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Deadly Shooting in Portland Fuels Division, Tensions; Trump to Visit Kenosha as City Reels After Shooting, Violence; FDA Head: Willing to Approve Vaccine Before Phase 3 Trial Ends; Florida, Georgia Show Signs of Improvement After Coronavirus Surge. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired August 31, 2020 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:40]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto. We have another busy news day, developments on the outbreak and violence in two American cities. We're going to break down exactly how far and wide these stories extend, what's isolated and what's more widespread. That's the effort we promise. Here's where we start.
The U.S. surpasses 183,000 coronavirus deaths, and three people are dead after clashes in two cities, Portland and Kenosha, Wisconsin. We are waiting for more information on the police shooting of another black man, Jacob Blake. And this morning dueling messages on the state of the nation. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden expected to take on President Trump in a speech today and pose this question, are you safe in Donald Trump's America?
Biden accuses the president of dividing the country and inciting unrest for his own political gain. Over the weekend, President Trump praised these people, far-right, pro-Trump caravans, and slammed protesters after the violence in Portland. Do scenes like this help? He is set to head to Kenosha on Tuesday despite the governor's plea for him to stay in Washington.
There is a lot to get to this morning. First let's go to CNN's Lucy Kafanov. She is in Portland.
Lucy, what do we know? What details do we know about the shooting Saturday night that left one person dead? What are police saying?
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, surprisingly, not much. At least not from official sources. Neither the victim nor the shooter were named by police, even though President Trump sort of jumped the gun on Twitter yesterday. What we know is that there was a large rally on Saturday organized by President Trump supporters and members of a far-right group called Patriot Prayer. They drove into Portland in a convoy of cars.
Police tried to keep them from heading downtown, but a smaller group of those cars broke away from the larger protest. They came here anyway. We saw social media posts and videos of them shooting air guns at the crowd, spraying some sort of a substance at the crowd, clashes ensued, all we know from official sources is that one man was shot and killed. He was shot in the chest. The "New York Times" reported that he was wearing insignia from this far right-group.
Trump yesterday seeming to stir the pot with a series of controversial tweets, attacking the Portland mayor, describing the victim saying, rest in peace, and authorities meanwhile do fear that far-right groups can head back into the city for retribution. We have not seen that happen yet, but the weak is young -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Goodness. What a scene to see there. Lucy Kafanov, thanks very much.
President Trump has appeared to fuel the flames of social unrest happening right now in a couple of cities across the nation.
CNN's John Harwood joins me now. John, the president, multiple Twitter rants this weekend, certainly aimed at Democrats, also supporting these right-wing groups. I mean, one thing he has not done yet is explicitly say vigilante groups going out, appointing themselves police and shooting people is a bad thing. What's behind that and do we expect to see more of it?
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What's behind it, Jim, is that the president does not want to do that. We heard from Kellyanne Conway the other day on television that the Trump campaign believes that the more violence and disorder there is in the United States, the better it is for Donald Trump's campaign.
We've also heard consistently from the president's close family members, from close high-ranking former aides that the president is focused almost exclusively on himself, his own interests, as Jim Mattis, the former Defense secretary said.
He believes that he profits through division, and so as we saw from that tweet storm and as we saw from his conduct over the summer in the wake of the George Floyd killing, he acted in ways to foster division, and you did see some different notes struck at the Republican National Convention last week. People testifying to aides and family members, to his empathy, his concern for others, but that's not the president that we've seen for four years.
And it's not the president when we've seen at the moments of maximum stress for the nation, and we're in one of those moments right now.
SCIUTTO: OK, so the president took a number of days to comment on the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Of course, shot in front of his children multiple times in the back.
[09:05:04]
How did the president handle this now that he's spoken out?
HARWOOD: Well, we have not been aware of any contact between the president and Jacob Blake. In fact Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, said this morning as the president prepares to travel to Kenosha that he's not been able to reach Jacob Blake's family but he makes a statement over the weekend that offered the barest recognition of what had happened to Jacob Blake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you don't see is the thousands and thousands of great decisions that are made where people are saved. So we have to understand that. I mean, people can make a mistake. It doesn't make them bad. They choked. Bad things happen, and it can happen, and we have to protect our police. We have to allow our police to have the respect that they used to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARWOOD: So we see the president acknowledging that a mistake was made in the Jacob Blake situation. He often uses the word choked to describe people who make mistakes under pressure, but the bulk of his statement was to excuse the conduct of police by saying well, look at all the good things that they do. That is at the crux of the conflict and police community relations and we'll see what the effect of his visit is to Kenosha tomorrow.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It's usually choked. He's often used that word from political mistakes and campaigns, et cetera. Remarkable to see it applied here with the use of -- well, close to deadly force.
John Harwood, thanks very much.
Let's turn now to Kenosha, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. He is there.
Shimon, so first let's start with the president's coming. Wisconsin's governor has urged him not to. So what is behind this and what reception is expected there?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, so the people here, the community leaders, the governor, are obviously very concerned over unrest. They've had days of peace, days of quiet. They're concerned that if the president comes here and right now, he intends to come here, that that's going to spark some violence. And the governor here, Governor Evans sent a two-page letter to the president, trying to convince him not to come here.
And let me read to you exactly what the governor said to the president. He writes that, "I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together. It is our job as elected officials to lead by example and to be a calming presence for the people we know are hurting, mourning, and trying to cope with trauma.
"Now is not the time for divisiveness, now is not the time for elected officials to ignore armed militants and out-of-state instigators who want to contribute to our anguish."
And Jim, that is precisely what people here are worried that it's going to be outside agitators who are going to come in here and try and start trouble with the president's visit here.
SCIUTTO: And it's essentially you know, it's been several days of peace there, which is something that many folks might not realize. So let's talk about one of those outside agitators, a 17-year-old now charged with homicide for killing two people, came from Illinois, not a policeman, apparently taking on a law enforcement role.
What comes next in that case and what more have we learned?
PROKUPECZ: Yes. A 17-year-old who was possessing a large firearm that in many ways probably had no idea of how to properly use it. It was a very dangerous situation. He remains in a juvenile facility. There's still a lot more to learn about him and his connection to the people that he was with and who they were and there's a lot of work into that right now. He remains in custody at a juvenile facility. He's facing the murder charges for the shooting.
He's going to be in court again in about a month and at some point, he's going to be brought here to face the charges. But there is still, Jim, a lot to learn about his relationship with the people he was with, and also the people he was with, Jim.
SCIUTTO: No question. Shimon Prokupecz from Kenosha, thanks very much.
Let's speak now to a leader in the Kenosha community, Zach Rodriguez. He's Kenosha County Board of Supervisor for District Eight.
Mr. Rodriguez, thanks for joining us this morning
ZACH RODRIGUEZ (R), KENOSHA COUNTY BOARD SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 8: Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: So we have our reporter there noting that the streets have been relatively calm for a number of days. You have the governor, you have other local leaders saying to the president, don't come now, that this might enflame rather than heal existing divisions. You support the president's visit. What positive outcome would that bring, in your view?
RODRIGUEZ: I think what's important here is for the president to come visit the city of Kenosha and see where a lot of this destruction happened and let the people who call Kenosha home know that he heard the cries for help from the citizens of Kenosha and that, you know, hopefully he hears our cries for additional help moving forward.
[09:10:09]
The letter my colleagues and I sent to the president earlier this past week asked for administration to make SBA funds as well as FEMA funds available whether that's in a grant form or low-interest loan so that can help our small business owners and our homeowners rebuild and start their lives again.
SCIUTTO: Right. So that's financial help, perfectly understandable. A lot of businesses impacted by this. What about help that the community has not asked for, and that is outside vigilante groups like the one that we saw from Illinois come in, Kyle Rittenhouse, ends up killing two people? Trump has so far refused to explicitly condemn them. Should he?
RODRIGUEZ: Look, I'll say what I would do and what I have done. I think business owners have a right to defend their businesses as do homeowners. But I'll join the calls of many saying if you are coming to the city of Kenosha with the hope of being a vigilante, don't come. We do not want you here and you will not be welcomed with open arms.
SCIUTTO: Yes. So you're saying that and many other local leaders have said that. Do -- because you know these groups, they listen to the president. They listen to his words very closely. Should the president say that in simple terms, listen, this is the job of the police. Let the police do their job?
RODRIGUEZ: I think if that's as black and white as he needs to be, then that's the way he feels, for sure, he should say that. But that's something, too, that, you know, we have to keep driving home. The governor said it as well and so I think it would be appropriate for the president to say as well, yes.
SCIUTTO: As you look at the situation going forward, I mean, one thing that folks noticed was that police there in Kenosha seemed to be welcoming these groups. Right? I mean, you have the video of them tossing water bottles to them, you know, Rittenhouse, he walked by police carrying a long rifle. Right? It was an interesting thing to see take place in the midst of that. Are you concerned that police as well have to make it clear, listen, guys, this is our job? You know, we don't need you coming in here, that enflames the situation.
RODRIGUEZ: I think the -- you know, the police presence that we have in Kenosha has done that to an extent, but you are right, that they do need to make that. We have police officers. Let's let the police officers do their jobs and quite frankly, they don't need the help of these so-called militias.
SCIUTTO: Yes. So Joe Biden is going to speak today as well, not in Kenosha, in Pittsburgh, but, you know, is going to respond to the president's response to the crisis so far. In your view, what do you want to hear from the Democratic president -- candidate for president in terms of the violence that Kenosha has seen?
RODRIGUEZ: I think what all Kenoshans want to hear, myself included, is somebody to condemn the violence that we've seen, address some of the racial disparities that a lot of people in this community and around the nation are feeling, and kind of, you know, where do we go from here? How do we address these issues with taking into account, you know, each side of it, so to speak?
SCIUTTO: Yes, fair enough. Well, let's hope we have that kind of conversation.
Zach Rodriguez, we wish you, we wish the community of Kenosha the best of luck.
RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. SCIUTTO: Still to come this hour, the battle for battleground states.
What this pivotal moment in the country means for the 2020 race. We're going to break down all the latest numbers, some of them may surprise you. Plus medical experts are demanding an independent review now, after the FDA says they could fast track a vaccine and give early authorization before crucial phase three trials, these are trials that test a vaccine on thousands of people, are complete.
And the nation's top intelligence office will no longer brief Congress in person on election security, even though as we know Russia is again interfering, just 64 days away from the election. Why is that? What damage does it do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
SCIUTTO: Listen to this next story because it could affect the health of all us. This morning, some prominent medical experts are calling out the Trump administration, they're demanding an independent commission to review vaccines being developed for COVID-19, this after the FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told the "Financial Times" over the weekend, his agency may consider authorizing a vaccine before crucial phase 3 trials were finished.
These are the trials that test the vaccine out to make sure it's safe on thousands of people. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with us. Elizabeth, you know, maybe just briefly, explain why phase 3 trials are important in confirming a vaccine's safety, and then why these doctors feel they may need independent review of this.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, so Jim, before you inject hundreds of millions of Americans with a brand new --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: Vaccine, you want to test it out on people, and that's the purpose of the phase 3 trials, it's 30,000 people. Now, in -- there are what -- sorry, there's what's called Interim Analysis, that's a hard phrase to say. Interim Analysis. And so, what is done is that experts take a look before they're done with the 30,000 to see how it's going. Is everyone OK?
Did anyone get hurt by the vaccine? How is it looking? And what the FDA is saying, it's possible that they are going to -- in one of these interim analysis find out that the vaccine is fabulous, that it's working fabulously, and so we should get it on the market. But every expert I talk to said that, that is extremely unlikely.
One of them even called it ludicrous and they are wondering why is Hahn making a point out of saying this? Sure, it's possible, but it's highly unlikely. So why is he saying it? And they are worried that this is yet another statement --
SCIUTTO: Yes -- [09:20:00]
COHEN: From the FDA, from a government agency that's making Americans nervous. We already know that 40 percent of Americans say they're not going to get the vaccine. That is way too high. We're never going to get herd immunity if 40 percent of the country won't get the vaccine. And so if 40 percent of the country won't get the vaccine, that is a problem. And so, these experts are saying, we need independent review, review by someone other than the FDA to give Americans trust. And I will note --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: That these doctors, Jim, they are not sort of crazy, fringy people. They're from Harvard, UNC --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: NYU, these are not fringy doctors.
SCIUTTO: I mean, here is the thing, it's part of a pattern here, right? I mean, we've seen political influence on a treatment, hydroxychloroquine, we've the president over the weekend, you know, question the data on deaths, right? Which is something that rose from sort of the depths of the web is now coming from the president's own Twitter account. I mean, that's the issue here, is it not? That outside experts and even some of the president's own health advisors like a Dr. Fauci have seen political influence here on the response and even the data.
COHEN: Jim, that is exactly right, and so that's why these doctors want an independent commission of people disconnected from the government to say either this does not -- we don't think this works or to say, yes, you know what? We've looked at the data, we've consulted with experts and we think it does work. I'm going to add another category to what you just said, Jim. There's also been incompetency, frankly. Look at what happened with the roll-out --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: Of the testing, look at what happened with not enough protective gear. So people --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: Can be -- it's understandable that people are not trusting both in terms of sort of the ethics of all of this, but also --
SCIUTTO: Yes --
COHEN: Just in terms of the logistics.
SCIUTTO: And the motivations here, right? Because for instance, the president has said --
COHEN: Right -- SCIUTTO: Publicly, he doesn't want more testing because, you know,
the numbers embarrass him and you see, you know --
COHEN: Right --
SCIUTTO: An effort not to -- not to have more testing. Elizabeth Cohen, it's good to have you on. Folks, just listen to doctors --
COHEN: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: I think it's the smartest thing to do for yourself and your family. This morning, there are encouraging signs in two states that were at the epicenter of the latest coronavirus surge. On Sunday, Georgia reported its lowest daily case-count since June, and Florida, the state reported its lowest daily death toll in months. Rosa Flores, she's in Miami, she's been following the outbreaks, the numbers very closely here.
What do we think worked in these states? Because you did see a reimposition of some restrictions following the latest outbreak. I mean, is that what officials are crediting this with?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, what we're seeing right now, Jim, is that those numbers are staying steady and low in these two particular states, but we're also seeing that they are reopening schools which has caused a whole other debate.
But let's take a look around the country and what is happening with some of the trends in the Midwest and also in the northeast. Take a look at this trend map because it really shows us what some of the states are seeing. And you can see that there are 20 states that are red and orange, and that means that they're trending upward.
You can see that South Dakota, Iowa, to the south, Alabama, have upward trends, and if you look at the individual states, you can see that they are spiking. That's why they appear red and orange in this particular map. Now, we are seeing that Florida, California, Georgia, they're trending downward. Now, if you look at the number of tests, and we can take a look at the national picture as well, those states are also trending downward, so they're testing a little less. Alabama also testing less.
The state of Texas, and if you look at the big picture, because across the United States, the U.S. about to hit 6 million coronavirus cases, and it has already exceeded 183,000 deaths. You can see in this graph that there was a clear surge in mid-July.
At that point in time, the average number of cases across the United States daily exceeded 60,000. Right now, we're just over 40,000. Now experts will tell you that the positivity rate shows you what community spread is doing across the country, and if you look at this trend map, you'll see clearly in the northeast, those positivity rate is very low.
In the Midwest and that cluster of states that I showed you earlier that were in an upward trend have very high positivity rates. Iowa 18 percent, North Dakota 16 percent, South Dakota 20 percent. To the southeast, we also see some very high positivity rates, South Carolina 25 percent, Alabama 16 percent, Mississippi 14 percent, Texas 13 percent, and Florida, Jim, 12 percent. Now, you and I have talked about this before, experts will tell you for schools to start reopening, experts are hoping for a positivity rate of 5 percent or less. As you saw across the states, most of those states have positivity rates above that.
SCIUTTO: Yes --
FLORES: Jim?
[09:25:00]
SCIUTTO: And that's the goal, it's important because it helps stop community spread. Rosa Flores, thanks very much. Well, the polls, they're still looking good for Joe Biden, but after 2016, voters have lots of questions and have some reason to be skeptical. A look inside the numbers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Well, there is an election coming up, remember that? We're just nine weeks away from election day. And today, Joe Biden will speak in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, flipping the script on one of the president's key talking points and asking voters if they are safe in Donald Trump's America? Tomorrow, the president will be in Kenosha to meet with law enforcement, survey damage from protests there.
