.

SCIUTTO: I want to ask about mail-in voting. The president made a somewhat revealing comment yesterday after weeks of attacking mail-in voting across the board is corrupt. He now says it's okay in the State of Florida where there is a Republican governor, but still suing the State of Nevada, a Democratic governor. Do you believe that this attack on mail-in voting by the president is about securing election or is it about gaining electoral advantage?

MENENDEZ: Oh, it's all about gaining electoral advantage. It's all about, you know, going ahead and getting every edge and benefit even if, in fact, you undermine the very essence of our democracy, that some people's votes in some states matter more than other people's votes in other states. If it's good enough for Floridians to vote by mail, as the president himself has, in Florida, then it's good enough for New Jerseyans, it's good enough for Nevadans, it's good enough for anybody in the country.

And so this should be seen for what it is, a tactical ploy to try to take advantage in a way that undermines the very essence of the sanctity of the election. And so I think it should be called out for what it is and that's yet meeting with the postmaster general today by Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer is so important to make sure that we can get those absentee ballots to voters in a timely fashion and they can execute their sacred right to vote without hindrance.

SCIUTTO: Are you suspicious that there is a deliberate effort by the postmaster general and Republicans to slow down delivery of mail-in ballots so that they are not counted?

MENENDEZ: Well, I am concerned that this postmaster general doesn't seem to be an advocate for the postal service, for its employees and for the needs of the postal service to meet the needs of the American people. We're talking about this in an election contest, an absentee or voting by mail ballots, which are, of course, critically important.

But seniors depend upon the mail system to get their checks they depend upon or to get their medicine. So we need a postal service that is robust and being backed by the postmaster general and not undermined it.

SCIUTTO: Senator Menendez, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

MENENDEZ: Thank you.

HARLOW: As classrooms reopen in schools, they are already reporting positive cases of coronavirus as we saw yesterday in Georgia. How worried are other cities? What are their plans? The mayor of Topeka, Kansas, she joins me next.

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[10:25:00]

HARLOW: This morning, we're seeing the ramifications of schools returning to in-person learning for some. In Georgia, a second grader tested positive for coronavirus after attending the first day of school. 260 employees at the largest school district in the state have now contracted the virus.

With me now to talk about schools and a lot more is the mayor of Topeka, Kansas, Mayor Michelle De La Isla. She also, congratulations, Mayor, won the Democratic primary for the U.S. second congressional district last night. Good morning and congrats.

MAYOR MICHELLE DE LA ISLA (D-TOPEKA, KANSAS): Good morning. How are you today? Thank you.

HARLOW: I'm good. I hear you slept after your victory, so that doesn't always happen on nights like that. Well, thank you for being here.

Let's talk about schools and your decision, because this morning the president went on Fox News and made the case again for schools to open in-person and then he said something that's just, you know, patently false and he says that, quote, children are definitely, but almost immune from this disease. We know that's not the case. I wonder what your reaction is as the mayor of Topeka?

DE LA ISLA: Honestly, I know that that is not the case. We have seen study after study that there is a significant inflammatory disease that follows children many times after they have this disease. We still have to remember that this is a new virus that we don't fully understand how this virus completely operates. We are starting to see individuals that are having long-term issues after being very ill with this condition and we have to take it very seriously.

So the fact that we don't have a lot of data in children --

HARLOW: What are your schools going to do? Right, given that, what are you -- go ahead.

DE LA ISLA: We finished a meeting with the teachers and we were meeting with the superintendents right before this call, and we were talking about what are the proper PPE equipments that teachers and schools are going to be using, the modus that they're going to be using.

[10:30:09]

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