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Trump Adds Coronavirus Adviser Who Echoes His Unscientific Claims; Family: "Unbelievable" 31-Year-Old Man Died Of Coronavirus; Trump Congratulates QAnon Supporter Amid Controversial Picks; FOX Hosts Try Out Multiple attack Lines & False Narratives on Harris. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 12, 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]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's just now formerly advising him but he has been informally advising the president for weeks, after he first got a glimpse of him on FOX News, where he's appeared pretty regularly since the month of May.

And you heard the president listing off his credentials. He's a doctor, of course, and a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

But, Brianna, what might be the most important to the president is that he is one of the medical experts who has a very close public stance with what the president thinks about COVID-19, on reopening schools, national lockdowns, college athletes playing football this fall.

And to give you an indication of what the president has been watching before he officially brought him on, here's a taste of what he said on outlets like FOX News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT ATLAS, ROBERT WESSON SENIOR FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY & NEW CORONAVIRUS ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: It doesn't matter if children get the disease. They don't get sick from this. And the data shows that they do not significantly transmit to adults.

UNIDENTIFIED FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The president says politics are at play for keeping kids home and other harsh restrictions that we're seeing across the country. Do you believe that?

ATLAS: I believe that there's zero reason, in fact, zero excuse to not have the schools open in person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So, you see what he is saying about reopening schools and what experts who work at the White House and on the task force, people like Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci, Stephen Hahn, of the FDA, other officials have said. They've been much more cautious when talking about reopening schools. He's said we need forge ahead, things like that.

He's going to be at the president's event on reopening schools today.

Brianna, it's comments like that have some at the White House concerned. Because they see it as the president bringing in someone who will not push back as some of the other officials do, people like Dr. Fauci, obviously, pretty publicly, but even lately, people like Dr. Birx as well.

Some Trump allies say that's the point of bringing on Dr. Scott Atlas. Rush Limbaugh said he is meant to counter Dr. Fauci.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Kaitlan, thank you so much for that report.

As the president is dismissing the severity of the virus, I'll be speaking live with the sister of a 31-year-old man who lost his life to it. What she says happened to her brother and what she wants others to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK()

[14:35:57]

KEILAR: We talk about the numbers and you can see them there on your screen, nearly 165,000 American lives lost. Right now, over 165,000. And this is all because of the coronavirus. Both Florida and Georgia, Tuesday, setting a new single-day record for COVID deaths.

But these are not just numbers. These are people.

Robert Louise was just 31. He worked at the center for people with traumatic brain injuries in Florida. He was tested for coronavirus but died before the results came back and they were positive.

I'm joined by his sister, Chenique Mills.

Chenique, I'm so sorry you're here talking about your brother and that you lost him.

I would hope first you would tell us a little bit about him, tell us about the kind of person that he was and the memories you hold of him.

CHENIQUE MILLS, BROTHER OF ROBERT LOUISE WHO DIED OF COVID-19: Well, he was -- amazing was an understatement. He was uplifting and encouraging. He was such a rare sole that words can't describe. From the day he was born, he was special. He was special.

To say that his clients at work are probably taking the worst is to say a lot. He loved what he did. He loved talking about Christ, uplifting people and encouraging them in the world of God. This is what he did. This is the amazing person he was.

And so those memories and the love people have for him is definitely comforting. It's definitely comforting.

KEILAR: I'm so glad you're getting that love and that comfort, and that other people are recognizing what a beautiful sole he was, as you do.

I know he was working, struggling with his weight. And that was something he was working on before he died. He did have asthma. But he had no other underlying symptoms?

MILLS: None whatsoever. And his asthma was a seasonal thing. It was the only issue he had was his weight. He didn't have any underlying issues that was related to the weight. He just decided he wanted to start losing for his own personal - for his baby.

But this is all really sudden. Unexpected. He didn't -- I seen him on Friday. I seen him on Saturday. He was -- he was fine to say he was up and walking and eating and -- I mean, he was functioning. And so for him to be gone on Sunday, yes, that's a little bit.

It's just -- it's a lot to take in. It's a lot to take in.

This virus is so serious. It really, really is. And I don't think people will understand until it hits home because I would be one to say that I took it really lightly until it hit home. So.

KEILAR: Tell me about that. You say you took it lightly. And it sounds like you were looking at him, feeling like he was doing well and then he took a turn for the worst.

MILLS: Yes. I really -- when I say I took it lightly, I did my social distancing. I do wear masks out of precaution. But I really didn't take it as serious as this.

[14:40:46]

Like, I didn't realize that -- I really thought it was something the media was throwing around. I'm going to be honest.

I didn't really realize it could take somebody who was 31, who never smoked, who never drank, who -- I mean, to take this person's life means that the virus is serious. Is something that should be taken very seriously.

And his baby. His baby.

KEILAR: Yes, tell me.

MILLS: She's three. And she was the light of his life. And to know that she is going to be without him is a horrible, horrible thing. It's a horrible thing.

KEILAR: It is, Chenique. It's awful. You know, she needs her dad there.

And I know you're really at the beginning of this as you confront what that means for her and for you and your whole family.

I know you had a conversation with him. Can you tell me about that?

MILLS: The last conversation I had with him, he said - he said he wasn't feeling good. This is when he came home from work on Friday. I said, if you're really not feel going, go to the hospital. He said it's not that bad. He had to work the next morning. He said he's 31 and he's a man.

He relaxed and woke up Saturday. We were keeping our distance just to be safe because one of his clients at work did come up positive. So, out of precaution -- my mom was in the home. We were kind of keeping our distance until he got his results back.

Saturday, he was up and he ate something and drank something. And I spoke to him on the phone and asked if he wanted some water. I asked how he was feeling. He said his head was hurting him.

I told him he should go to the hospital. And he said it wasn't that bad, that he would be all right. I went and got him water and he never got up to get the water. When I opened his door, I found him.

KEILAR: Chenique, I am so sorry. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I appreciate you in the middle of just starting to mourn your brother coming on and talking for people. A lot of people haven't -- they have not been touched by this. And you thought you would not be touched by this.

And I think it's so important for people to understand what you're going through because they're very much like you, Chenique.

Chenique Mills, thank you very much for being with us.

MILLS: Thank you very much for having me.

KEILAR: Your brother sounds like an amazing person.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:39]

KEILAR: President Trump has a history of promoting people to important political jobs despite troubling statements in their past.

Just a few examples. Rich Higgins, nominated for a top Pentagon position, said that Obama was a Muslim terrorist.

John Gibbs nominated to head of office of Personnel Management, said Hillary Clinton's former campaign chair took part in satanic rituals.

Retired Army Colonel Douglas McGregor, the current pick to be Germany's ambassador, called Muslims in Germany invaders trying to turn the country into an Islamic State.

William Perry Pendley, now the acting head of the Bureau of Land Management, said there's no hole in the ozone layer.

And Lee Rizzuto, President Trump's failed nominee to be ambassador to Barbados, has been tapped for the role of principal officer at the U.S. consulate general in Bermuda, a job that does not require Senate confirmation. He has spread fringe conspiracy theories and launched attacks on Trump's political opponents.

Today, the president is congratulating Marjorie Taylor Greene on winning Georgia's Republican primary for a congressional seat. She's a believer in QAnon, which is a debunked conspiracy theory group that the FBI sees as a potential domestic terrorism threat.

Last month, CNN's John Avlon did a deep dive on QAnon and their campaign of disinformation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What exactly is QAnon? I'm so sorry you asked. Get ready for some deep weirdness.

CNN captured its broad contours by saying, quote, "It's a baseless theory." Followers of QAnon believe there's a deep state within the U.S. government that's controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles, and Trump is trying to take them down.

Sounds weird, right? That's because it is.

But it has seeped into the groundwater of Trump-era hyper-partisanship with Q paraphernalia, sold at Trump rallies, and appearing with disturbing regularity on his supporters.

And although he hasn't spoke directly about QAnon, the president has fanned the flames, repeatedly retweeting QAnon supporting accounts, memes, and hashtags. The Trump campaign even included QAnon signs in an ad, which was later taken down.

This month, "Business Insider" published data showing the Trump campaign relies on a huge network of QAnon accounts to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation.

And get this. A lot of these accounts are inauthentic. According to the tracking site, Bot Sentinel, there of the top-five bot-amplified hashtags of 2020 are QAnon related. That's right. If you're a follower, you're probably getting duped by a bot.

[14:50:07]

Meanwhile, Trump's former national security advisor and convicted felon, Michael Flynn, recently decided to go full Q and post a video reciting some of its slogans, which is not creepy at all.

Here's the thing, and this is much more than a logically extreme extension of play-to-the-base politics. The FBI classified QAnon as a domestic terror threat in their 2019 internal memo.

And QAnon followers have allegedly been involved in a foiled presidential assassination plot, a devastating California wildfire, and armed standoff of local law enforcement officers in Arizona.

Conspiracy theories offer their followers special knowledge and confirmation bias.

When I wrote a book called "Wing Nuts," extremist groups and conspiracy theories were already defining the conservative resistance to the Obama administration, building on old foundations laid by the John Birch Society and patriot militia movements.

Donald Trump's embrace of the racist Birther conspiracy theory fit this pattern perfectly. And he's continued pumping up disinformation from the White House.

Now, Republicans may look at these likely nominees expressing support for QAnon and try to convince themselves they're outliers. After all, in 2018 the GOP found itself with strange bedfellows on their ballot as well.

Fox News describing Illinois GOP congressional nominee, Arthur Jones, as, quote, "One of several Nazis, Holocaust deniers, or white supremacists, who have elbowed their way on to the GOP ballot for November's midterm elections."

But Republicans need to ask themselves just why some of these unhinged extremist candidates feel comfortable clustering under the GOP banner.

In the cases of QAnon and the current congressional candidates embracing its conspiracy theories, the answer lies at the top of the ticket, President Donald Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Let's talk about this now with CNN's S.E. Cupp, the host of "UNFILTERED."

S.E., it is worth noting the president is calling her a future star of the GOP and a heavy favorite in the race, expected to win the general election.

And you've written a piece that will appear on CNN.com shortly that said when it comes to the Republican Party, quote, "The inmates are running the asylum."

Tell us more about this.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST & CNN HOST, "S.E. CUPP, UNFILTERED": Well I have no doubt she is the future star of the GOP. She's not alone. At least 12 other QAnon supporters are currently running for Congress as Republicans.

As you noted at the top of the show, there are other conspiracy theorists, nominated for or appointed to positions in the administration and it does feel like the inmates are taken over the asylum.

When Donald Trump took over the GOP, and I argue in 2015 or at least 2016, he turned it into a kind of padded-cell madhouse, where up could be down, left could be right, blue could be green, as long as he said so. And so now the fringiest adherents are really sort of swiping the keys

from the last few remaining guards who were kind of trying to keep the place in order.

And when you've got people like Marjorie Taylor Greene and others getting not just the tacit support of the party but the blessing of the president, I think it is hard to argument they are not the future of this party.

KEILAR: S.E., I want to switch topics with you. You were one of the first people that I thought about when Biden picked Kamala Harris as his runs running mate because we were talking a few days ago.

And you said, if he picked Harris, he would have your vote. You got a lot of blowback for saying that his vice-presidential running mate would be influential on whether or not you decided to vote for him.

But let's watch what happened on FOX last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARSON, FOX HOST, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": Just tell Kamala Harris what to say and she'll say it. That is the whole point of Kamala Harris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tucker, could I say one quick thing

CARLSON: Of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- because this will serve you and your fellow hosts on FOX. Her name is pronounced comma, like the punctuation, comma. Kamala.

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: OK. So what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is how it is. Kamala.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of respect for somebody who will be on the on the national ticket, pronouncing her name right is actually --

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: So I'm disrespecting her by mispronouncing her name unintentionally? So it begins. You're not allowed to criticize Kamala Harris or Kamala Harris or Kamala Harris or whatever because --

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I'm almost laughing. So it begins. You don't need to pronounce someone's name right. OK, whatever. But I wonder for you, personally -- and, look, there are going to be

conservatives, if they agree with you, is this still the case for you that this is someone that will sway you and do you think that she will sway other former conservatives as well?

[14:55:00]

CUPP: I think so. What I've said about Kamala is that for moderates and rights, Independents even conservative Never Trumpers, she's not a bridge too far.

There were some other vice-presidential candidates who might have been, and I think that is uncontroversial. There were people on the list that, you know, no conservative, even a never Trumper, could consider. It's because Joe Biden is getting older and the person that he puts there could be the next president.

So, I think Kamala Harris was a very reassuring pick for those of us who are considering voting for Biden, want to vote for Biden, looking for reasons to vote for Biden.

I still want to see what Kamala has to say about her record and about where she wants to take the country as a vice president. I think she should answer some questions. I think that is only fair of the process here.

But, yes, she's a very, I think, good selection for Joe Biden. And if you're moderate, center right like me, she could very well deliver Joe Biden's vote for folks like me.

KEILAR: S.E., thank you. Great to see you.

And we're moments away from seeing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris together for the first time as running mates. Stand by for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)