Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Biden expected to take on Trump; DNI Sales Back Briefings; University of Alabama Reports Covid Cases. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired August 31, 2020 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: The president will be in Kenosha to meet with law enforcement, survey damage from protests there. This as "Axios" reports that Democrats close to Joe Biden are growing increasingly fearful that looting and violence in some cities could actually help President Trump.

So, what does the data tell us?

Joining me now, CNN's senior political writer and analyst Harry Enten and Clinton White House aide and Democratic strategist Keith Boykin.

Thanks to both of you guys.

Harry, let's begin with the numbers. And I know there's not a lot of polling post-convention, Democratic and Republican convention, but what has that shown us? Did it -- did they, the conventions, move the dial?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER AND ANALYST: Yes, you're right, it's limited data, but, for instance, we had an ABC News/IPSOS poll that came out yesterday that asked about the favorability of each of the candidates and they also asked about it last week. And what we see is that President Trump, in fact, did not gain any favorability. In fact, he dropped back a point. Biden was actually the one who gained a point from last week.

And when we look at the national polls and we compare them to 2016, what we still see is that Joe Biden has a clear advantage, he's over 50 percent. His lead is larger than Clinton's was at this point back in 2016 and she was still well short of 50. So Biden clearly has the edge, but, obviously, we need to see some more data post conventions

SCIUTTO: For sure.

OK, Keith, we've heard of Democratic strategists, people close to Biden, concerned about the efficacy of a law enforcement message for the president as people see violence in the streets of Kenosha and Portland, et cetera.

And, again, we don't want to overplay or underplay the violence, how extensive it is, but -- but should Democrats be concerned about that, particularly in a swing state like Wisconsin?

KEITH BOYKIN, FORMER CLINTON WHITE HOUSE AIDE: No, I don't think they should be terribly concerned about this because if you look at what's happening, Joe Biden is the one who has repeatedly condemned the violence and called for peaceful demonstrations. Donald Trump has not done that. It's the Trump supporters who are out here causing mayhem.

It's a Trump supporter in Kenosha who killed two people just last week. It's a Trump supporter, Cesar Sayoc, who was sending pipe bombs to CNN. It was a Trump supporter out there chanting "white power" and that the president's retweeting that. So when they look at the messages and they see that the Biden campaign message versus the Trump campaign message, they know that Donald Trump is the one who's instigating fear instead of creating calm.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we -- our broadcast was interrupted by the arrival of one of Cesar Sayoc's letter bombs a couple of years ago.

Harry Enten, so what does the data tell us in the crucial swing states? We looked at the national polling. What does the swing state polling tell us today?

ENTEN: Right. You know, obviously, it's the swing states that matter. And basically I took an average of the polls in the five closest states that Donald Trump won four years ago. Joe Biden needs to win at least two of those states, perhaps up to three. And what I should point out is Biden is ahead in those five states, but he's up by less than he is nationally.

And, obviously, one of the key states that I'll be paying most attention to is Wisconsin, where, obviously, Kenosha is. And there has, perhaps, been some tightening of the poll there, but I will say, Joe Biden still has the lead at this point and he's still, if the election were held today, would be favored to get over 270 electoral votes and, therefore, be elected president.

SCIUTTO: Keith, should Biden be more visible in the midst of all this? He's going to speak this afternoon. But the president, as he likes to do, and I get that, you know, sometimes this could be for better or for worse, right, but the president has been dominating the public message here.

Do you want to hear from and see Joe Biden more and what would you like to hear from him this afternoon?

BOYKIN: Well, yes and no. Yes, I'd like to see more about what he has to say and I think the American people want that, too. But I don't think that he needs to be represented (ph) in the media. You know, that's what Donald Trump has been doing. Not just last week through his convention, but he doesn't let you rest. He's continually out there.

And I think what he's doing actually is he hurting -- he's hurting himself, that is the president's hurting himself, because all the violence is happening is happening under Donald Trump's watch. And every day that Donald Trump goes out there and speaks about and says something and promises that this is going to be -- get worse under Biden's administration, it just reminds the American people that this is the Trump America that's happening -- it's happening in. This is the Trump administration that it's happening in.

What Joe Biden needs to do is to continue his message to stay on message, to be disciplined about the message and not to let Donald Trump divert attention from the scandals that have been going on in this administration, the 180,000 Americans who have died, or the tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs. That's what the American people are concerned about, not the rabblerousing Trumpers (ph) out there.

SCIUTTO: Harry Enten, before we go, quickly, you have this remarkable phenomenon that folks after 2016 just don't trust the polls, right? They don't. And no matter -- no matter how consistent the data is or even how accurate it was, for instance, in the midterm elections in 2018, they just don't buy it. How do you see that in the numbers and why do you think that is?

ENTEN: Yes, it's really fascinating. If you ask voters who they think is going to win, they actually say Trump by a five-point margin. But we saw that same exact phenomenon in 2018, where voters thought that in fact the Republicans would hold onto the House and they didn't actually hold onto the House.

[09:35:06]

I just think people don't trust the polls at this particular point. But what I will tell you, Jim, is that the polls were really good in 2018. In fact, in 2016 nationally where we see Biden ahead by eight right now, those national polls were really good, too.

So, folks, trust the polls. They're not going to be perfect. There's a margin of error.

SCIUTTO: Right.

ENTEN: But they're a much better guide than your intuition.

SCIUTTO: Keith, what swing state are you most worried about right now for Joe Biden?

BOYKIN: I think it's the golden three that cost the 2016 election, Michigan, he lost -- Hillary Clinton lost Michigan by 10,700 votes, she lost Wisconsin by 22,000 votes and she lost Pennsylvania by 44,000 votes. Those three states are enough -- are enough states to swing the vote back to the Democrats with Joe Biden in 2020. So if Biden can pick off those three states, it's over for Donald Trump. And I think he can do that because those are states have traditionally voted Democratic.

SCIUTTO: Keith and Harry, always good to have the wise men on. Harry, all I need you to do is go solve the New York Mets problems and then we'll have you back on this broadcast, OK?

ENTEN: Not possible. Not possible. SCIUTTO: Thanks to both of you. Hope you have a good week.

Growing criticism this morning over an unexpected announcement by the director of national intelligence. Despite promises he gave during his confirmation hearings, he says he will no longer give in-person briefings on election security to lawmakers, even as we know Russia is interfering again. We're going to have reaction live from Capitol Hill, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:52]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

This morning, outrage and pushback after -- from Democrats after President Trump's top intelligence official announced he would no longer give in-person briefings on election security to members of Congress. This even as we know that Russia is interfering in this election, and U.S. intelligence has assessed doing so to denigrate and damage Joe Biden.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says it is possible the House could now subpoena intelligence officials to testify on election interference.

Meanwhile, the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is defending this announcement. It comes just weeks after the intelligence community warned that China, Russia and Iran are all trying to interfere in the election, although Russia to a degree not seen by those other countries. Critics say it is the latest attempt by the Trump administration just not to address election security.

By the way, the president himself has never explicitly said to Russia, warn them away from interfering in this election as he did in 2016.

Sunlen Serfaty has the latest reaction from Capitol Hill.

Sunlen, you know, John Ratcliffe, in his confirmation hearings, was asked about this, said that he would brief. Now he says he won't. What is Congress going to do about it?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, that's a big question, Jim. And Democrats, I can tell you, are outraged about this. They're calling it outrageous and shameful. And they're talking about what those very next steps will be.

This is all, of course, coming at such a critical time that Democrats underscore up here on Capitol Hill, a critical time given that we're talking about election security, election threats, leading into the election that's just two months away.

Now, Democrats and members up here on Capitol Hill had been expecting this to be an in-person briefing. They requested this to happen in mid-September. So this is certainly an abrupt change for them, hearing now from the DNI director that this is no longer going to be in person, that it is going to be a written briefing only. And Democrats noting it really handicaps what they're able to do, what they're able to hear. It takes away, for example, the back-and-forth of question and answer sessions in a classified setting.

Now, the director of national intelligence, he's defending this decision. He was out over the weekend saying he believes that there's been, in his words, a pandemic of information that's been leaked in similar briefings in classified settings in the past.

And, of course, Democrats up here on The Hill are pushing back on that. And they are, of course, Jim, weighing their next steps. We saw -- we heard Adam Schiff over the weekend intimate that they are potentially weighing issuing a subpoena to compel Ratcliffe to come up here on Capitol Hill to testify. Of course so important leading into November's election.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Big questions are where the power of a congressional subpoena stands today.

Just very quickly, what's the difference between the danger of leaking a written briefing versus an oral briefing? I mean has ODNI explained that?

SERFATY: It's a really good question. I think we'll start to hear that from Democrats, too. If you're worried about leaks, you know, pushing back on the DNI director, what's to say that that whole document, in essence, won't be leaked too? And, of course, Democrats are throwing their hands in the air saying, we are not the ones that have leaked in the past.

So all of this, you know, kind of a mixed, muddy middle. But, of course, it all comes down to Democrats are trying to push for those answers, and they certainly want a chance to have a back-and-forth with the DNI director going into November's election.

SCIUTTO: And the president has yet to publicly warn Russia away from doing this.

Sunlen Serfaty, thanks very much.

SERFATY: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: The University of Alabama says that more than 1,000 students there have now tested positive since classes resumed a couple of weeks ago. We're going to speak to the university's student body president about what he believes is behind the surge and what the school should do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:49:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Well, many colleges across the country, they're opening up. And as

they do, many are seeing spikes in cases of coronavirus. Schools in 36 states are now reporting an uptick in new infections as many return to fall classes. Some portion of those in person. One of them, the University of Alabama is reporting more than 1,000 new cases since the start of classes just two weeks ago. That is the most by any university by far in that state.

Joining me now the president of the University of Alabama's Student Government Association, Demarcus Joiner.

Good to have you on, sir.

What's behind this? I mean is it students not listening to the guidelines? What do you attribute the outbreak to?

DEMARCUS JOINER, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION: No. Actually, I believe that -- well, I know that our university has tested over 30,000 students to return to campus, and the university is actively working to test students every day. I know last week they tested over 1,000 students and that's when the numbers came out.

Luckily, we're happy to say that no students are in the hospital or have been hospitalized from Covid.

SCIUTTO: So, in your view, is this a manageable number? I've spoken to other kids -- well, kids -- you're an adult now, but I've spoken to other student leaders, I've spoken to university presidents about this.

[09:50:11]

Do you need to close down, tighten up or should it be expected when you come back to campus you're going to have some cases, in this case many cases, but -- but you can respond in such a way to limit the outbreak further? What's your view? What should Alabama do now?

JOINER: Yes, I definitely think that we all understood that we would have a wide number of cases just because of the number of students we have on campus. However, I do believe that the university has worked very hard to make sure that our students are as safe as possible.

I know that we have an exposure notification app that lets students know when they've been around somebody who has possibly tested positive for Covid. And in the classrooms we have had no students with this app say that they have been around somebody. So I think that the university has done everything possible to make sure that this is slowing the spread as well as our quarantine spaces. They are nowhere near full and that's a good thing as well.

SCIUTTO: OK, so that's the university. I want to -- because when -- when we look at schools, it seems that it's not the classrooms that are causing this spread. It's when folks go to parties, go to bars, they're not wearing masks. They're acting like, you know, it -- it's another year, another time. Do you believe Alabama needs to better enforce and educate and just

push students to listen to those restrictions?

JOINER: Well, the university has partnered with the city of Tuscaloosa and we've closed down all of the bars here in Tuscaloosa, so I don't believe that's necessarily a problem. I believe that it's on all of us to have this responsibility to help slow the spread of Covid. The university has done a fantastic job. President Bell has made sure to keep students informed every step of the way. So I don't believe that it's on the university to blame -- to put this blame on them.

SCIUTTO: How about a simple step like everybody's got to wear masks, just got to wear them, whether you're -- whether you're in a party or you're in class or wherever?

JOINER: Yes. So, on campus, we make sure that all students wear their masks. And we have the majority of the students wearing masks every day. The ones who don't wear masks are usually the ones who are walking by themselves going back and forth to class. So we have almost total compliance as far as wearing masks and social distancing.

SCIUTTO: OK. That's good to hear.

OK, so football season, I don't have to tell you this, it's not far away, beginning just under a month. Is that a danger because, of course, it puts a lot of people in the stadium and I know there will be restrictions. It also draws a lot of people from out of town to come and watch these games.

Is that too big a risk in your view or can you do it safely?

JOINER: I believe that we can do it safely. The university and the university system, as well as Athletic Director Greg Byrne and Coach Nick Saban have all been working tirelessly to make sure that our football season is as safe as possible, and I trust them to make sure that it will be.

SCIUTTO: All right. Well, we'll watch it. We'll stay in touch. Demarcus Joiner, thanks very much.

JOINER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Amid an historic playoff run, Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray issues a powerful message both on and off the court. Check out his sneakers there. We're going to have more on this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:57:25]

SCIUTTO: NBA star Jamal Murray paid a powerful tribute during last night's win over the Utah Jazz. Murray was wearing custom-made shoes for the game with, as you can see there, the face of George Floyd, also Breonna Taylor. There she is. Murray scored a team high 50 points in that game. Afterwards, he was overcome with emotion when speaking about both the game but the continued fight, more importantly, for social justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMAL MURRAY, DENVER NUGGETS GUARD: I just want to win. And like you find things that hold value, things to fight for, and we found something worth fighting for as the NBA, as a collective unit. And I use these shoes as a symbol to me to keep fighting. Because it's not just in America.

It happens everywhere. And for us coming together in the NBA, and, you know, it doesn't take one meeting, it takes a couple meetings, few meetings, it takes phone calls, it takes persistence. It's not going to take one night. And we've been doing it, trying to fight for 40 years. But these shoes give me life. Even though these people are gone, they give me life. They give me -- they help me find strength to keep fighting in this world. And that's what I'm going to keep doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: These shoes give me life.

Murray even got emotional after that interview. You see him there crouching down in the tunnel on his way to the locker room. Do not underestimate the effect this has had across the sports world. Denver and Utah, they're set to play game seven tomorrow night.

A very good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

And this morning a warning from top health experts over a rush for a Covid-19 vaccine. They're now calling for an independent commission to review data from coronavirus vaccine trials before a vaccine is allowed to market. Why are they worried? We're going to have more. It's about political pressure on the FDA from the president and the White House. It's concerning.

Also this morning, dueling messages on the state of the nation as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the outbreaks of violence in two American cities. A day after condemning the deadly violence in Portland, Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden is expected in a speech today to go after President Trump, pose this question, are you safe in Donald Trump's America?

Over the weekend, President Trump tweeted support for the far right pro-Trump caravans, seen here going into the city, in defiance of requests, pleas from local officials.

[10:00:08]