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Trump Painted Rosy Pic Of Pandemic As Task Force Issued Warnings; Biden Condemns Violence, While Trump Tries To Justify It. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 01, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us. I hope to see you back here this time tomorrow. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now. Have a good day.

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

At this hour, we are awaiting the first images of President Trump in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The city outraged by the police shooting of Jacob Blake last weekend. The White House has promised a unifying visit but that would be a gross departure of what we have seen from the president. Both the Wisconsin governor and the mayor of Kenosha have asked him not to come.

But as the president heads to Kenosha, there are some new documents out of his White House that show the extent to which he has been lying to Americans about the coronavirus pandemic. The House Subcommittee on coronavirus just released eight weeks' worth of state reports compiled by the White House coronavirus task force.

And this data shows that while the president painted a positive picture of the crisis urging states and schools to reopen, he was receiving increasingly dire reports from the task force about the virus' spread in July and August.

Today, the nation's top infectious disease expert is debunking another false claim by the president. Dr. Fauci responding to the president's re-tweet of an article by a QAnon conspiracy theorist wrongly asserting that the death toll from coronavirus is much lower than official numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The point that the CDC was trying to make was that a certain percentage of them had nothing else but just COVID. That does not mean that someone with hypertension or diabetes who dies of COVID didn't die of COVID-19. They did. So the numbers that you've been hearing, the 180,000 plus deaths, are real deaths from COVID-19. Let that not be any confusion about that. It is not 9,000 deaths from COVID-19. It's 180,000 plus deaths.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And this just in, a new report looking into who should get the coronavirus vaccine first once it's available. I want to bring in CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to walk through this with us.

Elizabeth, tell us, the people behind this report, there are now seeking public comment?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So this report is not an actual final report but it's a pretty detailed draft of what this group of experts thinks should be the plan when the vaccine comes out because it won't come out with enough for all of us all at once is going to come out in smaller amounts if we're going to have to make a priority.

So, let's take a look at the things that the National Academy of Sciences, the factors they considered when making their priority list. They thought, who is most at risk of getting infected in the first place with COVID? And then they asked, who's at risk of getting very sick or dying, severe morbidity or mortality? Who's at most risk of negative social impact? In other words, we would all be in trouble without doctors and nurses. And then finally, risk of transmitting diseases, for example, an aide in a nursing home might be young, healthy and would never -- might get infected with COVID but would never get very sick but he or she could spread it to a lot of vulnerable elderly people.

So, what it comes down to in terms of using real examples is that the highest priority would be various groups, including frontline doctors and nurses, elderly people in nursing homes. In the middle would be people like teachers and elderly people who are not at nursing homes. And the third group sort of lower priority would be young adults and children. Brianna?

KEILAR: And we also just learned, Elizabeth, the White House coronavirus task force report shows dire warnings to Iowa, which is the state with the highest case rate this week. Tell us what you are learning here.

COHEN: So what we are learning is that Iowa has seen a serious jump, about a 77 percent jump in cases from this week compared to last week. So we have seen sort of like a snake swallowing a mouse, right? It just -- this just travels throughout the country. First, New York City was the place that was having this huge jump. And then that got better, and then other places, like in Texas and in Florida, and now we are seeing it going out to rural areas.

So, a lot of people who probably thought, I'm not such a risk, that's people in other parts of the country, now those people need to think what can I do? I need to wear masks religiously, I need to practice social distancing, the nights at the bars, might have to put that on hold for a while.

KEILAR: Yes. It's like every week just kind of feels like a snapshot, right? It could be completely different in a month or two months. Elizabeth, thank you so much.

As we know, wearing a face mask, just like Elizabeth said, is one of the best ways to stop the spread of coronavirus. However, more people are opting for face shields and masks with valves for comfort, any perceived sense of security. But there is a new study that's examining the effectiveness of these alternative options.

So, let's bringing CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard to talk to us about some results that she has seen. Jacqueline, what can you tell us?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Brianna, this study really suggests that if you wear a face shield, wear a plain cloth mask or a surgical mask with it for more protection.

[13:05:00]

The researchers here tested face shields and masks with valves on mannequins. And they used a pump that released jets of air to emulate a cough or a sneeze. You will see in their visualizations here that the face shield appears to block that initial forward motion of the jet but then over time that air can disperse, possibly under the opening of the shield.

Now, this is just a visualization, more research is needed but the findings are interesting. Brianna?

KEILAR: Jacqueline, thank you so much.

I want to discuss all of these new COVID developments now with Dr. Richina Bicette. She is Medical Director and Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medical. Doctor, thank you for being with us.

And let's talk first about this study on face shields. I think we've all seen people wearing them. What do you think about what this is showing us? It is a mannequin but what is your takeaway?

DR. RICHINA BICETTE, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Well, Brianna, the CDC has said for months now that it did not recommend the use of face shields alone or the use of masks with exhale valves in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The reason for that is a face shield is a solid plastic barrier, so it will protect against splatter and it will against droplets.

However, a significant proportion of coronavirus is spread via aerosolized particles, which basically means that the virus gets trapped in the air and is propelled in that way. And face shields cannot prevent or protect against aerosolized particles. Part of that has to do with their design. There are large gaps in the face shield at the sides, under the chin and near the neck, which are all entry point for these aerosolized particles.

KEILAR: Yes, it's like a restaurant with a smoking section. A restaurant with a smoking section is an entire restaurant with a smoking section. And you just heard Elizabeth Cohen report the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a draft to get people's opinions on who should get the vaccine first. Tell us what you think should be done here, what group should get it first.

BICETTE: Well, I think that people who are willing to get the vaccine should be the first group to get the vaccine. Recent polls have shown that not a significant proportion of Americans would actually be amenable to getting the vaccine right now. And I think that's probably because there hasn't been a lot of information released about the vaccine and its efficacy and safety just yet.

What we are seeing though, once a vaccine becomes available, it's fully approved and we deem it to be safe, is that the most vulnerable populations tend to be the elderly, those who are over 65 years of age, and those who have significant co-morbidities, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension. These are the groups of people that are succumbing to the virus at faster rates than anyone else. So I would assume that those would be the groups that we'd like to protect.

KEILAR: So, if you have folks who right now are not amenable to getting it, which is pretty alarming, maybe that will change as there's more -- one, as a vaccine comes out, and two, there's more information about it. But keeping that in mind, how long do you think that it will take to get through the general population, to get a vaccine through the general population?

BICETTE: Brianna, I really can't say. A lot of it depends on the data that is released as phase three trials continue. We have seen that there are a few companies that are starting phase three trials now and we just have to see what the data shows.

A lot of companies that are in phase three trials are also saying that they will have to do vaccines that are not single dose but double dose vaccines, which definitely can affect people adhering to the treatment plans if you're going to have to come back within 21 or 28 days to your second dose.

So there is still a lot of unknown factors that are going to affect how well people take to news of a vaccine being approved.

KEILAR: Dr. Bicette, it's great to see you. Thanks for being with us.

BICETTE: Of course, thank you for having me.

KEILAR: As the president gets ready to tour Kenosha, Wisconsin, he is defending the 17-year-old vigilante accused of killing two people in the street.

Plus, he's also floating baseless conspiracy theories about thugs on planes hired to protest him and people in the dark shadows controlling Joe Biden.

And then the mystery over the president's sudden trip to Walter Reed last year just got more curious. Why the vice president was on standby to take over. This is CNN special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:10:00]

KEILAR: Yesterday, Joe Biden gave a speech where he argued that President Trump incites violence instead of stopping it. And instead of proving Biden wrong, Trump proved him right just a few hours later. Yes, we have seen peaceful protests across the country, yes, we have seen violence in some cities, and, yes, we have seen the president try to paint all of it with the same brush. Why? Because it plays into his hands, he knows that, that's why he tries capitalize on it and why he tries to encourage it.

Here he is describing Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A city like Portland, where the entire city is ablaze all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: No matter how many times the president watches Fox News, loop video of a fire in Portland, this is nonsense. The local fire chief told CNN fact checker Daniel Dale that the city is not ablaze. And for the isolated pockets of fires that broke out during demonstrations, they've only needed one fire engine for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Portland has been burning for many years, for decades it is burning.

And I think the people of Portland, and they're tired of it. They're tired of living with this curse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:00]

KEILAR: Again, nonsense, but nonsense that is easy to peddle to a host who endlessly airs video from June of fires in Minneapolis or police standoffs in Seattle from July and tries to pass them off as if they happened in late August. If you watch her show, you would think Portland has been burning for years, but it hasn't been burning for years, let alone, decades as the president claims.

Now, listen to this as Trump also spins lies about his record on crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Since the beginning of Operation Legend, we have conducted more than 1,000 arrests and reduced the murder rate in Kansas City, which is one of the cities we targeted, by 1/3, had it down 33 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That's completely made up. Murders have not declined 33 percent there according to data obtained by the Kansas City Star. The city has recorded 135 homicides this year putting it on track to be the deadliest year on record. There have been 32 homicides since the operation was announced in July.

But as the president paints the picture of an out of control America, he acts like he is not already the president of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'll appoint more tough on crime prosecutors, support stiffer penalties and longer jail terms for rioters and support effective policing methods that are proven to be great crime-reducers. When you enforce the law, order follows, and we need order. We need -- we need order.

While I am president, we will defend the rights of law abiding citizens. We will honor the heroes who keep America safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: He is the president right now and he has been for almost three years. The crime that he is deriding is happening on his watch. He is stoking it and using it successfully in many cases to make Americans afraid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The violence is fueled by dangerous rhetoric of far-left politicians that demonize our nation and demonize our police.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: When the rioters come for your town, and they're coming, will Biden and his team do enough to stop them?

LEO TERRELL, HOST OF THE LEO TERRELL PODCAST: There are thugs out there attacking law-abiding citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since these are people who are now crossing state lines clearly. This has been organized using the internet.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: They will burn down your cities and tell you that you did it. And if you don't accept that judgment, maybe they'll send BLM to your house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That is a host saying you should be afraid because black people might be coming to your house to commit violence. It's blatant racism. It's meant to scare moderate Americans into voting for President Trump.

There's a standardized political reaction to violence and it is to condemn it, and that's the route that Joe Biden took yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'll be very clear about all of this. Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It is lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Instead of condemning violence, President Trump is endorsing it. Here is what he said about Portland where a right wing protester was shot and killed this weekend. He was part of a caravan of Trump supporters driving through the downtown protests, some supporters shooting paintballs, and according to a witness I interviewed, marbles from paint ball guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: You were just criticizing Joe Biden saying he didn't mention far-left or Antifa during his speech today. You said you wanted to talk about left wing political violence. But I noticed you did not mention that your supporters were also in Portland this weekend firing paintball guns at people, some who have pepper spray. So, do you want to also take this chance to condemn what your supporters did in Portland?

TRUMP: Well, I understand they had large numbers of people that were supporters but there was a peaceful protest. And paint is not -- paint is a defensive mechanism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, that death in Portland is not okay. The president though is green-lighting the supporters to show up at protests and shoot paintballs at protesters. He is saying that's peaceful behavior. But he is also green-lighting his supporters to show up with bullets. He is defending the 17-year-old in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who allegedly shot and killed two people with an AR-15-style gun, and wounded a third.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: That was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw. And he was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like. And he fell and then they very violently attacked him and it was something that we're looking at right now and it's under investigation.

But I guess he was in very big trouble. He would have been -- he probably would have been killed. But it is under investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: According to police, that 17-year-old suspect in Kenosha allegedly shot someone, ran, and people from the crowd chased him. [13:20:00]

The president of the United States essentially is saying it's okay to take up arms without training or credentials or authority, go into the streets and act out a video game with protesters.

But even if people are in the streets, breaking the law, rioting and looting, it is not the role of a private citizen to police them and to shoot them. That's not how the president of the United States sees it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PIERCE, KYLE RITTENHOUSE ATTORNEY: He immediately had to retreat from that area because the mob that was -- the rioters, they were chasing him, who had witnesses, immediately called him out for the shooting, which, of course, wasn't self-defense, but they called him out for the shooting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That's the attorney for the suspect saying they called him out. Well, they is law enforcement. The shooter is now facing multiple homicide charges. And in New York City, the police commissioner is warning against bringing a gun to a protest like the shooter did in Kenosha.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERMOT SHEA, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Probably the last thing we would want to see here around the streets.

I just -- I feel for my law enforcement brothers and sisters across the country dealing with that and I would liken it to almost a powder keg and throwing a match on. It is just so incredibly volatile already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Calmer heads and leaders, the president is not either here. The president is arguing that he is the law and order candidate but he clearly supports neither. He says he is the candidate who can combat violence but he isn't against violence. He is against black violence. He is just fine with white violence, it appears.

Joining me now is CNN Contributor Miles Taylor. He served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration. He is supporting Joe Biden in November.

Miles, when you hear what the president is saying, is it something that you worry could embolden people to take up arms against protesters and rioters or do you think that people will be smart and they won't do that?

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, DHS: Well, thanks, Brianna. I mean, I would say this, it is beyond worry at this point. I think the likeliest outcome is that the president's rhetoric will be hijacked by people for these reasons. And although a step further, I talked to law enforcement officials that I used to serve within the administration on an almost daily basis. They are very concerned behind the scenes about the president's rhetoric and its ability to fan the flames of further unrest.

You had the police commissioner just say from New York that this is a powder keg. I likened it earlier today to the president arranging kindling with this words that will turn into a nationwide brushfire if Joe Biden wins. He is trying to set the stage for more unrest to show that he is the legitimate heir to a second term as presidents even if he doesn't win it.

This is very concerning. This is rhetoric we have never seen out of a modern president in U.S. history. So, yes, law enforcement officials are concerned and they should be because we have already seen Donald Trump's rhetoric jump the tracks into violence in the past and he's laying the groundwork for that in the near future.

KEILAR: Yes, we haven't seen this from Democrats. We haven't seen this from Republicans. The president here is also continuing to push conspiracy theories, Miles. Let's listen to one that he floated during his interview with Fox News last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INGRAHAM: Who do you think is pulling Biden's strings? Is it former Obama officials?

TRUMP: People that you have never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows, people that --

INGRAHAM: And what does that mean? That sounds like a conspiracy theory, dark shadows, what is that?

TRUMP: People that you haven't heard of. They are people that are on the streets. They are people that are controlling the streets.

We had somebody get on a plane from a certain city this weekend. And in the plane, it was almost completely loaded with thugs wearing these dark uniforms, black uniforms with gear and this and that. They're on a plane.

INGRAHAM: Where was this?

TRUMP: I'll tell you sometime but it is under investigation right now. But they came from a certain city and this person was coming to the Republican National Convention. And they were like seven people on the plane, like this person, and then a lot of people were on the plane to do big damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Do you have any idea what he is talking about, Miles?

TAYLOR: No, Brianna. In fact, I asked people that I know at the White House today via secure message what the president was saying there. No one could give me a straight answer. I think the likeliest answer is the president has made this up or conflated information. But what's more alarming is that he's spreading it on national television.

I think this also belays his explanations about QAnon. The president, of course, made statements that seemed to be supportive of the QAnon conspiracy theory. These types of comments also contribute to that misinformation and disinformation out here.

Look, at this, I think a lot of us have given up hope, especially those who have served around the president, that he will correct this rhetoric and speak more responsibly.

[13:25:01]

Now, it's incumbent upon the people around the president to actually speak up. You saw Vice President Pence the other week have to deny the QAnon conspiracy theories. Well, people like the vice president and others in the cabinet are going to need to push back against this. If they don't, they will likewise be complicit in the civil unrest that we see around the country that the president's rhetoric generates.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about Portland, the Department of Homeland Security's acting Secretary Chad Wolf warned the mayor that if the unrest continues, the federal government will, quote, have no choice but to protect our American citizens. What might that mean? What are you concerned that might mean?

TAYLOR Yes. I'll tell you upfront, Brianna. My biggest concern there is that we have someone who runs the Department of Homeland Security indicating to state and local officials that they may send in the feds. Okay, that's traditionally not something that a secretary of Homeland Security would say. Perhaps the president, perhaps the attorney general who's actually the nation's chief law enforcement officer, but DHS has historically been a non-partisan law enforcement agency.

So I think this is alarming. I think people should look at that letter. They should be concerned. They should be concerned about the signals being sent but also the institutional implications here. Again, let's remind ourselves, DHS was built out of the rubble of 9/11 to prevent another terrorist attack and to protect Americans. It wasn't built to be the president's police force to send into communities.

And I'll go a step further. The department actually has very limited authorities in that regard. Typically, if DHS law enforcement officers are going to go into a community, it's because they have been invited to or asked to by state and local officials. We are entering unchartered territory if the president of United States is pressuring his Homeland Security secretary to send in law enforcement officers into cities and towns around America. This is concerning and it's, I think, foreboding what might be to come in a second Donald Trump term.

KEILAR: Yes. Miles Taylor, thank you so much.

TAYLOR: Thanks, Brianna. KEILAR: The president likening a police officer shooting a black man seven times in the back to golfers missing a three-foot putt. We'll have that ahead.

Plus, damning new revelations that show how the president lied about the severity of the pandemic as his own task force was issuing warning after warning.

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[13:30:00]