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Interview with Trump 2020 Campaign Director of Communications Tim Murtaugh; Interview with Jacob Blake Attorney Benjamin Crump; Interview with University of Miami President Julio Frenk. Aired 10:30- 11a ET
Aired August 27, 2020 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
TIM MURTAUGH, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, DONALD TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: I think you've seen the president take appropriate steps today. I know you're reporting that the DOJ is conducting a civil rights investigation --
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
MURTAUGH: -- and the president spoke to the governor of Wisconsin yesterday and is sending in federal law enforcement just as he did to help with the folks in Portland.
The president is determined --
SCIUTTO: OK --
MURTAUGH: -- that law and order be restored and so that we can all enjoy peace and prosperity as Americans, that is the president's main focus on those things.
SCIUTTO: OK, as you're aware, there is now a 17-year-old boy, young man from Illinois who's charged with intentional homicide, part of a group of armed untrained civilians who answered a call to come to Kenosha, you know, it's something of a law enforcement role here. Does the president condemn the use of vigilantes, in effect, to respond to these protests and violence?
MURTAUGH: Certainly. Look, American-on-American violence is not something that anyone can support or condone, and we condemn it fully. I think you heard the vice president last night say very forcefully that having Americans harm other Americans is not the way to go about this. We have to be able to move forward as Americans in a peaceful manner.
And the police, the police have to be allowed to do their jobs and we've seen this over and over again in city after city, run by Democrats, Joe Biden's allies, where they have sided with the rioters instead of the police and instead of law-abiding citizens --
SCIUTTO: Well -- MURTAUGH: -- and that's why you see police unions one after another lining up to endorse President Trump because they know that Joe Biden and the Democrats have turned their backs on law enforcement.
SCIUTTO: Fact check there, Joe Biden has supported peaceful protests, he has not supported violent protests.
I do want to ask about the president's comments for the -- just for the environment here. In the wake of George Floyd's death, you'll remember, when the president said, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." There are historical roots to that, very concerning to members of the black community.
The RNC, as you know, gave speaking time to a couple, you know, who pointed their guns at protestors. I just wonder, is the president's message encouraging this kind of thing, people taking law enforcement into their own hands?
MURTAUGH: I want to take a couple issues with what you just rattled off there, Jim. Joe Biden issued a statement about Portland last month that blamed the police for stoking -- this is a direct quote -- "stoking the fires of division," and referred to the rioters as peaceful protestors. And in the case of the --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Well, some were peaceful, I --
MURTAUGH: -- McCloskeys --
SCIUTTO: -- I witnessed and spoke to some of them, and trust me, we also reported on --
MURTAUGH: Yes.
SCIUTTO: -- the violent protestors there. But Joe Biden has not said, I support violent rioters and looting. He hasn't said that, and that's just a fact.
MURTAUGH: Well, he misdescribed people and actually has, for three months now, ignored the violence that's been occurring night after night in Portland, which is why I think you see him out now, rushing to do so. Because I think he has seen that people are wondering -- even on your own network, Don Lemon in fact saying, boy, how much longer can Joe Biden ignore what's happening in these Democrat-run cities?
And I (ph) would (ph) point (ph) out (ph), Jim (ph) --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: I do want to ask, as I did about the president's --
MURTAUGH: -- I mean, respectfully, Jim --
SCIUTTO: -- comments here because the president is arguing for four more years and the violence he described is happening -- he's been in charge for three and a half years or more at this point. Have his comments, have his policies helped to address these issues? And if so, where?
MURTAUGH: I think absolutely you have seen his policies help. The president has provided more economic opportunity to people who live in inner cities, to people who live in the black community and for all communities, in fact: men, women, white, black, Latino, Asian, veterans, historic low unemployment for people all across the board, and economic opportunity is how --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Wait, wait, wait wait. We just had another --
(CROSSTALK)
MURTAUGH: -- you solve a lot of these problems.
SCIUTTO: -- million people -- another million people, first-time unemployment benefits. I mean, during the financial crisis of 2008- 2009, the highest in a single week was 800-some thousand. We've had million a week for several weeks now. Where -- who does the president blame for that loss of jobs? I mean, the math is simple here.
MURTAUGH: Jim, I think what would be blamed for the loss of those jobs is the global pandemic that is affecting every single nation on earth. I feel like you guys have probably (ph) covered the coronavirus crisis --
SCIUTTO: U.S., worse than most.
MURTAUGH: -- a little bit. And --
SCIUTTO: The U.S. worse than most.
MURTAUGH: -- in fact the president has led an unprecedented -- unprecedented response. The private sector and the federal government, joining together in really an unprecedented response to the coronavirus crisis, and we're seeing the economy --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Why does the U.S. have so many more deaths than most countries then?
MURTAUGH: -- already come back, 9.3 -- 9.3 million jobs created in just the last three months, that is a record period of job creation in the history of this country.
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: That's because 25 million some-odd jobs disappeared, I mean --
MURTAUGH: You will hear the president tonight and see, this is -- this is exactly --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: -- the bottom line is still in the red.
MURTAUGH: -- the president -- the president tonight -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: The bottom line is still in the red. So you know, that -- but let's talk about the pandemic, because you're claiming a successful response there. Who do you -- who does the president hold responsible for nearly 180,000 Americans who lost their lives to the pandemic? Who does he hold responsible?
[10:35:07]
MURTAUGH: I think it's very important to pinpoint where this virus came from, and that is China. And it's also important to note that while the president has been leading the country through the coronavirus crisis, Joe Biden has been doing nothing on the sidelines but criticize. And we know that --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Does the president accept any responsibility --
MURTAUGH: -- Joe Biden would not have restricted travel from China --
SCIUTTO: -- for the loss of lives here?
MURTAUGH: -- the president has been doing this job --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Does he accept any responsibility? He's been in charge for four years.
MURTAUGH: -- from the very -- Jim, I --
SCIUTTO: He promised to be a wartime president here.
MURTAUGH: -- will answer.
SCIUTTO: Yes, but so I'm just asking, does he accept any responsibility for the loss of those lives?
MURTAUGH: The president has been doing his job. Remember, the projections were that more than 2 million people could die as a result of the coronavirus, and the president has been mounting the most aggressive --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: At the far end, the president said it was going to disappear months ago.
MURTAUGH: -- to this in American history, facing any other crisis. Jim, early on, the Coronavirus Task Force has been meeting since January. The president restricted travel from China in January. At that time, Joe Biden --
SCIUTTO: I'm aware.
MURTAUGH: -- said it was fear-mongering and xenophobic. So we know that Joe Biden would not have restricted travel from China. And if he had been president --
SCIUTTO: We don't know that. I'm just --
MURTAUGH: -- Joe Biden, we would be --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: -- just a very simple question. Because he's president --
MURTAUGH: Yes, we do know that because he said do, Jim. If --
SCIUTTO: -- he's commander in chief. Does he accept responsibility for any of this loss of life?
MURTAUGH: -- Joe Biden had been president, we'd be worse off today than we currently are. If Joe Biden had been president in January --
SCIUTTO: Simple question.
MURTAUGH: -- we would be worse off.
SCIUTTO: Just before we go, does the president accept any responsibility for the loss of life from the pandemic? Anything you want to change in your response?
MURTAUGH: The president has accepted responsibility for being the one who's in charge of the unprecedented American response to this. We have never seen such a --
SCIUTTO: Yes, all right.
MURTAUGH: -- combination of the private sector and the government responding to a crisis of this nature as we have seen under President Trump's leadership.
SCIUTTO: All right, I'll take that as a no. Tim Murtaugh, good to have you on the program. Thanks for joining us.
MURTAUGH: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: You can watch President Trump's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention tonight starting at 7:00 Eastern time.
As CNN marks the hundredth anniversary of women's right to vote, check out what the White House looked like last night. Buildings across Washington were covered in purple and gold light in honor of the suffrage movement. For more on that 100th anniversary, you can go to CNN.com/represented. It's really worth having a look. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:41:54]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Major developments in the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Federal investigators have now launched a Civil Rights probe after Blake -- a black man -- was shot multiple times in the back in front of his three young children.
With me now is Benjamin Crump, he's the attorney representing Jacob Blake and his family. Mr. Crump, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING JACOB BLAKE AND FAMILY: Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: So just moments ago, I spoke to someone from the Trump campaign who said that the president will address Blake's shooting tonight in his speech accepting the Republican nomination. What if anything would you like to hear from the president on this?
CRUMP: I think Jacob Blake's family would like to hear from the president and all of our responsible leaders that we have to change the culture and behavior of policing in America that will continue this just unbelievable pattern during this COVID-19 pandemic of the brutal excessive use of force on black people in America.
There's a reason why we have the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and most corporations in America saying enough is enough, they are joining the Black Lives Matter activists saying that America, we can do better. We have to make a more just society where George Floyd has the opportunity to breathe, where Breonna Taylor has the opportunity to sleep in peace, and Ahmaud Arbery has the opportunity to run free.
And now, Jacob Blake Jr. has the opportunity to enjoy his 8-year-old son's birthday party without being shot in the back seven times.
SCIUTTO: Understandable.
Let me ask about the conditions around this, because the police are now releasing new details. They say -- they claim that there was a weapon inside the vehicle, and that Blake may have been reaching for it -- at least they claim one is there.
I know in statements and in comments on this broadcast from one of your colleagues on the legal team yesterday, said there was no weapon. What do you know? Was there a weapon there?
CRUMP: Well, what we know is this, Jim. Based on our investigation on behalf of the Blakes family, there -- witnesses reported that Jacob had no knife in his hand as the police tried to suggest to try to justify this unjustifiable use of excessive force.
And the fact that you literally see him in the video pulling up his pants? All Jacob Blake was trying to do was get in his car and get his three little boys away from a violent situation. He did not pose a threat to law enforcement as he was walking away from them. He did not verbally threaten them in any way.
[10:45:00]
And we don't want to let people get caught up in this tactic that is often used by law enforcement and authorities, where they try to change the narrative. What is important, Jim, is what we see on the videos. We see on the videos, he constantly tried to get away from the police, never ever threatening them based on what we see.
Now, look at the video from a couple of nights later, where a young white supremacist comes with an assault weapon and shoots protestors, killing two of them, and then walks down the street with an assault weapon. And he walks by multiple police officers and National Guardsmen, and nobody shoots him in the back.
In fact, they -- it is alleged that he is offered water, and he is thanked for being there. We heard the police chief say something about they were there to help resolve --
SCIUTTO: Right.
CRUMP: -- a conflict? This is outrageous. So why is a black man walking away from them get shot seven times in the back? A young white man who killed people, who shot people is not shot and is taken alive. That is why we have these two justice systems in America, one for black America and one for white America.
The family, the parents of Jacob Blake Jr. will be at the march on Washington tomorrow to address these matters. I'm sure his mother's going to be calling for us to heal this country and also to examine our hearts, as she so eloquently said when we were in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
And his father, Jacob (ph) Blake Sr., I'm sure is going to be saying that --
SCIUTTO: OK.
CRUMP: -- this is a problem and we have to speak truth to power.
SCIUTTO: Well, CNN will be covering that march on Washington. Benjamin Crump, it's good to have you on. There are a lot of developments to come in this case, I hope we can keep up the conversation.
CRUMP: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: And we'll be back after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:51:35]
SCIUTTO: Well, at least 7,000 people on college campuses in 31 states have now tested positive for coronavirus. Schools across the country, they're forced to reckon with this pandemic, some opening online, some in person, some with a combination.
Joining me now to discuss is Dr. Julio Frenk, he's president of the University of Miami in Florida as well as the former minister of Health of Mexico. So he's got some experience. Dr. Frenk, good to have you on this morning.
JULIO FRENK, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Thank you, Jim, thank you for having me.
SCIUTTO: So Miami, University of Miami has now reported, I believe, 190 coronavirus cases since last Thursday. Do you believe it was a mistake to reopen?
FRENK: No. I think, you know, we've been preparing with a very detailed, meticulous plan. And we were expecting cases to happen. You know, that's a rolling average over seven days, 27 cases a day. Given our population, it's not surprising.
And we had -- we have a robust testing and tracing. And so we're able to quickly identify those cases, test them, isolate them if necessary or quarantine as required. But we're keeping a very, very close eye because it is -- continues to be a serious and dynamic situation.
SCIUTTO: Do you think students should be exercising more responsibility themselves? Because not just at Miami, so many campuses -- UNC, elsewhere -- you see kids, you know -- and they're not really kids, I mean, they're adults, right? Eighteen to 22, going to parties, no masks, et cetera. I mean, do they have to be held to a higher standard to do their part here in effect?
FRENK: Absolutely. I mean, we've said that we -- first of all, we gave students the choice. And about a quarter of our students decided not to come to campus. Some of them had pre-existing medical conditions and they shouldn't be on campus.
But the 75 percent that chose to come, we made it very clear. These are the rules. If you cannot comply, please don't come. Because if you come and violate the rules, there will be very serious consequences including suspension.
Now, we have right now a number of disciplinary cases, currently being done, and we already (INAUDIBLE). But the flip side, it means the vast majority of students -- I mean the vast majority, over 90 percent -- are actually complying.
This is going to be a huge educational moment in civic education. It's one of those situations where we are not just protecting ourselves, we're protecting everyone else. And it's been marvelous to see how the vast majority are coming together in a really conscious way about what they need. With student athletes, we have zero positives for a month and a half. There's a strong motivation among students to really be able to spend their semester on campus.
Unfortunately, there's always the (INAUDIBLE) number and for those we do have the disciplinary measures.
SCIUTTO: Just quickly, what should the threshold be? Because you make the point -- listen, if you open up, you are going to have cases, that's the nature of this disease, this outbreak. What is too much? How do you gauge that?
FRENK: We have a very detailed contingency plan that actually sets thresholds for closing a floor or a wing of a building, closing an entire building, quarantining the campus, meaning students stay but no one comes in or out for 14 days, or actually shutting down and sending everyone away.
We have all those four phases in a contingency plan we're hoping never to activate, but it's ready there to be activated if at any point in our dashboard we see some of those indicators. And it's a series of very clear indicators after which we take (ph) any of those steps.
[10:55:12]
SCIUTTO: Well, Dr. Frenk, we wish you, we with the campus the best of luck as you do your best to handle this going forward. Thanks for coming on today.
FRENK: Thank you very much.
SCIUTTO: And thanks to all of you for joining us today from around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto. NEWSROOM with my colleague Kate Bolduan will start right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:00]
