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Democratic National Convention Begins Tonight; Schools Set to Reopen in Arizona, Texas and Florida; Live Coverage of Trump Press Conference. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired August 17, 2020 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:31:58]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, another first for 2020. Tonight, something none of us has ever seen before -- a nearly all-virtual Democratic National Convention -- will kick off. Some of the biggest names in the party -- look at that, they list there -- set to make their pitches for Joe Biden remotely from across the country, ahead of Biden's own big speech Thursday from his home state of Delaware. Former first lady Michelle Obama, she will be the big headline with tonight's keynote address.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And now, perhaps a little added pressure from new polling, out from CNN. Biden's lead over President Trump is narrowing. With us now, CNN political commentators Bakari Sellers and Sabrina Siddiqui, national politics reporter for "The Wall Street Journal."

Bakari, I just -- I love the books you have behind your shoulder. There's yours, there's Paul Begala's. And lest I miss the bright orange one by Mr. Sciutto, "The Madman Theory." Nicely played.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Just move -- Bakari, just move a little bit to your -- I'm just kidding.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Just a little bit over. Nicely played. All right, let's talk about actually this week, not tonight. I'm interested, Bakari, on your read on what Senator Harris does with her speech. Because obviously, it's critically important.

But how do you think she's going to sell herself, right? Because you saw the Trump folks attacking her this weekend, saying she's a liberal as liberal can get. And then you have the progressives saying, but she's not liberal enough for us. So how is she going to sell herself?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't think that she's going to give a speech delivered too much on those political ideologies. I mean, she by far is a progressive, but I think what we're going to get in this speech is an introduction to the country.

We're going to learn about her immigrant background, we're going to learn about her growing up as a black woman in America. We're going to learn about her growing up to a single mom, things that people relate to. Or being a mother.

So I think it's going to be the totality of these things where we learn the true essence of who she is, where she comes from. And from those things, able to deduce what she stands for.

I mean, you -- in this week, coming after Michelle Obama, being on the same day as Barack Obama, this is going to be a relative high, and she's going to be able to fit right in. And there are a lot of people who are eager -- if you've seen the recent polling about who Democrats are eager to see speak -- I believe she's number two right behind Barack Obama himself.

SCIUTTO: Sabrina Siddiqui, you saw CNN's poll showing a tightening race. Where does the Democratic campaign see this race? Do they see it as tightening and do they feel additional pressure as the convention kicks off, to sort of energize voters?

SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think there has always been an expectation on the part of Democrats as well as the Biden campaign, that this race will tighten as we get closer to the election. With less than three months to go, voters are also now paying more attention. That tends to rev up the base in both parties, not just the Democratic Party but also the Republican Party and supporters of President Trump.

I think what you're going to really hear about this week during the convention is the opportunity for Democrats to really address three concurrent crises that are facing the country right now. And that is the coronavirus pandemic, the economic consequences of that pandemic, and of course the nationwide reckoning of racial injustice that kicked off in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd.

[10:35:18]

And so the pressure on Democrats is to really tie that message together in what will be the first time that we are seeing a virtual convention, a mix of prerecorded and live speeches. You won't have that image of unity up on that stage, that's a message that they're going to have to sell with some continuity.

And I think that Democrats do believe that what has really been at the core of Biden's message will essentially be the through line during the course of the convention, which is that this election is about American leadership, about restoring stability and a sense of normalcy to the U.S. government, and that it really is an --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDDIQUI: -- inflection point. That's what they're trying to get across.

HARLOW: Bakari, does Joe Biden need to sit down for more interviews and hold more press availability?

SELLERS: I don't see why anybody thinks his strategy is not working. I mean, most polls outside of the ones we saw recently saw him with a considerable lead. This race will get closer, but Joe Biden is a known quantity. People know what they're voting for. I appreciate the strategy employed by the Biden campaign.

They actually rolled Kamala Harris out yesterday in front of three black reporters, we're going to hear from every -- three black female reporters, to be exact -- Joe Biden actually did sit down this morning --

HARLOW: Yes.

SELLERS: -- for an interview with "Complex" that was hosted by Cardi B. So it may not be the --

HARLOW: Yes, it was --

SELLERS: -- hard-hitting journalism that some want to see, but he is definitely getting out and exposing himself to the public.

HARLOW: I'm glad you brought that up because I was glad to see Cardi B asking him about parents and child care and a lot of critical issues for a lot of folks.

But I -- look, I do think there's a question there about, you know -- polling aside, just like, should we all be able to ask him more and more questions? But -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Sabrina, John Kasich is going to be speaking at the Democratic National Convention, a former Republican presidential candidate, a former Republican House member, a former Republican governor. And not from, you know -- to the extent this has existed for decades -- the liberal wing of the party, right? I mean, tell us how significant that is, and is there -- I mean, do Democrats really see inroads with Republican voters in this election, stealing a few of them away?

SIDDIQUI: I think it's striking that John Kasich, who sought the nomination in the Republican Party in 2016 is now going to speak on stage -- or virtually -- at the Democratic National Convention. And, you know, he's speaking on the same night as Senator Bernie Sanders who in many ways is still the standard-bearer for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

You couldn't have two figures who are more unalike, perhaps, appearing on the first night of this convention, which I think goes back to this sense of urgency that Democrats are really trying to push in their messaging this week, that this is bigger than any one party, that this is a moment where they need to -- where the primary goal should be limiting President Trump's tenure in the White House to one term.

But it is absolutely significant and kind of dovetails with the Biden campaign strategy of seeking out some of those moderate Republicans who held their nose and voted for then-candidate Trump in 2016 but may be up for grabs, and it's also an appeal to suburban voters and independents. Those are two key constituencies who are critical --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDDIQUI: -- to President Trump's victory in 2016, who swung away from Republicans, helped Democrats regain control of the House in the 2018 midterms --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SIDDIQUI: -- and from the outset of the Biden campaign have been central to their strategy, really do believe that this election will be won in the suburbs. And that's why you have not just moderate and centrist figures in the Democratic Party taking the stage this week, so to speak, but also a prominent Republican.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Here's the thing, one thing the last several cycles of shown, there are people who switch parties, right? I mean, this idea that everybody's sort of stuck in their, you know, little siloes, not necessarily true on Election Day.

Sabrina Siddiqui, Bakari Sellers, thanks very much to both of you.

[10:39:10]

CNN's special coverage of the first night of the Democratic National Convention, that's going to begin tonight, 8:00 Eastern time, right here on CNN. She's going to speaking tonight, Michelle Obama.

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SCIUTTO: Transmission rates of the coronavirus are slowing in Arizona just as schools are set to reopen across the state, but one school district had to cancel its plans to start in-person classes just today.

HARLOW: That's right. Let's go to Miguel Marquez, he joins us live in Phoenix this morning. Good morning, Miguel. What happened?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning. So today's the 17th, today was the day originally that school was sort of moved back to, and this was supposed to be the in-person start date. That all went away as the virus, they couldn't get hold of the virus here and bring down those numbers.

The numbers are down remarkably here, from about 25 percent positivity rate to about 10 percent now, so the school district in San Tan -- this is a suburb of Phoenix, way-out suburb of Phoenix -- they said they were going to start on the 17th in person.

They had so many absences, just a ton of teacher absences, that on Friday they had to not only cancel in-person, they had to cancel virtual as well. The superintendent, now saying by later today he should have an idea of how long these absences are going to last and when they might be able to get back to -- to at least virtual if not in-person. But it does underscore just how difficult it's going to be when teachers are certainly concerned about their health, the access to PPE in these places.

[10:45:13]

So it is going to be very, very difficult for them to really open up until they get that percent positivity and all those metrics down to a much even lower level. It's about 10 percent now, they need it below five percent for about two weeks before I think most people will feel comfortable getting back to school. Back to you guys.

HARLOW: They certainly do, Miguel. Appreciate the reporting, thanks very much.

Let's go to Miami now, our Rose Flores joins us. Good morning, Rosa, you have more than a dozen school districts reopening this week in Florida. At least two districts have students already under quarantine, is that right?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Poppy. We just heard from the Broward County superintendent who says that at least five students and two teachers in that school district are under quarantine.

We've also learned that in Martin County -- and this is in southeast Florida -- from the spokesperson there, that at least 151 students are under quarantine, 11 staff members are impacted in four different schools.

Now, this spokesperson also says that at least six teachers from a high school in Martin County are still expected to go to school, to brick-and-mortar schools so that they can livestream their classes. This is so long as they are not exhibiting symptoms and they will have to wear a mask and they will have to social distance.

All this as the Florida High School Athletic Association announced that girls' and boys' sports, athletics, will resume in a week on August 24th. And, Jim and Poppy, Governor Ron DeSantis has been pushing for both of these two things, both the reopening of schools and the return of girls' and boys' sports.

And when asked, he has said that if one person gets sick that goes not mean that either the school should shut down or that sports programs should shut down -- Jim and Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Rosa Flores in Florida.

let's go to Texas now. So health officials there, they're seeing the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 the lowest since June. What are they crediting to this? Because of course the state did reinstitute some closure orders and so on, and what are they saying now? Are they going to start to relax those things again?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as we've been reporting for the last several weeks, the coronavirus positivity rate in this state has fluctuated wildly over the last few weeks, from 12 percent up to 25 percent. But right now over the weekend, we're now reporting here in the state, health officials are saying that the positivity rate stands at about 11 percent.

And this is due in part, state health officials say, because of an influx of backlog of testing that has now been kind of loosened up and reported now, tens of thousands of new cases. And they say that this was due in part to a computer coding problem over the last few weeks that didn't allow the testing that was being done to be reported properly.

And now they say that that has all been adjusted and that the positivity rate in this state now stands at 11 percent, which is significant because it's one of the factors that the governor here is looking at to determine whether or not more businesses can continue to reopen -- Jim and Poppy.

HARLOW: Ed, thank you for the reporting from Texas this morning.

Meantime, fury is growing in Belarus over what protestors are saying was a rigged presidential election. Look at those demonstrators filling the streets. Even anchors on television, on state television, walking off the job. We'll take you there for a live report, next.

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[10:51:16]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- today, stopping at a couple of wonderful states that, in one case, had some big problems and we got that straightened out.

I've just approved an emergency declaration for Iowa, who had an incredible windstorm like probably they've never seen before, really did a lot of damage. So I've informed the governor, I've informed Senator Grassley and Senator Joni Ernst. So I've approved the declaration, emergency declaration for Iowa.

And we are heading now to a combination of different places, we may do a surprise visit. We'll make it -- I'll say this, a surprise visit to Iowa, if we can get it in, we're going to do that.

But the very important thing is that we approved the emergency declaration for Iowa, so they're in good shape. They're -- they're working as we speak. Also FEMA is in Iowa now, full force, and helping them greatly, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, oleandrin, the French (ph) therapy for coronavirus, is that something you're pressing the FDA to approve?

TRUMP: You'd have to say it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oleandrin, have you heard of that as a possible therapy for coronavirus?

TRUMP: I've heard of it, yes, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have (ph) you (ph) pressed (ph) the FDA to approve it?

TRUMP: No, I haven't. I haven't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it something you would support?

TRUMP: Is it something that people are talking about very strongly? We'll look at it, we'll look at it. We're looking at a lot of different things. I will say, the FDA's been great. They are very close -- we're very close to a vaccine, very close to a therapeutic. I've heard that name mentioned, we'll find out. I can get back to you later, OK?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll (ph) go to Iowa today?

TRUMP: It's possible. We're trying to work it into the schedule, I want to see the people. I love the people of Iowa, they've been very loyal. And the big thing was getting the declaration signed. But I'll be going very soon, and maybe today.

Steve (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) are you tracking the Belarus situation?

TRUMP: Yes, it's terrible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: That's a terrible situation, Belarus. We'll be following it very closely, we'll be following it.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Iranian bounties in Afghanistan? Bounties? Bounties --

TRUMP: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- in Afghanistan from Iran, did you hear about that?

TRUMP: No, I haven't heard about that.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever (INAUDIBLE)? Waiting (ph) (INAUDIBLE) situation to come back (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: We're going to look at that. We've been asked that question. Brazilian students coming back in, we're looking at it very closely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: We're looking at the Brazilian situation. We'll take care of all of them, OK? So we'll see you in a little while.

Yes, Steve (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) different (ph) nations, what's your goal?

TRUMP: Well, we're going to be stopping at a number of places. We'll be working very hard. It doesn't have to be covered, but it probably will be. But, you know, we're going to be working very hard, stopping at various states. You have a list of states, pretty comprehensive. We're going to be working very hard, we have to. We're getting down to final crunch, we want to be there.

As an example, Iowa just came up. We're doing well in Iowa, it just came up. I want to be with the people of Iowa, so we add that to the schedule.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your (ph) brother, when (ph) is (ph) the (ph) funeral (ph) for your brother?

TRUMP: Probably on Friday, we're looking at Friday. And we may do just a small service right here in the White House for my brother. We're looking at doing that. That would be, I think, a great honor to him. I think he'd be greatly honored.

[10:55:01]

He loves our country. He loved our country so much, he was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country. So I think it would be appropriate. So we'll have, probably on Friday afternoon, a small service in honor of my brother Robert.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any updates on stimulus from the coronavirus, anything?

TRUMP: No, I think this. I think that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer should get back into Washington and they should approve stimulus for the people. They should give -- we should give some -- this was China's fault, it wasn't their fault -- and we'd like to see payment going to the people. Maybe PPE, but we want payment going to the people.

We'll take care of the Post Office, we want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and it hasn't run properly for many years, probably 50 years. It's run very badly. So we want to make sure that the Post Office runs properly and doesn't lose billions of dollars. Somebody said it lost $78 billion over a relatively short period of time. That's over years, $78 billion. So you can't have that.

No, we will work with them but we want money to go to the people that need it, and they don't want to do that. They just want to take care of the bailout money. They want bailout money to go to their friends that are doing a bad job running Democrat states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you worried that --

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: You have states that are losing a lot of money. They've been poorly run by Democrats for many years. And that's all they want to talk about, is bailing out those states. That's unfair to the rest of the country.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, (INAUDIBLE) service are going to affect -- are you worried (INAUDIBLE) service affecting people getting medications and prescriptions?

TRUMP: No, no. The Post Office is running very well. The Post Office -- now, look, if you look at the Post Office, for years, that's all people complained about. We're going to run it well and we're going to not lose so much money.

One of the things the Post Office loses so much money on is delivering packages for Amazon and these others. Every time they deliver a package, they probably lose three or four dollars. That's not good, they have to raise those prices.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: OK, not for the people to pay but for Amazon and those companies to pay. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On mail-in ballots, why are you opposed to mail-in ballots when they cannot be hacked by foreign (ph) if there's (ph) a reference (ph)?

TRUMP: Are you ready? Absentee ballots are great. You request a ballot, you can't -- I signed an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots are great. They work, they've been proven, they're good -- like in Florida.

But this universal mail-in is a very dangerous thing. It's fraught with fraud and every other thing that could happen, and we have to be very, very careful. We have a very big election coming up, I think we're going to do very well. And I want to make sure the election is not stolen, and so does everybody else. And I'm sure both sides feel that way.

So we have to be very careful with this universal mail-in ballot. Absentee ballots are great, they've worked for a long time and I totally endorse absentee ballots. Thank you very much, everybody.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever encouraged the postmaster general, a big donor to you, to slow the mail?

TRUMP: No, not at all. Wouldn't do that. No, I have encouraged everybody, speed up the mail, not slow the mail. And I also want to have a post office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year, as it has been doing for 50 years. Thank you, thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) removing the machines? Have you removed the machines, Mr. President, and the boxes?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: All right, you've been listening to President Trump right there, outside the White House, speaking with reporters as he heads off to Marine One and then off he will go.

I'm Kate Bolduan, everyone, thanks so much for joining me.

Let me bring in CNN's John Harwood, he's been listening to this play back as well, along with us. John, the president hitting on a lot of topics there. What did you hear?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things. First of all, the president announced that emergency declaration for Iowa, he may be adding that stop to his trip to Minnesota today.

He of course denied trying to weaken the Postal Service, and denied trying to impede the election. Repeated the groundless claims that he's made over and over about fraud associated with mail-in balloting. There is minimal fraud associated with mail-in balloting. We've known that because many states have used it for a number of years.

He also touched on this idea of the plant extract oleandrin, which has been pushed by one of his conservative Christian supporters, Mike Lindell, the entrepreneur best known for My Pillow.

[10:59:54]

The question that's raised of course, when the president says, we're going to look into that as a treatment for coronavirus, the question is, is that about public interest or is it about private profit.