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Death Trending Up In 15 States Versus Last Week; At Least Eight States Have Colleges With Reported COVID Cases; Outbreaks At Colleges As Students Return To Campuses; Joe Biden Gets Nomination Through Virtual Roll Call; Former President Obama To Give Striking Speech Tonight. Aired 12-12:30p ET
Aired August 19, 2020 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
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JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Hello everybody. I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing another busy news day with us. Joe Biden officially is the Democratic nominee, real people getting a stark turn at the party's unconventional convention.
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KING: That - a coronation moment and whatever you're in politics, that's a tribute to resilience. Biden's first campaigns fizzled, fast. Now he leads his party at a most consequential moment. Tonight the theme for the convention is "A more perfect union" and the program tonight is packed.
Senator Kamala Harris accepts the Vice Presidential Nomination and Senator Elizabeth Warren, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Former Nominee Hillary Clinton and Former President Barack Obama all speak calm, caring, steady and ready. Those are the consistent convention portrayals for Former Vice President Biden.
President Trump on the other hand is described by the Democrats as none of those things and worse at a time the country is anxious and screaming for leadership.
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JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: With Joe as president, these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility once again.
The burdens we carry are heavy and we need someone with strong shoulders. I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours. Bring us together and make us whole.
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KING: Jill Biden, setting there quite notable an empty classroom as American families right now is grappling with the back-to-school dilemma. Our new poll underscores the collision of the Coronavirus and this campaign. Look at these stunning, stunning numbers.
67 percent of Americans personally know someone who has been infected. 68 percent of you are embarrassed by how the United States' has responded to this virus. 55 percent of you think the worst is yet to come.
Today, though, the medical numbers do tell us the summer surge may finally, finally, be slowing. The United States added 44,000 new infections Tuesday. That's down from this time last week the seven-day average still way too high, but it is now below the 50,000 threshold.
The scale of American deaths, though, sadly, not slows. Not yet, anyway. 1,324 deaths recorded on Tuesday. Let's take a closer look at some of trends and go through the map. First we just look at the 50 states. You're familiar with these colors now if you watch 12 states trending up that's the red and orange that means reporting more cases right now than they did a week ago.
12 states trending up including California you're also seeing it up in New England a bit, too across the Midwest. 12 states trending up, 18 states holding steady, 20 states are reporting fewer cases now than a week ago. That includes a big stretch here.
Remember when we saw the summer surge it was right across here when it started those states in better shape today than they were, say, two weeks or a month ago. The death trends by math, this again, there is a lot of pain and suffering still on this map 15 states trending up including big Texas and big California among the states reporting more deaths now than a week ago.
You see that up here in New England in the northeast as well. 18 states holding steady that's the yellow or beige, 17 states reporting fewer deaths right now than a week ago let's hope that this map improves in the days ahead.
This is the big question right now; this is the big question about the summer surge. Here's the peak, here is where we are now coming out of the weekend, and we were below 40,000. Yesterday back up to 44,091, here is the question really, if you look at this map. Are we coming down? Is the line going to keep dropping or are we at a plateau somewhere like this?
That is the challenge for the days and week or so ahead. Does this red line keep coming down or does it flatten out up here? We will see how that goes? The death trend - this one coming out of the weekend, this is what gets frustrating doing this on a daily basis and why you can't take one or two days.
Coming out of the weekend we thought perhaps this was going to come down as well. A spike yesterday to more than 1,300,000 Americans a day or more still dying let's hope that this grid changes in the days ahead.
This is stunning if you think about the seven months we have been through this pandemic together. Back in April, only 22 percent of Americans knew somebody personally, knew somebody who had been infected jumped to 40 percent in May and June. Look at this now two- thirds of Americans, 67 percent of Americans say they personally know at least one person who had or has the Coronavirus.
That's a big number. Not a good number for the president as we get closer to the election. At least eight states right now have colleges open with COVID cases. Eight states at least, eight. About 800 cases reported so far. You see these states opening.
This is - we've had a lot of conversations about K-12. Well, colleges are back too or heading back and you're starting to see these cases. You see Indiana here in one of the places where they have a spike in cases, is up here in South Bend.
This is the University of Notre Dame. This overall Indiana picture that had been in a static case, trending up a bit now in part because of the college cases.
[12:05:00]
KING: But President of University of Notre Dame says we'll deal with it as best we can.
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REV. JOHN JENKINS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: The spike in cases is very serious, and we must take serious steps to address it. The objective of these temporary restrictions is to contain the spread of the virus so that we can get back to in-person instruction. If these steps are not successful we will have to send students home as we did last spring.
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KING: Joining us now, Dr. Mark Fox, he is the Deputy Health Officer for St. Joseph County, Indiana, and among those advising Notre Dame at this moment. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. New numbers just out from the University, they have updated this 222 cases now on the campus.
We just heard from the President of the University he wanted to send students home and advisers including you convinced him, let's give it a chance. Let's keep everybody put. Put in some short-term safety measures and maybe we can manage this. Are you confident you can pull that off?
DR. MARK FOX, DEPUTY HEALTH OFFICER FOR ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA: There are a number of features of the cases that have been identified in the Notre Dame community that give me some hope in our ability to control the transmission of the virus.
Several features, the vast majority of cases thus far have been tied to a couple of large off-campus gatherings. Certainly the first wave of infections had predominantly affected students living off-campus so not to disregard those students. But it speaks to the fact that the mitigation strategies that have been implemented on campus have seemed to have been effective.
So there - to this point, there has been little evidence of transmission from on-campus activities in the classrooms, in the dorms. Certainly we - in the dorms, an element we have to keep an eye on.
KING: To keep an eye on. I was reading the local reporting where it says that neither you nor the university expected this many infections this soon. What did you miss?
DR. FOX: John, the university had been really proactive in that they, I believe, were one of the first universities to advocate for pre matriculation testing. So testing our students before they arrived on campus with the goal of reducing the likelihood those students would be infected at the time they entered into the dorms.
Through that process they identified 33 students who were positive, who weren't allowed on campus until they had been medically cleared. I think had those cases has been admitted into the dorms and in the classrooms the numbers frankly would look even worse.
I think probably the thing, a couple things that may have been missed is human nature of gathering with friends that you haven't seen in six months because the university closed prematurely in the spring.
And while a lot of the gatherings were outside, I think they were large groups, and probably not as attentive to masking or physical distancing guidelines. The other is its clearly put stress on both the campus testing capability, and the timeliness of university contact tracing procedures.
The university has committed a lot of resources to shore those up and in fact part of why so many cases have been identified in the last few days is that they have, you know, effectively, more than tripled, the number of cases being that are being done on campus each day.
KING: Now parents are watching around the country either, maybe they just dropped their children off at college, or maybe they're going to do so in the days and weeks ahead. So what is the trigger now? The University President based on advice from you and other experts have said, okay we're not going to send everybody home.
When you give this a chance, we're going to try to manage it. What's the threshold or the trigger where you would say, you know what, Mr. President, it's not working. You do need to send them home, is it positivity rate? Is it specific number or percentage of cases?
DR. FOX: Positivity rate is kind of a fickle metric depending on your testing strategy. We've talked with the university about what the kind of next layer of testing should be and really launching a campus-wide surveillance strategy for testing. I think one of the biggest indicators is the vast majority of case whose have turned positive thus far were already on the list as close contacts of people who had previously been diagnosed as COVID positive. So to some extent, that transition from close contact to positive is not unexpected.
When we begin to see a vast majority of new cases coming from people that weren't on anyone's radar as close contacts, certainly pointing to more widespread community transmission that would be a very worrisome indicator and that might prompt the university leaders to choose a different course of action.
KING: Dr. Mark Fox, I appreciate your expertise and insights today especially at this very busy time for you in the Notre Dame community. We'll check back. We'll keep the conversation going and we will see how this goes in the day ahead? Very much appreciate your time today sir and joining me now our CNN Medical Commentator, the Former Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen. Dr. Wen, it is good to see you. I want a second opinion.
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KING: You were just listening right there to this conversation. Parents all around the country are having this conversation many about K through 12 but many also about university, higher education setting. From what you heard from Dr. Fox, is Notre Dame making the right call? Do you keep those students on campus? Is this something that can be managed? Where is your trigger being to say, you know what this is a failed experiment?
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes. This is really difficult, and very complex, because there are so many different factors here. You have the factor of what is the level of community transmission in that, around that institution?
But you also have to take into account that people are coming from all over the country. And that these students are not just going to be able to stay in their bubble. Maybe the students who are living in the dorms are able to keep to a bubble in some way but they're also associating with those living off-campus, they're also associating with those are living off-campus and going to other events and potentially getting infected and infecting other people in the community as well.
So I think I don't have an answer for this particular instance, except to say that every institution needs to think about these situations. Because it's not, "if," it is "when" there is an outbreak there needs to be very good surveillance testing to pick the - and to have a lot of testing available in the event that there are outbreaks. And I think everybody has to stay nimble and quickly pivot when needed.
KING: To that point, are we still and what I call just inconsistency when it comes to testing? We can put up a map of testing trends. Where testing is up or down the Green is good. You see states that are testing more and you see 16 of them they're testing more this week than last. 20 holding steady. 14 states those are ones in red where there are fewer tests being contacted now as opposed to a week ago.
You just heard Dr. Fox talk about how important they think it is on campus. The inconsistency, some places are doing great some places not, some places are different week to week. Is that part of the problem here?
DR. WEN: Absolutely. We need two types of testing, one is for individuals who have symptoms or have exposure. They absolutely need testing and they need it to be fast. Imagine if these students, if somebody has a fever and the test is taking five, seven days to come back how do you do contact tracing at that point?
But then you also have to do surveillance and screening testing as well. Ideally, two times a week for all of those students and staff and teachers and professors who are coming on the campus? And of course, we know that we are nowhere able to do that. Not only in Indiana, but really, just all across the country.
KING: And a vaccine or in the interim while we wait for a vaccine, some good therapeutics, reliable therapeutics would help. "New York Times" reporting today that a plasma therapy idea has been put on hold I want to read a little bit from the article.
This is Dr. H. Clifford Layne, Deputy Director of the NIAID. The three of us meaning, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins also, the three of us are pretty aligned on the importance of robust data through randomized controlled trials and that a pandemic doesn't change it. They're recommending slow down. Don't give emergency use authorization to this plasma treatment. How significant is that?
DR. WEN: This plasma treatment is one that has been hyped up a lot, and in theory it makes sense. The idea that somebody who has recovered, they have antibodies, they can give it to somebody else and those antibodies could fight it.
The problem is that we have to prove this. We have to do these randomize controlled trials in order to see, compared to placebo, is this actually effective and to understand more too, to a certain level of antibodies for the plasma to be effective. Is it effective if you take it early on in illness or when you're very sick?
And so we need to be able to get those answers. Part of the problem is that everybody has been rushing to get this treatment and we haven't been able to enroll people in these critical clinical trials to actually get that research.
I think this really underscores one of the problems in the pandemic. That of course, everybody is desperate and we want a hopeful treatment and when you're really ill, of course, you want to do everything possible. But at the same time, we cannot take shortcuts in the research, because that's actually going to hamper our efforts overall.
KING: Dr. Wen, as always, grateful for your expertise and your insights. Thank you so much. Up next for us, Joe Biden reaches milestone 30-plus years in the making. And how the Democratic Party's big names plan to make his case? (COMMERCIAL B REAK)
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KING: Joe Biden will watch tonight's action-packed Democratic Convention with a new title. One he first pursued 33 years ago Presidential Nominee. Big Democratic stars fill tonight's program. The Former President Barack Obama is the closer that after speeches from Hillary Clinton, Biden VP pick Senator Kamala Harris and others.
Staging a convention in the middle of a pandemic is a giant challenge. The big names always give speeches. But Democrats are trying to make the case for Biden and the case against four more years of Trump through the words and images of people most us don't know.
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JACQUELYN BRITTANY, NEW YORK TIMES SECURITY GUARD: In the short time I spent with Joe Biden I could tell he really saw me, that he actually cared that my life meant something to him.
NOLA KIELEMAN HIK, NMI DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR: Hello from paradise the Northern Mariana Islands. We may be far away but we're American citizens and don't get to vote for president. So please, don't waste yours.
KELLEN RETURNS FROM SCOUT, TRIBAL ACTIVIST: We often say, (Speaking in Foreign Language) "We are all related" Our next president must lead by this philosophy.
ADY BARKAN, ALS PATIENT, ACTIVIST, ADVOCATE: With compassionate and an intelligent president. We must act together and put on his desk a bill that guarantees us all the health care we deserve.
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KING: Jonathan Martin is a National Political Correspondent for "The New York Times," Van Jones of course CNN Political Commentator and a former member of the Obama Administration. Van, I want to start with you. None of us knew going in what this was going to be like, the most unconventional of conventions?
The Democrats, I loved the roll call. I miss traveling in the pandemic and certainly in a campaign year. I love the roll call because it took us around the country including to the territories. But these people that none of us know who Joe Biden has in his life, they're also getting a very important role here.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. They really are. I think you know, if they show, don't tell opportunity for Democrats, trying to remind us, you know, as I say, the America that we love is still here.
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JONES: All of these great people, weird people, colorful people, people you don't really get a chance to see on television are a part of this party, they're passionate about change. It's not just an indictment of President Trump in a direct sense. It's just showing people what it's like when you embrace everybody, when you let the diversity of the country sing for itself, and it was beautiful.
Look, I was worried. I thought this could be a big you know, train crash, but you just got more and more into it as the night went on and I think they made that point very well.
KING: We're at the halfway mark now which this means; you get to the closing business, including the speech from the Vice Presidential Nominee Senator Kamala Harris. Jonathan, listen here.
This is what we expect some of tonight, part of it she has to introduce herself to people who didn't follow the Democratic primaries, maybe. Tell her personal story, but she also has to help prosecute the case, something when she was picked she made quite clear she's happy to do.
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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut. This election isn't just about defeating Donald Trump or Mike Pence.
It's about building this country back better. We need more than a victory on November 3rd. We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are, or who we aspire to be.
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KING: Said it 1,000 times. People pick presidents, they don't pick vice-presidents. But this is a very important moment for her, not just because of her future in the Democratic Party, but also because of turnout, enthusiasm, excitement in the campaign ahead.
JONATHAN MARTIN, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, John. Look, I think Biden wants to introduce her tonight. This is going to be - one of two opportunities for her to really be in the spotlight the other being the debate this fall.
Besides that, you know, more about Trump this election, but this is an opportunity, apolitical viewers out there, folks who are likely interested in campaigns and elections, to see Joe Biden's running mate, to hear her story, and to hear her make the case against President Trump.
The good news for Democrats, John, is that Kamala Harris, in my experience, covering her, much better when she is on script than she is off script. She can be very effective when she is prepped, going into a hearing, for example going into a speech like this a bit little more unsteady when she is on her feet.
So I think for Democrats, this is probably the best opportunity that they have for Kamala Harris tonight, which she'll go in with days and days of prep knowing her speech and being able to stand and deliver. KING: And for all the things that are different about this convention, we do know conventions turn to stars for closer. Michelle Obama was the closer on night one and President Obama Van will be the closer tonight. And I just want to - I was on the floor in 2004 when the world got to met then Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Barack Obama a little bit of a history here of Barack Obama at conventions.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America! The change we need doesn't come from Washington. The change comes to Washington. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and I'm asking you to choose that future! America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump.
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KING: What does Joe Biden need most from his former boss tonight?
JONES: Well, I think he needs three things. He needs somebody to reassure this party that we can win. I think he needs somebody to remind the party what it means when we're winning, when we're together. Also, he just needs to continue this process of re-birthing hope.
I just think that for a lot of people, when you are dealing with this onslaught of racial injustice on your cell phone, you can't send your kids to school, your jobs threatened. Sometimes the president does stuff he just drives you crazy. You just get smaller and smaller and smaller into a little, tiny box.
I think this President Obama is uniquely get it showing us American history, showing us the American future and showing us the American people in a way through his words that connects us back to our best selves.
I think he can set Biden up for an alley-coop tonight just by reinvigorating the Obama coalition and Obama-Biden spirit.
KING: And the Biden coalition, Jonathan, if you watched this convention, Biden hopes that it includes a lot of Republicans. At least a fair amount of Republicans and that's caused a little bit - there is remarkable unity in the Democratic Party right now but there has been a little bit of grumbling from progressives.
Why are we seeing John Kasich? Why are we seeing Colin Powell? There is a John McCain video. Chuck Hagel is in a video. We've had Former Republican Governors, members of Congress speaking here. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of course one of the young progressive stars put Bernie Sanders name into nomination last night.
[12:25:00] KING: She got to speak for just a little over a minute and then of course this social media buzz was a uh-huh! She didn't say nice things about Joe Biden. So she went on Instagram later to say essentially, calm down, everybody. Listen--
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REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): It's possible for us to make sure that we elect, that we elect Joe Biden. It's really important, and guesses what? It's also really important that the moment Joe Biden is elected we continue our fight for guaranteed health care. We continue our fight for living wages, and tuition to public colleges. We can fight for all of these things, hold our disagreements.
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KING: I think the back half will be more Democrat. So maybe this will just fade into the week. But you can even see there she is trying to tell everybody, calm down. I'm for Joe Biden, but it's not a hand stand I'm for Joe Biden. It's a Donald Trump is the bigger enemy we got to get him out of there and then we'll pick up our conversations with Joe Biden. Rate the tension for me.
MARTIN: John, there is a great singular unifying force in Democratic politics right now. His name is Donald Trump, and if and when he is defeated, that cohesive force is going to be gone, and Democrats are not going to be as united as they are today, because they share a common overwhelming enemy.
Look, two fast points. First of all, this is Joe Biden's convention. This is not the left wing of the party's convention. It's not even the Democratic Convention. Joe Biden is the party standard bay bearer. It is his convention and he decides who is going to speak.
And this reflects who he is, right? Chuck Hagel, Sidney McCain, John Kasich that reflects the sort of politics of Joe Biden. But second of all I would say, John, we are seeing the first seeds of what the Democrats are going to deal with.
Look, Joe Biden does not reflect a lot of their younger voters, who are much more progressive who have no interest in sort of forging bipartisan consensus and returning the Senate to its glory days from yesteryear. They don't want to big accomplishments done immediately and they don't care how they're done, and who votes for them.
They want them enacted. I think that's the class we're going to see come January, if Democrats control the House and the White House, John.
KING: And it is. Let's continue the conversation. We're going to put up a little bit of the story, Jonathan Martin, has in the newspaper today. Van I want both of you weigh in. By voting to nominating Mr. Biden 77, Democrats delivering to the Former Vice President a prize he has pursued intermittently since before the night's most prominent young speaker Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born. And the story goes on to say I remember, I was coming to Dukakis campaign mostly but I met then Senator Biden in 1987 in Iowa. Here we're 33 years later; he finally has the prize he has sought twice before Van. And that gets lost a little bit. There is some tension about is he too centrist?
There are some people saying well, has his time passed? If nothing else, I don't care what your politics are at home a remarkable tribute to his resilience.
JONES: Listen, he's wanted this for a long time. He is worked for it a long time. He is willing to be the Vice President when he wanted to be the President. Remember, Obama defeated him and he served ably as Vice President.
You know what? Sometimes your time comes later than you thought. But he has shoulders that are broad enough and big enough now to be a bridge to bringing a lot of people back together. We've got a fight on the shoulders, if he is president, there is going to be a fight.
But that's what politics really is. A governing coalition, can we talk about governing? A governing coalition, which means you've got enough votes to pass something, has all kind of people in it. So you are seeing all kinds of people in the Biden-Harris coalition right now. That's what you need it to govern.
It will be messy, it'll be about trying to get things done on a daily basis as opposed to the usual kind of food fight that we're involved in right now. But I do think you've got to salute this guy. Reagan also got there late. And people remembered him quite fondly. Biden gets there even later than Reagan but sure he is needed now.
KING: Policy fights instead of tweet storms. We'll see. That's up to the voters, I guess. Jonathan Martin and Van Jones, very much your insights on this busy day and remember to watch our coverage tonight at the Democratic National Convention.
Before we go to break unconventional convention means real people get at a sharp turn. The country now has a new meme, the calamari comeback.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That state op appetizer Calamari is available in all 50 states. The calamari comeback State of Rhode Island casts one vote for Bernie Sanders and 34 votes for the next President, Joe Biden.
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