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Storm Chaser Witnesses Hurricane Laura's Powerful Winds; CDC Director Defends New Controversial Testing Guidelines; Tonight: Trump To Accept Nomination, Deliver Address From White House. Aired 11:30a- 12p ET

Aired August 27, 2020 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We continue to track Hurricane Laura. One of the strongest storms to ever make landfall in the United States, and storm chasers are helping us to see just how powerful this storm truly was when it slammed into Louisiana overnight?

Take a look at this video. We're going to show you this from Storm Chaser Brandon Clement. It's really amazing how easily it looks like that RV is just tossed over.

Brandon Clement, that Storm Chaser who recorded this video and has been in the middle of it, he's joining me now by the phone. Brandon, you sat out the storm in Lake Charles. You're headed south now. What are you seeing along the way?

BRANDON CLEMENT, STORM CHASER, LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA: I'm seeing a lot. I'm seeing more intense damage. You can definitely tell the hurricane weakened as it came inland which, of course, is what they are supposed to do.

But we we're seeing a difference in the power of the winds as we work our way south, seeing a train that was completely derailed, long train, a bunch of different houses and businesses and farms destroyed or missing roofs, or the sheet metal just turning all over the fields. It looks a lot like tornado damage.

BOLDUAN: It's interesting you put it that way because that's - when you - the way it's been described is how long the winds kept up at such an intense rate, like a level of an EF2 tornado sitting there for like an hour plus. What did that - what did it feel like overnight? How could you - how would you describe the power of this storm?

CLEMENT: It was a lot like a tornado. It's a lot like the hurricane has been in, like Harvey and Michael. The biggest difference between it and say Harvey was this storm was moving quite a bit faster than Harvey. Harvey just stalled in Rockport, Texas; I was there for four hours. This one, it was only the most intense winds lasted about 20 to 30 minutes.

Now it had strong wind on either side of that, but your real core eye wall winds didn't last very long. So I think it helped keep the damage down some, but it still is extensive damage all over, you know, Southwest Louisiana.

BOLDUAN: Are you able to move about easily? I mean, because the - ahead of the storm, the Mayor of Lake Charles said that his biggest concern that was that not enough people were evacuating to safety, and I'm wondering if you're seeing people out and about?

CLEMENT: You know, roads - roads have been manageable so far in some places. Trees and power lines are all over the place. I'm kind of used to driving through that. So we can zigzag our way and manage through it some other areas just a lot of trees and just not possible.

It is just multiple trees on every road. I haven't seen a whole lot of people out and about, but I've definitely seen more today than I was this time yesterday when the storm was approaching.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, we're thankful you're there, we thankful you're safe and we're looking forward to seeing what you see and can show as you're heading towards - towards the coast. Really appreciate it, it Brandon. Thank you.

[11:35:00]

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, NBA players saying they are not going to take the field refusing to take the field in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake sparking a series of protests across the world of sports. How this is far beyond sports now? Where this goes from here ahead?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: The ripple effects of the Jacob Blake shooting by police are now sending real shock waves through the world of sports unlike anything we've really seen. What's left of the NBA season is now very suddenly up in the air after yesterday, a boycott by the Milwaukee Bucks'.

At least two NBA teams now say the playoffs should be called off all together. What you're seeing there is the Milwaukee Bucks' reading their statement. This movement is spreading now far beyond the NBA. Teams are boycotting games and - baseball and soccer, the WNBA, all taking a stand here.

CNN's Andy Scholes is joining me now with more on this. Andy, this is pretty remarkable. What's going to happen now?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, there's a real possibility that the NBA playoffs is over. These athletes, they are taking a stand.

They are demanding a change, demanding justice and they say, you know, they may not play now to try to accomplish that goal and yesterday it really was a historic day and right now the NBA board of governors and players are holding meetings discussing how to move forward. And this comes after last night that the players there in the NBA

bubble had a meeting, and according to ESPN the Lakers players and Clippers players voted to end the playoffs, to not continue on.

According to ESPN, that was more of a poll not a final vote, so this situation is still very fluid, we could get an answer, you know in, a matter of minutes. But this comes after the Milwaukee Bucks' staged a boycott of their game five against the Orlando Magic.

The Magic were on the floor but the Bucks' did not come out to the floor. They stayed in their locker room for hours talking to Wisconsin's attorney general and other state leaders. And after a very long time they didn't come out from the locker room and made this statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE HILL, MILWAUKEE BUCKS GUARD: When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level and give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to their standard and in this moment we are demanding the same from lawmakers and law enforcement. We're calling for justice for Jacob Blake and demand that all officers be held accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, and all eyes right now Kate, again on the NBA they are holding meetings on how to go forward with the NBA playoffs if they decide to go forward? Right now there is a game schedule for 4'o clock eastern between the Jazz and the Nuggets. I highly doubt that takes place whether or not the season continues of course, up in the air?

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean another part of the statement, when they said, despite the overwhelming plea for change there's been no action so our focus today cannot be on basketball. It's pretty amazing.

Andy, thank you. Much more could be coming in minutes. Andy is sticking by for that. So you have that coming from the Milwaukee Bucks', and really sports stars, humans with real power in terms of their star power.

Athletes are looked up to and they also provide entertainment which everyone loves. There's power in that. They are standing out there making a statement and from the Trump White House they now say they don't care.

Trump White House officials are now also responding to this boycott and the demand for action from the sports world. This morning Jarred Kushner and the Vice President's Chief of Staff both dismissed this protest all together. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC SHORT, CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Look, I don't know that you can see the administration weigh on that in one way or another. In my mind it's absurd and silly. JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think that the NBA

players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they are able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to them financially, so they have that luxury which is great.

Look, I think with the NBA, there's a lot of activism and I think that they have put a lot of slogans out, but I think what we need to do is turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that's going to solve the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Because that's all they wanted, they just want a night off from work. It's noteworthy they are making their position very clear. And also just remember that all of the protests that we've seen since George Floyd's death and now you have the death of Jacob Blake.

And, of course, an investigation continues surrounding that, but you still have not had President Trump has still not said anything about the shooting of Jacob Blake. Vice President Mike Pence last night speaking at the Republican Convention did not mention his name.

Just remember that. Coming up for us, the CDC Director defending his agency, his agency's sudden change on who should be getting tested for COVID. Did the CDC cave to pressure from the White House? Why wasn't Dr. Anthony Fauci consulted on that final decision?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

BOLDUAN: The Director of the CDC is defending the agency's abrupt change to testing guidelines today, which now say that if you've been exposed to Coronavirus, you don't necessarily need to get tested for COVID.

CDC Director Robert Redfield insisting that these changes came "In conjunction with the White House Coronavirus task force, received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts". And yet a source tells CNN that the change came, "From the top down".

And a very important member of that task force Dr. Anthony Fauci, he denies that he was involved in approving those final changes telling CNN's Sanjay Gupta that he was having surgery at the time.

And that he "Concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact, it is".

[11:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Joining me now is Dr. Daniel McQuillen, he's Board Member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, one of the major infectious disease group that is calling the CDC's change to these testing guidelines a mistake and they're speaking out. Thank you for being here. Your group is calling for the immediate reversal of this guidance. Explain why?

DR. DANIEL MCQUILLEN, IDSA BOARD MEMBER: We were as surprised as I think most other people in our field were. Testing to determine the extent of disease and particularly in a disease like this where it's very clear that asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people transmit the infection is essential to limiting the spread.

And when you have a disease where we have some interventions that are therapeutically worthwhile, but nothing that will quickly erase the disease from a person and we don't have prevention in terms of vaccine yet.

This kind of tracing is really essential to limiting spread into populations where you can suddenly go from nothing to full-on epidemic in say a nursing home or a college or wherever.

BOLDUAN: And there's no evidence, there's no evidence, new evidence out there that it's any different than we've known all along. The asymptomatic spread is a real thing, is a real problem, and is something that has to be accounted for.

The Vice President's Chief of Staff was on CNN earlier today. And he - I don't know if we can say finally now giving an actual reason why they changed the guidance. Let me play for you what he said, because I'd like to get your take.

MCQUILLEN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHORT: The guidance that was updated is because there continue to be backlogs in the system with the testing particularly for people again tested are asymptomatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: A backlog in testing is what he says. If that's the reason that they're changing the guidance, because they haven't been able to keep up and they don't think they will. Is that acceptable?

MCQUILLEN: I would say no. There is clearly a backlog in these fringes PCR testing that are done at big commercial labs. But what it speaks to is that something that's not a secret to anyone, we don't really have enough testing at this point.

Obviously you want to be able to use testing in any one that you suspect has the illness as a first intervention. But you really need to use testing in asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people to find out where the risk spots are and be able to deal with them in a preventive manner.

The one thing he is correct about is that, if you do a test and there's a delay more than 24 to 48 hours, your ability to use that potentially positive test to tell people that had contact with that person to quarantine and stay away from others is diminished significantly. That is a problem.

On the other hand, there are places like the state I'm in, Massachusetts, where this kind of testing is done in hotspot areas and has been very effective in trying to bring the epidemic under control in those areas.

BOLDUAN: It's honestly scary and concerning at this point in the pandemic if this is the route they want to go. What it means in getting our arms are in control of this virus in the long run. Doctor thank you for coming in. I really appreciate it.

MCQUILLEN: My pleasure.

BOLDUAN: So for us, unrest in Wisconsin and hurricane Laura over shattering the Republican Convention, how the Vice President addressed these major, major issues last night and what if anything we're going to hear from the President tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]

BOLDUAN: So Americans are protesting in the streets and some are getting shot in the streets. And sports teams are responding, boycotting their games to shed light on what is happening. Yet when Vice President Mike Pence gave his speech at the republican convention last night this is how he addressed it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But rioting and looting is not peaceful protest. Tearing down statues is not free speech. And those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Let me be clear. The violence must stop whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Ryan Nobles is joining me right now. Ryan, Donald Trump has yet to mention Jacob Blake's name. Do you think the mounting pressure happening outside of republican circles is going to, I don't know; change any of that as he gets set to make his big speech tonight?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, his campaign is telling us that, there's a good chance that President Trump will mention the Jacob Blake situation in his speech tonight.

But I guess, the question Kate is, how does he frame this situation and what Republicans have done and what this campaign has done since the very beginning of these protests popping up around the country is not so much focus on the root of the problem, the situation with policing in America. But instead focus on the aftermath, the violence and the looting that grows out of these protests and then play that back into their general law and order message. This is something the republicans believe is a winning message for them particularly with suburban voters who they're trying to essentially scare in many ways about what this could mean going forward.

So yes, President Trump may talk about it tonight, but I think what is important to watch Kate is the way that this is framed. And if he moves the conversation forward in any respect or if they continue to just hammer home this law and order message which is really been a big basis and a big part of the campaign to this point, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And also, just real quick, the same time kind of timed with the speech, a big group of Republican campaign veterans of John McCain's, they're all speaking up and now saying they're going to support Joe Biden.

NOBLES: Yes, and also alumni of the George W. Bush Administration as well. I think the big difference here Kate from what we saw in 2016 to 2020 is that, there are many Republicans that are coming forward not just saying they can't support Donald Trump, but saying they're actually going to cast a ballot for Joe Biden.

That is a big distinction between what we saw four years ago and what we saw this time around. Whether or not that has any impact on rank and file Republicans that remains to be seen, but that's the biggest development between what happened in 2016 and what's happening now.

BOLDUAN: Ryan, thank you so much.