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U.S. Passes Six Million Coronavirus Cases As Trump Stokes Fear; Trump Stokes Tensions In U.S. Cities Amid Racial Injustice Protests; Wisconsin Officials To Trump: Don't Come Here Tomorrow Amid Tensions. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 31, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Have a good day.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar, and I want to welcome our viewers here and around the world.

As the country is still losing almost 1,000 Americans per day, the president has been falsely questioning whether coronavirus has really killed that many people. The very real death toll stands now at more than 183,000. And the case count in the country is now at more than 6 million. But the president would like you to train your attention elsewhere, stoking tensions as violence erupts between his supporters and protesters.

And today, there is, once again, concern that the president is pressuring the FDA to fast-track a vaccine before it's ready. We're going to have more on that in moment.

First, though, the heartache and the struggle, today the U.S. crossing over into record territory again. As you can see, there are the dates that the U.S. hit those grim milestones of 1 million, 2 million cases, now crossing into the 6 million mark.

Across the United States, at least 36 states have reported coronavirus outbreaks at colleges and universities and those are accounting for more than 8,700 cases right now.

There's good news, and that is that the weekly average of cases is going down. But, as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response reminds us, this is a fragile statistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Not only is the virus real, the consequences of the virus is real, the hospitalizations that we still have every week is real, the number of Americans that we have lost to this virus are real. But what is also real is we have a way to prevent its spread and I think this really needs to be a balanced message of we have power against this virus but it requires all of us to exert the power together.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: And alarming new signs that the president is fomenting misinformation about the coronavirus and putting political pressure on the race for a vaccine. Twitter pulled a post that the president re- tweeted, the claim the pandemic is not as deadly as officials have reported to be.

And now the president's preferred expert on the White House coronavirus task force, Dr. Scott Atlas, who is not an infectious disease expert, is pushing the president to embrace a herd immunity strategy that could result in millions of American deaths. This is happening as Dr. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, has been sidelined.

And cause for concern about a potential coronavirus vaccine, the head of the FDA is telling The Financial Times that an emergency authorization or approval of a vaccine could be considered even before phase three trials are over if the developer thinks it is viable.

I want to bring in CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to break all of this down with us here. So, you know, Elizabeth, this is pretty serious but these are also two different things, emergency authorization versus approval of the vaccine. So tell us what it would mean to skip over these parts of a phase three trial.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So what Dr. Hahn was saying, Brianna, is that we may not -- we may be able to consider getting a vaccine on the market or doing an emergency use authorization even before we finish this trial of 30,000 people.

Now, the experts I have been talking to say, yes, technically that's true, really for any vaccine application. They do 30,000 people but they may do fewer checking in on it and see and if the vaccine is working really, really well they might say, hey, we should consider putting this on the market.

But the chances of that happening, according to every expert that I have talked to, are so incredibly small that one called it ludicrous and they're wondering why in the world is Dr. Hahn bringing this up in interviews.

Not just him, other officials are bringing this up in interviews, hey, we may stop this early. Technically, that can be true of any drug or vaccine trial but they're wondering why is he doing this, because it is just making Americans distrust the vaccine even more. When Americans hear we might finish early, it makes them think that they're going to be doing an incomplete trial.

KEILAR: Yes, they want to be safe, right? They don't feel safe now and they want to be safe as they're taking a vaccine, and assuming that we see one.

So, Elizabeth, tell us also because we're learning about an entire flight of folks who were ordered to self-isolate. What about this?

COHEN: Yes, this is interesting. This was a flight from Zante, which his in Greece, to Cardiff, which is in Wales, about a three-and-a-half flight. And after it landed, they found that seven people had COVID. There are about 193 people on that flight and now all of those passengers have been told to isolate.

There is a passenger on the flight who said the flight was, quote, a debacle. She said that people weren't wearing their masks. They were wandering up and down the aisles. The airline says that they are investigating. But it just shows you what havoc can be reached when people don't play by the rules.

KEILAR: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

[13:05:00]

And I should let our viewers know right now, we are waiting for a speech that is set to happen soon coming from Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden, where he will be asking voters, quote, are you safe in Donald Trump's America, his very clear response to the president's assertion that Americans will not be safe in Joe Biden's America.

Last week at the Republican Convention, Trump painted a picture of a doomed America, devoid of law and order if Democrats takeover the White House. The president and his party are seizing on recent cases of deadly violence during protests against racial injustice and police brutality, most recently in Portland, Oregon on Saturday. Someone gunned down a man who belonged to the right wing group, Patriot Prayer. An eyewitness will join us in moments to tell us what he saw there.

But this is a killing that comes days after a 17-year-old Trump supporter was arrested and charged with killing two people and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Now, Biden is challenging the president to condemn the violence, which Trump did not do in his weekend barrage of tweets. The president set off a war of words with Portland's mayor, he expressed support for the pro-Trump armed militias that have been showing up at the protests and he embraced more fringe beliefs.

He re-tweeted a false claim by a QAnon conspiracy theorist that the CDC is overreporting the coronavirus deaths. And Twitter actually removed that tweet because it was inaccurate. And we should add, very inaccurate because, if anything, experts say the U.S. death toll is actually higher than the official number, not lower.

The president also re-tweeted a comment that said, anarchists are leading a, quote, coup attempt against him. Obviously, no evidence of anything like that. This morning the president again attacked Portland's mayor over Saturday's shooting. He called him a joke. The mayor is blaming the president saying that President Trump is helping to incite the violence.

On Saturday, an eyewitness was there to capture this gunfire as it all played out on camera and a warning that what you're about to see is disturbing. And just so that you know exactly what you are about to witness, if you choose, the video freezes at the moment that the man is shot and CNN has blurred the victim's body. Joining me now is Justin Dunlap. He actually recorded that video. Justin, I want to thank you for being here to talk about what you saw and what was going on that night.

Take us back to Saturday night. You were filming the area in this intersection but also a little ways away. Describe what you were seeing right before you heard gunshots.

JUSTIN DUNLAP, WITNESS TO PORTLAND SHOOTING: So, right before I heard the gunshots, I was walking from the area where the food carts are down 3rd and Washington. And there had been a truck, a little white truck driving around with the windows down shooting paint balls, paint ball guns, just coming from the back windows indiscriminately towards the street. And so, that truck drove down towards the Justice Center and I decided to follow it.

And on my democracy field trips, I always try to point out the beautiful art in Portland. And as I was walking up the street where the event occurred, I have noticed some new stuff on the buildings and stopped to -- stopped to check out the art for a second.

I went and I turned back, the cars were revving and that's always got my head on a swivel because of what happened at the PPA a couple weeks ago where the truck drove through and dragged the motorcycle, and I was there when that happened too. So that always draws my attention.

And then when I turned to cross the street, the yelling started, the Mace was shot, the two shots rang out and that tragic thing had happened. And right after that, the Mace that he had sprayed hit my eyes, so that's where the pain started.

KEILAR: Okay, and that's what we heard, and we heard you saying that. So that was you on camera when you say that there was Mace in your eyes. So it was actually from that cloud of Mace.

DUNLAP: Yes.

KEILAR: And, okay, so you couldn't -- I know you looked at this to try and see where exactly, who exactly the shots came from and you can't make it out. But tell us about the man who was shot. Because what we see is we do see that cloud of mace. What was he doing before the shooting and even before the Mace?

DUNLAP: I didn't register that trio of individuals until the yelling started. And he raised his hand and the Mace came forward.

[13:10:00]

I don't know what he had in his hand, if it was Mace, if there was something else. But that's the direction the Mace came from was him and it was a huge cloud, like 20 feet. And then the cloud just exploded and the shots rang out. He turned around and took four steps away and fell face down and the other two guys went the other direction.

KEILAR: And who was there trying -- and we see that. We see the other folks who -- that's a possibility for where the gunshots came from. He seemed to be in an altercation with them. They were moving away. A lot of people came to the man's aid. Who were those folks? Could you tell?

DUNLAP: There were street medics that have been dealing with this protest for months on end. And those volunteer medics come into situations without even thinking about it. They don't care who they're helping. They just need to help and those wonderful people were trying to help and then see the guy's buddy come in and shove the medic off of him. And then there's another person that says, hey, she's a medic, she's trying to help him. And he says, okay, okay, then. Help.

And all of that I have seen on other streams because I was dealing with my eyes and trying to get my stream closed up and save so that I could get it in the hands of the authorities.

KEILAR: Well, Justin, look, we really appreciate you talking to us. We know this was -- this is obviously a very difficult thing that Portland is going through and it was difficult for you, I'm sure, to see this. But we appreciate it, it's so important that you're talking to us. Thank you.

DUNLAP: You're very welcome. Thank you.

KEILAR: Justin Dunlap, thank you so much.

And one of the groups that the president is targeting with his rhetoric is you suburban women, especially when it comes to violence that we're seeing in cities. I'm going to speak live with one of them who voted for President Trump in 2016. Where is she now? We'll discuss.

Plus, NBA legend Robert Horry will join me live on his emotional conversations that he has had with his sons on police and race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT HORRY, FORMER NBA PLAYER AND 7-TIME NBA CHAMPION: It's hard to tell your 14-year-old son that I worry about him when he walks out that door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:00]

KEILAR: The White House is saying President Trump will unify Wisconsin when he travels there tomorrow. He is moving forward with plans to visit the city of Kenosha despite the governor urging him to stay away. In a letter to President Trump, Governor Tony Evers says, quote, 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.

The city has been rocked, of course, by protests after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot seven times in the back by a police officer last weekend. President Trump's visit will be coming one week after police arrested a 17-year-old accused of killing two people at a protest over Blake's shooting, and more than three months after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis. That police killing setting off the summer of racial unrest that has led to violence and looting at times.

I am joined now by Mary Anderson who lives just outside of Minneapolis and she is someone who voted for President Trump in 2016. And, Mary, I thank you so much for joining us. There who are many people who are certainly curious about your thoughts on politics right now.

So, as you are aware, there's been so much focus on suburban women. We saw that in the conventions by both Democrats and Republicans. Your vote is so coveted by both candidates. I wonder with the election coming up very soon, were you swayed by the conventions at all and who is looking like a good choice to you?

MARY ANDERSON, UNDECIDED VOTER WHO VOTED FOR TRUMP IN 2016: Well, thank you for having me on, first of all. I hope that President Trump is listening. I hope that some of the establishment who may want my vote is paying attention to what I have to say.

I did watch some of the Republican Convention and I caught just snippets of the Democratic Convention. I had turned my T.V. off for a couple of years because I couldn't handle the rhetoric anymore and I needed to focus in on local issues, issues with my business, with my children. Then when the pandemic hit, that need to stay afloat and stay alive became critical.

And so I really, really tuned everything out and just kind of tuning in again. I have been following things in print and trying to make up my own mind.

The situation in Minneapolis is, as many of you know, has been just absolutely devastating for many of us that live in the community. And now everything that's going on in Kenosha, I feel like that's our twin city sort of, sadly.

And what I wanted to say most today was I wanted to urge President Trump to not travel to Kenosha. I want to urge him to send someone that can do something constructive. I think that person is Dr. Ben Carson. He is HUD secretary. He is a respected member of the Trump administration. And I would love to see him just let's change the tone of this thing now.

President Trump can retreat and be presidential and look to the debates and do his thing at the debates. But what's happening in our communities is not to be toyed with.

[13:20:05]

And I do feel like we are being toyed with at this time.

KEILAR: You feel like you're being toyed with. I know that you have concerns about crime and safety. I know you have concerns about the economy. Could you vote for President Trump again? And if not, would you vote for Joe Biden?

ANDERSON: I think that when President Trump was first running for office, and the reason I voted for him was I expected him to surround himself with the best and brightest people and I expected him to be an administrator and I didn't expect a micromanager.

And what I would like is for him to show me that he can be that statesman. I mean, he's already -- the country is so polarized as it is. I think that many people have already made up their mind who they're going to vote for. I'm not one of them. And I'm going to need him to show me that he can do this differently.

And, I mean, he can secure his place in history if he simply takes a few steps back and lets people that are in his administration take care of their jobs and he just needs to retreat to the White House and make good decisions.

And I do think Joe Biden is a good man. He is not the man for this hour, in my opinion. I just think that it's as simple as that. He --

KEILAR: Why is that? Why do you think that?

ANDERSON: To me, kind of -- where he is at is comparable to perhaps where President Reagan was at the end of his second term in terms of his cognition. I just don't think that he has what it takes to be president. I think his mental acuity is down and I think that he would be handled and led and steered in ways that I don't think would be helpful for our country. That makes sad to say that.

None of this brings me any joy or any pleasure but I'm watching people in my state in the service business to have their lives impacted incredibly. And I feel like no one is listening. I feel like, oh, the stock market is at record levels. What you're not realizing is that service people, I'm in the hair business, people in the restaurant business are losing their jobs, companies, small business is going out of business.

I think we're going to lose half of our small businesses here in the state of Minnesota. They're closed for two-and-a-half months, there is very little confidence in coronavirus testing. It's quite tragic.

The other thing that I think that President Trump can do while he is being a statesman and retreating to the White House and letting others handle his agenda, we need testing. We are desperate. I have people in my business who they don't make money if they don't work, and they -- if they're in contact with someone who is ill, they need to be tested and they need to quarantine.

If they can be tested and get results within a day or two or three, they can get back to work. It is taking six, seven, eight days for my people to get test results and they lose that revenue. They don't see clients, they don't get paid.

KEILAR: They do and you -- I do want to mention, Mary, important to note, the CDC downgraded their guidelines on that, saying that if people have come in contact with someone who is positive for COVID-19, they maybe don't fit the bill for getting tested. So that's the opposite of what we are hearing from you when it comes to practice.

I do want to ask you one question before I let you go. You brought up the issue of mental acuity when it comes to Joe Biden. This is something that's gone back and forth between these two candidates. And, certainly, it is no surprise that as these arguments are lobbed, that these are things that stick with voters. And I wonder why, for instance, this is an issue that has been made, like I said, of both candidates.

Why do you have those concerns about Joe Biden and you don't have those concerns about Donald Trump? These are two candidates who are both up in years where you have questions raised about this at both at them. Why is that?

ANDERSON: I mean, I have watched Joe Biden over the years and I just think he's lost a step, he's lost a half step.

[13:25:05]

That doesn't mean that he is a bad person. I think that he is a good man at his core. President Trump, he's been pretty consistent since he's been elected. As I said before, I had just hoped that he would kind of take a step back and let others handle their jobs in his administration.

I just reviewed some of his tweets in the last couple of days and they're just not helpful. Kenosha needs calm. We need somebody else to head to Kenosha and I hope that he'll consider sending Dr. Carson.

And then I hope Dr. Carson will come here to Minneapolis and tour the devastation and help the small business people who they can't even get the debris cleared away from the damaged buildings, much less think about rebuilding.

We need some positive news. We need help. And I'm just asking the president to please just don't fan the flames. I mean, I can just -- you can just feel people wanting to converge on Kenosha to do battle with President Trump. It is not helpful.

I know that Donald Trump's instinct is to win. I'd like to see him win in a different way, if he can. And, I mean, he's going to have to do some things differently in order to win my vote. I don't know who I'm going to vote for but I'm going to maintain my dignity when I cast my ballot. I can assure you of that.

KEILAR: All right. Mary, thank you so much. Mary Anderson, I appreciate it.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

KEILAR: We have some breaking news. House Democrats will issue a subpoena to the postmaster general after his refusal to hand over documents in the investigation of his changes that critics say will impact the election.

Plus, the president promotes a baseless conspiracy theory questioning the number of coronavirus deaths. We will be debunking that.

And moments from now, Joe Biden will give a speech on the deadly violence in U.S. cities and he's going to accuse the president of stoking it. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: After NBA players from multiple teams boycotted last week in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting, several former NBA stars are adding their voices in support. Their stories on policing and racism in this country are devastating and they're personal.

Robert Horry, who won seven NBA championships during his playing career sharing this conversation that he had with his 14-year-old son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HORRY: I was sitting there and I started crying. And my wife walks in, and she's like, are you crying because you turned 50 today?

[13:30:01]

I started laughing, like, no. I said, did you see the video of this guy getting shot? At first, I saw it.