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Luis Alejo, Supervisor, Monterey County Board of Supervisors, Discusses Viral Video Shining Light on Digital Divide for Online School; Trump Silent as World Leaders Demand Answers From Putin on Poisoning; Barr, Pompeo: China, Not Russia, Is Greatest Threat to America; CNN Investigates Sweden's Controversial COVID Strategy; Biden in Kenosha, Wisconsin & Meets with Jacob Blake Family. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired September 03, 2020 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
LUIS ALEJO, SUPERVISOR, MONTEREY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: And right now, the schools are all in the same situation. Online learning was extended all of them began ordering hot spots, boxes, at the same time.
So there's a tremendous back log. And this is going to take week before we get the most basic equipment to our children.
I'm working with our state legislatures to propose a universal broadband bond, hopefully soon in California, to upfront the billions needed to get devices in the urban areas and extend to the rural areas. That's what it's going to take.
There are six existing programs under the Public Utilities Commission. They only generate a small fraction of what is needed.
And we need reforms. Because local governments shouldn't have to wait in line for Internet service providers to get the first right to get some of the state money when we, as local governments, working together, can move these projects forward much quicker through permitting and environmental review.
Right now, we're trying to do that in Salinas. We have a meeting with all the superintendents, city, and county, working to how we can bring access to every citizen in Salinas' over 160,000 residents.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Luis, I'm glad we're talking about this.
Luis Alejo, thank you so much for coming on.
ALEJO: Thank you very much.
KEILAR: It's the controversial theory called herd immunity where the high-risk population is protected, while the rest of the folks go ahead with their lives as usual. CNN will investigate results in Sweden where this has been adopted.
Plus, President Trump silent on poisoning of a Russian opposition leader, while most other Western leaders are calling for justice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:52]
KEILAR: World leaders are demanding answers from Russian President Vladimir Putin after Germany announced a top critic has been poisoned with a nerve agent.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemning the Kremlin, saying there's no doubt Alexey Navalny was the victim to a crime. Navalny fell ill while on a flight from Siberia to Moscow last months. He's now being treated in a hospital in Berlin.
But one leader who has remained silent is President Trump. The latest instance Trump has failed to speak out against Russia.
We have former congressman, Mike Rogers, joining us. He is the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a CNN national security commentator.
Mike, it's great to see you.
Give us a sense of the effect of the president being silent on Russia.
MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: Well, when the international community sets its mind up to come out on something this sensitive, that's a big deal. So, we need to be seen, we, as the United States, as part of the conversation.
Poisoning or trying to kill or eliminate your political opposition is dangerous in any society. And that's what you see happening with Vladimir Putin, who is suspected of nerve agent poisoning is a real problem.
The president should clarify this as soon as possible. But just a statement out of the White House condemning this action would be really important.
And it also helps our allies out there trying to take a swing and cut at this, by pointing out Putin's, well, aggressive means to eliminate those who disagree with him.
KEILAR: We're seeing allies do that. Germany took a strong public stance. The U.K., E.U. There's others.
What does that say to you when you're looking at such a contrast between what the U.S. and our allies are doing?
ROGERS: Well, it's just concerning to me that the president doesn't understand the value of that condemnation.
And obviously, Germany is closest to it. They're closest to the medical testing that's happened, that has allowed them to believe it was a Novichok poisoning. That was important. And now to send a unified, liberal democracy, Western allies message
that we won't tolerate this and shouldn't tolerate it, is really critical.
And not doing it just add as little mystery and confusion as to why. And I just don't think it helps in our effort to push back Russian efforts all over the world, including in the United States.
KEILAR: I want to turn to election threats. And we're talking about what they're trying to do here in the United States.
This is what the Trump administration is saying.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Of those three countries, the Intelligence Community has pointed to Russia, China and Iran. What is the most assertive, the most aggressive?
WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I believe it's China.
BLITZER: Which one?
BARR: China.
BLITZER: China more than Russia right now?
BARR: Yes.
BLITZER: Why do you say that?
BARR: Because I've seen the intelligence. That's what I've concluded.
BLITZER: What are they trying to do?
BARR: I'm not going to discuss that.
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The greatest threat to the United States of America from a foreign power emanates from the Chinese Communist Party. It's not, frankly, a close call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: What do you think about that?
ROGERS: This is one of those cases where both can be right. The people who believe it's Russia and China. Both pose serious risks when it comes to operations and intelligence gathering.
In fact, the FBI announced they opened a Chinese counterintelligence investigation in the United States -- and that's pretty serious at that level -- every 10 minutes.
That being said, the Russians, we know, we watched them in 2016, 2018, even though the National Security Agency I thought they did a decent job trying to push them back. But we saw them increasing their efforts going into 2020.
And the FBI came out recently and said, yes, they're trying to stoke hatred through information operations.
They both can be dangerous. And we ought to have the resources and political will from Republicans and Democrats to say we're going to push back on both.
[14:40:02]
What they're saying on the Chinese, I think, is the fact that they're involved in intellectual property theft, meaning future jobs.
We see that they are starting to look at it for an information operation of their own. Meaning influence other nations, including the United States.
And so, their power and wealth allows them to be bigger and more aggressive sometimes, including their spy placement in the United States.
But the Russians are still equally dangerous. And not paying attention to it is not the answer.
KEILAR: Don't pick one over the other.
All right, thank you so much.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: We appreciate it.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Yes.
ROGERS: Thanks.
KEILAR: Both bad. Both need attention.
ROGERS: Yes.
KEILAR: So, next, a fact-check on the false claim from the White House moments ago that the push for, quote, "heard immunity" was made up by the media.
Plus, we're live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as Joe Biden is meeting with the family of Jacob Blake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:39]
KEILAR: The Trump administration and some conservatives continue to point to Sweden as a model for fighting coronavirus. It's true the country never went under lockdown and has not reported a COVID-19 death in over a week. But to say the country has achieved complete success would be misleading.
CNN's Max Foster is in Sweden investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This ICU unit in central Stockholm lies virtually empty with only one coronavirus patient receiving care.
This was the scene in April at the height of the Swedish pandemic with the unit inundated.
Outside, bars, shops and schools remained open throughout. No lockdown. But people were given official guidance on how to sanitize and when to socially distance and they largely abided by those rules.
Masks were never mandated here, with a senior government source telling CNN that they're regarded as largely superficial.
After an initial surge in the death rate, well above the Scandinavian average, Sweden has one of the lowest death rates in Europe.
(on camera) Most of the casualties were elderly. Nine out of 10 were over 70. And 45 percent of all deaths were in care homes. That's raised a question about the rest of society, the younger, the healthier. Did they develop a resistance to the virus and they interacted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is possible we are or have been building up some immunity that contributes to the present state.
FOSTER (voice-over): But when people in Stockholm were tested only 7 percent had enough antibodies to test the disease. But they weren't tested for T-cells, which also provide resistance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means immunity in Sweden and globally is probably larger than we have previously appreciate. At least that is our current thought.
FOSTER: And that's a narrative that some American conservatives are grasping on to.
Why bother with lockdowns and masks when you can allow them to go out about their normal lives, catch the virus and only shielding the elderly and vulnerable.
The Swedish government urges caution, pointing to how their safety guidelines were followed by most Swedes. But also their universal health care and welfare system that provides a safety net for anyone falling ill or out of work.
Lena Hallengren oversaw the government's response from the beginning as health minister.
LENA HALLENGREN, SWEDEN MINISTER FOR HEALTH: We didn't have a full-on forced lockdown but we had many changes, large number of changes in the Swedish society. During the spring, we had distance studies for all, online studies for
all secondary to the universities and adult and schools. We also had I think 30/40 percent people working from home.
We had a lot of people staying home on sick leave because they have the slightest symptoMs.
You could go up the street in the capitol and you didn't meet almost anyone.
We have lots of businesses with a very difficult situation because they didn't have any guests or customers.
So, lots of things were changed. They're having a culture events, the sports events.
So, things were changed but not in a forced way. I think that was the difference.
FOSTER: The Swedish economy shrank by 8 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the largest fall since records began.
But what of the bigger price? The many elderly who died, many argue were sacrificed in the early days of the pandemic.
HALLENGREN: If you get the virus into the elder care homes, many of the persons living there are having very severe symptoms and also die.
So, that's why we have, by law, people are forbidden to visit the elder care homes. But that was not successful in all the way. We also learned a lot of that.
FOSTER: All care home workers have since been retrained in hygiene protocols.
The government here says it's too early to know what they did right, what they did wrong or whether heard immunity for coronavirus is even a thing.
In the meantime, they're preparing for a possible second wave this fall. It wouldn't be the first country to see a surge in the virus after apparently stamping it out.
[14:50:05]
FOSTER: Max Foster, CNN, Stockholm, Sweden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany just lied at the White House briefing, blaming the media for the idea that herd immunity is being floated in the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Herd immunity, so- called theory, was something made up in the fanciful minds of the media. That was never something that was ever considered here at the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: First off, the concept has been pushed by many conservatives to reopen the economy. That's a fact.
It's gained traction, because the president just hired Dr. Scott Atlas to his coronavirus task force. And this is what he said in April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SCOTT ATLAS, MEMBER, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: By having total population isolation, we are preventing natural immunity from developing. The way immunity develops in big populations is people get the
infection, and it's fantastic that more than half -- about half of people are asymptomatic. The vast majority of people have low, mild symptoms, very low risk. That's great.
We want this population immunity, which breaks the chain of infection by virtue of people having their own antibodies, their own immunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now, Atlas recently told CNN's Michael Smerconish that the media is lying about him.
But an administration official told CNN all the policies Atlas have pushed for are in the vain of herd immunity strategy.
Even the president this week floated the theory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But once you get to a certain number -- you know, we use the word "herd," right? Once you get to a certain number, it's going to go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: It's 2020. Tape exists. And we've got the receipts.
Any moment now, we're expecting to see Joe Biden as he visits Kenosha, Wisconsin, a city that erupted in protests after the shooting of Jacob Blake. Stay tuned for that.
First, this week's "IMPACT YOUR WORLD," artists in Atlanta sending a message to neighborhoods hit hard by coronavirus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not seeing visual cues of a pandemic.
Turning the mural that people have been looking at for the last few years into a statement saying, hey, put on your mask and stop the infection.
It's just another form of visual messaging. And I feel like it's an underused tool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a 100 percent volunteer campaign. We have a series of murals across the city being outfitted with vinyl masks. And they are vinyl versus actually painting over various murals because the idea is there's not permanent.
We're disproportionately seeing black and brown people being impacted by this disease. We very much wanted to target people who we knew were hourly workers and essential workers, people who we knew had to be out and about. And we've also put out about 500 masks in the communities.
Our hash tag is Big Fat Small Acts. And anything that you see that we put out, from our yard signs to our murals to our promotional videos, have that hashtag, which drive back either to our web page or social media channel so that people can find the tips on how to stay safe and keep other people safe.
[14:53:38]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the site, it's we're going to be all right. It's from a song. And it's true. We're going to get through this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:58:30]
KEILAR: Joe Biden is in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is holding a community meeting right now in prayer right there.
Earlier today, he met with the family of Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old black man who was shot in the black seven times by police and remains in the hospital.
The Blake family do not meet with President Donald Trump.
CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Kenosha.
Arlette, how is this being perceived there?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, as you see behind me, there have been quite a few people that have gathered outside the church where Joe Biden will hold this community meeting.
He's meeting with roughly 20 community leaders, stakeholders from the religious, business communities, and also a bit of a law enforcement presence.
He has said he has come here to Kenosha to try to heal and unite this country in the wake of that police shooting of Jacob Blake. And also the protests that occurred here in the city, at times turning violent. Now as soon as Biden landed in Wisconsin, he met with the family of
Jacob Blake. He met in person privately. His wife, Jill Biden, was also there. They met in person with Jacob Blake's father, his two sisters, his brother. They also spoke over the phone with Jacob Blake's mother.
This is all part of Biden's message of unity and trying to bring healing and trying to show that he is an empathetic figure who understands what people are going through -- Brianna?
KEILAR: Arlette, we know you'll continue to monitor that appearance there. Thank you.
[15:00:00]
Our special coverage continues now with Brooke Baldwin.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: All right, Brianna, thank you so much.
Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.
