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Stage is Set for Trump-Pence Vs Biden-Harris; Some European Nations Grapple With Covid-19 Resurgence; Investigation Launched After Three Killed, Six Injured; Thousands Detained Since Contested Election. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired August 13, 2020 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Great to have you along. Hello and welcome to all of our viewers joining us from around the world. You're watching CNN. I'm Robin Curnow.
So just ahead, Kamala Harris makes her debut as the Democrat's vice presidential candidate. She's already attacking President Trump. The White House is hitting back.
We'll also go to Beirut where embattled political leaders are trying to prove they can handle the challenges of rebuilding after that devastating explosion.
And then later on, CNN exclusive interview with the Foreign Minister of Taiwan and why he feels that China is trying to turn the country into the next Hong Kong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Democrat Joe Biden and his new running mate Kamala Harris are wasting no time and making that case for winning the White House. The pair made their debut together in Delaware going after Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic fallout.
Here's Arlette Saenz with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER(voice over): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris making their debut as the Democratic ticket.
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JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The choice we make this November is going to decide the future of America for a very, very long time.
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SAENZ(voice over): After facing off in the Democratic primary, Biden chose a former rival as his running mate saying that she's ready to lead on day one.
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BIDEN: Kamala, as you all know is smart, she's tough, she's experienced, she's a proven fighter for the backbone of this country. Kamala knows how to govern. She knows how to make the hard calls. She's ready to do this job on day one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ(voice over): Harris making history as the first woman of color on a major party ticket, preparing to take the fight to President Trump.
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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: This is a moment of real consequence for America. Everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in, it's all on the line. America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ(voice over): Biden's decision capped off a month-long search with his team extensively vetting 11 women. In the last week and a half, Biden interviewed them all himself in a mix of in person and remote conversations. On a video chat Tuesday, the former vice president asked Harris to be his VP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You're ready to go to work?
HARRIS: Oh, my god. I'm so ready to go to work.
BIDEN: First of all, is the answer yes?
HARRIS: The answer is absolutely yes, Joe, and I'm ready to work. I am ready to do this with you, for you. I'm just deeply honored and I'm excited.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ(voice over): The coronavirus pandemic made this rollout vastly different than past running mate announcements. Like in 2008 in Springfield, Illinois, where Biden appeared for the first time as Barack Obama's running mate in front of thousands of supporters.
This time, Biden and his running mate in a high school gym in Delaware. A small socially distanced event with the candidates and attendees in masks. Their spouses, Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, also on hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Biden.
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SAENZ(voice over): The two families share a common bond over Biden's late son, Beau. Harris and Beau became friends when they served together as Attorneys General in their home states. That relationship playing a role in her new partnership as Biden's running mate.
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HARRIS: The love that they shared was incredible to watch. It was the most beautiful display of the love between a father and a son.
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SAENZ(voice over): After their in-person event together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris held a virtual grassroots fundraiser with supporters. Biden announcing they raised $26 million in their first day as the full Democratic ticket.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: So U.S. President Donald Trump has been slamming Biden's vice presidential pick calling Kamala Harris nasty and angry. Well now members of his administration have also followed suit. Take a listen.
[02:04:56]
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MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Kamala Harris, like Joe Biden, supports higher taxes, socialized medicine, open borders, abortion on demand, and where Joe Biden said he'd be willing to cut funding to police, she said recently that she thought that we should reimagine the police in this country.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: As attorney general in California, the position that Kamala Harris has held much longer than she's been the United States Senator, people will dig into that record. It looks like she left nobody happy.
She is seen by those on the far left, many speaking up last night, as not sufficiently for criminal justice reform. She locked up over 1,500 people or so on marijuana charges, and by others who are for public safety and law and order, she is seen as somebody who was soft on some of those criminals.
She's against the Second Amendment. She's against parts of the First Amendment, frankly. She will raise your taxes. She will put our regulations back. She's been terrible on criminal justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CURNOW: CNN Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley joins me now from
Austin, Texas. Doug, hi. Great to see you. I want to ask your opinion here when it comes to the sort of the broad history of American presidencies and American elections, how key, how crucial, how consequential is this one in November going to be?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I really think it's one of the most important elections in American history. Certainly, you can go back to 1860s with the Civil War looming and Abraham Lincoln getting elected, even though he was on a ballot in seven states. We often have tough election years like 1968 when Richard Nixon emerged from the pack or elections when they're just too close to call or the popular vote in the electoral college vary.
But this is just two different Americas. I mean, what Joe Biden thinks as a global internationalist versus a kind of xenophobia and nativism of Donald Trump, they're just 180 degrees apart. And people are stressed in the country, people are divided into camps. So right now Biden has a big lead in the polls, but there's this feeling that anything can happen over the next 50 plus days.
CURNOW: Donald Trump tweeted today that he has the suburban housewife in his pocket. I think not even realizing that he's insulting women who stay-at-home as well as suburbanites at the same time. But what he seems to think that he's got a certain demographic in his pocket, how does that change and who needs to be called out to vote in this election?
BRINKLEY: Well, you're absolutely right. That phrase about suburban housewife, I mean, that was from 1960 America. Women find it insulting today on their stay at home moms, but that term comes from another era and it makes President Trump seemed like a very antiquated figure. There's a sexist feel to that.
He's also in that same tweet was frightening people, basically, that African-Americans might move to your suburban neighborhood and live next your - in your white enclave. So this is racial politics on Donald Trump's party starting to try to frighten people about Kamala Harris.
In the end, though, since we've already had Barack Obama two terms and the American economy is in dismal shape, President Trump has botched the COVID-19 response. He's down by 10 to 12 points in public opinion polls. One has a feeling that Kamala Harris is going to hold her own. She's an incredibly powerful U.S. Senator, was an amazing prosecutor and her roll out if you'd like today with Joe Biden is being received very well throughout America.
She gave a fine speech and they seem to have great chemistry together. So Donald Trump right now has to be a little bit unnerved. He's got to find momentum and doesn't know how to do it.
CURNOW: But at the same time unseating a sitting president is traditionally pretty hard. It's not that easy. What does it take?
BRINKLEY: Well, that's true. And it's a big advantage to be the incumbent. But President Trump here would have to have everybody in and the U.S. is focused on COVID and going back to school, I would think there have to be some feeling of optimism that hits the country in September and October to help Donald Trump in the uptick in the economy.
But we do have three major presidential debates that will be televised on CNN, Trump versus Biden. And that is where Donald Trump probably has the best chance of doing some damage to Biden, because Trump even though he makes blunders when he talks all the time and says sometimes deeply idiotic and false things, he's kind of in the zone.
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He's every day in that media culture, onstage while Joe Biden has a much more low key approach. So I think they'll break ratings, the Biden-Trump of all time. It's going to be the world watching to see this kind of epic struggle between which America wins in 2020 and hence what's the future of the United States and countries around the world have a lot at stake.
CURNOW: Douglas Brinkley, great to have your perspective. Thanks so much for joining us.
BRINKLEY: Thank you.
CURNOW: Some European countries are facing a resurgence of cases and it's sparking fears of a second wave. Spain we know has overtaken the United Kingdom's case count according to Johns Hopkins University. Meantime, France, saw its biggest jump in cases since it eased lockdown restrictions that reported more than 2,500 new infections on Wednesday and then also Germany is seeing a surge.
And then over in Brazil health officials say another 55,000 people have been infected with coronavirus including the Governor of Sao Paulo. The country is seeing the second worst outbreak in the world, as you can see from this graph. The infection rate appears though to be holding steady.
Shasta Darlington reports now as the death toll keeps rising as well. Shasta.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Brazil, the coronavirus has claimed new victims including the grandmother of the First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who died overnight after being hospitalized for weeks with COVID-19. Michelle Bolsonaro and the President Jair Bolsonaro were diagnosed with COVID-19 last month. The president who has now recovered has consistently downplayed the severity of the virus.
The Governor of Brazil's Sao Paulo State, Joao Doria, also announced on Wednesday that he tested positive for the virus, making him Brazil's 11th governor to become infected.
Meanwhile, Brazil reported 1,175 additional deaths and more than 55,000 new cases in a 24 hour period, bringing the total number of infections to well over 3.1 million.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Sao Paulo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks, Shasta for that.
So the virus has now claimed more than 166,000 lives in the U.S. However, new infections are holding steady or falling in 44 states. Martin Savidge puts all of these figures into perspective. Marty.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice over): For the third day in a row, the U.S. reporting fewer than 50,000 new cases of coronavirus.
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DR. MICHAEL MINA, HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I would say it's still generally bad news. We should not settle for having 50,000 new cases per day. But the good news here is that cases are potentially coming down.
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SAVIDGE(voice over): The CNN week over week tracking map growing greener with 22 states showing improvement, but that news tempered by a still awful death toll, exceeding 1,000 victims a day. And COVID-19 hotspots are only growing hotter.
Georgia leads the nation for highest number of new infections per capita. Florida and Georgia both set new single day records Tuesday for coronavirus deaths. And across the south, testing positivity rates suggesting the outlook there is getting worse.
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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): The most important thing I could convey today and that is even though the numbers of COVID-19 have improved, COVID-19 has not left Jefferson County, has not left Orange County, has not left the State of Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE(voice over): A newly released database starkly showing the deadly toll coronavirus is taking on healthcare workers, documenting more than 900 deaths likely due to COVID-19. A disproportionate number of these professionals were people of color, nurses and those working in facilities with shortages of personal protective equipment.
And there is this, the heartbreaking story of father and son physicians dying within six weeks of each other, 89-year-old Dr. Jorge Vallejo, a retired obstetrician is believed to have contracted the virus from his 57-year-old son, Dr. Carlos Vallejo who had been treating coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, a new message on masks from the Association of American
Medical Colleges simple dos and don'ts. Face coverings should cover both your nose and mouth, should be well-fitted, cloth masks should have at least two layers, three when possible.
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WARREN S. WARREN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR IMAGING, DUKE UNIVERSITY: My rule of thumb would be if you can see a light through the fabric stretched out the way you're normally wearing it, it probably isn't doing a very good job protecting you.
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SAVIDGE(voice over): Experts also suggest for the most part, people should wear masks indoors and outside when they're around others.
Then, there's football. A day after the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced they were postponing college ball football.
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MICHAEL SCHILL, CHAIRMAN, PAC-12 CEO GROUP: There was just too much uncertainty and too much risk at the moment to be able to go forward with the season.
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[02:15:03]
SAVIDGE(voice over): The Big 12 Conference announcing today it will play. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby saying in a statement, "Opinions vary regarding the best path forward, as we've seen throughout higher education and our society overall." But he went on to say the conference is confident it can 'optimize the health and safety of our student-athletes'.
The SAC and ACC also planning to push ahead with the fall season.
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ANDREW BOSELLI, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL PLAYER: There's always going to be risks. They put in place very strong standards to help daily screenings, masks everywhere consistent in coronavirus testing.
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SAVIDGE: The Big 12 says it will test its athletes three times a week and that its football schedule will be revised to attend game season kickoff September 26th.
Martin Savidge, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CURNOW: So you heard there about the father and son doctors who both
fell victim to the virus. Well, family members spoke to CNN about the loss of their loved ones. Take a listen.
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KEVIN VALLEJO, LOST FATHER AND GRANDFATHER TO COVID-19: I would like people to know that this virus is no joke and under six weeks they completely destroyed my dad's lungs. My grandfather died from the virus and under six days, he had survived so much before this. Even the medicines they have, right now, there's no guarantee that it could even reach you at the end of the day.
GISSELLE VALLEJO, LOST FATHER AND GRANDFATHER TO COVID-19: We've had a bunch of love and support from our family and friends and all over the world, they've been reaching out to us from patients from my grandfather and my father, people reaching out on our social media saying, hey, your grandfather, he delivered me years ago, oh, your father saved my life recently.
They were looked at as heroes for so many people and like I was telling my mom, I feel all of us always saw my dad as a hero and now the whole world sees that. He really did put his life on the line for his patients. He really delivered patients like family and he got that from my grandfather, my grandfather did the same. They truly were - they're amazing. They would dedicate their life for the patient and then they come home and be the perfect family man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So you're watching CNN. We'll talk more about all of these stories to come. But also we're going to look at Beirut's devastating explosion from the perspective of the staff and patients of a nearby hospital.
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[02:20:06]
CURNOW: An investigation is underway to find the cause of a deadly train derailment in northeastern Scotland. Take a look at these images, smoke could be seen billowing from the side. Three people we know were killed, including the train's driver. Six others were taken to hospitals.
From the air, it appears several carriages detached and then slid off into an embankment. Now, just before the deadly incident, Eastern Scotland recorded about a month's worth of rain in one day alone and the managing body of the U.K. rail network tweeted a video of a landslip on the nearby rail lines. Officials will also warn a month ago about the dangers of landslides.
And the Lebanese Government admits the President had been told on July the 20th about a large amount of volatile ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut's port. Now, meantime, we're also getting a new look at the moment of last week's explosion. This perspective from a hospital, less than a kilometer from the blast site.
Also, closed circuit cameras inside show windows breaking, furniture collapsing and patients and medical workers running for cover. We know that four nurses were killed there.
Well, parliament is set to meet in a couple of hours for the first time since the explosion. Sam Kiley is in Beirut with more on all of those, both what the President knew and when and what parliament is expected to do today. Hi, Sam.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Well, I mean, Robyn, first of all on the matter of the presidency, actually, very soon after the blast, he did say that he had been informed about this material ammonium nitrate, the fertilizer, but also an ingredient if properly makes for explosives being stored at the port as indeed, as he pointed out, and as others did had successive administrations been informed over the previous six or so years, not at least by the head of customs who had complained and asked for judicial review and asked the judiciary to intervene to try and order its removal from the port.
Now, the President has said that he was informed of this, the existence of this dangerous material on the July the 20th and had written to the relevant authorities to express his concerns, but says that he didn't have the power to order any action that it was simply a matter of different government departments. But there's a lot of back passing over responsibility inevitably when it comes to this catastrophic explosion involving 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored there for so long.
Bear in mind that it was two tons of ammonium nitrate was used by Timothy McVeigh and his accomplices in blowing up the Federal Building in Oklahoma killing 168 people. The death toll here now officially at about 160. There are still some 20 people missing and a probability, official say, of maybe perhaps some foreign workers who were working at the ports still being missing as well.
Now, in the building behind me, the UNESCO Palace as is called, the parliament is going to be meeting because they can't meet in its the usual location in the centre of town, because it's been effectively sealed off by demonstrations and it has other problems too. But on top of that, there is a real concern here that parliament is in a state of paralysis.
The government which is a separate organism has already resigned and it now exists only as a caretaker administration. It will be parliamentarians and their bosses who will be going into sessions in and around this process to try to put together a new government.
But what has been ruled out so far are any new elections and even if they did occur, the protesters say that wouldn't be enough for them, Robyn, because they want to see a whole set constitutional reform, which would put an end from the perspective of many of the opponents of the current system to the sectarian nature of the Lebanese Constitution, which guarantees a representation for all of the different religious sects here. CURNOW: Yes. And I can see there's the hustle and bustle of folks
going about their ordinary life around you traffic and all of that. But I mean, we look at these images of just how much Beirut was destroyed and it's still almost devastating to see those images. We hear from the President that it could cost up to $50 billion to rebuild. Where does that money come from? The country was already in an economic crisis. You talk about the institutional challenges. So what next? How does this city move on?
KILEY: Well, the first thing is the first signal about where all this was going to come from came last weekend when the international community put together an aid package of 300 million.
[02:25:03]
Sounds like a lot of money but a drop in the ocean in terms of what Lebanon would need particularly in relation to an estimate of 15 billion to replace or repair the damage done after the port explosion. Why is that figure so relatively low?
Well, it's only going to be channeled through non-government organizations. Government organizations are not trusted by the Lebanese and they're not trusted by the international community. Emmanuel Macron, his visit here, pretty much within 36 hours of the explosion was very explicit about saying that he wouldn't give a blank check to the Lebanese government because the government was not a trusted by the people. It is considered deeply or has been considered deeply corrupt.
Indeed, the outgoing Prime Minister now still in a caretaker role said that it was corruption that had undermined it. So the future of this country really depends on sorting that out.
CURNOW: OK. Sam Kiley, good to speak to you. Thanks so much live there in Beirut.
Well, to Belarus now where as many as 6,000 protesters have been detained since Sunday's contested election. President Alexander Lukashenko blames criminals and unemployed people for the demonstrations. He claimed victory in what many are calling a rigged vote. Now, the opposition candidate has had to flee to Lithuania, but others still in Belarus. So their fight to get rid of Europe's so called last dictator is not over. Well, Fred Pleitgen is in the capital Minsk. Fred.
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The protests against what many believe was a fraudulent election here in Belarus and against the government of Alexander Lukashenko continue. Although the protesters have somewhat changed their tactics, they're beginning to be more decentralized to try and get out of the way of the security forces.
Now, the security forces are still continuing their crackdown. At the same time, I managed to speak to one of the last leaders of the opposition movement. One of the three female leaders in the last one who's actually still here in Belarus. And Maria Kolesnikova told me she believes that in the end, they will prevail.
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MARIA KOLESNIKOVA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I think that Belarusian see now that they can do it and they assure us they will do it. And it's not on me and it's not on me or not Svetlana or Veronika or somebody else. They change themselves. Belarusian change themselves and it cannot be as the last 26 years.
We know that we are together and we know that together we are very strong and we're able to say stop it. Stop this violence. Stop this disrespect of whole Belarusian nation. This resistance can be very long time and, of course, they already lose, government is already lose and now it's very important time to say please understand and please hear the Belarusian people because only when we stop this violence we can get one dialogue to each other. And together we can build or to start to build a new Belarus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Now, she also told me that the opposition certainly appreciates all of the support that it's getting from the international community, especially from countries from the European Union. But she also said that in the end, it's going to have to be Belarusians who make change happen to themselves and from within.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN Minsk, Belarus.
CURNOW: You're watching CNN. Just ahead, Kamala Harris is the first woman of color to run for U.S. vice president. Her family in India speaks with CNN about the historic pick. That's next.
[02:30:00]
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CURNOW: So, Kamala Harris is getting positive reviews from Democrats and Republicans for her first speeches, Joe Biden's running mate. She said Donald Trump has run the U.S. economy into the ground just like everything else he inherited, and she paid tribute to the woman who came before her. Take a listen.
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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No, I'm so proud to stand with you. And I do so mindful of all the heroic and ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination, and resilience makes my presence here today even possible. This is a moment of real consequence for America.
This virus has impacted almost every country. But there's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start. His refusal to get testing up and running, his flip-flopping on social distancing and wearing masks, his delusional belief that he knows better than the experts. All of that is reason. And the reason that an American dies of COVID-19 every 80 seconds.
And it's the people who I have fought for as a United States Senator, where I've worked every day to hold Trump officials accountable to the American people. And the people are who Joe and I will fight for every day in the White House. And let me tell you, as somebody who has presented my fair share of arguments in court, the case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Well, Harris also talked about being a child of immigrants, and how she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced. Take a listen.
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HARRIS: My mother and father, they came from opposite sides of the world to arrive in America, one from India and the other from Jamaica, in search of a world class education. But what brought them together was the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And that's how they met as students in the streets of Oakland, marching and shouting for this thing called justice, and a struggle that continues today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Powerful words there. So, let's head straight to New Delhi and CNN's Vedika Sud. Let's talk about Kamala Harris's family there in India. You've been speaking to them. What's their reaction to this pretty awesome news for the family?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely, they're swelling with pride, but Wednesday here in India was quite late at when the news came about, Robyn, and the phone didn't stop ringing at the household of Senator Harris's motherland. So, she was up through the night, America time, when she heard of the news because a friend of hers, she tells me, actually called to congratulate her. We didn't get much from her because she is quite reticent when it comes to speaking to the media. But here in New Delhi, we spoke to the maternal uncle, who's 80 years old. And he said he expected this news. He wasn't surprised because of the accomplishments of Senator Harris.
But there's something that Harris has always mentioned, be it in a memoir or otherwise, which is she has always been inspired, of course, by her mother, who was very, very involved in the civil rights movement ever since she moved from India to America, as well as her maternal grandfather. Here's more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: My mother, who raised me and my sister, was a proud woman. She was a brown woman. She was a woman with a heavy accent.
[02:35:00]
SUD: And her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was also the biggest influence in Kamala Harris's life. HARRIS: The answer is absolutely yes, Joe.
SUD: After the big announcement, Harris's sister wrote in a Twitter post, "You can't know who Kamala Harris is without knowing who our mother was." In 1958, a precocious 19-year-old Indian Gopalan traveled thousands of miles from a home and family to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology in America. She soon became an active civil rights crusader whilst studying at U.C. Berkeley.
DR. GOPALAN BALACHANDRAN, KAMALA HARRIS' UNCLE: Once she went there, she almost felt free. And she took part in politics. She took in -- she used to bring a whole series of leftist literature from Karl Popper and on. He was a great philosopher.
SUD: In her book, Harris says, "There is no title or honor on earth I'll treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris's daughter." Harris's visits to India with her mother kept her connected to her roots. Her grandfather who had strong views on humanitarian issues, worked closely with officials to reallocate refugees. The conversations had a strong influence on her.
HARRIS: Those walks along the beach in India really planted something in my mind and created a commitment in me before I even realized it that has led me to where I am today.
SUD: Harris's maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandran, who lives in Delhi tells us how the senator turns to her Am'ma, which means mother in Tamil, for guidance, even after her death.
BALACHANDRAN: I don't have to tell her, make your mother proud. She'll say, what are you telling me? Everything that I do, I ask myself, would am'ma approve of this?"
SUD: Kamala in Hindi means lotus flower, and is an important symbol in Indian culture, rooted deep in the bottom of the river, very similar to Harris's Indian identity, which she wears on her sleeve.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SUD: What's interesting is when I spoke to an 80-year-old maternal uncle, two points that he made that Senator Harris misses her mother, especially on the big occasions where she'd want her by her side. And the other thing he mentioned is a lot of people have been calling the senator, female Obama. He didn't really like that term being used for his niece. He turned around and said, well, Obama should be called the male Kamala in this case. Back to you, Robyn.
CURNOW: And yes, that family's got some fighting spirit. Great piece. Thanks so much for bringing us that lovely --
SUD: Thank you.
CURNOW: -- aspect to all the political news. Thank you, Vedika. So, you're watching CNN. Still to come, the impact of a top U.S. official's visit to Taiwan. We'll have an exclusive interview on that. Stay with us. You're watching CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:21]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Because of Trump's failures of leadership, our economy has taken one of the biggest hits out of all the major industrialized nations with an unemployment rate that has tripled as of today. This is what happens when we elect the guy who just isn't up for the job. Our country ends up in tatters, and so does our reputation around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Little taste there of what's sure to come on the campaign trail. Donald Trump's foreign policy track record is sure to be scrutinized by his challenges. Well, let's go to CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto. Jim has just written a book, and it's called, "The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World." Jim, hi. It's certainly been quiet --
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
CURNOW: It's been certainly been quite a year and it's not over yet. Just talk us through what The Madman Theory is. In many ways, it didn't actually work for Nixon, either.
SCIUTTO: Right. It harkens back to Nixon, who famously, at the height of the war with Vietnam, instructed Henry Kissinger, his national security adviser to warn North Vietnam that he was just mad enough, Nixon just mad enough, to launch a nuclear strike on North Vietnam. He didn't intend to, but the idea was to scare North Vietnam into conceding in negotiations to end the war. As it turned out, the strategy didn't work, but Nixon still owned it as a way to gain advantage in negotiations and standoffs with countries around the world.
Now, 50 years later, Donald Trump has unleashed his own version of it. But it's different. It's unique to him. He's just as likely to unleash his madman theory on allies as adversaries. Look at the relationships with NATO allies, with his threats to South Korea allies if they don't quintuple their pay for U.S. forces there, or even determining that Canada is a national security threat to the U.S. to justify the imposition of tariffs. That's the difference. In addition to that, I'll say and you can see from the book because I spoke to a whole host of people who work for Donald Trump, he unleashes it even on his own advisors. They don't know what he's going to do next.
CURNOW: I know you spent some time in China advising the former U.S. Ambassador there. How is -- how is this madman theory, whether it's deliberate or not, impacted that specific region? I mean, we've gone from a big beautiful chocolate cake with Xi Jinping, on love letters with Kim Jong-un to a situation where in the last four years, it seems at least that region is certainly far more unstable than it was at the beginning of this presidency. SCIUTTO: No question. Here's a president who was convinced and tried
to convince the world that solely through his personal relationships with Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un or Vladimir Putin, for that matter, that he could change the very calculus of nations, you know, change, transform these relationships. Fact is that hasn't worked with any of them. If you look at North Korea, right, one year of fire and fury threatening war against North Korea then three years of diplomacy, and North Korea has more not fewer nuclear weapons. With China, it's been a consistent part of his policy to stand up to Chinese malign activities.
The thing is right now, the U.S. finds itself really in a spiral of escalation with China. I speak to advisors, to the president, who speak of the possibility of war with China within the next five years, that's an alarming prospect. Is that the President's intent? Does he have an off ramp? Is there an end game to this? Often the President's bluster is not tied to an end game or strategy, and that creates real danger.
CURNOW: In many ways, sometimes it's just tied to a headline on Fox News for that day or for that news cycle. Just quickly, before we go, if Donald Trump wins a second term, how does this madman theory fit into that? And you mentioned war with China. What happens next?
SCIUTTO: Well, what his advisors are concerned about is that what were half measures in the first term become full measures. A concern and John Bolton has expressed this publicly that the battle with NATO becomes the end of NATO, that he leaves. That the battle with South Korea over increasing their financial support for troops there becomes withdrawing some, or all of U.S. troops on the North Korean peninsula. That his distaste for endless wars, right, that you'll often hear him say, means no more troops on the ground, for instance in Afghanistan. So, who's keeping an eye on Al Qaeda that remains there? Those are the real concerns about those threats.
[02:45:11]
But there's also real concerns about whether alliances and friendships that have lasted decades under presidents of both parties, survive a second term, or survive in a way that we would recognize, real consequences, no question.
CURNOW: Jim Sciutto, good to speak to you. Good luck with the sales of the book. And thanks so much.
SCIUTTO: Thanks for having me.
CURNOW: Well, Taiwan's Foreign Minister says China is trying to turn Taiwan into the next Hong Kong. Joseph Wu met in Taipei on Tuesday with the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Paula Hancock spoke with him exclusively and joins us now from Taipei with the details. Paula, hi. What did he have to say to you?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Robyn, when I spoke to him on Wednesday, the minister was very concerned, he said with the increase in tensions in the region with the behavior of China. We've heard from Beijing itself, as well, talking about that meeting, and that visit by the U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar, calling it a political show. And the fact it should never have happened. But Minister Wu said he appreciated the support from the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSEPH WU, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TAIWAN: The message was very clear. It was a show of support by the U.S. government to Taiwan, not only to Taiwan of being successful in dealing with the pandemic, but also to Taiwan as a whole. The United States understand that Taiwan is under threat, either military threat or diplomatic threat. And the United States is a very close partner of Taiwan.
HANCOCKS: Certainly, tensions in the -- in the region have been increasing in recent months. China has been carrying out more military drills. Taiwan has been carrying out more military drills. I mean, where does this lead?
WU: I'm worrying about the situation. It's just -- it's not just the Taiwan Strait. If you look at East China Sea, our Japanese friends are very concerned about the Chinese sending vessels to the disputed waters all the time while the tension was also running high in East China Sea. And look at the situation in Hong Kong, the international community is trying to figure out a way to help the people in Hong Kong. And look at the South China Sea, the militarization in South China Sea is also a spot for concern. And there was also a border dispute in between India and China. So, along the Chinese borders, there are plenty of issues for us to worry about.
HANCOCKS: Now, you have said that you're worried Taiwan will become the next Hong Kong. Can you explain that?
WU: I think they will try to impose what they say, the one country, two systems model on Taiwan. And that is turning Taiwan into the next Hong Kong when China is facing domestic difficulties. They might want to divert their domestic attention by create a crisis outside China. And sometimes we worry that Taiwan might become a scapegoat of China's own problems. And in order to prevent China from taking Taiwan over or initiating any kind of force against Taiwan, we need to handle cross strait relations in a very prudent manner.
HANCOCKS: There is an election coming up in November. You have had very strong support from the Trump administration. Do you believe you'll have that from -- if Vice President Biden takes the -- takes the White House? Do you think that strong support would continue?
WU: We have support from both sides of the aisle. And I'm very confident that Taiwan-U.S. relations will remain strong and sound, whatever happened in Washington DC. And of course, the defend -- the defense of Taiwan is our responsibility and we'll continue to strengthen our own defense capabilities and to show to the international community our determination to defend ourselves, but at the same time, we can count on the U.S. support either in the security type of cooperation or in the sale of necessary weapons for Taiwan to be able to defend itself. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: The Beijing has been angered in recent days by that high- level U.S. visit saying, that there shouldn't be these direct interactions between the U.S. and Taiwan. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory. Robyn?
CURNOW: So, Paula, I suppose the million-dollar question is what's the solution for all of these tensions?
HANCOCKS: Well, it was one question that I did ask Minister Wu, and he said, ideally, there would be more interaction between Taiwan and other members of the international community. There would be more supporting allies for Taiwan. But of course, the issue with that is, which he did acknowledge as well, is that Beijing does try to isolate the countries that do show their support with Taiwan. You can't have official relations at this point with Taiwan and with China. These countries around the world have to choose between the two. And China really is putting more efforts over the past few years into trying to isolate Taiwan internationally.
[02:50:10]
For example, global institutions, they have -- they have rejected Taiwan as having observer status within the World Health Organization, something the U.S. has been pushing against saying, that during the coronavirus pandemic, given how well Taiwan has done, they should be having this observer status. But China with its place within the WHO has isolated Taiwan. And certainly, for other countries that want to show Taiwan support, they do have to navigate that issue as well that they don't want to be on the wrong side of China.
CURNOW: Paula, thanks so much. Great reporting there in Taipei. Thanks so much. So, you're watching CNN. Still to come, an unexpected obstacle to possible -- to possible Coronavirus vaccine. An alarming number of Americans and many people around the world might actually refuse to take it. That story, important story. That's next.
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CURNOW: Welcome back wherever you are. I'm Robyn Curnow. So, schools around the world are taking extra precautions to protect students and staff from Coronavirus. in Cali, Colombia, this teacher is wearing a full biohazard suit to give her -- to give a lesson. That can't be very friendly for the students. This teacher in Berlin is expanding the new rules on face masks to her students as they begin a new term. That will be a familiar image across the world.
And this healthcare worker is taking students temperatures before they return to class in Nigeria. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, Thailand, these students are not only wearing masks, they're also partitioned off between individual transparent screens. Meanwhile, the school in Brasilia is being thoroughly disinfected to help spread -- prevent the spread of the virus. And the U.S. is pulling out all the stops to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus. But even if one becomes available, there's a disturbing number of Americans who say they just won't be vaccinated and they're trying to convince others to refuse it as well. So, for more on all of this, here's Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONCEF SLAOUI, HEAD, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I think it will be a very effective vaccine, that's my prediction.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Doctor Moncef Slaoui, head of Operation Warp Speed, the government's program to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, says the vaccine could be 90 percent effective or higher, and could be on the market as early as December for those at high risk, but what if people refuse to get it? A recent CNN poll found that one third of Americans said they would not try to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus even if the vaccine is widely available and low cost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't need the vaccination.
COHEN: Some anti-vaccine advocates have been working hard creating fear of a future Coronavirus vaccine. And anti-vaccine lies are appearing online that the vaccine will leave an invisible, digital, trackable tattoo. That Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leader in the vaccine effort, is actually Satan, that the vaccine is part of a CIA Illuminati conspiracy to control the world. And it will turn you into this. So now, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton is sounding the alarm.
You know, polling has shown that many Americans say they won't get the COVID vaccine when it comes out, does that worry you?
[02:55:03]
CHELSEA CLINTON, GLOBAL HEALTH ADVOCATE: Oh, my gosh, it terrifies me.
COHEN: Through the Clinton Foundation and through international speeches, Clinton has become a leading vaccine advocate.
Have anti-vaxxers called you hateful names?
CLINTON: I've been, you know, called her murder and a fearmonger. I get quite a bit of hate.
COHEN: Clinton knows personally how strongly anti-vaxxers feel. When she was pregnant with her first child, a woman approached her in a coffee shop.
CLINTON: She looked like it was like, deep into my eyes. And she just said, like, please tell me you won't vaccinate your child. Like, please don't do that. And I was so taken aback, and I said, no, of course, I'm going to vaccinate my child. She said something along the lines of their death or damage will be on your head.
COHEN: She says the government needs to act fast to combat this anti- vaccine sentiment.
And what do you think of the job that the CDC is doing in this area?
CLINTON: Well, they're not doing their job. I mean, they're not doing their jobs. You know, nothing really is happening in our country on this front at a coordinated level and from our government and from the CDC, who is kind of the natural and the historic leader in these areas.
COHEN: The CDC did not respond to requests from CNN for comment. Its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says their public health information campaign will soon focus on vaccine safety, efficacy, and hesitancy. Clinton says this should have been done months ago, and the message needs to be loud and clear.
CLINTON: It isn't like, you know, I like iced coffee and my husband likes iced tea. Like this is not a debate about opinions. This is literally a debate about life and death.
COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Thanks to Elizabeth for that story. Now, finally, a story about resilience and family, a grandmother and her very extended brood aren't letting the pandemic rain on her parade. Julia Lee Kelly celebrated her hundredth birthday by watching family members and friends stage a drive-by procession. She has 88 great grandchildren as part of her sixth generation family. The family have planned to rent out a building for a formal party, but the Coronavirus, of course, forced them to get creative for their grandmother who is a very independent woman. She still cooks for herself, works in a garden, and goes to church every single Sunday. So, here's to all the grandmothers around the world, who have sadly spent the last few months alone, kisses all around.
Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. I'll be back same time, same place tomorrow. My colleague, Rosemary Church, is next. Enjoy.
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