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Dr. Asma Rashid Discusses Wealthy Hosts Paying Medical Personnel To Administer Rapid Tests To Posh Party Guests; Trump Drops More "Two Weeks" Promises After Others Go Unfulfilled; CNN Poll Shows Tightening Race Between Trump And Biden; Update On Coronavirus Responses Around The World; U.S. Intel Indicates Iran Paid Bounties To Taliban to Target U.S. Troops. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired August 17, 2020 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: And how worried are you that these parties, the parties themselves may bring up the case count in New York?
DR. ASMA RASHID, HIRED BY WEALTHY CLIENTS TO TEST PARTY GUESTS: Correct. But the parties are not necessarily large, from 20 to 30. I mean, the numbers are quite small. But it's more so families getting together.
And just having this test as a means to -- a conversation piece, let's say, because they realize these are not 100 percent.
But do we have any current test that's in the market that's 100 percent reassurance to our people here in the states.
COOPER: What do you make, I mean, of where this country is five months or six months into this pandemic with testing.
I mean, from a medical -- you're a doctor. Does it surprise you that, you know, that we're still --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: -- we're still waiting for tests?
RASHID: Right. I think, globally, not just with the United States, our medical team has learned so much so fast regarding this virus. And yet, there's so much still for us to learn.
We were first chasing, three months ago, IGGs, which is the antibody to see if you have exposure to coronavirus. And we were hoping we all have the antibodies.
But now, when we recheck the patients and they don't have that antibody, then we realize that these antibodies may not even last.
So I think as we develop more knowledge regarding the virus, we learn as a community and as a society of what else to do next.
So this is going to be a long haul to really learning more about this virus and how we can move on as an economy.
COOPER: These rapid tests, are they something that, if -- you know, if they were more available, that people could do at home on themselves?
RASHID: I think that should be the aim. At some point, I think manufacturers should be leading to that way, where all of us should have access to it and be able to utilize it and have the results.
COOPER: So is it a nasal swab?
RASHID: Correct. There's a nasal swab. There's a finger prick. There's a sputum. There's a saliva check. And from -- these are just the rapids.
But in terms of medicine in the hospital, there's now testing for stool. There's -- there's so many varieties of methods. I, frankly, can't keep up. It is changing rapidly.
COOPER: Dr. Asma Rashid, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
RASHID: Thank you.
COOPER: President Trump appears to be gaining ground an former Vice President Joe Biden in the latest CNN polls.
It comes just as the Democrats are set to rally behind the Biden/Harris ticket on the opening night of the DNC starting at 8:00 p.m. tonight.
Plus, New Zealand extending its lockdown, delaying its election, after a cluster of cases threatened the once coronavirus-free country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:36:46]
COOPER: The Democratic convention kicks off tonight. A new CNN poll shows the race is tightening.
Joe Biden's lead over Trump has significantly narrowed, according to the poll, since June, with 50 percent of registered voters backing the Biden/Harris ticket while 46 percent say they support Trump and Pence. In June, Biden had a 14-point lead over President Trump.
Overall though, the CNN poll of polls finds a bigger national lead for Biden. And 51 percent are backing him while 42 percent support Trump.
The president will hold events in several states during the Democratic convention. He kicked off the week by continuing his attacks on mail- in voting, referencing a very familiar timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): We have many court cases on this. So you're -- a lot of things are going to happen over the next two weeks. We have a case in Pennsylvania. We have a lot of cases. We have a case in Nevada.
So, you know, a lot of things will happen with respect to the universal voting, which is going to be the greatest scam of all time if it's allowed to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Another promise of something happening in two weeks. You may not have noticed this but he's done it for years.
Most recently, he made this promise about a health care plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP (on camera): We're signing a health care plan within two weeks. A full and complete health care plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Yes, that was July 19th, nearly a month ago.
He said he would sign an executive order on pre-existing conditions, which is covered already by Obamacare, which he's trying to destroy.
When he was asked about why he would need that since it's already law, the president said it was like, quote, "double the protection," end quote.
Also worth noting, just hours before Dr. Anthony Fauci threw out the first pitch at the Nationals game, the president said this about an upcoming Yankee game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: A great friend of mine from the Yankees, he asked me to throw out the first pitch. And I think I'm doing that on August 15th at Yankee Stadium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Of course, we later learned the Yankees actually had not invited the president and caught both the team and White House off guard. He then abruptly canceled his imaginary pitch, citing meetings on the coronavirus and vaccines.
This is what the president was doing this Saturday, August 15th, date of that Yankee -- oops, game. He was golfing.
Former NFL kicker, Jay -- Alexi McCammond is a political report for "Axios," on the polls.
Thank you so much for joining us. I'm sorry I mispronounced your last name. I'm terrible at this.
(LAUGHTER)
ALEXI MCCAMMOND, POLITICAL REPORTER, "AXIOS": You're not the first to do it.
COOPER: Well, I'm sorry.
On the polls, it's worth noting, two months ago, President Trump's campaign sent a cease-and-desist order to CNN over polls he didn't like. Now this poll, clearly, he's going to be touting it because it shows a tightening of the race.
What do you make of polls at this point?
MCCAMMOND: Well, thank you for having me on the show, Anderson.
I mean, there's the usual caveat everyone is saying, that there are so many days left until the election, and any number of things could happen between now and then.
But that matters less when you see that the pattern and the trend in these polls over the last four or five months, which is really showing that voters are not just souring on President Trump or his handling on the coronavirus and the way he's injecting partisan politics into things when people are dying at an alarming rate
But they're moving toward Joe Biden. And that goes for 2016 Republican voters who supported President Trump. That goes for folks who sat out in 2016.
[14:40:08]
That goes for 55 and older voters who made up a quarter of the electorate in 2016. It goes with suburban voters who, of course, President Trump is now tweeting at these so-called suburban housewives to try to get their vote.
So while the president might not be sending you all a cease-and-desist letter for this poll, he certainly sees the trend in these polls showing folks are not just leaving him but moving toward Biden.
COOPER: The president is holding a series of events this week as - obviously, as the Democrats hold their convention. Obviously, trying to at least get some, you know, coverage, some attention on this week that the Democrats will be getting a lot of attention.
MCCAMMOND: And we know that to be true from President Trump in the past as well. He likes to do his own counter-presuming.
The Republican National Convention is happening next week and he's planning his own speech. But a number of speeches around that.
When the spotlight is on the Democrats, he has to have his counterprogramming out there.
That's interesting because the convention folks that we've talked to from "Axios" say they're investing heavily in the program to make it as engaging as possible, even though it's virtual.
And it could have a more-vast audience than ever in history. People have to opt into this convention for the Democrats.
And President Trump knows he almost has a built-in audience with the daily coronavirus briefings he gives, on the weekend, and Twitter feed he uses to talk to voters through that.
So, of course, trying to get attention because he wants to change the narrative and also be able to brand Democrats as these radical leftists.
And there will be more ads from the Trump campaign in the week to come, trying to brand the 2020 ticket now that we have that down.
But imagine what they'll say about Democrats and the messages they're pushing through the convention and whether they'll try to paint Biden as this far-left Socialist given what Dems say at the convention.
COOPER: It'll be fascinating tonight. You know, I've seen sort of the plans, you know, some of the plans for -- obviously, we know who is going to be speaking tonight, things like that.
I still have no sense of what the convention is actually going to look like when it actually begins. You know, what's the first thing we'll see? Is there somebody emceeing throughout the whole thing? Is it just a bunch of speakers popping up?
I mean I kind of, from a purely television production standpoint, I'm interested to see how they pull it off.
MCCAMMOND: Well, you work as a TV network. So imagine how the rest of us feel.
That's the thing that everyone -- Kerry Washington, Julia Louis- Dreyfus, the official, unofficial emcees for this event.
It's notably they're all women. A clear signal that the Democratic and Democratic convention is sending in 2020.
Obviously, Senator Kamala Harris, a woman, now named as the V.P. for Biden. And now having all the emcees as women. So it is setting a tone to contrast with Republicans.
But you know, they're going to try to keep it engaging.
One interesting thing we heard is that they're asking folks around the country, everyday people, like you and me, to send in selfie videos, to play them during primetime of the convention.
It'll be voters, everyday people, talking about why they like Biden, why they're voting for him, and what they like about the Democratic Party.
So I think it'll be a hodge podge of things tonight.
COOPER: Yes, it's -- we've never seen anything like it, so certainly interesting to tune in for.
Alexi McCammond, appreciate all that you do. Thank you so much.
MCCAMMOND: Thank you. Thank you.
It wasn't just the Russians. CNN is learning about intelligence showing Iran paid bounties to the Taliban for targeting U.S. troops. Former CIA operative, Bob Baer, will join me ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:48:20]
COOPER: New Zealand mas been one of the success stories in the fight against the pandemic. But after a small outbreak of recent cases, the prime minister decided to order strict lockdowns and delay national elections.
Will Ripley begins our look at coronavirus headlines from around the globe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley, in Hong Kong. New Zealand has fewer than 100 active cases of COVID in the country right now.
But a small cluster in the largest city of Auckland, which had nine new cases detected on Monday, is enough for the government to postpone national elections by about a month. They're doing that out of concern for public safety, they say.
Because the prime minister's own party was expected to do very well in the elections. But she said, with active cases in the community, even a small number, it is just not safe for people to vote.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers, in Mexico. In the border city of Tijuana, prostitution is legal but the government has banned all sex work due to the virus since March.
But we spent time recently in Tijuana and we spoke to one sex worker who says that Americans are still crossing the border to pay for sex.
And we spoke to one such American. He said he is there to do that. And he says it is safe enough to do so even though it isn't.
And we spent time with state police who said, officially, all sex- related businesses, like brothels, strip clubs and sex hotels are closed. But admitted many are still operating. They're just doing so behind closed doors.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell, in Paris. Here in France, sharp rises in the last couple of days in the number of new coronavirus cases.
Not so much in those other crucial numbers, the number of people in ICU, the number of deaths. Those figures have remained relatively low. Clearly, the authorities scrambling to find an answer to this fundamental question as the number of new cases continue to rise how they could adapt society to cut try to cut those figures off.
[14:50:10]
The announcement here in France of fresh measures. Other parts of Paris, masks will be mandatory when you go outside. Similar rises in Spain and Italy, with announcements that nightclubs are to be closed in both countries.
A reminder of the demographic that's being hit by this latest rise in the number of new cases.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Interesting to see French police asking people to put on masks.
CNN has just learned U.S. intelligence has assessed that Iran paid bounties to the Taliban for targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Those payments are linked to at least six Taliban attacks last year alone, including a suicide bombing at Bagram Air Base in December. That attack killed two civilians and injured 70 others, including four U.S. personnel.
A few weeks ago, we learned of intel reports that Russia paid bounties to the Taliban to attack U.S. troops. Today, when President Trump was asked about the Iran bounties, he said it was news to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Bounties?
TRUMP: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Bounties paid by Iran. Did you hear about that?
TRUMP: No, I haven't heard about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Bob Baer is a former CIA operative and a CNN intelligence and security analyst.
Bob, thanks for joining us.
Let me start by getting your reaction to this assessment that Iran was paying bounties?
BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY ANALYST: Anderson, it doesn't surprise me at all. The Iranians look at us as a threat in the region, especially since we pulled out of the nuclear agreement.
And their connections with the Haqqani Network, which was responsible for a lot of these attacks, go way back. And I could see the Revolutionary Guard Corps paying bounties, financing the Haqqani Network and the Taliban.
I take this seriously. It sounds like credible intelligence.
COOPER: If it is, in fact, true, does it surprise you that the president said he hasn't heard about it?
BAER: The problem is this administration, I really mistrust their relations and how they're going about this Iranian problem.
I doubt that the president doesn't know about this. He certainly does by now.
But if they're looking for a justification for a war, this would be it.
COOPER: The president has yet to condemn Russia for its reported bounties, though we're told members of the administration, they claim that they have talked to the Russians about it.
I guess the question is: How is he going to address this or if he's going to?
BAER: Well, Anderson, that is the problem. The president gets to interpret intelligence the way he wants. I could see him ignoring the Russian bounties but, on the other hand, making a big deal of this. We'll have to wait and see.
You know, it is all -- so many things have been happening with Iran, explosions in Syria and inside Iran. It almost looks like the Israelis are pushing for a war at this point.
And certainly, with the distraction for the president, who is otherwise going to lose the election, and that is very conspiratorial but let's not rule that out.
COOPER: What options would the administration have regarding Iran?
BAER: Well, they already seized Venezuelan oil so they could make pin- pointed attacks. They could attack the Islamic Revolutionary Guard bases or attack Iranian facilities inside of Afghanistan.
There are all sorts of things they could do. This could be a graduated or a bigger attack.
But if it turns out that they've been killing Iranians indirectly, American soldiers, I don't see how he's not going to react to this.
COOPER: How capable -- I mean, Iran's intelligence service, how widespread are they? How capable are they?
BAER: Very good in Afghanistan. They've been there since the beginning. They've got assets all over the country. They even had good connections with the Sunni groups and not just the Shia groups in Afghanistan. And it would be very easy for them to get ahold of these networks and say, all right, go after these targets and we'll pay you, if not supply technology.
COOPER: As U.S. troops pull out of Afghanistan, how much of a U.S. presence will remain just on the diplomatic/intelligence front?
BAER: We'll never be safe in that country until we pull out completely. And I could see the Iranians going after us, especially as we're retreating in a sense to continue these attacks, just to cause chaos and retaliate for what they consider American aggression.
COOPER: Bob Baer, good to talk to you, Bob. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Programming note. Tonight, hear from former first lady, Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and many more at the Democratic National Convention. CNN's special live coverage begins at 8:00 Eastern time.
[14:54:43]
Just in, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the long-term effects from the coronavirus are "really troublesome" -- his words -- especially in young people. We'll have more on that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to "THE LEAD." I'm Jake Tapper.
Today, the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. has surpassed 170,000 people. Though there is some encouraging news in the fight against the virus. Health officials are now hopeful that a new saliva test could potentially help speed up results and help contain the spread by more rapidly identifying and isolating the virus.
The news comes as 17 states are actually performing fewer tests this week than they did the week before, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
[15:00:02]
Short of a vaccine, experts say that we know how to contain the virus from spiraling out of control. It's widespread testing, contact tracing, wearing masks and distancing measures.
