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Trump's Sister Bitterly Criticizes Him In Secretly Recorded Audio; Trump Pushes Conspiracy Theories As House Rebukes His Handling Of The USPS; Trump To Hold News Conference On "Major Therapeutic Breakthrough"; India Announces Three Million Coronavirus Cases; France Sees Surge In COVID-19 Amid Struggle To Enforce Mask Laws; No End In Sight For Deadly California Wildfires; Tensions Remain High In Portland After Nearly 90 Days Of Protests. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired August 23, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Secret recordings: in them, Donald Trump's sister slams him, calling him "a liar," with no principles, who cannot be trusted.
In a separate incident, the president took to Twitter, attacking the FDA and accusing the so-called "deep state" of a coronavirus vaccine conspiracy.
Plus, wicked weather: record-setting wildfires in California and the Gulf Coast preparing for not one but two potential hurricanes this week.
Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
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ALLEN: Thank you for joining us.
U.S. president Donald Trump has his share of critics and it turns out at least two fierce ones are in his own family.
"The Washington Post" reports his sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, calls him cruel, unprincipled and a liar, among many other unflattering comments in conversations secretly recorded by their niece, Mary Trump, who has made it clear from her recent book and the release of this audio that she has major differences with Donald Trump, her uncle.
Here is an excerpt from some of her conversations with the president's sister.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARYANNE TRUMP BARRY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SISTER: This goddamn tweet and the lying, oh, my God. I'm talking too freely but you know. The change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the -- holy (INAUDIBLE).
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ALLEN: Michael Kranish from "The Washington Post," originally reported this story and he talked earlier with CNN about something Trump's sister said on the recordings about the president's immigration policy. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL KRANISH, NATIONAL POLITICAL INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Mary Trump heard that her brother, the president, had said on FOX News that "maybe I'll have to put her," meaning Judge Maryanne Trump Barry -- she was a federal judge at the time -- "to the border because there are a lot of refugees coming into United States."
And at the time, as you recall, children being separated from their parents and being put in these cramped quarters.
And Maryanne was talk -- gave a conversation with her niece, Mary, and she said, "It's all about the base. All he wants to do is appeal to the base. He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean, my God, if you're a religious person, you would want to help people, not do this."
So there are a lot of quotes like this that are very candid. As far as we can tell Maryanne Trump Barry did not know she was being recorded by her niece. I reached out to her yesterday and again today to let her know. I did not hear back from her. So, I don't have a comment from her.
As far as I know, she also has been commented on things that she was quoted saying in the book by her niece.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Barry also seemed to confirm Mary Trump's claim in her book that Mr. Trump had a friend take his college entrance exam. Here's some of that exchange.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BARRY: I mean, didn't get him in. But I know he didn't get into college. And he -- and he went to Fordham for one year and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take his -- take the exams.
MARY TRUMP, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NIECE: No way!
BARRY: And he --
(CROSSTALK)
M. TRUMP: He had somebody take his entrance exams? BARRY: SATs or whatever.
M. TRUMP: Yes. Oh, Jesus! You're kidding.
BARRY: That's what I do believe. I even remember the name.
M. TRUMP: Oh, man.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ALLEN: The White House has denied the claim about the president's college entrance exam. Here's how CNN political commentator and Republican strategist Ana Navarro reacted to the story.
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ANA NAVARRO, CNN COMMENTATOR: I hope somebody takes these excerpts and turns them into a campaign ad because there is something incredibly powerful about her own voice describing her brother in those terms as "cruel" and "phony" and "a liar," things so many of us have thought.
But to hear his sister say it, his older sister say it, it's just jaw- dropping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter says his reaction was less about shock and more about sadness.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The quotes about how the president doesn't read stand out to me, because we've heard that from White House aides. But we have not heard it from his family members before.
And this is shocking material from the president's sister. It is also sad. It is sad to see a family torn apart like this. It is sad to see a family so, so broken.
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STELTER: And I know the Trump years have broken many families. There are many liberals and conservatives who don't talk to each other anymore. There are many Republicans and Democrats who don't want to see each other for family holidays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: CNN has reached out to Maryanne Trump Barry for comment. The White House put out this statement from President Trump.
"Every day, it's something else, who cares. I miss my brother and I will continue to work hard for the American people. Not everyone agrees but the results are obvious. Our country will soon be stronger than ever before." Let's talk about the latest political developments with Thomas Gift. He's the director for the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London, joining us from there.
Good morning, Thomas.
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR FOR CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Good morning, Natalie.
ALLEN: Now we have another family member speaking out quite candidly about President Trump's character or, as she said, lack thereof.
Will this matter?
This is his own sister, maligning her brother.
What are your thoughts on this?
GIFT: I think the tapes are shocking but not surprising. The comments about Trump align with criticism after criticism we've heard about both his private and public persona.
They really do depict a president lacking in basic decency and empathy. These were charges against trump on full display by Democrats at the convention last week.
One of Trump's tried and true tactics when confronted with this is to claim that he barely knows the individuals leveling the accusations or insist they're operating with ulterior motives.
It's hard to do that when it's your own sister in a secretly recorded audio. At the same time, these indictments of Trump's character are so well known that it's hard to imagine this making a sizable difference to many voters.
ALLEN: The DNC worked to reference Trump's character and the darkness that they referred to that surrounds him and said his presidency threatens our democracy. That was a theme we heard over and over.
Was that an effective approach in your view?
GIFT: I think it was. Biden really wants to make this election a referendum on trump's character and general fitness to lead. So policies are important but I think Biden's central pitch to voters is the country needs a president who's decent and seeks to unite rather than to divide.
That was absolutely evident with Biden saying it was a time for the country to emerge from the darkness. Democrats are trying to make 2020 about the ethical fabric of America, to suggest that voters shouldn't compartmentalize morality at the ballot box.
Mainly the argument is that Trump's character flaws shouldn't be excused or overlooked because some voters may prefer his policy positions. The response from Republicans like Mike Pence are just to say that these are standard talking points and they essentially add up to an ad hominem attack on the president of the United States.
ALLEN: Do you think that the DNC convention, that the Biden and Harris ticket did a good job of unifying the Democratic Party?
GIFT: That's a great question. I think, by and large, rhetorically, they did. They were on the same page. But I'm not sure if some of those underlying tensions between the more moderate and the more progressive wing have been fully resolved.
This is something we saw on full display during the Democratic primaries, certainly, they're trying to heal old wounds, bring the party together. But there's some real substantive policy differences between the moderates and the progressives.
How that gets resolved both in the leadup to the election and if Biden is successful in November, I think, is still a big challenge and a big question for Democrats going forward.
ALLEN: It's the Republicans' turn this week. The RNC begins on Monday. And the Trump campaign may very likely do the same thing this week, paint far-left Democrats as a threat to people's safety, being weak on crime.
What do you expect from Republicans?
What will you be listening for?
GIFT: I think you're absolutely right, Natalie. The playbook for the RNC is fairly straightforward, it's to paint Biden as beholden to the more far left elements of the Democratic Party. That's a tougher sell than if Democrats had nominated a more progressive candidate. But it's essentially the option they have.
I think we can expect Republicans use the word "socialist" to describe Democrats and paint Biden as a Trojan horse for progressives, who Republicans say want to defund the police, take away guns and swing open the borders. We have already heard Pence and Republican surrogates making similar points last in response to the Democratic. Convention. I think we can expect to hear more of that.
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GIFT: In terms of Trump's record, I think Republicans will try to key in on tax cuts, conservative judicial appointments and a relatively strong economy prior to COVID-19.
ALLEN: We know they are not expected to spend much time talking about the coronavirus. We'll see how that goes over with the American people. Thanks for your insight. Thanks so much.
GIFT: Thanks so much, Natalie.
ALLEN: A bill that would give $25 billion to the U.S. Postal Service is heading to the Senate. The U.S. House passed it with even some Republicans saying they want to prevent any impact on mail-in voting for the November election. But as CNN's Suzanne Malveaux explains, it is unlikely the agency is going to get that money anytime soon.
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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: It was a rare Saturday session when members of the House were brought back from their summer recess for this very important vote and it was an overwhelming victory for Democrats in support of the Postal Service.
The final vote tally, 257 yeses, Democrats 231. But the big story here, 26 Republicans joining those Democrats.
It was really an indictment of President Trump, a rejection of the GOP leadership's talking points of their position, that this was simply a scam, a sham, a hoax of some kind.
Republican as well as Democratic lawmakers hearing from voters and constituents that there were real problems that they were facing with the Postal Service and with those delays.
We actually have heard many anecdotal stories. But it really was evidence that was presented by the chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, Carolyn Maloney, who actually presented an internal document from the Postal Service, showing a 10 percent slowdown in the mail.
It really just wasn't getting to people in time. And there's a lot of concern about this and around this.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi describing this as an issue that touches on culture, that social justice, voting rights as well as health.
Using the example saying, look, this could be an issue, whether or not you get your packages from Santa Claus or letters from the Tooth Fairy or the 1.2 billion prescriptions that are delivered in the mail each year; 80 percent of the veterans' prescriptions going through the mail, that this is a serious issue.
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REP. KWEISI MFUME (D-MD): We are here because Americans who are Democrats and Republicans and independents are not getting their mail on time. We are here because there's been a 10 percent slowdown in the last 66 days.
We are here because sorting machines have been dismantled at an accelerating rate, not the normal rate, an accelerated rate all across America.
We are here because mailboxes, without density studies, are being snatched. If the first postmaster general looked back at this day, I'm sure Ben Franklin would be spinning in his grave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): This is all about politics. First, it was the Russian collusion, then it -- well, in this committee, it was the Michael Cohen hearing. I remember that. Then it was the Mueller report, then it was the Ukraine fake impeachment.
And now it's the White House is putting mailbox in cages and whatever you're -- whatever you're saying now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell immediately responding to the overwhelming support of this bill, the $25 billion slated for the Postal Service as well as a call for the halt of these operational changes that have actually caused these delays in the Postal Service.
He said that, no, the Senate will not be coming back early from their summer session. They will come back in September very likely. They will deal something which is a larger package of a coronavirus relief package. They will not be dealing with the Postal Service in a way that is piecemeal -- Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: It is another convention week. Tune in for our live coverage of the Republican National Convention, starting on Monday, 7:00 in the evening Eastern time and, of course, we'll also have full coverage and analysis as well on cnn.com.
Next here, President Trump suggests his own regulators are playing politics with the coronavirus vaccine. We'll have more on what he said and whether he can back it up.
Plus, with coronavirus cases falling again in France, you would think it would be easy to make sure people wore their masks, right?
We'll show you just how difficult it is.
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ALLEN: President Trump Saturday made the extraordinary claim that his own regulators are deliberately dragging their feet on a coronavirus vaccine.
He tweeted this, "The deep state or whoever over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously they're hoping to delay the answer till after November 3rd. Must focus on speed and saving lives."
November 3rd is the election. The president offered absolutely no evidence to back up his claim about the slowing down. He will be joined by FDA chief Stephen Hahn at a news conference later today. The White House says he will discuss a therapeutic breakthrough.
More than 5.5 million people in the United States have been infected with the virus. The death toll, more than 176,000. Worldwide on Saturday, the 800,000 mark was crossed in terms of lives lost. That's according to Johns Hopkins University. There are more than 23 million cases worldwide.
India has now topped 3 million cases. It is only the third country to do so behind Brazil and, of course, the United States, which leads the world. India's death toll topped 50,000 this past week.
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ALLEN: Dr. Murtaza Akhter is an emergency physician at Valleywise Health Medical Center in Arizona. He joins me now to talk about the latest numbers.
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ALLEN: Hello to you, Doctor, how are you doing?
DR. MURTAZA AKHTER, VALLEYWISE HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER: Good, how are you, Natalie?
ALLEN: Thank you very much, I'm well, thankful for that.
Well, that report about cases in India and various countries around the world is sobering; 23 million cases now globally.
What does that say to you where the world is in this pandemic?
AKHTER: Yes, this is a staggering number. Some people on certain sides of the political spectrum will say that still leaves a majority as healthy.
But 23 million people to get sick is a phenomenally large number. And as mentioned 800,000 deaths and that will only go up. We have a quite a few of those deaths here in the United States, quite a few in Arizona in particular.
This pandemic is a scary thing. It doesn't just magically go away. There's some countries that have done a better job at controlling it than others but we're all in this together. We all have to look out not only for ourselves but for each other and try to control this pandemic.
ALLEN: It's coming and going in waves. Where you are, Arizona, surge now; it's the Midwest health experts are watching. In Europe, which opened up to tourism, it's now clamping down, after Spain, France and Italy have seen cases rise again. You talk about personal responsibility.
But what do you make of the waves that we're seeing? AKHTER: Part of it is virology. Part of it is how the virus. Works it is always trying to attack hosts. But a lot of it is also policy. If you stay in a bubble, you'll probably stay OK. The National Basketball Association in United States did pretty OK. But as soon as you say, listen, let's start relaxing and opening the economy, cases are going to go up.
If you open up too quickly, they spike. That's what happens when people fly into countries, when there's tourism, when restaurants open. There's going to be more and more cases. So until you really control the pandemic, you have to be really careful before you tell them we're good to go, because, remember people are people.
If you tell them things are looking better, they will act as if things are normal. And that's not OK, things are not normal. And they won't be for quite a. While
ALLEN: The WHO said that in Asia, it is people in their 20s to 40 spreading the disease. Here in the U.S. we're seeing many COVID clusters on college campuses.
Are you seeing more young people in emergency rooms than you have in previous months?
AKHTER: Yes. If you look at Arizona, we've been seeing this for a while, 20 to 44, that exact bracket is the one who's getting the most infections in Arizona. That's not the most likely to get sick, a 25- year-old is much healthier in general on average than an 80 year old.
But the problem is, sometimes those people feel like they are immune. It's just a cold to them. For one, it's not just a cold. There are plenty of young people who get quite sick but, two, you can spread it to others.
Again, unless you're a bubble boy, you can spread the germs to others, you will spread the germs to others. You can give it to elderly or compromised people and they are very likely to decompensate.
Even if it's young people getting, it even if they feel like they're immune, they're not a lot of them are getting it a lot of them are spreading. It and that's concerning.
ALLEN: Meantime, on the vaccine front President Trump accused the FDA of delaying trials. Now the White House says he'll discuss a major therapeutic breakthrough tomorrow with the FDA.
Mixed messaging from the top for many months has led to public condition in this crisis.
Are you confused that vaccine programs could get caught in politics and cause more confusion when it is time for people to decide what they do when they get a vaccine?
AKHTER: That is absolutely a concern of mine. Remember this president ran an anti-vaccine campaign a few years ago and how he says they're not moving fast enough for political. Reasons. It's irony. He's just trying to build up his base. He clearly doesn't know the science behind it. For him to say there's going to be this groundbreaking therapeutic tomorrow, we've seen his talk about therapeutics before. Sometimes he's talked about bleach and UV. I would not trust anything he said.
He's not a scientist. I'm not trying to get too political here but President Trump is clearly not a scientist. He's clearly not a physician and I think almost everybody would agree that a lot of stuff he says about COVID is politics based.
Please listen to health care experts and the physicians on this. They have data backing it. And I'm concerned that he's politicizing it too much, which risks American lives and global lives.
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ALLEN: Dr. Murtaza Akhter, thank you.
France is seeing a new surge in coronavirus cases. The National Health Agency says the number of new infections has increased by 42 percent over the last seven days. The country's health minister says the virus is circulating four times more among people under the age of 40 than it is among people over 65.
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ALLEN: And officials are struggling to enforce mask regulations. CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now from Paris.
And good morning to you, Melissa. We were just hearing the doctor there say that it is so much up to citizens to try to keep these waves from going up and enforcing social distancing, wearing masks.
What's the situation there in France?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Natalie. We're talking here in Europe about a number of countries that have really fairly successfully dealt with their lockdowns now that the economies have reopened it is how to keep people safe and the system going.
Now the health system here in France is no longer as it was once in March threatened with collapse. We've seen rises in the number of new cases but no equivalent rises in terms of the number of people in hospital or no dramatic rises anyway.
So in a sense, the story has shifted away from the hospital. Hospitals, Natalie, and onto the streets of France and how authorities can ensure that that dreaded second wave does not materialize.
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BELL (voice-over): The new frontline in Europe's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Its soldiers no longer health care workers in hospitals but policemen and women patrolling the streets to remind tourists and locals alike of the new rules. Here in Marseille, national police units have been brought in to
enforce the recent law that made masks mandatory in a growing number of French cities. The fine for not wearing one is nearly $160.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If there weren't police on the streets enforcing, people would wear it less. When they see us, it reminds them that it's mandatory and often that's enough.
BELL: Part of the problem is that the new regulations in France were brought in quickly, as coronavirus cases rose these last couple of weeks. As a result, they can be confusing and difficult to enforce. These police men and women behind me are checking people's masks on the streets.
They are also obligatory down there on the beach. But what they exclaimed is that the new rule will simply be too difficult to enforce in such a crowded space.
BELL (voice-over): Since the reopening of the E.U.'s internal borders in June, Europeans have been heading south for the summer. And from Greece to Croatia, from Spain to France, COVID-19 figures have been rising.
And it is to contain those rises that fresh regulations have been introduced. Before, in France, masks were mandatory and indoor spaces and enforced by shopkeepers or on public transport by the conductors themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were on the front line and, at first, it was hard to get people to comply. Sadly, people need to be scared. They need to be fined for them to understand that it's mandatory, especially in a city like Marseille. People won't listen much to a conductor but they will listen to the police.
BELL (voice-over): But police unions say their new responsibilities bring fresh problems for an already stretched police force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've had the Yellow Vests, now it's COVID. While we are busy with those missions, we cannot fight other crimes like delinquency and that's our primary job. That's what it should be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: When you look at the wider region around Marseille, the number of cases per 100,000 rose tenfold. It's a massive rise over the last few weeks with young people living once again, people traveling once again.
But as you mentioned, what we're seeing is a vast rise amongst younger people, what authorities warned on Saturday. So when you look at that wider region around Marseille, you're seeing more and more older people beginning to catch it.
The fear is, as the younger people go about and travel and do what people will, once they can, which is live and travel and go out, go to bars and restaurants, the fear is that they'll pass it on to more vulnerable populations. And Europe will be once again faced with the health crisis we saw a few months ago.
ALLEN: We're seeing the same thing with colleges here in the United States as well. Thank you so much, Melissa Bell, for us this morning.
Fire crews in California are fighting an uphill battle: too many fires, not enough resources. Just ahead, the new danger they face.
Plus, the U.S. Gulf Coast braces for two separate tropical storms. We'll hear from Derek on the latest tracks.
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ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.
Firefighters in California are working around the clock to battle hundreds of wildfires. The White House has released federal funds to help in the recovery effort. So far this year, California wildfires have killed more people and caused more destruction than in all of last year.
And it's just August. There is also no end in sight. Extremely warm and dry weather is making things worse. About 12,000 lightning strikes sparked nearly 600 fires in California this past week. In Napa County, California, the fires have killed at least four people and have burned neighborhoods to ashes. CNN's Paul Vercammen is there for us.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in northern California, the white gray ashy remnants of homes. This is the Lake Berryessa, it's the Highlands neighborhood in Napa County.
And look below, one of the most devastated parts of this lightning complex fire, the second largest now in California history, 315,000 acres burned, also more than 560 homes destroyed here, four fatalities.
The fire, when it tore through here, knocked out every house, if you will, in its path. And sadness, because, in this part of Napa County, this is wine country, many of these people saved up to live in these homes, their little bit of paradise.
And there's just hardly anything left and they're forecasting we could have more lightning strikes that Sunday into Monday. And it was lightning strikes that caused all this heartache in California, more than 12,000 of them. And a cruel irony behind me. You can see that this car, which my co-
workers tell me is a 1969 Pontiac Firebird, well, it survived the decades, more than 50 years.
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VERCAMMEN: And then in one fateful night, this classic car gets charred to nothing -- reporting from Napa County, California, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.
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ALLEN: We want to talk more with Nicole Maul in Fresno, California, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross.
Nicole, we know you're very busy. We appreciate your time so much. Thanks for coming on.
NICOLE MAUL, AMERICAN RED CROSS SPOKESPERSON: Thank you.
ALLEN: The wildfires are continuing. Thousands of acres burned. Many more under threat, how would you assess the danger right now?
MAUL: You know, for us, as the Red Cross, the most important thing is, if you are in California and if you think that you might be threatened by wildfires in an evacuation area, the safest thing to do is leave.
We're seeing people stay behind and I can understand that need. Safety is our first priority. So if officials ask you to leave, please leave.
ALLEN: Why is it?
Why do you think people stay behind when they know the dangers?
We've seen the Camp fire, Paradise more recently, just months ago.
MAUL: You know, every case is going to be different and, you know, that's our job as the Red Cross. But if you do have to leave your home, we are here to take care of you. You know, we have safe places for you to stay.
With our partners, we've actually had more than 3,100 people in California take safe shelter, either in our large emergency shelters or in emergency hotel lodging. So we have the capability. We have the capacity. So, you know, if anybody is thinking about leaving, they don't maybe have a plan in place, reach out to the Red Cross.
ALLEN: What areas of California are you mainly focusing on right now?
MAUL: We've got a large presence in northern California, following the same footprint that these wildfires are. Last night we had about 300 Red Crossers on the ground and supporting virtually. So we're following this closely. And we're going to be where the people are and just in that safe area.
So we can get you in, you know, help with where you're going to stay for the night. Maybe it's someone to talk to. We know these wildfires are heavy on our heart. For me, as a California native, we've seen this before, so we've got people here. This is what they do best, is taking care of others. And it's really, really great to see in action.
ALLEN: Absolutely. It's something that, sadly, is becoming normal in California, because there's really no letup in the fire season these days, with the climate change.
I want to ask you also, is the pandemic complicating your efforts to help people stay safe?
MAUL: We've actually really evolved what we do in during the pandemic. Our mission is still the same, which is really taking care of people. But we're doing it a little bit different; you know, face coverings are required when you come to see us.
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MAUL: We're really focusing on social distancing, you know, really using those CDC best practices to guide what we do. We've got a few more folks working virtually.
But what I can say is it's a positive thing, knowing that we can really band together as a community and take care of people when they're needed. But now's the time to really focus on preparedness, right?
You said, you know, speaking to, these things happen, how can we be prepared for if this affects our neighborhood and that's really building a kit, making a plan and staying informed.
ALLEN: Well, we appreciate you and your team there at the Red Cross and what you're doing across the state for people, Nicole Maul, thank you for your time.
MAUL: Thank you.
ALLEN: The Gulf Coast of the United States is bracing for not one but two tropical storms. Laura and Marco are getting stronger. Both are expected to reach hurricane strength before making landfall. Watches are in effect, now, from Florida to Texas. And mandatory evacuations are under way right now in parts of Louisiana.
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ALLEN: It has been nearly 90 straight days of protests in Portland, Oregon. Tensions bubbling over with federal police facing off with crowds. Our team there will bring you the latest right after this.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) ALLEN: Tensions remain high on the streets of Portland, Oregon, after
nearly 90 straight days of protest. Federal officers have been facing off with crowds outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, as dueling groups of demonstrators square off. We get the latest from CNN's Omar Jimenez.
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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what has defined Saturday afternoon in downtown Portland. You see the masses of people gathered behind me. These are two sides of demonstrators. One representing a more far right ideology, they are carrying Trump flags. And they came marching in.
You see their flags, a couple of them, American and others in support of police as well. And they were met with counter protesters here. This is a situation that grew from tens of people into hundreds within a matter of minutes.
What is really defining over the course of this, it has largely remained peaceful. The most we have seen has been a lot of verbal jawing back and forth. I'm standing on a street that really had cars passing through over the course of minutes ago.
To put everything into context, in Portland, what we have seen over the course of nearly 90 days now, last night, Friday night, was the 86th day and night in a row of protests we have seen here in Portland, Saturday being the 87th.
This is coming off the heels of what Portland police bureau declared a 19th riot in the Portland area since all this began. There has been a lot of energy behind the Black Lives Matter movement here in the area ever since the death of George Floyd. We are seeing that energy continue.
But one thing that has worried many officials is that this verbal jawing back and forth doesn't escalate into more, does not escalate into violence that could potentially hurt people. And that is what they've been preaching over the course of this.
For the most part, they have let these demonstrations play out. It is only when they officially declare the proceedings as a riot or an unlawful assembly that we see police officers clash.
And the two differences in the clashes with law enforcement we have seen, there have been clashes with federal law enforcement outside the courthouse behind me and outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
Then there have been clashes with local police. And we have seen a combination of those, again, over the course of what has been close to 90 days in a row of protesting here in Portland.
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ALLEN: Omar Jimenez for us there. To say the least, relations between Beijing and Washington are
strained, so does China have a favorite in the upcoming U.S. presidential election?
We'll get into that next.
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ALLEN: We want to bring you an update now on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after a suspected poisoning. His chief of staff says he is in stable condition under the care of doctors in Berlin.
Navalny's family and co-workers managed to get him out of Russia; it took some work. They had to fight for it. British foreign secretary Dominick Raab says he's relieved that Navalny is now getting the care he needs and that there must be a full and transparent investigation into what happened.
The Chinese company that owns social media app TikTok has officially announced it will sue the U.S. government. It's planning to challenge the Trump administration's executive order that tries to ban the video app.
Parent company Byte Dance accuses the U.S. government of trying to forcefully intervene in commercial company negotiations. Washington is concerned the company could be sending data from American TikTok users to Beijing.
The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods, sanctioned Chinese officials and banned Chinese companies. But the Democratic presidential nominee hasn't exactly been conciliatory toward China, either.
So what is Beijing's position on the upcoming U.S. election?
Selina Wang has our report on that from Hong Kong.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are competing to be the tougher candidate on China.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to make it clear, they must play by the rules, period, period, period.
TRUMP: China would love us to have an election where Donald Trump lost to Sleepy Joe Biden.
WANG (voice-over): When Trump took office, he first sang Xi's praises, dining together at Mar-a-lago, (INAUDIBLE) each other's families. But now relations between the U.S. and China have spiraled to their lowest point in decades.
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WANG (voice-over): Trump has banned Chinese technology companies, including Huawei. He regularly blames China for the coronavirus pandemic, has angered it for supporting Taiwan and says if Biden wins, China will own the U.S. and Americans will have to learn to speak Chinese.
But which president would China prefer?
Experts say the leadership is split. On one hand, some view Trump as weakening America's alliances and international reputation. Chinese propaganda has cited Trump's response to the pandemic to raise doubts about U.S. global leadership. That helps China, giving it a window to become more assertive.
STEPHEN ORLINS, NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: He will have a multilateral approach to China and those people are fearful of a Biden presidency.
WANG (voice-over): On the one hand, U.S. intelligence cites Trump's unpredictability as a reason why they would prefer Biden. Trump has often changed his mind going from threats to claiming he and Xi love each other.
Experts say that unpredictability increases the risk of military escalation as tensions between the two countries rise in the South China Sea. Chinese state media have called Biden smoother to deal with, creating room to cooperate on broader issues like climate change and nuclear non-proliferation.
MINXIN PEI, POLITICAL SCIENTIST: A Biden administration will most likely have a pulse. (INAUDIBLE) demolition process, because it's not in the U.S. fundamental interests to demolish the most important relationship in the world.
WANG (voice-over): In the U.S., opposition to China is one of the few areas that both parties agree on. Trump or Biden, China has prepared itself for rising U.S.-China tensions -- Selina Wang, CNN, Hong Kong.
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ALLEN: I'm Natalie Allen. Thank you so much for watching. Please follow me on Twitter or Instagram. My colleague is up next with our top stories. See you soon.
