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I.G. Reviewing New Postmaster's Policy Changes And Potential Ethics Conflict; Trump Continues Attacks On Mail-In Voting System; U.S. Reports Average Of A Thousan Plus Deaths Daily Since Late July. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 15, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:23]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Great to have you with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

We begin this hour with a dire warning to voters less than three months until election and the Postal Service has told nearly all states it cannot guarantee that ballots cast by mail will arrive in time to be counted even if they're sent before the deadline.

This comes as we learned the Postal Service Inspector General is investigating recent policy changes by the new Postmaster General, a Trump ally.

The controversial changes have effectively slowed down mail service by cutting back Post Office hours, eliminating most overtime and in some cases, even taking letter collection boxes off the streets.

These photos were taken at a Bronx Post Office facility, although it's still unclear whether all of these mailboxes were removed recently. Democrats are accusing the President of trying to steal the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): ... for us not to make provisions for people to be able to participate in this democracy without having to run the risk of contracting a disease that could kill them.

I never thought that I would live to see the United States of America tolerate a tyrant who seems to just trample upon our Constitution.

John Lewis would be so disappointed that he gave -- nearly gave his life to get the vote for people to fill up and to watch the complicity of the Republicans in holding on to this kind of shenanigan is just beyond me. This to me, I never thought that I would see this country allow this to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Even so, the President continuing his attacks. He tweeted that the election will be a fraudulent mess and that we may never know who won -- and he just made that same argument in a press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If the votes don't have to be in for seven -- and then they are counting the votes seven days later, that means how are they going to predict a winner on November 3rd?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's get straight to CNN White House reporter, Sarah Westwood in Washington. Sarah, the President just held this press conference. What else did he say about mail-in voting?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Ana, you heard the President there railing against mail-in voting suggesting that if the election results are delayed, which again, experts have acknowledged is a possibility because mail-in votes do take longer to count than regularly cast votes and they are expected at a higher volume than ever before that somehow that would invalidate the election results.

So he is exploiting the likelihood of that, again, to cast doubt on the integrity of the mail-in voting system. He said it would be a catastrophe at that press conference if mail-in voting was implemented.

He also sought to do something that we've seen him argue before, which is to conflate to say that there is a big difference between absentee voting and mail-in voting.

The President recently requested his absentee ballot, but I want you to take a listen to him attempting to draw that distinction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a man in there for two months. He's a very talented man. He's a brilliant business person. He's done great. He's a very nice man also.

And he, Louis, he is working very hard. But as you know, the Democrats aren't approving the proper funding for Postal and they're not approving the proper funding for this ridiculous thing that they want to do, which is all mail-in voting, universal, you could call it mail- in voting.

Again, absentee voting is great. You request -- I am an absentee voter because I requested, I got and then I sent in my vote. So that works out very well. That's what we've had.

But now, they want to send in millions and millions of ballots, and you see what's happening. They're being lost. They're being discarded. They're finding them in piles. It's going to be a catastrophe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now, just to fact check this. Absentee voting and mail-in voting generally conducted in the same way, right? You fill out your ballot, you drop it in an envelope, you put it in the mail. The difference that the President is trying to draw is really not that

big of a distinction. He is saying that Democrats, they want to send ballots out to everyone. But currently that is only the case in nine states.

In most states, people still have to request their absentee ballots even if they aren't providing an excuse, and that's being waived in many cases because of the coronavirus. A lot of state election laws are also in flux right now as officials grapple with how to conduct the election safely amid coronavirus.

But in late July, the Postal Service did warn 46 states and the District of Columbia that their election laws are incompatible with mail-in voting. That is their deadlines for applying for and turning in ballots just doesn't give the Postal Service enough time to get those delivered and allow those ballots to be counted the way the rules are currently structured.

So there's a lot of concern right now about whether the Post Office will be able to handle all of this mail-in voting volume, and the President there saying that he will only approve the additional funding for the Post Office if Democrats essentially concede to Republican demands on Capitol Hill.

[18:05:36]

CABRERA: Okay, so lots more to come there. The President was also asked again about this "Newsweek" article questioning Kamala Harris's eligibility to be on the ticket this year.

He previously promoted this article. What did he say this time?

WESTWOOD: That's right, Ana, and I want you to take a listen to what the President said about it this time, sort of dodging any responsibility for deflecting on an article that's been widely criticized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So I have nothing to do with it. I read something about it, and I will say that he is a brilliant lawyer that I guess he wrote an article about it.

So, I know nothing about it, but it's not something that bothers me.

QUESTION: But sir, when you do that, it creates --

TRUMP: Why do you say that? I just don't know about it, but it's not something that we will be pursuing. Let me put it differently.

QUESTION: Mr. President, you know --

TRUMP: Let me be -- let me put it differently. Don't tell me what I know. Let me put it differently. Let me put it differently.

To me, it doesn't bother me at all. I don't know about it. I read one quick article. The lawyer happens to be a brilliant lawyer, as you probably know, he wrote an article saying that it could be a problem.

It's not something that I'm going to be pursuing.

QUESTION: Is she eligible, sir?

TRUMP: I just told you. I have not gone into it in great detail. If she's got a problem, you would have thought that she would have been vetted.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: You would have thought that she would have been vetted by Sleepy Joe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: And now, Harris was born in Oakland, California. So we should just say there is no question about her eligibility to be Vice President for Biden to win the election.

But that's just sort of played into concerns that the President was going to lean into perhaps racist and sexist tropes when dealing with Kamala Harris and obviously due to his embrace of the birther conspiracy theory related to Obama that obviously drew a lot of attention. The President promoting that conspiracy theory related to Kamala earlier this week -- Ana.

CABRERA: Again, facts first, there's no question, she is eligible. She was born in the U.S. Sarah Westwood, thank you.

Back to this issue now on mail-in voting, something that's obviously going to be critical amid a pandemic. Former U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder seems to think the Trump administration is acting illegally in reference to what's going on with the Postal Service.

And he tweeted today a Federal law statute that reads, "Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months or both."

Let's get your legal questions answered with CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. Elie, one viewer wants to know what can be done legally to stop the President's effort to deprive the U.S. Postal Service of funding it needs to process mail-in ballots.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Ana, this is such an important issue. We are seeing a real threat right now to the core of our democracy, the right to vote.

So what can be done? First of all, let's start with Congress. Now, under the Constitution, Congress controls the spending power so Congress can allocate the money that the Postal Service needs to handle the expected influx of absentee and mail-in ballots.

But the President has made very clear he intends to veto that which he can do utilizing his constitutional veto power, but then Congress can actually override a presidential veto. Now, that's hard to do. You need two-thirds of both the House and the Senate. So we need to see Republican and Democratic members coming together.

But the point is Congress, you can fix this. It's simply a question of political will.

Second, lawsuits. We're seeing lawsuits to extend those deadline dates that Sarah talked about before, to allow states to keep on counting mail-in ballots for three days, 10 days, 14 days, the numbers vary state by state after November 3rd. Those lawsuits have been filed across the country, and those will determine whether the deadlines are extended.

And finally, the Postal Service Inspector General, we just learned has opened an investigation which could expose any waste fraud abuse or even as Attorney General Holder referenced, potential criminality.

So the stakes here are enormous. This will determine whether people can vote safely by mail and whether those votes will be counted.

CABRERA: We have seen the President trying to muddy the waters as well when it comes to universal mail-in voting and whether it's legal for states to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters. What's the answer?

HONIG: So that question is being asked right now in our courts. I believe the answer will be yes. So states determine their own manner of voting, and we are seeing more states mail out absentee ballots to all registered voters. Now, the voters still have to fill out the ballots, certify and sign.

The Republican National Committee has challenged this. They filed a lawsuit in Nevada. But the major obstacle for the R.N.C. is they simply have no evidence of significant mail-in ballot fraud. That's the thing about courts. It's hard to win without evidence.

So we'll see how that case plays out, but I think it will be a real uphill climb for the R.N.C.

[18:10:26]

CABRERA: Another viewer wants to know who actually hold legal power over how and when we vote? Is it the President, Congress, states or somebody else?

HONIG: Right. It's a great question. So as with so many things in our legal system, power is divided up between different players.

First of all, Congress sets a national uniform date for the General Election and controls Federal funding subject to the veto process we just talked about.

But the states -- the states really hold the power here. They control their own manner of voting. They provide most of their own funding for elections. Now, the President has no direct legal power over how people vote, but

he certainly has influence because there are plenty of state governors and other state officials who agree and are willing to carry out his agenda.

And just because nothing can ever be too easy, as we're seeing, essentially, everybody can sue everybody and we are seeing that happen right now.

Now, there will not be one big Supreme Court case that resolves all of this before the election. Instead, we are seeing various legal battles cropping up across the United States, but we, Ana, will stay on top of all of them, make sure our viewers stay informed. This is way too important to let it go.

CABRERA: We have seen -- I've seen it on social media. I know you've gotten flooded with questions. People are fired up about this issue because it is such a fundamental part of our democracy. Elie Honig. Thank you. Thank you so much for being there for us.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: And thanks to our viewers for sending in those great questions.

Now, the U.S. has more coronavirus cases than any other country. We are averaging 1,000 deaths per day. We've been averaging that for almost three weeks now, all as our children are returning to school. So why is testing declining?

We'll try to get some answers for you, next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:00]

CABRERA: It is the most heartbreaking part of the pandemic, seeing the number of people who have died, and in the United States that number is staying high.

This weekend, the U.S. is on track for another average of a thousand deaths or more from COVID-19 in just a 24-hour period. The total number of American deaths reported since the start of the pandemic, now over 169,000 people.

Health experts also say children are testing positive for the virus at an increased rate. More than seven percent of all people known to be infected in the United States are kids. It's the same day that the State of Alabama is reporting that more than 7,000 children in that state have tested positive. Two infants and a teenager in Alabama have died from COVID-19.

And today, we learn, a 15-year-old boy in the Atlanta area has died from coronavirus complications. He is the second youngest person to die in the State of Georgia. And news from the testing front, the Food and Drug Administration

announcing today it has granted emergency use authorization to a new method that tests a person's saliva for the coronavirus.

The F.D.A. says this test is cheaper than the current nasal swab test. It's faster and it gives similarly accurate results.

Let's discuss these latest developments with the Dean and Professor of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez.

Dr. Hotez, I have to get to another development because as we're talking about testing, we've been seeing testing declining week over week since the end of July.

And in fact, you can see where you are in Texas, their testing significantly decreased at the end of the month aside from that record day of testing on August 13th.

Here's what White House testing czar, Admiral Brett Giroir said about testing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Has the administration actually exhausted it, to get more supplies like reagents and tips and other testing supplies to the labs? Is that true? Everything's been done?

ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, H.H.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY: I'm going to say definitively, yes.

BROWN: Definitively yes. There's nothing else the administration can do to get more testing?

GIROIR: You'll hear a DPA action coming up early next week.

BROWN: Would you say enough has been done? Enough has been done to make sure that everyone who needs a test gets a test in this country?

GIROIR: Everything that can possibly be done has been done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Doctor, do you agree? Do you think the government has done all they can?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, I think Brett Giroir has done all that he can. You know, I know he has been really working hard on this to try to ramp it up. But you know, even he can't, in his role as Assistant Secretary of Health, can't correct all of the underlying infrastructural problems that the country has had for a long time.

So I know he is trying his very best, but it's been really hard -- this has been a constant problem since the beginning, not only -- not only scale of the test but -- CABRERA: But I just wonder -- and forgive me for interrupting, let me

ask you really quick though, because when it comes to the Admiral, I mean, he also said this week, we are doing the appropriate amount of testing now to reduce the spread, flatten the curve, and save lives and yet we've been seeing the positivity rate in the majority of states across the country still going up and testing still going down?

HOTEZ: Yes, let me let me kind of bring it home to just make some sense of this because quite honestly, I think there's a lot of confusion. Even I am confused as to what's going on.

For instance, here in Texas we had -- we were doing 70,000 tests a day, and then all of a sudden, we dropped to 30,000, less than half of the -- with no understanding what is happening with it.

There was a rapid doubling of the case positivity rate. We went from something like 13 percent to 25 percent positivity, which is incredibly high, so how do you get your arms around that? Even the Governor of Texas has now has called for an investigation to understand that.

So, there's still an enormous amount of confusion. Is it because people just don't want to bother waiting in lines anymore and aren't getting tested so the only ones getting tested are those who are sick and that's why the positivity rate is going up? Or is there something else going on in this?

I don't think it's unique to Texas. I think this is going on nationally. So the fact that we still haven't gotten our arms around it is very discouraging to say the least.

[18:20:11]

CABRERA: Now the F.D.A. today did issue an emergency use authorization to this quick and inexpensive saliva based COVID-19 diagnostic test, and what we know about it is that it is highly sensitive, it takes just three hours to get results. Ninety two samples can be tested at just one time and labs are expected to charge just $10.00 a test. IT all sounds like good news, do you think this could be a game changer?

HOTEZ: Well, we certainly need it. You know, Ana, this is what I like about this. It's a saliva based test, which is a lot less invasive.

You know, anybody can do saliva at home and you can do that, you can then get the results hopefully, with a pretty quick turnaround. This is a test that was developed at Yale that still uses PCR, so you still have to send it to a centralized facility.

It's not quite where I want to be -- where I hope it would be at this time, which is an antigen test. I mean, you do the same thing, put it in your mouth, but make it like a pregnancy test where you can get the answer right away at home and that requires looking for antigen rather than doing things by PCR, but it's definitely in advance.

And hopefully -- this was developed out of Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine, where I used to be and I know many of the colleagues on the paper who wrote this and applied for emergency use authorization.

So hopefully, it'll be an important advance as we need saliva-based tests. We need rapid tests. We really need that rapid antigen test to help really finally fix this problem, because we still -- we still struggle with it.

CABRERA: The C.D.C. updated its guidance for people who had coronavirus saying they no longer need to quarantine or get retested for three months, as long as they don't have any new symptoms.

Now, they clarified, this doesn't mean that those people have immunity for three months. But that the virus just can present even when someone is no longer contagious. So that's why they shouldn't get retested.

So I'm curious, how could the virus be present but somebody not be contagious?

HOTEZ: Yes, there's still a lot of confusion on the way those guidelines are written. I have -- I struggled over those guidelines as well.

And a lot of people, I think confuse those guidelines by thinking that the C.D.C. was stating that immunity only lasts for three months, which is not the case. I think most people who get SARS2 coronavirus have immunity for months, if not years, just like they did with the first SARS virus.

So I think, what we're going to see this week hopefully or sooner is C.D.C. kind of making this a little clearer because it was quite confusing the way it was initially rolled out and this has been an ongoing problem with the C.D.C. ad with not only the testing, but also public health communication and not kind of sending out crisp clear messages.

And now also around the schools and providing information about schools, why schools are important, but not making it clear that we can't open schools in areas with high community transmission.

CABRERA: Right. Dr. Peter Hotez, thank you for being a clear communicator with our viewers and giving us your best knowledge and guidance in all of this. We appreciate it.

HOTEZ: Thank you. A lot of confusing stuff this week.

CABRERA: I know. There's always something more to discuss. So hopefully we get more and more clarity and understanding as we move forward.

I do just want to get to this that's just in to CNN. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying the tribute and light memorial for 9/11 will happen next month after all.

This memorial had previously been canceled due to the coronavirus concerns, but Governor Cuomo says the state will provide health personnel and supervisors so that this tradition can continue and he tweeted in part, "I am glad we can continue this powerful tribute to those who we lost on 9/11 and to the heroism of all New Yorkers. We will never forget."

Coming up, as stimulus talks stall, more and more Americans are facing a new reality turning to food banks to make ends meet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:47]

CABRERA: Food banks are becoming a lifeline for so many struggling or newly jobless Americans just trying to feed their families. But as the pandemic shows no sign of going away, food banks are having a hard time keeping up with the surging demand.

CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on a Texas food bank where people have lined up for hours at a time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the middle of the night, a fleet of trucks carrying more than 10,000 boxes of food arrive in a desolate Dallas parking lot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can probably drop them here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA (voice over): Valerie Hawthorne of the North Texas Food Bank is making sure all the crates are perfectly lined up.

The last time the North Texas Food Bank sponsored a drive-thru food giveaway was in May, and Hawthorne knows that life has only become more desperate for millions of people struggling through the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE HAWTHORNE, NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: These distributions truly reveal what the need is and how many of our community members are just one paycheck away from hunger.

So we have to be out there to support them during this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA (voice over): First people in line we're Pauletta Johnson and Arthur Ferrazas. They arrive three hours before the food giveaway even started.

Pauletta is on a fixed income and cares for her grandchildren. Arthur is a handyman and says work has dried up in recent months.

[18:30:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULETTA JOHNSON, DALLAS RESIDENT: It helps feed the grandkids when they're here, when they're over and it's just means a lot. I don't really have the money, I'm on a fixed income and I don't have the money to buy some of the things that I need to get. So that's why I'm here this morning.

ARTHUR FERRAZAS, DALLAS RESIDENT: It means a lot. It's a little bit of help. I think it's going to help us a lot. I got two kids at the house, so my wife's kind of real sick right now, but not with the virus, so that's why I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA(voice over): At this food delivery event, about a hundred volunteers will distribute more than 10,000 boxes of food for nearly 8,000 people.

The images of long lines seen at food bank distributions are a searing reminder of the economic toll inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. The images, taken over recent months, span the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE HAWTHORNE, NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK: Our families tomorrow will be receiving a box that has noodles and rice, some fruit and nut mix, some cereal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA(voice-over): That's why it doesn't surprise Valerie Hawthorne to see thousands line up before the sun comes up, just days after millions of people have lost their $600 a week unemployment benefits. Since March, about 3.1 million Texans have filed unemployment claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAWTHORNE: We know that the need is out there, we know that it's great. And what this pandemic has done has just shine a light on poverty and hunger and our communities that are in desperate need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA(voice-over): From this warehouse, the North Texas Food Bank is distributing more than a million pounds of food per week. Jesus Baca is a disabled former law enforcement officer and says these boxes can feed him for up to three weeks. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAWTHORNE: How does that help you?

JESUS BACA, FORMER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Really financially strained. I got house payments and doctor bills and so on I got to pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA(voice over): Ed Lavandera, CNN Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: A top Democrat says it's just poor manners. He's talking about President Trump's decision to hold an event just outside Joe Biden's hometown on the same day Biden formally accepts the Democratic nomination. More on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:36:56]

CABRERA: Monday night kicks off the next phase of the 2020 Presidential election. The national conventions. First up, it's the Democratic National Convention in Wisconsin, but since we're in the middle of a public health crisis, this event will be mostly virtual. It's a big change from previous years of Democrats and Republicans crowning their nominees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: What do you want me to tell, Romney? I can't tell him do that. He can't do that to himself. You're crazy. You're absolutely crazy.

SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Do you know they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Read my lips, no new taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Such a flashback there. Joining us now, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Democratic Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm and CNN Political Commentator, Democratic Strategist and former Clinton White House Advisor, Paul Begala. He is the author of the new book You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump.

So Gov. Granholm, ladies first, it's a big moment for the campaign besides formally naming the party's candidate for president, it's also meant to excite the base to get to the polling booth or in this case, this year, the mailbox. Do you think having a virtual convention will take away from that excitement?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, you're showing all of those flashbacks and I know Paul and I are like, oh, that was so great. But this is going to be different like everything else is in this Coronavirus world. So I am super excited by the fact that the programming tzar, Stephanie Cutter, of this has figured out a way to sort of weave the entire country together in this virtual moment.

So on Monday night, just as one example of this, you're going to see this terrific youth choir, the Commonwealth Youthchoir, which has representatives from all 50 states and the U.S. territories singing together the national anthem. So it's really this celebration of the best of America, both geographically and ethnically, demographically. I'm excited to see the difference. It's going to be different, no doubt, but I'm excited to see how we're able to use two technology in order to weave these themes together.

CABRERA: Maybe it boosts the intrigue in terms of the interest in these conventions.

GRANHOLM: Sure.

[18:40:08]

CABRERA: Something else that's going to be different is how the opponent is responding to this convention, the Trump campaign announcing today it will have an aggressive digital ad campaign to counter the DNC and the President will speak near Biden's hometown in Scranton, Pennsylvania on the very night. In fact, around the same time even that Biden is expected to accept the Democratic nomination.

Now, I spoke earlier to the house whip, Jim Clyburn about this, listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): This president should be ashamed of himself, holding an event on the evening that this man, a duly nominated man will be given its acceptance speech is just poor. Manners. My dad used to tell me all of the time, the first sign of good education is good manners. This is bad manners. The kind of manners of a less than a good education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Paul, he calls it bad manners. What do you make of the Trump campaign's announcement?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's not only bad manners, it's going to be a major deal. He's going to dump Mike Pence. He's going to Nikki Haley on the ticket. I've been saying that since March and I'm going to be right, Ana. It's a burden. I carry this burden of prophecy.

He's going to do it, because he's completely disloyal, we know that. And by the way, he's locked up the Christian white evangelical vote that Mike Pence helped to give him. So that's what's going to happen. Now, how does Biden ... CABRERA: He's been pressed on it. He's been pressed on that over and

over and over again as well as people around him and they've all said, no, that's not going to happen. It's Mike Pence.

BEGALA: I know, but sometimes he doesn't tell the truth. So well, just say, how the Biden campaign responds to Trump coming into Scranton doing this event, it's going to be very instructive, what I want them to do is not fall into the trap of talking about themselves. If I was Joe Biden, I would say, he can come to my front yard and speak if he can get a good policy to fight coronavirus, wearing masks, tracing, testing, treating, isolating. He can even come into my basement and speak if he will drop his lawsuit to try to take away our protections of pre existing conditions and always make it about your life, not about Trump's rudeness.

CABRERA: Sen. Kamala Harris sat down for her first interview since being named Biden's running mate and brought in an old phrase from the Obama era. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESUMPTIVE VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: Joe Biden had the audacity to choose a Black woman to be his running mate. How incredible is that? And what a statement about Joe Biden - that he decided that he was going to do that thing that was about breaking one of the most substantial barriers that has existed in our country and that he made that decision with whatever risk that brings. I think, as much as anything, it's a statement about the character of the man that we're going to elect this next President of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The audacity, she says. Gov. Granholm, do you think the campaign is strategically aligning with Obama's messaging? Do you think that is a good strategy, if that's the case?

GRANHOLM: Of course. Of course, it is a brilliant strategy and, of course, they should do it. And I love that she called him audacious for that. A lot of times Joe Biden gets a rap that he's establishment and it's going to be boring, et cetera.

You got to remember, I mean, Joe Biden was the guy who pushed Obama on same sex marriage. I mean, his platform right now is the most progressive platform of any Democratic general election candidate in the history of the country. He is going to get change done. And this is another symbol of that.

And by the way, Kamala Harris, she is going to really help him. There was just a great piece, just quickly, in Politico talking about how she's going to be sort of the secret weapon in a state like Florida because she's electrifying the Jamaican and Haitian communities, the Caribbean-American voters in Florida that are now energized of which there are more than 200,000 in a state like Florida, which has decided that very margin. So I think it was an audacious move, but it was a really smart move too.

CABRERA: You just called Joe Biden, the most progressive candidate the Democrats have ever had.

GRANHOLM: The platform.

CABRERA: Doesn't that play into the Republicans' hands?

GRANHOLM: Well, no, it doesn't because he's got, the point is about his platform, is that it is a broad platform that recognizes the need for change, that the same old same old is going to get us 165,000 people dead and a double digit unemployment rate. He is going to invest in our people, in our communities in a way that we have not seen.

[18:45:03]

In a way that makes us as a nation, not just rebound but lead other countries as well. So I think his platform is bold, it's progressive. It also recognizes that it picks the element of the whole spectrum, not just of Democrats but of independence as well. I'm really, really excited about it.

CABRERA: We've heard now sexist attacks and racist attacks on Kamala Harris. One of these attacks coming from a female Trump advisor, who tweeted that Senator Harris' voice sounds just like Marge Simpson. Well, the blue haired matriarch had something to say about that. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGE SIMPSON: I usually don't get into politics, but the President's Senior Advisor Jenna Ellis just said Kamala Harris sounds like me. Lisa said she doesn't mean it as a compliment. If that's so, as an ordinary suburban housewife, I'm starting to feel a little disrespected.

I teach my children not to name call, Jenna. I was going to say I'm pissed off, but they usually bleep it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: That's the equivalent of the Bart's eat my shorts. It did touch on a controversial tweet from President Trump about the suburban housewife voting for him.

Paul, how should the Biden campaign respond to these kinds of attacks?

BEGALA: Well, that humor and ridicule is just such a potent weapon. That was brilliant. But, remember President Obama used to do this, just like brush it off like it's nothing. This election has got to be about the voters not about Mr. Trump. Look, it is, plug my books, it's the whole reason I wrote this book is because people like me got distracted the last election.

I focus too much on Mr. Trump's, in my opinion, piggish personal behavior and not enough on the actual consequences of his policies in your life. This is where Joe has a real gift. He comes from the heart of the middle class in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He's a guy who really understands how things work in our lives.

And so rather than focus on the latest Trump outrage, go back and talk about, just like Jennifer did, we had 168,000 dead, God help us, we got 10 million jobs lost, we got young people who can't find jobs at all or children can't go to school and just talk about people's lives and how you'll make them better. And I think that's, if everybody just repeats what Gov. Granholm just said, (inaudible) ...

CABRERA: All right. Paul Begala and Gov. Granholm, I got to run.

GRANHOLM: OK.

CABRERA: But we'll discuss again next week. We'll have so much more to chew on after the DNC. Thank you both, we'll be right back.

BEGALA: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:26]

CABRERA: Sen. Kamala Harris may just have a secret weapon in the 2020 race, her college sorority. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The floor is yours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT(voice over): Kamala Harris, Vice Presidential candidate on a major party ticket. The first black and only third woman to do so, celebrated ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONIQUE POYDRAS, AKA SORORITY MEMBER WITH SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: We were all on a Zoom call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): ... by the sorority sisters watching one of their own step forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POYDRAS: The whole place, everyone is just screaming and crying completely overwhelmed over the moon, so proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): We met them during Harris' presidential run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were all just right there together. We were

just all just regular girls and now here's Kamala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): They were all students at Howard University, a historically black college that was formed when white schools shut out black students. The women joined Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1986, becoming line sisters. AKA has a national membership of 300,000 women, the first black sorority in the U.S. established more than 100 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL LOUIS, AKA SORORITY MEME WITH SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: When you think about it in 1908, people were just a few ticks off emancipation and so now they find themselves in college. And what are they trying to do? It's really an uplift mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): Bound by that history, these women forge their own paths year after year. Their lives weaving together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were down at the Senate. She had her formal swearing in by the time Vice President Biden had sworn her in.

LAH: This is a very recent picture.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a recent picture, yes. So this picture was at her GW book event and we were there to support her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're also AKA.

HARRIS: Yes, I am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She talked about being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and the room exploded. The appropriate response was a ski wee.

HARRIS: Those are my sorors and my sons are in the room as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could see just by her response and then our response that it's all love.

LAH: This isn't just a friendship or sisterhood, we're talking about political power.

LORRI SADLER RICE, AKA SORORITY MEMBER WITH SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: We're talking about political power and we have it, we have it, and we're going to leverage it, and you'll see it's going to make a difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): Black voters of South Carolina propelled Joe Biden to victory in the Democratic primary. Overall, black women have supported Democrats more than any other voting subgroup.

During her presidential run, Harris reminded voters of the power of that vote from the debate stage ...

[18:55:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Candidates have taken for granted constituencies that have been the backbone of the Democratic Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): To social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We can't forget what's happening to black women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH(voice over): Taking the lessons of the sisterhood learned decades ago to a nation today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POYDRAS: It says that we can succeed, that we can be ambitious, that we can try to be at that boardroom table and lead where women can now aspire and say, I want to be like Kamala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And that was Kyung Lah reporting. That does it for me this evening. Thanks for being there. I'm Ana Cabrera. My colleague, Wolf Blitzer, picks up our coverage with a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM next. Have a great night. I'll see you tomorrow.