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Joe Biden Expected To Announce Vice President Pick This Week; Reports: Big 10 Debating Canceling College Football Season; Looting Breaks Out In Downtown Chicago Overnight. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 10, 2020 - 12:30   ET

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

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GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I'm confident the superintendents have the tools, the resources, the masks that we have given them as far as the state's concerned to be able to handle that, at the local level.

LISA MORGAN, PRESIDENT, GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS: We are asking teachers to risk their lives daily to a virus that is preventable, that we can control the transmission. And the measures that are being put in place are not measures that we know will prevent the transmission in our school buildings.

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NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So you can hear educators are extremely concerned about this. And I did just get to speak one on one with the U.S. Surgeon General who was also here today about the mask mandates. He said he's not opposed to mandates but that engagement and education have to be coupled with them. Here's how he thinks kids, especially those in schools, would get to wear a mask.

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DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: I want people here in Atlanta. I want Tyler Perry. I want to I want Ludacris. I want to T.I. I want those folks who my kids care about and listing to, to promote mask wearing, and to make it cool. And if we do that, you will see many more kids doing the right thing, because they're engaged and they understand how they benefit.

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CHEN: And he and the governor were here to talk about this surge testing. This is one of 10 to 20 sites that they're having around the country in areas with higher positivity rate. The idea is to turn around results faster, 48 to 72 hours, people here can get those results, which is certainly much faster than the current results are coming back from testing around the rest of Georgia, John.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Natasha Chen on the ground for us in Atlanta, a great interview there with the Surgeon General. He makes a very valid point. One of the questions you have throughout this though, is why are they always reactive? If it's so important to get those celebrities out front, why don't they do it weeks ago before kids got back into school organized it those? We shall see, it's frustrating question I ask every day. Natasha Chen on the ground for us in Atlanta, thanks for that live reporting.

Up next, its decision time for Joe Biden and oh, he's getting a lot of advice.

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KING: It is decision week for Joe Biden. And there is a big debate among Democrats, play it safe with the V.P. pick or go bold. Of course, safe and bold can mean different things to different people. One thing not in dispute, the race is tilting in Biden's favor at the moment. It is 85 days until we count the votes. The Democratic Convention is next week, which is why we know the running mate decision is at hand.

With me to share their reporting and their insights, Tarini Parti, she's national political reporter for The Wall Street Journal and Asma Khalid, political correspondent for NPR. Tarini, let me start with you. Just as we came on the air, this letter came out. It's a 100 black men saying Mr. Vice President, former Vice President Joe Biden, you should pick a woman of color, you should pick a black woman as you're running mate. That echoes something. You can hear it here. Angela Rye, veteran staffer for the Congressional Black Caucus, former executive director, listen to the way she put it this morning.

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ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So if Joe Biden's campaign was dead, black women resurrected it, and the only way to pay black women back and to ensure, right, that he can win, that he can get the number of votes he needs to beat Donald Trump, he needs to have a black woman. So it's not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation. At this point from us, it's a demand and a requirement.

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KING: No subtlety there. The question is, will Joe Biden listen?

TARINI PARTI, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Right. Joe Biden has been under pressure for weeks now from the Black Lives presidential nominee. We've seen, you know, different groups send him letters. We know he had a call a couple of months ago with black women who really pushed him to select a black woman and he is considering several of them. We know that Senator Kamala Harris, Susan Rice, they're top contenders. He was also considering Karen, California Congresswoman Karen Bass. She is still under consideration although we've heard that recent scrutiny of her past comments have somewhat hurt her standing. So we are seeing former Vice President Joe Biden under pressure to pick a black woman and several of them are under consideration right now. KING: And so Asma, as you go through that, we can show what we believe to be and this can change. These are fluid. But we believe what we believe are the five finalists on that list. Kamala Harris as Tarini noted, Susan Rice, the former National Security Adviser, Congresswoman Bass, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Governor Whitmer of Michigan. Old school politics would say, pick Governor Whitmer. Her states in play, it's a battleground state. She's from the Midwest. She's a governor.

However, with all this pressure to pick a woman of color, let me go through the safe or go bold. This is the conventional wisdom. Kamala Harris ran for president. No, she didn't do very well but she was vetted. She's had this national exposure, Susan Rice, so that would be safe. Susan Rice, Biden knows her, Biden trusts her, but she's never asked anybody for a vote, never ran for elective office. That would be a risk. Is that fair?

ASMA KHALID, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NPR: You know, I think that there is a bit of conventional wisdom behind what you're saying. I think that there is a reason though to maybe not discount Susan Rice as much as folks might think. Yes, you're right. Kamala Harris is certainly the safe pick. She is known. Her relationship with Joe Biden is known to the public as well.

The thing though, about Susan Rice is that, you know, Joe Biden has said many times, that he's looking for somebody who will know how to govern on day one, and not to say that Kamala Harris does not have the experience as a senator. But I will say that, you know, Susan Rice has a sear -- a sort of very unique set of credentials, having worked in the executive branch before. And that is something that not a lot of these other women have, and it's something that Joe Biden has put a premium on himself.

I mean, the other thing I will say, though, about Gretchen Whitmer, I think that's interesting is, I think the idea that choosing somebody from a swing state is a big advantage. You know, a lot of the analysts that I've talked to say that's something that hasn't actually always panned out in reality, and people think that it helps them. But it doesn't actually play out when you look at how votes are counted.

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KING: Right. That goes back into what you said about conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is conventional. It's not always right. And people think about this most unusual year, if you're going to go outside the box, this is the year to do it. And so Joe Biden makes his decision at a point where if you look at all the data, he's in the driver's seat.

However, I just want to add that however, new polls out just now from CBS YouGov. Joe Biden plus six in Wisconsin, a state Trump flipped from blue to red, Joe Biden plus six in Pennsylvania. Another one of those states that Donald Trump flipped. But go back in time, look at this, at this point, Joe Biden up six, at this point four years ago, Hillary Clinton up 10 in both Wisconsin, up 11 in Pennsylvania. So Tarini if you're a Democrat, you're thinking we're in good position or you're thinking deja vu all over again?

PARTI: I think Democrats are so scarred after 2016 that they're not really going to take even if he's up by double digits. I don't think they're going to take this lightly. But I think the two things we're seeing that could be problematic for the President in that polling is that first off, this is just a string of recent polls that throughout the summer that have showed him losing ground in states that he won in 2016.

And I think another point in that poll was that it showed the vast majority of those surveyed said that they believed that things in the U.S. were not going well. So that is a problematic number for any sort of incumbent president. And we're seeing that for President Trump here. And we're seeing Joe Biden try to capitalize on that. His campaign has been very focused on the President's handling of the coronavirus. They're running ads on it. He's talking about it in speeches.

So you know, I think Democrats are obviously going to be cautious this time around, even if the polling shows them up by six points.

KING: Interesting several days ahead, the choice and then into the convention and beyond. Asma Khalid, Tarini Parti, ladies, great to see you both.

We'll continue the conversation as we go. The fate of college football is up in the air. Thanks to you guessed it, coronavirus disruption. I'll speak to two student athletes about their concerns. That's next.

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KING: Crossroads today for college football, multiple reports now indicate the big 10 and perhaps other conferences, may cancel the 2020 season. If a season does happen, there's also a question of what players want in return for their labor. Pac-12 players, for example, jumpstarted a protest movement that now includes players from all five big football conferences. In a weekend statement the players collectively say we want to play, but they say they will only do so if safety protocols are met and only if the conference is moved toward creating some form of a player's union.

Joining me now to discuss is the UCLA defensive back, Elisha Guidry and the UCLA defensive lineman, Otito Ogbonnia. Gentlemen, let me just start with this question. There's word today that seasons may get canceled. You both play UCLA, that's the Pac-12. Any definitive word at this moment of whether your season is still in play?

OTITO OGBONNIA, STUDENT ATHLETE, UCLA FOOTBALL: As far as we know, the season is still in play. There hasn't been anything concrete that's come out. I know they're trying to decide here in the next coming days. We could see the season later today or later this week. We do that they decide not to cancel.

KING: Let's go, let's go through then some of your questions and some of your requests if there is a season. In this -- in the past several months, we've seen a lot of activism around the country. And it's refreshing to see the players like yourself step forward. I just want to put up. We could put up on the screen that we want to play united, some of the things you've asked for here. And some of these are COVID- 19 safety protocols. But some of them are more long standing issues about player respect, player revenue sharing and the like.

I want to read from a letter, though, that came out just after your meeting the other day, we were all left disappointed and deeply concerned that you are not taking this matter seriously. Specifically, you informed us that there cannot be daily testing, nor could there be regular testing since you claimed necessary tests were unavailable and that it would be impossible to mandate testing and best COVID precautions conference wide. Elisha, let me start with you. You see baseball, you see other sports, hockey is back up in playing where they have this testing. Why do you think they said no, we can't do it?

ELISHA GUIDRY, STUDENT ATHLETE, UCLA FOOTBALL: That question I can't really answer, you know. It's really based on the conference and their decision. Gathering the resources and doing the right thing as regards for testing. And we've seen leagues like the NBA, they have done well, having testing and being in a bubble. But for our situation, they're not trying to do the same thing. And that's all we want. We want to be in a safe situation. We play the game that we love, so we can have a safe season to be able to play the whole thing.

KING: And Otito, let's go through some of these other ones, you would like the option to play or not play to opt out, essentially, without losing athletics eligibility, prohibit COVID-19 agreements and waive liability and player approved health and safety standards. Why is it you think that is so difficult? These all seem pretty common sense. And again, your college athletes, student athletes, so I guess they could say, well, that's for the pros, they get to opt out and still keep their contracts and the like. Why do you think it's so difficult or is it just respect?

OGBONNIA: I think it has something to do with just the lack of leadership that's going on, you know, whether it's through the conference or through the NCAA, requiring, you know, something like mandates on testing. For example, what the NFL PA has done at the professional level with 32 teams. And we only have 12 teams and they haven't seen like they've been able to do something conference ride to make sure we can play this season. And that's, you know, that's part of the reason that we talked to Commissioner Scott in the way that we did. And we didn't -- he didn't -- type of mentality that we that we need to see from a commissioner regarding COVID-19 concerns and, you know, how to make sure that we can scientific best practices for the fall season.

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KING: And Elisha, since you have no choice but to have these giant discussions about coronavirus testing, about safety, about respect, about potential travel if there is a season. You players have decided, well, since we're in conversations, let's raise some bigger issues, including some of the legacy issues in college football last several years, asking for a 50-50 revenue split between the conference and the players, the ability to earn money for the use of your names and your image and your likeness, medical insurance to cover your six years after athletics eligibility, and six year athletic scholarships.

Again, these are bigger issues that predate the pandemic. But as we go through all of this, what has been the answer when you say, let's talk about these other big things too, and why don't we do it all now?

GUIDRY: I feel like this in this pandemic with the ties that the country is turning with the social movement that's going on as well. I feel like we also took the time to recognize that there is some exploitation going on and in the NCAA, and there's -- they're profiting off of their backs of athletes. And the people of top are receiving most of the money while athletes struggle to pay rent sometimes and athletes come from -- don't come from the best situations all the time and they don't have a lot of money to do anything. They're just playing the sport that they love with dreams of trying to get to the NFL.

You know, if that doesn't work out, they're kind of just kicked to the curb and they don't really have a lot going on for them when they graduate. So we kind of just want to give athletes a chance to make work to themselves or they plan to sport so they can support their families and change their communities for the time to come.

KING: Elisha Guidry, Otito Ogbonnia, gentlemen, nice to meet you both. I wish you the best of luck as you continue these conversations and make your case. We'll check back in and see how things go.

OGBONNIA: Thank you.

GUIDRY: Thank you.

KING: Thank you both.

Coming up for us, looting and vandalism all happening on the streets of Chicago's downtown. How the authorities are responding. That's next.

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KING: Some breaking news out of Baltimore today, one person is dead after a major explosion. You see the pictures here in a residential area. At least three people rescued, then transported to a hospital. They are in serious condition we are told. Rescue teams actively working to recover an additional person. Official say it is unclear what caused the explosion. We will continue to monitor the story and bring you the very latest.

In several American cities last night, unrest, including downtown Chicago where police say they're stepping up their presence now in response to looting and vandalism. You see some of the results of it there. More than 100 people were arrested and at least 13 officers were injured. Anger over an officer involved shooting in the city over the weekend may have sparked it all. CNN's Polo Sandoval is in Chicago. Those pictures are quite disturbing.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly disturbing, John. It's when I woke up to the middle of night, when you look out the window and you see police on every corner here in downtown Chicago and certainly was not a normal morning though things are slowly getting back to normal here along the Miracle Mile.

But, you know, you mentioned various stages of civil unrest that we saw across the country. Some information that we're getting from local police officers here is that this may stand out as something fairly different here. Not only was it were these people that were fairly enraged by that officer involved shooting, but according to Chicago authorities is there was misinformation about a shooting that took place yesterday with the shooting of a 20-year-old man that according to police shout at them, they then returned fire injuring and he's going to be OK, but that's certainly filled frustrations.

But, again, it was some kind of misinformation that was circling on social media that led to some other concerns. But ultimately, what happens shortly after midnight is you saw this wave of looting that dominate the streets, businesses large and small, damaged and many of the goods inside also taken. We get a sense here from business owners that they certainly are frustrated. But then when you hear from the Lieutenant Governor of the state also echoing the concerns that we've heard from people here on the street.

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LT. GOV. JULIANA STRATTON (D-IL): We know that because of COVID-19, many of these businesses were just starting to reopen and to get back to business. And so it's certainly devastating to see. It is not reflective of our city. And it is certainly a situation that many people that I know have talked about just being devastating to wake up to.

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SANDOVAL: Multiple arrests were made as a result of multiple officers that were already injured. But, again, we need to be clear, based on the information that we're getting from police officials here, there was no actual protest. This is not perhaps the previous instances we've seen in other American cities where you have peaceful protests that occasionally they spiral out of control. This was, according to police, basically, this assault on many of the businesses in the Chicago area.

KING: Live reporting, Polo Sandoval on the streets of Chicago for us, appreciate the context there, important at this time of uncertainty across the country get the facts straight. Polo, thank you very much. And thank you for joining us today. Come back tomorrow. We'll see you right here busy news week ahead on a busy day right now.

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Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage, right now. Have a good day.