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Trump Press Briefing: Israel & UAE Agree to Historic Peace Deal; 1,000+ Quarantined after Positive Cases in Atlanta Area School District; Florida Sheriffs Bans His Deputies and Visitors from Wearing Masks; Soon, Major Health Experts Brief Biden, Harris on Pandemic. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 13, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, you really know your stuff, don't you?

We're not going to talk to you about that. We're going to work something out and we'll talk after it is completed. But it will be very satisfactory.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why now did they come to an agreement?

TRUMP: We've been working on this for a long time. It's been a labor of love for a lot of the people in this room. And a lot of them love Israel, and a lot of them love the Middle East, and they love the countries that we're talking about, like UAE, as an example -- standing right here. And it's been a labor of love. They know it has to happen.

And I don't want to be speaking too much about it, but if you look, what's happened since I broke up that ridiculous Iran nuclear deal -- money isn't going to some horrible, horrible groups. And you haven't seen the kind of terrorism that you saw before.

Now, I don't like saying it, because all of a sudden, they'll say, "We've got to do something." But you know what? They're not getting money because Iran isn't giving money, and I appreciate that. But Iran is going through very difficult times, and I appreciate that.

And I'll say this, and I can say it very publicly, that if I win the election, I will have a deal made with Iran within 30 days. They make a very fast deal. They're dying to make a deal, but they'd much rather negotiate with Sleepy Joe Biden than with us.

QUESTION: Why haven't you already done that, sir?

TRUMP: But we'll -- we'll be having a deal made very, very quickly. But, you know, rightfully, they're waiting until after the election because they would -- there's nothing China, Iran, Russia, all of them would like to see more than have Trump be defeated, where they could deal with Joe Biden, because that would be like a dream. And this was something that was very exciting. We thought this would

be the first country. He's a great leader; Mohammed is a great leader. And we're very happy that he was the first country, I would say. And you can see many other things happening in the Middle East over a fairly short period of time. But this is the first time in more than 25 years and -- and UAE is big stuff.

The UAE is very powerful, very strong --

QUESTION: Do you know when the dele- --

TRUMP: -- has one of the strongest militaries. It's big stuff.

QUESTION: Do you know when the delegations are going to meet specifically?

TRUMP: Very soon. I guess they'll be setting up the meetings. Do you have any time?

ROBERT O'BRIEN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think in the next several weeks, Mr. President. And then we expect that there will be a meeting here at the White House, with the -- the leaders as well.

TRUMP: There will be an official signing at the White House over the next few weeks. OK?

And other than that, we'll meet you at 5:30 or so, and we'll talk, and we'll actually take one of your questions. OK?

Thank you. Thank you everybody.

(APPLAUSE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, listening there to President Trump talking about a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Let me bring in CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House. She was in the room.

Tell me more about being in the room, what you heard?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you saw how many people were there in the room. It is not normally that packed in the Oval Office for any kind of event like this.

The president brought everybody in for this announcement, what he's calling this historic deal between the UAE and Israel, coming to this agreement to normalize relations, which the president said means trading ambassadors, having embassies in each other's country.

And you saw at the end what the national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, said, which was also significant. He said there's going to be an official signing ceremony here at the White House between Israel and the UAE in the coming weeks. Though they didn't say exactly when those two delegations are expected to meet. You saw the president reading from a piece of paper there. It appears

to be the statement that he put out on Twitter.

And this was in the top of the statement, but it's incredibly significant as well. But in that statement, the president said that Israel is, as part of this agreement, is going to suspend its efforts to annex parts of the West Bank.

Now, that is what the president says. We also saw the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, comment on this as well, seeming to confirm the details of what the president laid out in this agreement.

And then one other notable aspect of this, you heard, they were going around the room, Brian Hook is a State Department official, on his way out. But he was talking about what this means for Iran and they said this is Iran's worst nightmare.

Clearly, you see how the administration is viewing this as well through that lens.

And, of course, we should note they're announcing this agreement with the president's election coming up, certainly something he's going to try to tout on the campaign trail in the next few weeks as he's making his case to voters.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Israel, it said in that joint statement, that the president posted, Israel is hitting the pause button on its annexation plans in the West Bank.

Kaitlan, cannot go unnoticed, as you're noting, how many people were coming in the room. We took notice some of the language you heard from the president, right? We don't need the oil, I kept us out of war, we don't have to be there. He joked that he actually wanted the deal to be named after him.

[11:35:05]

It is very clear that he thinks this is a winning re-election message. That that can't go unnoticed.

COLLINS: Yes, he's seen the Middle East as part of that. That's what he ran on in 2016, talking about withdrawing troops. Troops are still in Afghanistan, we should note.

But when the president was talking about this, he was saying I wanted to call it the Donald J. Trump Accord. He said that and there was laughter in the room.

He was talking about the negotiations that were happening between the UAE and Israel, something that has been ongoing for a long time. But for them to take this step, that's what the president was praising there, talking about UAE.

We'll wait to hear from them, see what their version of this is, see how they are touting it as well to see what that means going forward. It is -- it does seem to be clear that it is going to be something the

president wants to use as part of his re-election, because he's talking about what he said in 2016. He was talking about the Middle East now.

And he was trying to say that this is a foreshadowing of what is to come. Now, of course, it is hard to predict with the Middle East. But the president was seeming to say that they want to make more of these agreements.

And that's why I asked, you know, why now. Why is this the time that the UAE and Israel are coming to this agreement? And the president was talking about the negotiations that have gone on.

He said he didn't want to shed a light on some other details. It is not really clear what that was that the president was talking about.

But we will wait to see, when do these two countries come to the White House for this signing ceremony. They said over the next several weeks, but it wasn't really specific.

But, you know, that could be an opportunity to learn more about this, given, of course, that it is so significant, based on how the president is portraying it.

BOLDUAN: In fact, having the signing ceremony at the White House.

Kaitlan, thank you very much.

Coming up for us, just days after some schools reopen, thousands of students and staff across the country are now quarantined because of the coronavirus. How are districts dealing with these outbreaks and what needs to be done to fix this at this point?

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[11:41:50]

BOLDUAN: The return to in person learning has turned out to be anything but a return to normal. Over 2,000 students, teachers and school staff are currently in quarantine across the country.

This is after at least 230 positive COVID cases were reported in districts across the United States that have reopened for in-person learning so far.

In Florida, one day after opening their doors, an elementary school classroom is under quarantine because of a positive case, making this off-handed comment by the president on the very same day even more out of touch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Thank you. Great job you're doing, Florida. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And he was talking there to the Florida education commissioner.

At best, it seems far too soon to be taking a victory lap there.

And Florida is just one of many states with schools in crisis.

Let's get to Georgia, where one school district alone has more than 1,000 students and teachers under quarantine.

CNN's Nick Valencia is there.

Nick, what is the latest you're hearing?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, school administrators here in Georgia patting themselves on the back after they called last week a great first week.

This even after at the end of five full days of school, 478 people were in quarantine. After eight full days of classes, Kate, that number has swelled to more than 1,100.

And it is leading to fallout among career educators, including one who I spoke to last night. Allison Webb has been in education for more than 20 years. She's a long time Spanish and French teacher at a high school in Cherokee County.

She says she brought to the attention of the superintendent that she didn't feel safe. She was told that there was a long line of people waiting to take over her job.

She says the superintendent and his staff are ignoring the stark realities and the dangers of this virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLISON WEBB, FORMER CHEROKEE COUNTY TEACHER: We are now forcing schools back on a timeline that is untenable. And we have two high schools in Cherokee County, as of today, who have shut down. And it is unfortunate, but very predictable.

It was a complete betrayal of their responsibilities to their employees. And it says something more about the situation in Georgia. It says that teachers are truly considered dispensable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Webb resigned and she now says she has to reinvent herself at 44 years old. She does have another full-time job but she continues to keep in touch with her colleagues, Kate.

Her colleagues telling her you can sometimes count the amount of students in class that are wearing masks. Some making fun of the teachers for wearing facial coverings. She says some teachers in the district, they're scared to speak out, out of reprisal, fear of reprisal, fear of losing their jobs.

People in this economy right now need a paycheck, putting their lives at risk, according to Allison Webb, to educate children who are also at risk -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Honestly, making fun of anyone for wearing a mask, that is completely backwards. What a mess.

Nick, thank you.

VALENCIA: Yes.

KEILAR: Masks -- to that point, "Masks will not be worn." That is the order from one Florida sheriff.

[11:45:03]

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods going against not only all public health expert recommendations but also going against a mandate by the county seat, the city where the sheriff's office is located.

A no -- and ordering no masks in a county and state, saying -- talking about having no masks at the time when the county and the state is seeing a record level of deaths from coronavirus.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Florida with much more. She's joining me now.

Rosa, what is going on here?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kate, I just talked to the public information officer from Marion County to get a few more details. He said that deputies learned about the no-mask rule over e- mail and this mandate while they're working.

There are some exceptions to the rule. And this is when deputies are working at courthouses or jails or schools or hospitals and they're allowed to wear a mask.

But the moment -- according to an e-mail obtained by CNN, the moment there's some sort of law enforcement action which requires the law enforcement officer to give a command to an individual, then that's, according to the e-mail, where the officer must take their mask off.

Now, this is an internal policy that also applies to any visitors that are visiting the lobby of the sheriff's office.

Now, think about this, who would visit the lobby of a sheriff's office? Perhaps you are going to report a crime.

So I asked the public information officer this very basic question. So what if someone wants to report a crime, but doesn't feel safe taking their mask off to walk into the building?

Well, according to the sheriff's office, they want you to take off your mask so they can be on surveillance camera, Kate. But if you don't feel comfortable, there's a phone outside of the

building, Kate, that you can pick up, call a law enforcement officer. The law enforcement officer will walk out of the building. If you want to report a crime, you can report it -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Rosa, thank you so much.

Coming up, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are about to hold their second campaign even as a ticket, meeting with a group of health experts. And making clear in doing so that President Trump's handling of the pandemic will be a major focus of their campaign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:09]

BOLDUAN: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris holding their second official campaign event as running mates today, about to meet with public health experts in Wilmington, Delaware. They're clearly sending a message that the president's response to the pandemic will be a central part of their campaign.

Here's how they framed it just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to get to work fixing the mess that President Trump and Vice President Pence have created.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): When other countries are following the science, Trump pushed miracle cures he saw on FOX News.

BIDEN: No real leadership or plan from the president of the United States how to get this pandemic under control.

HARRIS: There's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of Trump's failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me now, CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, quite a stark difference of how the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign are responding to the country's health crisis. That's clear.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It is clear, Kate. And this is something that will be a central theme to see over the next two and a half months or so.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the next hour will be meeting with a team of health experts.

Back in March, the Biden campaign put together a series of experts and briefing him every morning at least during the weekdays since then talking about COVID, the response. So this is something that the Biden campaign wants to continue.

You could tell, as we just heard from the sound there, this is a central argument that the team are trying to prosecute against President Trump.

We could have never imagined a year ago when they started to run for president that this is how it would end up, the campaign would end up. But now this is a central part of: has President Trump lived up to the job?

But yesterday a split screen moment -- just a complete difference in how experts are presenting this. The president at the White House saying everything is fine, schools should open, cases are going down. A different story here.

So this is something that we are going to see throughout this.

But we heard from Senator Harris, as well. She is getting up to speed on these -- the issues with coronavirus. But this is going to be one of the things we see going forward.

We have a former surgeon general and other experts clearly advising Biden and Harris here in their campaign to come -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Jeff, it's curious because, right, together, yesterday to make the big announcement together. They're together again today. Are you hearing anything about how much they will be campaigning actually together?

ZELENY: There's no question that they're trying to solidify this relationship, if you will, but not spending all that much time together, I'm told, but they do want to be campaigning.

[11:55:04]

Our Arlette Saenz asked Joe Biden yesterday a question at the end of the event: Do you plan to hit the campaign trail? He said the science will determine that.

That's nothing like we've heard from President Trump, who wants to have rallies. But the reality is this has changed the campaign in every way. It is a much more serious campaign, if you will.

We, for the next two and a half months, are going to see information coming out and briefings coming out. It is almost like dueling governments here. So it will be fascinating to watch -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Thank you, Jeff. Great to see you.

ZELENY: Thank you.

KEILAR: A quick programming note. You can watch CNN's special live coverage of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, the biggest moments and speeches, and also what it means for Joe Biden and the future of the Democratic Party. It starts Monday night at 8:00 Eastern.

Coming up, as some school districts plan to only offer virtual classes this fall, one pediatrician is warning about the toxic stress remote learning can also bring for students. That's next.

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