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Lebron James Laughs Off Trump's Criticism of NBA Players Taking a Knee; Ald. Cavalier Johnson, (D-Milwaukee) & President, Milwaukee Common Council, Discusses GOP Helping Kanye West Get on Wisconsin Ballot to Hurt Biden; Beirut Bride Describes Moment Blast Hit in CNN Interview; CNN Film, "On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries," Follows CNN Female Correspondents, Reporters, Embeds Covering Election. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 06, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Plus, a massive explosion rips through Beirut and through a bride's wedding photo shoot. What was going through her mind as she and her groom ran for their lives?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Across the league, NBA players have been taking a knee at the start of games to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It has drawn ire from President Trump but L.A. Laker's star, Lebron James, isn't having it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, L.A. LAKERS BASKETBALL PLAYER: I really don't think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership and viewing the game.

And that's all I got to say. I'm not going to get into it because I know where this can go and lead to tomorrow for me. I'm not going to get into it.

[14:34:57]

But I think our game is in a beautiful position. And we have fans all over the world. And our fans not only love the way we play the game, we try to give back to them with our commitment to the game and respect what else we try to bring to the game and acknowledge. And what's right and what's wrong, you know?

And I hope everyone, no matter race and no matter color, the size, would see what leadership we have at the top in our country and understand that November is right around the corner.

And it's a big moment for us as Americans. If we continue to talk about what we want better, more change, we have an opportunity to do that.

So, but the game will go on without his eyes on it. I can sit here and speak for all of us who love the game of basketball, we could care less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: On Wednesday, the NBA announced a $300 million donation to form the league's first-ever foundation to support black communities.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Republicans are fighting hard, doing everything they can to help Kanye West come November. The rapper- turned White House hopeful collected a slew of signatures this week with the help of GOP operatives in a coordinated effort to get Kanye's name on the Wisconsin ballot.

So, why are Republicans suddenly interested in Kanye? Many, including my next guest, believe it's to hurt Joe Biden.

Cavalier Johnson is the president of the Milwaukee Common Council. Johnson is a Democrat.

And, Cavalier, you tweeted about this. You said, in part, "In 2016 Trump's appeal to black voters was what do you have to lose? In 2020, they plan to trick enough black people into voting for Kanye West to siphon votes from Biden. This is shameful, pitiful, and not surprising. This will only galvanize allies across Milwaukee and the state to vote for Biden."

Tell us how you see this helping of Kanye West and what you would say to criticism from people who say and if they want to support Kanye West, they can.

ALDERMAN CAVALIER JOHNSON (D), PRESIDENT, MILWAUKEE COMMON COUNCIL: First, when I first found out about this, I felt three things. I was outraged, shocked, but I wasn't all that surprised.

I was outraged because this is a clear political ploy by Republicans in Wisconsin in an attempt to get him on the ballot, to siphon votes away from Biden and help the current president remain in office.

And that campaign has continued to stoop lower and lower and lower, from the current COVID response and COVID response and Trump-branded golf courses and the like. And they found a way to stoop even lower. And also, mental health disorder to extract a political gain.

And I wasn't surprised because Donald Trump and the Republican Party have moved the party so far to this position that it's no longer the party of Lincoln or Reagan or George W. Bushes, someone who inspired me to get into office.

They're in a position where they reflect the values and images of the current president. And that's a sad state of affairs.

I don't think this is going to work. I think people see it for what it is, and that's a ploy to help the incumbent president.

People are sick and tired of the way America's been moving forward and we're going to do the right thing and vote for Joe Biden for president this coming November. KEILAR: So, you do not think this is going to work.

But, look, Kanye West got a lot of signatures. Who do you think he got these signatures from?

JOHNSON: Well, Kanye West did get a number of signatures. It's still to be determined if he has enough to actually have ballot placement for this coming November.

Look, anybody can run for president, including Kanye West. The issue is the political strategy and tactics they're using, not having a conversation or debate on the merits.

They're using a political ploy to cheat democracy in order to get this president another term in office. And I think it's going to hurt this president and Republicans come November.

KEILAR: And you know, Kanye West, this is a choice that he is making. We have seen his family speak publicly about his mental health struggles, right? He was diagnosed in recent years with bipolar disorder.

[14:40:00]

But we should be clear, there are a lot of Americans who also struggle with that mental health challenge as well. And I think we have to be careful how we talk about that.

But he has publicly had struggles that we have heard his family address. When it comes to, for instance, we've seen very erratic behavior, following some of his rollouts.

What does that say to you that, in the midst of what we've seen of his struggles, that he is being, I guess, assisted by conservatives?

JOHNSON: Yes. I mean, what you just said, I think you're absolutely right. I personally have members of my family who have bipolar disorder. It's no laughing matter. It's nothing to take lightly and certainly not something anybody should take advantage of, especially a political party and especially the president of the United States.

I'm ashamed of the Republican Party. And they should feel shame, too, for the tactics they're trying to pull to prop Kanye's campaign for their own political gain.

This isn't something that's funny. Millions of Americans suffer from this disease. And here you have a large American political party that's trying to exploit it for their own political gain. And it's not right and isn't fair.

KEILAR: What would you say to critics who say, look, if Joe Biden's going to win, he should be able to overcome a challenge of President Trump and Kanye West if he decides that he is going to be running in this state?

JOHNSON: Yes, and I think Joe Biden will win in Wisconsin. I think he'll win the entire election.

The point of the matter is, again, not that Kanye West is running. The point of the matter is they're using underhanded tactics to circumvent democracy and having a conversation on the record.

It's not about Kanye. It's about the tactics Republicans are using that are underhanded.

KEILAR: Thank you for being with us, Cavalier Johnson. We really appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Two new studies today on coronavirus. One finding a connection between gum disease and more severe virus cases. And the other showing the viral load of asymptomatic patients may actually match those of patients who have symptoMs.

Plus, the moment of the blast. We will speak with a bride who was posing for her wedding photos when one of the most powerful explosions we have ever seen ripped through her city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:02]

KEILAR: The search for survivors continues in Beirut as the death toll holds at 135. Dozens are still missing.

A new video shared on social media may shed new light on what happened before the moments of the massive explosion. This appears to be taken close to a fire in one of the buildings. It shows flames inside spreading rapidly before a second blast. The individual filming the view was actually knocked over as the explosion happened.

And in another dramatic video that's also gone viral, there's a bride posing for wedding pictures and she gets knocked off of her feet in the blast.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke with her about that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a perfect-picture wedding shoot, the glowing bride posing for photos a short walk from the luxury wedding venue in downtown Beirut.

As the smiling doctor, Israa Seblani, looks down at her bouquet, horror strikes.

(EXPLOSION)

KARADSHEH: Her big day blown away in an instant.

The couple and the video crew run for cover. Destruction all around them. ISRAA SEBLANI, BRIDE IN BEIRUT BLAST VIDEO: At that moment, one thing I thought about, now I'm losing my life, I'm losing my husband, and now I'm going to be buried under a building and now I'm going to die. Now I'm awaiting

the moment how I'm going to die.

Is it going to be fast? Am I going to feel it? Am I going to be here?

KARADSHEH: And 29-year-old Seblani, a U.S. resident, came back to her native Lebanon to get married. The original plan was to have the wedding party in the United States. But husband, Ahmad Sbeih, has been waiting for his U.S. visa for three years.

With immigration laws getting stricter by the day under the Trump administration, the couple says they didn't want to be apart any longer and finally settled on celebrating their marriage in Beirut with friends and family in the city where their love first blossomed.

SEBLANI: At that moment, that beautiful place I was in, where the people were dining in the restaurant, shopping, walking, it turned out into a ghost town filled with dust, shattered glass. People yelling, bleeding. It was a nightmare.

KARADSHEH: Seblani did a final run through of the bridal suite where she and her husband would spend the night after the party, eyeing the flourishes.

When the couple returned, the red rose petals thrown off the bed were all that remained of the romance they had envisioned.

AHMAD SBEIH, HUSBAND OF SEBLANI: Of course, we are alive. We can continue. And don't be sad or anything. We will continue and we will make it.

KARADSHEH (on camera): And, Israa, this is very emotional for you.

SEBLANI: I don't know what to tell. But trust me, there is no word to describe really what I feel, no matter how I talk.

[14:50:07]

KARADSHEH (voice-over): In a city where life was turned upside down in seconds, Israa and Ahmad are just grateful to be alive.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Back to breaking news. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine testing positive with coronavirus hours before he was supposed to meet with President Trump.

Plus, the White House sets a deadline for a stimulus agreement, but talks are getting even messier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:55:17]

KEILAR: Presidential campaigns are grueling not just for the candidate and their families but also for the journalists who cover them. The new CNN film, "ON THE TRAIL: INSIDE THE 2020 PRIMARIES," produced exclusively for HBO Max, gives you an insider's view just what that experience is like.

It follows some of CNN's female correspondents, reporters and embeds as they cover the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN POLITICAL EMBED PRODUCER: We are CNN's eyes and ears on the ground. We know what you have to raise the roof about.

If we don't walk towards her and she goes over there then we'll miss that.

It's a grueling job that takes almost everything you have some days.

(CROSSTALK)

WRIGHT: Senator, were you satisfied with Bernie Sanders answer whether a woman could win this election?

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: Our commitment between him and others and I was not in the room.

WRIGHT: We are basically giving up a part of your life for the next nearly two years. But afterwards. you will have covered a presidential election.

How did that feel?

It was good.

That's why I do this job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now, two of CNN's political embed producers featured in the film, Daniella Diaz and Jasmine Wright.

Jasmine, we saw a bit of your life in the clip we played. You said it takes almost everything you have some days. Take us through a day in the life for us.

WRIGHT: Absolutely. A day in the life is you wake up and you're in a foreign city at a hotel. You have some coffee while you get caught up on the day.

And then get ready to go to two to three to sometimes four campaign events. Sometimes they're in different states. That means you're packing up gear you charged the night before, putting it into your bag. And then you are taking it with you to a campaign event where you film it, you log it. You record what was new or what wasn't new. And then you go back and you do that four, five, six more times. And you have to do it quickly and drive your own car and answer e-mails, talk to your boss.

There are so many juggling parts to this job that I hope that the film is really telling people, like, this is the work and the sacrifice, but also the fun that we have in doing it.

KEILAR: Yes. It's hard -- it is so much work and it is also so much fun.

And you know, Daniella, can you tell us some of the biggest challenges, what they've been for you on the trail.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN POLITICAL EMBED PRODUCER: You know, Brianna, in this job -- and you know this yourself, you did this job -- you learn to function without proper meals, without a lot of sleep. You live out of a suitcase. You have to multitask.

It's incredible that you learn all of these skills in this job, otherwise, I probably would not have mastered. It's beautiful.

KEILAR: It is beautiful.

You know, Daniella, I will tell you, I remember when I was in the middle of it. My producer, who still works at CNN, said to me, it was like one moment where it was just insane. And she said, one day, we're really going to miss this. It's true. You do kind of miss it.

I wonder if you can speak, Daniella, to sort of, you know, such a unique experience. What about -- what about it being just this intense experience is something that you think, you know, you particularly enjoy or going to look back on?

DIAZ: You know, I look back, everything has changed with coronavirus. There's a lot less travel. There's a lot less contact with voters. It's something I really miss, especially as we head into a general election.

I really miss that part of talking to people about the issues they care about, talking to people who go to these campaign events, even outside a grocery store, running around in a city you've never visited before. Those are the things that make this job rewarding and fulfilling.

KEILAR: What about you, Jasmine?

WRIGHT: In addition to the voters, I will miss seeing the other reporters on the trail.

I think that you create such a camaraderie with people who aren't necessarily in your network but you work together to cover the campaign, because it can be so much, that shared partnership is essential to getting the job done well. And really getting to see the country and taking the temperature of why folks are exercising their constitutional duty to come out and see a candidate that they may -- that may have a long shot to win but they believe will have impact on their lives.

KEILAR: I just want -- I'm so proud of both of you. It's so exciting to get to talk to you as you're in the middle of a historic race under historic circumstances.

Daniella and Jasmine, thanks to you both.

[15:00:02]

Be sure to check this out. "ON THE TRAIL: INSIDE THE 2020 PRIMARIES," which starts streaming today on HBO Max.

Our coverage continues now with Brooke Baldwin.