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Book: Pence Was On Standby To "Take Over" During Trump Doc Visit; Facebook, Tipped Off By FBI, Finds Russia Campaign Targeting Americans; Federal Appeals Court Gives Trump A Win On Financial Records; Trump Likens Cop Who Shot Blake To Golfer Who Misses Putt; Kenosha Resident Describes What Happened When Protests Turned Deadly. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired September 01, 2020 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:32:20]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New questions today about President Trump's unannounced visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center back in November.
In a copy of "The New York Times" Reporter Michael Schmidt's book obtained by CNN, he writes that he learned, quote, "In the hours leading up to Trump's trip to the hospital, word went out in the West Wing for the vice president to be on standby to take over the powers of the presidency temporarily if Trump had to undergo a procedure to require him to be anesthetized."
I'm joined by White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, and Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who is a CNN medical analyst and a professor of medicine at George Washington University.
Kaitlan, just fill us in here. Remind the viewers of the president's Saturday afternoon hospital trip last November and what we are learning now from this new book.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it is something that the White House has still never fully explained or even really tried to explain it.
But it was last November when on a Saturday the president abruptly left the White House and instead of going to the golf course outside Washington like he normally does he went to Walter Reed. And that doesn't normally happen.
If the president is going to Walter Reed for a physical, the White House gives not only us a heads up but the staff at Walter Reed. The building knows that the president is coming. That is not what happened on this day.
And the White House gave us the excuse that the president was starting the first half of his physical.
That didn't make sense then and doesn't when he completed the physical in April of this year when those results actually came out. Because doctors said you wouldn't do part then. And now and we're learning more with a new book.
And the president is responding about something that is not reported in this book. He tweeted today that people are trying to say he went because he had a series of mini strokes.
And we should note that the not reported in this book and not reported by any mainstream legitimate outlet that I have seen at least. So the president is denying something that people aren't saying has happened.
But what could really clear this up is if the White House explained exactly why it was that the president did go to the hospital, something they did not do and have not done, as the president himself and his campaign have tried to cast doubt on Joe Biden's health in this presidential election.
KEILAR: Yes. That is bizarre. The president is the only one mentioning the possibility of mini strokes there.
Doctor, to you, the president's physician described this visit as routine. What do you make of that?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Not only was it not routine it in recent memory it never happened.
[13:35:01]
So let's remember exactly what happened on November 16th. In the middle of the afternoon, unannounced the president motorcade sped up to Walter Reed in Bethesda.
Breaking with usual protocol, the president's physician got in the same car with the president and that is never done.
Raising concern that -- never done. The president's physician never rides with the president in the same vehicle for tactical reasons. So unannounced to Walter Reed.
And now we hear that there was concern that the president might need and anesthesia and talking about the 25th Amendment and cede power temporarily with sedation. So only a limited number of things will do that.
So you would only bring the president on a Saturday afternoon to Walter Reed in a -- really in an urgent, unplanned way if there was something you couldn't handle at the White House. That is of great concern. We don't know what happened.
It is interesting that the president brought up the possibility of mini strokes because that would be something that one would need imaging. That could not be done at the White House.
But whatever happened was significant and potentially required the 25th Amendment to be invoked. And now it's time for the White House to tell us what it is. Dr. Connolly has gone on record saying this is not cardiac or not
neurologic but we need to know the truth. Something of consequence happened last November and they need to tell the public what it was.
KEILAR: Let's just talk about his health generally. He is up in years, right? Both of these candidates are. Trump is in his 70s. Trump has a history of heart disease, obese. What health concerns should he and is he likely monitoring?
REINER: M Well, just the ones that you mentioned and more. So look, things happen to people as they get older and it doesn't make you less a person. It doesn't make you less a leader if you face medical challenges.
Every leader has faced medical challenges. But we are in an election season now and the health of both candidates. Both are in their 70s. The public deserves the right to know.
The history of the presidency is replete with examples of physicians and White House staff hiding important information from the public.
President Roosevelt was dying of congestive heart failure and the physician said he had the flu.
JFK had Addison's disease and denied that outright so there's a long and distinguished history of candidates fighting the truth.
So now let's know and turn the cards face up on the table and have both candidates release a complete and comprehensive summary of their current medical status. The Biden campaign has done that.
KEILAR: Yes. Wouldn't that be nice? To have apples to apples.
Doctor, thank you.
I want to bring Kaitlan back in real quick.
Kaitlan, I understand you have a statement from the physician of the president.
COLLINS: The White House physician, Sean Conley, the physician to President Trump, says the president directed him to put this statement out.
And in it, he says he confirms that President Trump has not experienced nor was evaluated for a stroke, a mini stroke or any acute cardiovascular emergencies, as is incorrectly reported in the media.
Saying the president is healthy and no concerns about his ability to maintain the schedule ahead of him. And he expects him to remain fit to execute the duties of the presidency.
To be clear, I do not know of a single legitimate news outlet that reported that the president had a stroke or a mini stroke. And the reason he went to the hospital last November with no explanation from the White House beyond what we just told you earlier. But now the president clearly is so bothered by this that he is having his doctor go on the record and put this statement out, and a statement they did not put out November when we asked what was the reason behind the president's visit.
But the president is having the doctor put this on the record. And you have to think a lot has to do with the president concerned that it is a debate of his health versus Joe Biden's and something that the campaign had no problem to sow doubt of Joe Biden's mental acuity.
The president didn't mention it in the lengthy RNC speech last week but tried to frame the election around that, saying that Joe Biden doesn't know where he is, things of that nature.
[13:40:03]
And now clearly concerned what people think of his concern because the doctor is going on the record because of this book saying that the vice president might need to be on standby if the president underwent a procedure last November.
KEILAR: He tried this with Hillary Clinton, as well.
Kaitlan, thank you so much, live for us from the White House.
Breaking news. Just as the Trump administration refuses to hold in- person briefings for Congress on the security of the upcoming election, Facebook and the FBI finding a covert online Russian campaign targeting Americans. We'll have details next.
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[13:45:27]
KEILAR: We have breaking news. Facebook just announced it has uncovered covert online Russian program against Americans. Russian trolls with many tactics from the 2016 election. Facebook uncovering the new campaign after getting a tip from the FBI.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joining us to talk about this.
Breaking new details. Tell us what you are learning.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Brianna. This is a very significant update here on foreign interference. This all centers around a Web site called Peace Data.
Now Peace Data basically posed online as an independent online magazine, a left-wing magazine, and actually recruited real writers, we believe real Americans, to unwittingly contribute to the magazine, attacking Biden and Harris from the left. Also posing as a left-wing magazine, attacked the president.
And Facebook, acting on a tip from the FBI, I should say, said the site is linked to people of the Internet Research Agency -- that's the IRA, the group that meddled in the 2016 election on social media, the group that was charged by social counsel, Robert Mueller.
And Graphica, a social media forensics team -- that's the company that looked into some of these pages for Facebook -- pointed out that there were similarities of the IRA's actions in 2016 where they were trying to divide Democrats, trying to split the Democratic vote.
And to what was happening here. And you can see some of the posts that they were posting on Facebook attacking Harris and Biden. Looking like a real magazine.
The good news is that this campaign was really in the infancy, low traction, and wasn't all about the election but other aspects of American life, like racial inequality and some U.S. foreign policy and some focus on the U.K., as well.
The bad news is that this is unlikely to be the only thing trolls of Russia are doing online.
KEILAR: Some fake accounts use deep fake images, is that right?
O'SULLIVAN: Yes. That is something I guess wasn't around in 2016 and where things are really starting to get quite dystopian.
I want to show you this is this image from a Twitter account belonging purporting to belong to someone that posed as the editor of this Web site Peace Data and was reaching out to people trying to get them to write for the Web site.
But the image there of the man in the spectacles looking like a real person, we are told by Graphica, who are experts in this, that person doesn't actually exist.
That image created using artificial intelligence technology, deep fake technology. So this really is sort of I guess stepping up a gear since 2016.
One of the ways to identify a fake account in the past was you can see that images that profile pictures stolen from real people. But here trolls don't have to do that anymore.
So really a concerning and troubling online information ecosystem we're in approaching November's election.
KEILAR: No one to pop up and say that's a photo of me because the person doesn't exist.
Donie, thank you for that. We appreciate it.
We have more breaking news out of New York where a federal appeals court gave the president a win in his fight over his financial records.
CNN's Brynn Gingras is joining us now.
Brynn, tell us what's happened. BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, exactly like you
said. If you're keeping score over this saga in the court for about a year now you would give a slight win to Trump in this category.
This means essentially that tax records that the Manhattan district attorney's office has been seeking for the past year, as they continue a probe into the Trump Organization and business dealings with the Trump Organization and the president himself, they will not be handed over to the district attorney's office.
Because of this temporary stay until this appeals process of the lower court happens latter this month. So back up a little bit.
This is happening for over a month. There was a significant hearing in the Supreme Court this summer.
And then, just a few weeks, ago there was lower court who re-looked at this case as Trump's attorneys said that this way to get the tax -- these tax documents was overreaching, a fishing expedition.
The lower court released a 103-page document saying, no, it is not, and really need to put an end to this. And that's what the president's attorneys are trying to appeal.
[13:50:10]
So essentially the judges today saying that they say they can't have these documents, the Manhattan district attorney's office can't have these documents until they hear the appeals case scheduled for later this month.
Again, Brianna, this just continues something that's been going on for over a year now -- Brianna?
KEILAR: Brynn, thank you for that update.
Soon we'll take you live to the president on the ground in Wisconsin, where the shooting of an unarmed black man sparked days of protest.
Hours before his trip, the president comparing officers who use excessive force and even killed people compared to golfers who choke on a three-foot putt.
Plus, a new troubling prediction that the airline industry may need to shrink by half just to survive.
And the president's controversial new task force adviser gives an interview to CNN's Michael Smerconish. And Dr. Scott Atlas is angry. Michael will join me live.
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[13:55:29]
KEILAR: President Trump has just arrived in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city reeling after deadly protests and violence in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The president defied the mayor and the governor's calls to stay away.
Before arriving, the president compared police shootings to golfers who choke on short putts.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They choke.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Shooting the guy in the back many times. I mean, couldn't you have done something different? They choke, just like in a golf tournament. They miss a three-foot putt.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX HOST, "INGRAHAM REPORT": You're not comparing it to golf, of course, because --
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I'm saying people choke.
INGRAHAM: People panic?
TRUMP: People choke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Koerri Elijah is a Kenosha resident. He was there the night the protests in his city turned deadly when two protesters were shot and killed and another one injured.
Koerri, thank you so much for joining us.
I want to start by getting your thoughts on the president's visit to Kenosha. Do you think that this is the right time for him to be there?
KOERRI ELIJAH, WISCONSIN RESIDENT WHO WITNESSED DEADLY PROTESTS: Yes, thanks for having me, Brianna.
Personally, I do, just because I feel like when situations like this arise, you know, it's up to the leader of the nation to step in and, you know, show support to the community.
So I'm not upset that he's come. Honestly, maybe it should have happened a little sooner. Maybe they could have waited a little bit. Either way I feel like it's his job to show up.
KEILAR: So it's his job as president to show up. I wonder what you want to hear from him, what you think the community needs to hear from him.
ELIJAH: So, I don't -- personally, I can only speak on the community where I reside. I don't feel like the community needs to hear anything specifically. I think it's more of like a presence thing, you know. People, I don't
feel like they want to hear any campaign slogans or anything like that, especially when we're trying to heal and rebuild, but the presence is something that I feel is necessary.
KEILAR: And I guess personally -- so for you it's not so much hearing. It's him being there.
Is there anything you want him not to say or not to focus on that you think would not be the right message for this time?
ELIJAH: I would like not to hear that the people of the community were the people that did this, because that's not the case. So, as long as people aren't attributing the destruction to the people of the community, I'll be all right with anything else.
KEILAR: OK. You live near where the deadly shooting happened. 17-year- old Kyle Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three people and killing two of them. You say you saw this suspect before the shooting, that you heard the gunshots.
Can you tell us more about that, what you saw and heard and experienced?
ELIJAH: Yes. So, I documented pretty much the entire night, pretty much every night of the protests and riots. For months, I've been documenting.
So when I met down by the Kenosha -- I went down by the Kenosha guard before the protesters headed in that direction, to survey the scene, see what they were all about. They were all friendly to me. Most people in the community know who I am. So they kind of came up to me, talked to me a little bit.
But I noticed Kyle was there. He was kind of by himself, standing by some people. But he seemed to be alone, if that makes sense to you. I noticed he was kind of chain smoking. He looked relatively young. So, you know, he seemed kind of nervous, so he kind of stood out to me.
From there, I kind of, you know, took a mental note of that. So when things happened later on and I noticed him running past me by himself with no one chasing him, I thought it was interesting, which led me down to the scene where the shootings took place.
KEILAR: Koerri, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your thoughts and to hear what you have to say about this visit.
ELIJAH: Yes, no problem.
KEILAR: Breaking news. We are learning about who might be the first Americans to get the vaccine for coronavirus when it is released.
Plus, I'll be speaking with Michael Smerconish, who interviewed the president's new and controversial task force adviser, who administration officials are saying is pushing for herd immunity, a strategy that would cost millions of American lives. Hear what Dr. Scott Atlas said.
