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Biden Accepts Democratic Nomination for U.S. President; Biden's Former Rival Speak on His Behalf at DNC Thursday; Trump's Fired Chief Strategist Charged with Fraud; New Zealand Prime Minister Pushes Back on Trump's Big Outbreak Claim; Democratic National Convention Highlights. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired August 21, 2020 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to you our viewers in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber and you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, capping a convention conducted virtually online because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was a party convention unlike any seen before. In his address Biden not only discussed the ways he's different from President Trump, he also tried to lay out an affirmative vision to lead the nation forward.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In America everyone, I mean everyone, should be given an opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God given ability will take them. We can never lose that. In times as challenging as these, I believe there's only one way forward as a united America, a United America. United in our pursuit of a more perfect union. United in our dreams of a better future for us and for our children. United in our determination to make the coming years bright. Are you ready? I believe we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Many of Biden's formal rivals spoke on his behalf and they emphasized differences between the two candidates.
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MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And the two people running for President couldn't be more different. One believes in facts, one does not. One listens to experts, the other thinks he knows everything. One looks forward and sees strength in America's diversity, the other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies and white supremacists as allies.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Together with Joe and Kamala in the White House we will raise the minimum wage so no one who works a full-time job in America lives in poverty.
PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Biden is right, this is a contest for the soul of the nation, and to me that contest is not between good Americans and evil Americans, it's the struggle to call out what is good in every American.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley joins me now from Austin, Texas. He's also a history professor at Rice University. Thanks so much for joining us here, appreciate it.
So I want to go straight to Joe Biden's acceptance speech, virtual acceptance of the convention. Without the applause breaks, without the emotion of the crowd, how did it land? And can you compare it to any other similar speech given the format was so different. Maybe more fire side chat.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yes, you know without an audience there it is more like an address from the Oval Office or fireside chat. But with that said, and everybody understood that Joe Biden did an excellent job.
[04:35:00]
Some people had low expectations for him, but instead he came off as what he wanted to, presidential. He was able to in his speech, I think, effectively talk about Donald Trump's failures without even mentioning the name Donald Trump. And he rightfully put the COVID crisis high on the agenda list of the country, talked about day one he will be ready for the job. And then he had a lot of nice rhetoric about hope and history rhyming. So it was a successful close for the Democratic convention. It was a strong week. And it all went without a hitch or a glitch really all week. So for Democrats, they're very joyous tonight.
BRUNHUBER: I guess that's one of the benefits of having it sort of pre-packaged like this, is that it is -- it can go without a hitch. I want to ask a question about that a bit later on. But I want to turn first to former President Barack Obama delivering a blistering attack on Donald Trump. I want to read here presidential historian Michael Beschloss tweeted.
No former president has ever attacked his incumbent successor at a convention like Barack Obama tonight for even come close
Is that true? And how significant is that?
BRINKLEY: Oh, it's absolutely true and it's extremely significant. You know, Barack Obama had been as cautious as he could for about three and a half years, meaning criticizing Donald Trump by name, but he went after him, you know, with -- you know, with relish and wanting to make sure he would dent the sitting President. There's probably a bit of a mythology about this ex-president's club where they don't criticize each other. I mean, Harry Truman used to criticize Eisenhower and Reagan stiffed Jimmy Carter. And I can go on and on with those.
But it was unusual to hear Barack Obama basically say democracy is on the line. If Donald Trump gets re-elected, he's worried that our entire country may fall apart. It was I think the highlight of the Democratic convention is Obama's speech and giving a bit of a red meat to Democrats that really are voting because they despise President Trump.
BRUNHUBER: The comment I saw and heard very frequently during this virtual convention is that, you know, this is the way it should be from now on. It's faster moving. You know, shorter speeches, more entertaining. The other side of the argument is that we would no longer see those little messy sides of party politics that remain given how scripted and less spontaneous conventions were becoming anyway. On which side do you sit?
BRINKLEY: Oh, it's an easy one for me. I like live conventions. I mean, I'm a Presidential historian. Conventions to me are like going to a Super Bowl, Rose Bowl football game and having to stay at home, having this sort of shutdown makes it too about technology, about, you know, video streaming. It loses some of its heart and soul.
And also, you know, the great American gift is spontaneity. Whether it's in jazz or Walt Whitman's poetry. And so, I have no real spontaneous moments to have everything scripted seems like we lose something in that. But with that said, given the circumstances, the Democratic Party really pulled a coup by, you know, constantly doing great programming. And there was amazing little video vignettes that they were able to cobble together to make this a winning week for Joe Biden.
BRUNHUBER: Douglas Brinkley, historian, thank you very much for joining me. I appreciate it.
BRINKLEY: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Another former member of Donald Trump's inner circle could be facing jail time. His fired chief strategist Steve Bannon was arrested and pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded investors and pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars. He becomes the latest in a long list of Trump associates who have been charged for convicted of crimes since he took office. CNN's Kara Scannell have more from New York.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A significant development. Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's former campaign advisor, arrested Thursday morning off a yacht off the coast of Connecticut belonging to a Chinese dissident. Prosecutors accusing Bannon and three others with defrauding investors in GoFundMe account called "We Build the Wall." Prosecutors say the account was set up to raise money to build and construct a wall along the U.S. border. But instead they say, Bannon and others had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on personal expenses. Now Bannon was arraigned in court. He pled not guilty and was released
on a $5 million bond. When Bannon left the courthouse, he said this to reporters.
This entire fiasco is to stop people who want to build the wall.
[04:40:00]
(on camera): Donald Trump, President, was asked about these charges against Bannon on Thursday and he said he felt badly for Bannon. He also tried to distance himself from the project saying that he knew nothing about it.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, taking on Trump over coronavirus. New Zealand's Prime Minister its back after President Trump suggests her country is having a big outbreak. We'll explain.
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BRUNHUBER: Have a look at this just frightening video as a driver tries to escape one of dozens of wildfires Raging in Northern California. Those fires sparked by lightning and fueled by sweltering dry heat have killed at least four people. Thousands are under evacuation orders as 660,000 acres or 270,000 hectares have burned across the state. Much of the fires are uncontained. And those Northern California fires are so intense their smoke is blanketing the San Francisco Bay Area and creating the worst air quality in the entire world.
The coronavirus pandemic shows no sign of slowing around the world, even in places once applauded for their tough response. And one of those places is South Korea. Despite a strict testing regimen, the capital, Seoul, has reported at least 150 new cases in a 24-hour period. That's according to CNN affiliate KBS. It's the highest single day spike Seoul has seen since the start of the pandemic.
And the World Health Organization says Europe has also seen a jump in cases following the easing of restrictions in many countries. The W.H.O. says an average of 26,000 new cases are reported every day in Europe and blames the jump partly on people partly dropping their guard.
[04:45:00]
Going to Russia now. Russia says clinical trials for its controversial coronavirus vaccine will begin next week. 40,000 people are expected to take part. The head of the fund financing the research said international standards would be followed.
Now, New Zealand. New Zealand reported 11 coronavirus cases today. In the United States, just to compare, more than 44,000 cases were reported Thursday. Despite the numbers, President Trump claims New Zealand is facing a big outbreak. So let's go to Will Ripley joining us live from Hong Kong. Will, New Zealand's Prime Minister, she returned fire. Take us through this weird war of words.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, they have a history, Kim, of kind of going back and forth. Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand Prime Minister and the U.S. President, Donald Trump, their latest issue is of course, COVID-19. Before this it was gun control after the Christchurch shootings when Jacinda Ardern moved decisively to enact gun control legislation and criticize the United States.
Now she's criticizing the United States for its failed COVID-19 response. Because President Trump at several different events lately has been talking about this big resurgence of the virus that New Zealand is facing. Using it as an example, you know, of countries that thought that they were doing better than the United States -- because pretty much every other country is -- but, you know, he's trying to make the point that New Zealand declared itself COVID-19 free for 102 days and now has a small number.
You're talking about dozens of locally transmitted cases in the country, around 100 or so active cases in New Zealand right now. So listen to what Jacinda Ardern said in response to President Trump once again claiming that New Zealand is in the grip of some big outbreak.
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JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: New Zealand is among a small number of countries that still has a low rate of COVID cases and one of the lowest COVID death rates in the world. To give you just one example, the United States has 16,563 cases per million people. We have 269 cases per million people. And the reason we have been able to do this is in large part because you have all played a role.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: That has been key for New Zealand's really success story with this pandemic. Early on the government enacted very tough lockdown measures in the public listened and they followed along. And as a result they were able to get the virus numbers down to zero, when you talk about local transmission, for more than three months.
The economy bounced back, life returned to normal and as soon as the numbers started to uptick just a little bit, they locked down Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Which means they canceled schools, they closed nonessential businesses, they have police checkpoints set up. You can't travel in and out of the Auckland region without a special exemption. In you've seen the New Zealand numbers start to stabilize and go down. They even postponed their national elections by about a month.
Now Prime Minister Ardern is expected to announce on Monday whether some of those lockdown restrictions can start to be eased. You know, their strategy, Kim, has been, you know, everybody has to kind of play along. You go through this tough period for hopefully a short amount of time, get the numbers down, test tens of thousands of people. They're testing an extraordinary amount of people. And as the end result, perhaps the lockdown measures can lift as soon as next week and life could resume relatively normally in New Zealand. This is a stark contrast with the situation that you're experiencing firsthand there in the U.S.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. President Trump was trying to make a point about coronavirus. He's clearly picking on the wrong country here. Will Ripley in Hong Kong, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
When we come back, the four day Democratic National Convention has come to an end. So we'll have look at the highlights. Do stay with us.
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BRAYDEN HARRINGTON, 13-YEAR-OLD DNC SPEAKER: About a few months ago I met him in New Hampshire. He told me that we were members of the same club. We stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became Vice President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Just what amazing courage there. That was one of Thursday's most touching DNC moments. 13-year-old Brayden Harrington talking his story about meeting Biden and how the presidential candidate made him feel better about his own stuttering. They met in February at a campaign event in New Hampshire and Biden talked to the 13-year-old about how he copes with his own stutter.
Early in the primary campaign Biden revealed that he's had the speech disorder since childhood. And there were many defining moments during this unprecedented four-day virtual convention. So here now let's see some of the highlights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA LONGORIA, ACTRESS: Every four years we come together to reaffirm our democracy. This year we've come to save it.
REP. JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): And there's many families experiencing loss in this pandemic. We need a president who understands both profound loss and what it takes to bounce back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dad was a healthy 65-year-old. His only pre- existing condition was trusting Donald Trump and for that he paid with his life.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D) NEW YORK: COVID is the symptom not the illness. Our nation is in crisis.
PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S BROTHER: George should be alive today. Breonna Taylor should be alive today. Ahmaud Arbery should be alive today.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA) U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: None of us are free until all of us are free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The idea of us calling ourselves the United States of America feels like it's pretty wrong right now.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At a time like this the oval office should be a command center. Instead it's a storm center. There's only chaos.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump is the wrong President for our country. He is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment.
ADY BARKAN, ACTIVIST: With the existential threat of another four years of this President, we all have a profound obligation to act.
[04:55:00]
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose. Take it from me, this can't be another woulda, coulda, shoulda election.
JOE BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S WIFE: How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We the people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES AND MALES: One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Joe is a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the short time I spent with Joe Biden I could tell he really saw me, that he actually cared. That's why I nominate my friend, Joe Biden, as the next President of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pennsylvania casts 34 votes for Senator Bernie Sanders and 175 votes for the next President of the United States, Scranton's own, Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Biden.
JOE MCNAMARA, RHODE ISLAND DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: The calamari come back state of Rhode Island one vote for Bernie Sanders and 34 votes for the next president, Joe Biden. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joseph Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joseph R. Biden!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Joseph R. Biden.
BIDEN: I'll be proud to carry the banner of our party to the general election. So it's a great honor and humility, I accept this nomination for president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right that was the Democrats. Next up, the Republicans, so stay with CNN for our coverage of the Republican National Convention. That starts on Monday.
Well that's it. That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "EARLY START" up next. Stay with us.
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