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Live Analysis of Joe Biden's Speech in Pittsburgh; United States Now Has 6 Million COVID-19 Cases; FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn May Consider Early Vaccine Approval. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 31, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: More than anything, that's what we need to do as a nation. We need to heal.

Our current president wants you to live in fear. He advertises himself as a figure of order? He isn't, and he's not been part of the solution thus far, he's part of the problem. The problem that I, as president, will give you my all-resolve to stop. I'll deal with the virus, I'll deal with the economic crisis. And I'll work to bring equality and opportunity to everyone.

We've arrived at a moment in this campaign, we all know -- including the press in front of me -- knew we'd get to. The moment when Donald Trump would be so desperate, he'd do anything to hold onto power. Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years, poisoning how we talk to one another, poisoning how we treat one another, poisoning the values this nation has always held dear, poisoning our very democracy.

Now, in just a little over 60 days, we have a decision to make. Will we rid ourselves of this toxin, or will we make a permanent part -- we make it a permanent part of our nation's character?

You know as Americans, I'm confident we believe in honesty and decency, treating everyone with dignity and respect, giving everyone a fair shot, leaving no one behind, giving hate no safe harbor and demonizing no one.

We, up until now, always recognized there's something bigger than ourselves, that we're about. Trump doesn't seem to believe in any of that.

Look, I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. America's an idea. It's the most powerful idea in the history of the world, and I believe it beats in the hearts of the people of this country. All men and women are created equal, and they deserve to be treated equally.

Trump has sought to remake this nation in his image: selfish, angry, dark and divisive. This is not who we are. At our best, America has always been -- and if I have anything to do with it, will be again -- generous, confident, an optimistic nation full of hope and resolve. Donald Trump is determined to instill fear in America. That's what his

entire campaign for the presidency has come down to: fear. But I believe Americans are stronger than that. I believe we'll be guided by the words of Pope John Paul II, words drawn from the scriptures: "Be not afraid, be not afraid."

Fear never builds the future, but hope does. And building the future is what America does, what we've always done. In fact, it's what we have done best and continue to do best. This is the United States of America, there's not a single thing beyond our capacity when we decide to do it together. So let's get together.

I want to thank you all. May God bless you, and may God protect our troops.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST, NEWSROOM: All right, Joe Biden in Pittsburgh, delivering a speech asking Americans essentially, are you safe in Donald Trump's America? After the president has said that America will not be safe in Joe -- Americans will not be safe in Joe Biden's America.

I want to bring in some of our folks here to talk about this: David Chalian, our CNN political director is with us; as well as Charles Ramsey, our CNN law enforcement analyst and former police commissioner of Philadelphia; along with Nia-Malika Henderson who is our CNN senior political reporter.

All right, David, what did you think?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, I think that was Joe Biden's I'm-not-going-to-take-it speech. He's not -- he clearly went out there to reject this change in conversation that Donald Trump is trying to program, and reject the frame in which this law and order, using the images of violence from Portland and Kenosha and trying to hang that one Joe Biden? Joe Biden just came out and made clear he's not going to stand by for that, and he is going to do his best to flip it on its head.

[14:05:00]

Now, this is where we are with nine weeks to go until Election Day, Brianna. The campaign frame is being set here on this topic. And what Joe Biden is saying is, these images you're seeing are in Donald Trump's America, and I'm going to remind you every single day about his character, his dishonesty -- that he's not to be trusted -- and that he is a toxic force inside American politics.

That he's a poison in our democracy and that this election is about deciding whether or not, as the former vice president put it, ridding the country of that toxin or indeed allowing it to change the very character of the nation if he's re-elected for another four years. The stakes couldn't be higher in the way that Joe Biden just framed this to try to flip on its head what Donald Trump and his team has been doing over the last few days.

KEILAR: And Commissioner, what did you think? CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I liked what I heard.

You know, I won't deal with the other politics of this, I'll deal with the -- focus on the policing part of it. Because you know, there's been a narrative out there that somehow he's anti-police. He's anti- bad policing, and we should all be anti-bad policing.

I had the opportunity to work with Joe Biden when I was chief in Washington, D.C., and again commissioner in Philadelphia. And believe me, nothing could be further from the truth. I mean, we worked on a lot of different issues. The man is sincere. He supports police, but he supports good constitutional policing and that's something everybody should want to see. And so I was really glad to see him include that in his speech because I think it's very, very important.

And also, the whole issue of violence taking place. I mean, I had to kind of check to see if I was hearing the right things. Every time I hear it, when people are discussing it as if President Trump is not president, someone else is president -- I mean, the violence is happening now, we're dealing with Kenosha, we're dealing with Minneapolis, we're dealing with all this stuff that's going on right now.

And so I'm glad he took that on, because it's about time to stand up to some of the nonsense we've been hearing.

KEILAR: Nia?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: You know, I think in many ways this was a fact-checking from Joe Biden for many of the things that we have heard Donald Trump say over these last couple years. He talked for instance about fracking, and Joe Biden not being against fracking in the way that Donald Trump has said he is.

He also, I thought, expanded the topic beyond criminal justice and beyond what we're seeing in places like Kenosha, places like Portland as well. He basically talked about the ACA, American -- the Affordable Care Act, he talked about social security, he also talked about crime. He also talked about soldiers not necessarily feeling like they're safe either in the theaters of war.

So I thought in that way, he really expanded it and said none of this will be safe, the economy's not safe in Donald Trump's America, your social security isn't going to be safe in Donald Trump's America.

You could also tell that he was specifically at one point in his speech reaching out to Catholic voters, citing Pope John Paul II who's one of, I think, probably the most beloved pope, particularly among older Catholics. Because you saw in last week, you saw Donald Trump use Lou Holtz to go after Joe Biden's Catholic faith.

So I think in that way, you see in these Midwestern states particularly, there are older white Catholics who might find some affinity for Joe Biden because he's a Catholic as well, so I thought that was really telling.

And also, I think we know that Joe Biden thinks he had to make this speech because of where Donald Trump has been over these last couple of days with that convention, not necessarily changing minds but certainly setting this frame.

Another key thing he said in this, which was you know me, you know my heart. Do I look like someone who is going to be captive of radical socialists? Do I look like somebody who's going to back up looters?

I thought that was an important phrase as well for this candidate, who at this point seems to be leading in the polls but we know they're going to tighten, and you know he's got to get out there and put his messaging out there, reminding American voters this is Donald Trump's America, do you feel safe right now.

KEILAR: Yes, it seemed like he was checking some very important boxes, right? Very vociferous in condemning violence, insisting that he's not a socialist, which that's not really considering his record a hard sell, but certainly it's a label that President Trump has tried to put on him. And he's very concerned obviously that that might stick or be concerning to some voters.

And then asking people essentially, do they really feel less afraid with President Trump in power when they look at how, for instance, American troops with bounties on their head, with the Taliban by Russia and the president has not condemned that. In fact, the White House has largely not really dealt with that.

[14:10:05]

I do want to bring in Josh Campbell, who is in Portland. And, Josh, let's listen. Just moments ago at the White House, where they're refusing to condemn armed militias.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the president has said Americans shouldn't be taking their own weapons to try to protect the buildings, and condemning the idea of people kind of deputizing themselves. Is -- or maybe, does this White House believe the -- that citizens should stop showing up to cities, especially the ones they don't live in, to have guns to protect buildings?

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This White House believes our police should be fully funded. We should have more police rather than less, we shouldn't criticize our police because it is our police officers who are responsible --

(CROSSTALK)

MCENANY: -- for taking to the streets and protecting us. And when they're called cancers by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, when they're compared to the KKK by a current sitting vice presidential candidate, it's appalling, it's despicable. We need to fund our police officers because they should be the ones out patrolling the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: And that's really a contrast that we're seeing, Josh, and one that the former vice president is trying to draw, right? Is he is condemning violence, saying rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting, going on to say it's lawlessness plain and simple.

But when it comes to armed militias, you see the White House sidestepping any sort of condemnation.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And oftentimes, what is left unsaid is just as important as what is said. And you know, we've seen this president, there's a pattern of failing to come out and publicly condemn certain elements that, you know, political experts, law enforcement experts tell us make up a part of his base.

And that includes white supremacists, we haven't heard the president come out and forcefully condemn white supremacy. We haven't heard the White House come out and publicly condemn this fringe anti-Semitic, just really disgusting group QAnon, which believes a lot of really terrible things.

But yet you see the president come out, time again, and what does he condemn? He condemns cities like Portland, Oregon that are run largely by Democrats.

And so you know, I think what the point that former Vice President Joe Biden was trying to make there is that, you know, the president is a president of all the people, and I think that would include public safety threats throughout the nation. You can't have a president that's picking and choosing threats that he or she want to condemn. And the failure to actually come out and say as much, I think, can often be telling. But yet that is a pattern that we've seen.

I'll note that this goes back even before President Trump actually took office. Obviously, we know about the events in Charlottesville there, with this -- you know, the white supremacists that were involved in violence and you know, the death of a protestor, the president's famous comments now, talking about very fine people on both sides.

So this has been the pattern. And I think that, you know, you talk to public safety experts, a lot of these groups now feel emboldened because when you have the most powerful person in the world who's failing to come out and slam them and to push them back into those dark places, they now feel like they can come out in the light of day and spread a lot of this vitriol.

And you know, whether the president believes what they're saying or not, that's separate. But he's not using the power of his office to really come out and forcibly condemn a lot of these groups.

KEILAR: I want to ask David Chalian about that.

I mean, David, why are we in this place where President Trump will not condemn armed extremists and I mean, you hear Joe Biden coming out and he is condemning the violence and there seems to be, from the Trump camp, this -- they're trying to create this idea that actually Joe Biden sanctions the violence. He's trying to make it very clear that he does not. Why can President Trump not condemn this extremism?

CHALIAN: You know, this has been a question, I think, about Donald Trump not just in the recent days, Brianna, but throughout the course of his presidency at times. And there is no real good answer except that he must think that condemning some of these people and actions somehow will hurt his standing in the polls, or his popularity. That somehow he would be turning people off who would be otherwise, you know, aligned with him.

Because we've seen everything that the president does is sort of in that context. And we have seen when he wants to go and condemn something, he has no problem doing it. But he doesn't -- I mean, even -- don't even -- go away from violence for a second. Take a look at his recent question about QAnon, these conspiracy theorists. And he was asked about it and he said, well, you know, I hear that they like me. And is that a bad thing?

He doesn't want -- no matter from where they come, if somebody is aligning themselves with him or supporting him in some way, he really is reluctant to say anything that might turn them off.

[14:15:01]

KEILAR: It's just so odd, considering we just had an undecided suburban female voter from the Minneapolis suburbs, who is someone very coveted by President Trump, who essentially made it clear that she would welcome some sort of move like this. This is the exact thing that she is looking for. She voted for Trump in 2016, and right now is not sure she can do it again. So I mean, there are people that he has to gain and that he is not gaining. It's very interesting.

I do want to bring in Arlette Saenz, who has been covering this for us from Pennsylvania. And, Arlette, the White House says that there are no plans for the president to meet with Jacob Blake's family. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the president have any plans currently to meet with Jacob Blake's family?

MCENANY: Currently the plans are to meet with local law enforcement and some business owners, and he'll survey the damage. But there will be more detailed plans forthcoming that are announced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So no, he's not scheduled to meet with them?

MCENANY: Not currently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Joe Biden, it's worth noting, has spoken with Blake's family. Stands to reason that perhaps that interaction was more welcome by the family, but tell us about this, Arlette. ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Joe Biden

last week spoke with Jacob Blake's family, and that's a point that he talked about in his remarks today, saying that he's spoken to both the family of Jacob Blake and also George Floyd earlier in the summer.

As he talked about how he understands the loss that they've gone through, but also the racial justice conversations that are happening in this country right now. He also pointed to those powerful words from last week from Jacob Blake's mother, saying that she's seeking justice for her son but also praying for police.

And you heard Biden in his speech talk about how he wants to bring police to the table in this conversation. So he's trying to portray himself as a unifier who will also help regain and restore the character of the country, he says.

You know, going back to the start of his campaign, Biden said he entered this campaign after what he saw in Charlottesville and saw the fans of -- the flames of hate and division fanned. He has warned that he believes that President Trump has been stoking some of those flames of violence. Also violence, he talked about today in his speech.

So this also just circles back full circle to the start of his campaign, when he argued that this was a battle for the soul of the nation, and that he is the one that he believes could help restore the character of the country in this moment.

KEILAR: All right, Arlette, thank you so much.

I want to thank all of our panelists here for joining us for this conversation following the former vice president's comments.

New concerns now that political pressure may force the FDA to fast- track a vaccine before it is ready.

Plus, as the new task force doctor pushes herd immunity, new warnings about the grave death toll that that strategy would cause.

Plus, two breaking stories out of Washington. House Democrats, issuing a subpoena to the postmaster general.

[14:17:58]

And an appeals court, shutting down an attempt from Michael Flynn and the Justice Department to end Flynn's criminal case.

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KEILAR: The U.S. hitting another coronavirus milestone today, just a few hours ago as the number of cases surpassed the 6 million mark, growing by a million since August 10th, when it hit the 5 million mark. The death toll stands now at more than 183,000. At least 36 states have reported coronavirus outbreaks at colleges and universities.

Just today, we learned that the University of North Carolina- Wilmington has its third cluster of COVID-19 cases among five individuals.

There is some good news, though: The weekly average of cases is going down. But as the coordinator of White House coronavirus response reminds us, stopping the spread largely depends on the actions of individual Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: Don't wait for the vaccine to do the right thing. Do the right thing today because if we do the right thing today, we go into the fall with much fewer cases. Yes, I'm hopeful for a vaccine but I'm also very convinced right now that we can stop community spread by wearing masks, socially distancing and avoiding crowds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Political pressure and misinformation spread by the president himself may be undermining Dr. Birx's message. The president retweeted a false post alleging the death toll from coronavirus is lower than what experts tell us. Twitter removed that post because it is inaccurate.

And now we are learning the FDA may consider authorizing or even approving a COVID-19 vaccine before the critical phase three trials are complete. That is what the head of the agency has told the "Financial Times."

To break this down, I want to bring in CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard. And, Jacqueline, what could this mean?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Brianna, this means we could have a COVID-19 vaccine sooner than expected. But that would be before all data are in from the final phase three trials.

Here's what FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in the "Financial Times." Quote, "It is up to the sponsor to apply for authorization or approval. If they do that before the end of phase three, we may find that appropriate, we may find that inappropriate. We will make a determination," end quote. And he was talking about the vaccine developer as the sponsor.

Currently, there are two COVID-19 vaccines in phase three trials here in the United States -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Jacqueline, thank you.

I want to bring in CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen to talk about this. Previously, she was the Baltimore health commissioner. She's currently an emergency room physician.

[14:25:00]

OK, Dr. Wen, what is your reaction to Dr. Hahn's comments about possible fast-tracking of a vaccine, raising concerns among some about safety? LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Brianna, we all want for a safe and

effective vaccine to be approved as soon as possible, but I am concerned about shortcuts being taken here, and a slippery slope. Because we initially heard Dr. Hahn saying we need to wait until all the trials are in, then we heard him say, well, maybe we can do emergency use authorization right after phase three. And now we're hearing that we don't even need to wait until phase three trials are complete.

Safety and efficacy in this case are so important, because we're talking about giving a vaccine to hundreds of millions of Americans who are previously healthy, so we have to make sure that this is safe.

And the last thing that we want to do is to give a false reassurance to the American people, giving them a vaccine that doesn't actually protect them against coronavirus.

There has already been so much speculation about political interference with scientific decisions, the last thing that we want to do is to give the vaccine skeptics, who otherwise may not believe science and the importance of vaccines, we don't want to give them even more reasons not to take this vaccine or for that matter other vaccines.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about something that the president's preferred doctor on the Coronavirus Task Force, Dr Scott Atlas, is saying. He's been touting this herd immunity concept. I wonder if you have any concerns about that approach?

WEN: Huge concerns. We cannot aim for this concept. So the idea of herd immunity is that when you have a large percentage of the population -- 60 to 80 percent, let's say -- who have a particular infection who have recovered from it who have immunity to it, that it protects everybody.

The problem, though, is number one, we don't know about immunity. We don't know how long immunity to COVID-19 really lasts. And if we're waiting until 60 to 80 percent of people have it, we're talking about 200 million-plus Americans getting this. And at a fatality rate of one percent, let's say, that's 2 million Americans who will die in this effort to try to get herd immunity. And those are preventable deaths of our loved ones that we can just not let happen under our watch.

KEILAR: And let's talk about kind of what we're seeing in the big picture. The U.S. did hit the 6 million mark today. But in the overall trend, we are seeing the average number of cases going down. Where are we right now?

WEN: We're at a better place than we were a few weeks ago, but this is not the time to let down our guard. We know that we are seeing a decline of infections in places like the Sun Belt, in California, the South. But we are seeing an increase in the number of infections across the Midwest, and in particular in rural areas that don't have a very robust health care and public health infrastructure.

We're also seeing young people coming back to school, universities, spike in cases there. And so with Labor Day coming, I really do fear that we could be having even more infection in the days to come, so we need to continue with mask-earing, continue with social distancing. Policymakers should think about what are the highest risk settings like indoor bars, and be ready to close them especially if they're getting some signs that there are increases in infections along the way.

KEILAR: All right. Dr. Wen, thank you so much for y our expertise.

We have some breaking news coming to us from Capitol Hill. The postmaster general is about to get a subpoena after House Democrats claim that he is withholding documents.

[14:28:27]

Plus, Dr. Deborah Birx is asking college students who test positive to stay on campus. I will speak to a student from Notre Dame who just recovered.

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