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Interview with Traveling Preschool Teacher Marea Hodge; Mexico and Argentina Agree to Produce U.S. Vaccine; Marjorie Taylor Greene Wins Georgia Congressional Primary. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired August 13, 2020 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Well, this is an issue affecting so many of you watching right now, millions of American households: how to safely and effectively educate our children during this pandemic so they can thrive and meet their full potential. It's a complex issue, and it's different in every city and state. And it's made even harder by recent reports of schools being forced to shut down after outbreaks.
[10:35:00]
So my next guest has decided to be incredibly innovative and take preschool on the go, now traveling to homes to make sure kids don't fall behind. With me now is Marea Hodge, owner of Miss Jae's Little Learners Traveling Preschool in Cincinnati.
it is so nice to have you. And when I saw you in our colleague Bianna Golodryga's piece yesterday, I was like, we've got to get her on. So thank you -- thanks for taking the time.
MAREA HODGE, MISS JAE'S LITTLE LEARNERS TRAVELING PRESCHOOL: It is an absolute pleasure to be on today.
HARLOW: Very innovative of you to be doing this. Let's show some video while we talk, so people can get a sense of what you're doing with these kids. But I know you say this is not just a calling, this is your passion.
HODGE: This is my passion.
HARLOW: What's it like when you go into these homes?
HODGE: Oh, I love it. The best thing is to have the children be so excited to see their teacher coming in. It's so exciting to see their little faces, and their faces light up when I come in, so I'm -- that's my favorite part is to see their faces light up, ready to learn, so.
HARLOW: You taught a preschool class, traditional preschool in school for years. And I wonder if you could just speak about this debate that so many parents are having right now and so many teachers, about are we safe in school or not.
HODGE: Right. I think because of the current pandemic, it's very, very hard for parents to decide whether they want to send their kids. I mean, it is a very trying time right now. So I think that it's important that even though they can't send them in person, that they still get that education that they need. We don't want our children to fall behind in any aspect.
HARLOW: You are paid, so this is for parents who can afford --
HODGE: Yes.
HARLOW: -- to pay you, and that's not every American family. I wonder, you know, what your thoughts are about whether there are innovative ways cities and states, you know, federal government, you know, could have more people like you? If there are ways to use some of the funds for that if necessary.
I know there's a bit political debate behind that --
HODGE: Right.
HARLOW: -- but you know, the -- it's the lucky parents that can have you come.
HODGE: Right. And my program is not as expensive as the ones out there.
HARLOW: Right.
HODGE: So, I mean, a lot of preschool teachers, if they would like to, could come up with this program, it's not that hard. It can be inexpensive for parents. My program is very, very affordable for parents. So any parent could actually be a part.
But I think it's very important that, you know, the government looks into it. Maybe they can hire some -- or give us the resources or the financial assistance to do what we do, so.
HARLOW: So one of the big questions I had -- and I think everyone watching has -- is, you're going into multiple homes a day --
HODGE: I am.
HARLOW: -- the video we saw, you're not wearing a mask though I know you are willing to wear a mask with some parents, if they ask you to.
HODGE: Yes, yes.
HARLOW: Do you worry, though, Marea, about spreading the virus if you were to, God forbid, contract it? Do you worry about that?
HODGE: I do worry at times, but I also do a screening. So I'm always careful with what -- where I go and who I, you know, come in contact with. So I always ask if, you know, have you, you know, been in contact with COVID or you know, all of those things. So, I mean, I -- there's a 50-50 chance of contracting this, but I can
contract it anywhere else too.
HARLOW: Yes.
HODGE: But like I said, I do wear a mask, I do wash my hands when I leave, you know, and take the precautions that I need to.
HARLOW: Twenty seconds left. Cincinnati public schools, where you live, they're going to go all digital for kindergarteners for the first --
HODGE: Yes.
HARLOW: -- five weeks. It's hard. I tried it with my 4-year-old last year, it's hard.
HODGE: Yes.
HARLOW: Any tips for parents to teach virtually?
HODGE: Just be patient. Patience is the key, patience is the key. And just find really fun. A lot of kids can't learn just doing paperwork, find really fun games. There's lots (INAUDIBLE) that you can Google, and Pinterest --
HARLOW: Sure.
HODGE: -- I love Pinterest, so you know find fun things to interact with your children.
HARLOW: OK. Patience is a virtue, as my mother taught me.
HODGE: Yes, it is.
HARLOW: Thank you, Marea, thanks for helping our kids.
HODGE: Absolutely, thank you.
HARLOW: All right, talk to you soon -- Jim.
[10:39:22]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Well, leaders from Mexico and Argentina say they will produce hundreds of millions of doses of a coronavirus vaccine. We're going to have a live update, next.
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HARLOW: Welcome back. Mexico and Argentina have now agreed to produce up to 250 million doses of a U.S. government-backed coronavirus vaccine. That production, set to begin in 2021. Those doses, destined for Latin America except, it sounds like, at least parts of Brazil.
SCIUTTO: This as one Brazilian state announces tentative plans to produce an unproven vaccine made in Russia. CNN's Matt Rivers joins me now from Mexico City. Matt, what are you learning about this? Is this part of a broader plan?
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim and Poppy. I mean, in terms of this vaccine here in Mexico, this is good news for a region that could really use some. This agreement between Mexico, Argentina and AstraZeneca to start producing, eventually, somewhere between 150 and 250 million doses.
Now, the timeline of this, AstraZeneca says it wants to finish phase three trials by November of this year. Assuming that those trials go well, that they produce a safe and effective vaccine, then production starts in the first three months of 2021.
Now, how fast that these two countries can produce hundreds of millions of vaccines, how fast they can get it into the public, that remains to be seen. And it's also kind of a sobering reminder that best-case scenario here will be, you know, mid-2021 before a vaccination campaign really has an effect across Latin America.
But still, when you look at the average number of deaths, for example here in Mexico, a vaccine is clearly, clearly needed. So this is good news.
[10:45:03]
Meanwhile, down in Brazil, in the Brazilian state of Parana, officials there have said that they will work with the Russians on production of a Russian-developed vaccine, but they need a lot more information from the Russians before they're going to do that. And in that sense, they're kind of like the rest of the world, Jim and Poppy.
You know, we've heard from Russia. They say they've got a vaccine, but they're not showing information about it. Is it safe, is it reliable? Can it be produced quickly? That's the kind of information that the Brazilians want before moving forward with Russia on that vaccine development.
But clearly, you know, across Latin America, there are multiple different countries working on getting a vaccine to the more than 600 million people across the 33 countries in this region.
SCIUTTO: Yes, there's kind of this international axis of people fighting science, right? Brazil and hydroxychloroquine, Russian vaccines and sadly sometimes our president echoing that. Matt Rivers, thanks very much.
HARLOW: Ahead for us, a Georgia Republican with a history of spreading baseless conspiracy theories and making racist remarks is expected to land a seat in Congress. The president, now giving her a full-throated endorsement. How are other top Republican lawmakers responding? That's next.
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[0:50:37]
SCIUTTO: President Trump and other Republican leaders are now embracing a GOP candidate who has drawn backlash from some in her own party, and you have to listen to the positions this person has taken.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is now likely to win a U.S. House seat in Georgia this November, serve in Congress, embrace the conspiracy group QAnon and other racist and offensive attacks.
HARLOW: That's right. It is a group that tracks and traffics in racist, anti-Semitic and frankly ludicrous conspiracy theories involving, quote, "Satan-worshipping" and the deep state, among so much more. Let's go to Many Raju, he joins us on Capitol Hill.
So the question then becomes, Manu -- and your job -- to ask Republican lawmakers, what do they think. So what are they saying?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, partly they've been greeting this news with silence. The House Republican campaign arm has refused to endorse her so far. Two other top Republican leaders -- Steve Scalise, Liz Cheney -- have not yet weighed in despite requests to see how they feel about this.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, ultimately said yesterday through a spokesperson that he looks forward to her and other Republican candidates winning, and that came after President Trump gave his full-throated endorsement to her despite her embrace of a fringe conspiracy theory that has even the FBI alarmed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Q is real, Q is not a conspiracy.
RAJU (voice-over): It's a conspiracy theory born on the dark fringes of the internet, something the FBI contends is a national security threat. But the QAnon theory has been embraced by some House Republican candidates in races across the country.
And on Tuesday night, one of them won her Republican primary, and is on track to winning a House seat in November.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R), GEORGIA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I just want to say to Nancy Pelosi, she's a hypocrite --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GREENE: -- she's an anti-American --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Witch.
GREENE: -- and we're going to kick that (INAUDIBLE) out of Congress.
(APPLAUSE)
RAJU (voice-over): Businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is now the heavy favorite to win a seat representing a deeply conservative district in northwest Georgia. Greene has repeatedly praised the QAnon theory.
GREENE: Q is a patriot, we know that for sure. But we do not know who Q is.
People believe that Q is someone very close to President Trump.
RAJU (voice-over): The movement sprung to life in early 2017, based on a belief that there is a high-level government official, Q, who sprinkles clues on internet message boards about a series of massive deep-state conspiracies at work in the country.
In 2019, the FBI raised concerns over the potential for violence linked to such fringe theories.
Greene also won despite a history of racist and incendiary remarks against Muslims --
GREENE: We have an Islamic invasion into our government offices. They want to put their hand on the Quran and be sworn in? No, you have to be sworn in on the Bible.
RAJU (voice-over): -- about Democrats --
GREENE: They're trying to keep the black people in a modern-day form of slavery. It's a slavery system to keep their vote.
RAJU (voice-over): -- about blacks and Confederate statues --
GREENE: If I were black people today and I walked by one of those statues, I would be so proud because I'd say, look how far I have come in this country.
RAJU (voice-over): -- and trumpeting a conspiracy theory about the liberal megadonor George Soros, echoing an erroneous anti-Semitic attack against the Holocaust survivor, that he collaborated with Nazis.
GREENE: I will not apologize for standing up against George Soros, even when they want to call me an anti-Semite.
RAJU (voice-over): Her comments put House Republican leaders in an awkward spot, with the House GOP's campaign arm refusing to endorse her on Wednesday.
When videos of her past comments were first unearthed by "Politico" in June, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise vowed to back her primary opponent, and called her remarks "disgusting." A spokesman for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said they were "appalling."
But President Donald Trump was quick to herald her victory, saying in a tweet Wednesday morning that she's a future Republican star and a real winner. A couple hours later, a McCarthy spokesperson said, "We look forward to Greene and other Republicans winning in November."
Asked on Wednesday about Greene's victory in Georgia and embrace of the fringe movement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN that Republicans "seem comfortable with it."
(END VIDEOTAPE) RAJU: Now, there have been other House Republican candidates who have embraced this theory, but most of them have no chance of winning in the fall.
There's another candidate in Colorado, Lauren Boebert, who did praise this theory back in -- during her primary. But since then, her campaign has said she does not follow the QAnon theories. So it appears that Greene could be the one person -- she looks poised to win -- that could put her party in an awkward spot if she's walking these halls next year -- guys.
[10:55:17]
SCIUTTO: Not that awkward. I mean, they went from calling it appalling to welcoming her candidacy and welcoming her winning. I mean, that's quite a 180. Manu Raju, thanks very much.
HARLOW: Thanks, Manu.
And thanks to all of you for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. I'm Poppy Harlow.
SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. NEWSROOM with Kate Bolduan starts after a quick break.
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[11:00:00]
