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Trump Denies Calling U.S. War Dead Losers And Suckers; Experts Fear Super-Spreader Events During Labor Day Weekend; Dr. Carlos del Rio Discusses Vaccine Trials; Louisville Braces for Kentucky Derby Amid Pandemic, Social Justice Protests; Source: GOP Operatives Believe They Have Blessing of Trump Campaign to Help Kanye West Campaign; New CNN Documentary on Biden/Trump Presidential Fight & A Moment Where Biden Explains Impact of Son Beau's Death. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 05, 2020 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Fifty-nine days now until the 2020 presidential election and the president is fighting to control a damaging new report from The Atlantic magazine, claiming he skipped a 2018 visit to a World War I memorial in France because he was, one, concerned about his hair in the rain, and two, considered the cemetery for America's war dead to be filled with losers.

While CNN has not independently verified this report, other outlets have. President Trump, however, insists the story is fake.

But history is working against him. Not only has the president previously denied stories that he's forced to later admit are true, think Stormy Daniels, but he's also made very public and very controversial remarks about service members in the past, like the late senator, John McCain.

There is one man though who would serve as either the president's strongest defender or greatest critic. At the center of one of the claims in The Atlantic is former White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly. Not only did Kelly attend the memorial in France in the president's place, but a year earlier in 2017, the two men stood by the grave of General Kelly's son, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan and this is video from that day in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Atlantic sources allege that Trump turned directly to Kelly and said, I don't get it, what was in it for them. Here was the president's response when a reporter asked why Kelly hadn't publicly denied the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I know John Kelly. He was with me. He didn't do a good job, had no temperament and ultimately he was petered out. He was exhausted. This man was totally exhausted. He wasn't even able to function in the last number of months.

He got eaten up in this world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: While CNN has yet to match The Atlantic's reporting, we are learning about additional comments the president has made about veterans, specifically those who served in Vietnam.

let's go the White House where Jeremy Diamond is standing by. And, Jeremy, what are you hearing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ana. A person familiar with the president's remarks has told us now that the president has repeatedly questioned why Americans who went on to serve in the Vietnam War did so and questions of why they were able to get out of serving, suggesting that Vietnam veterans didn't know how to exploit the system to get out of serving in Vietnam. Perhaps the president was thinking about the way that he did so himself.

We know that the president received multiple deferments to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, to avoid being drafted, including one medical deferment, which the president claimed was because he had bone spurs, which would not allow him to serve in Vietnam.

According to this same source, the president has also generally questioned why veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan did so, saying what did they get out of it, and this is along the same lines of what was reported in The Atlantic, which suggests that the president doesn't understand why military service members would go on to do something that is so representative of self-sacrifice and so non-transactional, particularly for a president who is so transactional and has been not only in politics, but in his business life as well.

CABRERA: And, Jeremy, the president has, again, angrily continued this damaging report in The Atlantic and he's gone on the attack against John Kelly for some reason. But, as we mentioned, John Kelly is staying silent. Do you think we will hear from John Kelly at some point?

DIAMOND: You know, I guess we're going to have to see. I mean, it is interesting because John Kelly has made some comments about President Trump since leaving his post as White House chief of staff. He joined in with General Jim Mattis, who criticized how he handled the dispersal of protesters in Lafayette Square Park a few months ago and said that I agree with Jim Mattis. But he has not made really pointed criticisms of the president's character since leaving office, and it's not clear why.

We do know that some of John Kelly's friends have encouraged him to do so and to make his feelings about the president known before Election Day. It's not clear why General Kelly so far has resisted doing so. But, clearly, he is at the center of all of this. Not only was he on the trip with the president in France, but also at the site of his son's grave. And you would think that John Kelly might want to make his feelings known before Election Day.

[15:05:02]

But, so far, he has not. Ana?

CABRERA: Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thank you.

The Atlantic also makes this claim about the funeral for late Senator John McCain. Quote, when McCain died in August 2018, Trump told his senior staff, according to three sources with direct knowledge of this event, we are not going to support that loser's funeral, and he became furious, according to witnesses, when he saw flags lowered to half staff.

The president denies this and other reporting in The Atlantic tweeting, quote, I never called John a loser and swear on whatever or whoever I was asked to swear on that I never called our great fallen soldiers anything other than heroes.

Not only has the president referred to Senator McCain as a loser, at least once that we know of, but he did so on tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I supported him and he lost. He let us down. But he lost. So I never liked him as much after that, because I don't like losers.

But, Frank, let me get to it. He hit me --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He's not a war hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a war hero.

TRUMP: He is a war hero --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five and a half years --

TRUMP: He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to tell you that. He's a war hero because he was captured.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: My next guest is the only person to have gone on the record to confirm any of this reporting. Miles Taylor worked in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, serving as former Chief of Staff to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and he has since become a vocal critic of President Trump and has endorsed Joe Biden.

So, Miles, what can you confirm? MILES TAYLOR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Well, look, I'll say this. The reporting in The Atlantic is not shocking to me. I'll say, first and foremost, I have heard the president make comments that I thought in some way, shape and form were disparaging to active service members.

In fact, I can remember when he wanted to deploy troops down to the southern border and we kept telling the president that they wouldn't be able to do much at the southern border because they didn't have the law enforcement authorities. The president said he didn't care, he wanted them down there. I mean, he effectively saw our troops as political props that he could have on television in camo at the border. So the overall reporting is not surprising to me.

But when it comes to John McCain, as you know, Ana, in my view, we've seen the president of the United States lie at least three times in the past 48 hours on this by suggesting that he thought McCain's honor after his death, honoring him was well deserved. The president didn't believe that. The president saying he wasn't hesitant to lower American flags around the country. He was hesitant, and I can tell you about that firsthand.

And then, of course, as you know, him saying that he never called John McCain a loser, and we have that on tape. But when it comes to lowering the flags, I was there firsthand. The president's aides called me in the middle of the night. I was halfway across the world on a counterterrorism mission and doing meetings in Australia and the president's staff called and said he was angry.

And DHS had -- we had ordered the flags lowered on all federal buildings and indicated -- they indicated that he wanted them back up. And we said it was too late and we weren't going to re-raise the flags unless we got a direct order from the White House with an explanation. Then, of course, the president, not wanting to be embarrassed, issued his own proclamation in the hours that followed.

But he lied about, Ana, and he lied about that to the American people directly just the other day.

CABRERA: Perhaps the biggest claim in The Atlantic that they make is that President Trump canceled a visit to the American World War I cemetery in France in 2018 because he did not believe it was important to honor those service members who died in war. The magazine saying, quote, in a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, why should I go to that cemetery, it's filled with losers.

In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as suckers for getting killed.

Miles, this allegedly happened while you were a part of the administration as well. Had you ever heard this specific story?

TAYLOR: I cannot testify directly to the president saying those things. I wasn't on that trip. But what I will say is this, it sounds completely like the president. So people who have doubt need to know this, when you are with Donald Trump, those are the types of words he uses. That is the level of disrespect that he shows to people who are civil servants and who are serving on the frontlines to protect this country.

And I'm not kidding. The president has waged an all-out assault on people in our government who serve our country and these words are not at all surprising to me and I don't think people should be baffled. This is the Donald Trump we've come to know in public and in private.

CABRERA: Right now, you are the only person who has actually gone on record to confirm any of this. Do you know if others are willing to put their names on this and do you think they should?

TAYLOR: Well, look, I am really hopeful they will and I'm glad you mentioned John Kelly earlier. I've said before, John Kelly has more character than anyone that I've ever worked for and Donald Trump probably has less character than anyone that I've ever worked for.

[15:10:03]

And I really urge my former colleagues, my former bosses from the administration to step out and say what they know to be true and say what they were all too willing to say behind the scenes.

And some of them have done that in their own way. I'm glad Ambassador Bolton has been out there very publicly explaining what he saw behind the scenes. But it's not just me and John Bolton. There many, many others. In fact, I would say, it is the majority of senior administration officials that served alongside me share the same sentiments about the president that I have expressed and it's critical for voters to know that before November 3rd.

CABRERA: Why do you think John Kelly is staying silent then?

TAYLOR: Well, look, I don't want to question the chief's reasons right now. I mean, look, he's a very honorable man and I think he takes his responsibility as a former four-star marine general very seriously, especially as it relates to the civilian military divide and commenting on political issues.

But without urging him specifically to do something, he may or may not be comfortable to do, I will say this. I think that the unprecedented times that we are in right now outweigh the precedent of former military officials speaking out against a commander in chief during the election cycle.

I think it's extremely important for these people to share what they saw. I don't believe in the notion that's been suggested that people who serve the president are required to hold their tongues. In fact, I actually think the requirement is the opposite. There's a great Teddy Roosevelt quote where Roosevelt said, there's not an obligation to stand by the president your obligation. Patriotism means standing by the country.

So I think it's incumbent on everyone whether they wore the uniform or not to talk about the character of this man and what they saw, because that is what is on the ballot this November and people are going to have to conduct that review.

And I'll add, Ana, there's so much a noise, such a cacophony right now that's been created by this president that these are the only people who can cut through it.

So, look, I am hopeful. Hopefully, Miles Taylor is not a name that's going to mean anything to anyone in a few weeks and I think we'll have a few more folks that served alongside me and hopefully in more senior positions coming out and saying what they knew and what they saw.

CABRERA: And I have to ask you about some other things, but really quickly, if you will, do you know of anybody else who plans to come forward before the election?

TAYLOR: I hate to tease this, but as you would expect, Ana, I have been pretty actively involved in trying to give people the confidence to come out and say what they need to say and to not fear this president. And I do think in the coming days here, I'm going to have some news for you in that regard.

And I think we will have more folks attaching their names to direct criticism of the president stepping out of the shadows and not being anonymous sources. We don't need more anonymous sources right now. We need people on the record and I think you'll see that.

CABRERA: Okay, so we'll wait for that. In the meantime, let's talk about other news this weekend, because, especially, you were part of this administration, you have some insight for all of us.

CNN has obtained a copy of a homeland security intelligence bulletin warning about Russian attempts to undermine our election process. Not only does it say Russian has been amplifying election integrity issues since March but it goes on to give a series of examples. And I'm going to read you what this intelligence bulletin says and play for you what the president has been saying and you'll see they really are quite similar.

For instance, the bulletin says Russia has, quote, criticized the integrity of expanded and universal vote by mail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This universal mail-in is a very dangerous thing. It's fraught with fraud and every other thing that can happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The intelligence bulletin also says Russia has denigrated vote by mail processes, alleging they lack transparency and procedural oversight, creating vast opportunities for voter fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The ballots are lost, there's fraud, there's theft. It's happening all over the place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The DHS warning goes on to say Russia has, quote, amplified public narratives about shortcomings in ballot delivery and processing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Now New Jersey is going to try the universal mail-in voting.

So how does a post office -- how does a postal service that doesn't know about it now all of a sudden New Jersey is supposed to take out and millions of ballots are going to be sent all over New Jersey?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Miles, it is startling that as you read through this bulletin, there are lines where you can replace the word Russia with Trump. And it's still accurate. So is President Trump echoing Russia or is Russia echoing President Trump?

TAYLOR: Look, I'm going to say this at the top end, Ana. I actually think we are in a more precarious position in the 2020 election than we were in 2016. We face election security threats from inside and outside.

On the outside, it's obvious, we now have more than one international foreign adversary trying to intervene in our election. We now have Russia, China and the Iranians. And the reason falls directly and squarely at the president's feet. Because he failed to deter these countries and indicate that they would be punished for intervening, he's left the door wide open to their intervention.

So that's the threat from the outside. But the threat from the inside is exactly what you note, the president is not only fail to go dissuade these countries form intervening in our democratic process, he is encouraging it by amplifying their propaganda.

What's worse is that when the president sees countries doing things that are hurtful to his campaign, like the intelligence community has said the Chinese are doing, he will call out the Chinese. But when he sees a foreign government doing things helpful to his campaign and to his re-election, like you've just noted with the Russians, he refuses to call it out.

And what's even worse is that his lieutenants in this administration, including the attorney general and others, have actively downplayed the threats from Russia and played up the threats from countries like Chinese, that, again, are aiming to undermine the president's re- election.

This is inappropriate. Our leaders should call out any foreign government that's attempting to undermine our democracy, regardless of what candidate they might be trying to help or hurt. But the president isn't doing that. And it's one more example of him governing on the basis of self-interest rather than putting our country's interest first. And I want to add one more thing, Ana, and that is the president has also seeded a narrative to his supporters that if he loses this election, it's because the election is rigged. So that's another threat to our electoral process from within.

You've got the president of the United States saying this might not be a legitimate process if I lose and he's creating -- he's tilling the fertile soil for nationwide civil unrest after November 3rd if Joe Biden wins. I have never seen a president do that and I don't think there's any modern historic parallel.

CABRERA: And there's still less and less transparency about what the threats are and what the intelligence community even knows with ODNI saying they're no longer going to be briefing Congress in person with this new reporting about DHS not disclosing another intelligence bulletin regarding Russia's attempts to undermine Joe Biden and putting out things about his mental health.

There's also what we're hearing now from acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and giving a speech amplifying other issues that may not be the greatest threat to Americans when he talks about law enforcement officials when he was talking to them yesterday and he really painted a bleak view of American cities, using words like anarchists and riots. I want you to hear this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD WOLF, ACTING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Sadly, the past few months has given us a grisly picture of what can happen to our communities when local leaders abandon public safety. Cities like Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Kenosha, and others, have been subject to riots, chaos and anarchy, rendering parts of their cities unrecognizable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: This is the man the president is formally dominating to be DHS secretary. You worked with him for a time. What should people know about him?

TAYLOR: Yes. I worked with Chad very, very closely. And what I would say is this. He is in a difficult job. But right now more than any other job in the federal government, the Homeland Security secretary needs to be ready to speak truth to power and tell the president what he needs to hear and not what he wants to hear.

Certainly, when we were there supporting John Kelly and Kirstjen Nielsen, that was very much the case. Those two leaders, and Elaine Duke, who had been acting secretary, they were not afraid to speak truth to the president.

I can't tell you what's happening at the department right now. I have seen things that are deeply alarming to me about the direction DHS is going and how much the president is trying to politicize the department. And I can only hope that Chad Wolf, behind the scenes, again, is speaking truth to power to the president. And I would certainly urge him to do so.

CABRERA: Miles Taylor, thank you so much for joining us.

TAYLOR: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Up next, we turn to the pandemic, which is now predicted to kill 410,000 Americans by New Year's. President Trump is hopeful we'll have a life-saving vaccine by October, just in time for the election. But is that realistic? And if it is, will that vaccine be safe? We'll ask an infectious disease expert, next.

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[15:20:00]

CABRERA: Welcome back.

Let's look live right now at a very crowded beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The crowds coming in for the Labor Day holiday weekend as health experts worry about super-spreader events. The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warning Americans to stay vigilant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We want to make sure that all over the country, but particularly in the vulnerable states that are starting to show an uptick, that we abide by the public health mandates and rules that we talk about all the time over the weekend and not, in essence, have the same kind of surges that we have seen following other holiday weekends like the 4th of July and Memorial Day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's go now to Hoboken, New Jersey, where people can now enjoy going to movie theatres and indoor dining as restrictions are further relaxed. CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro is in Hoboken for us.

And, Evan, from what we can tell, people in New Jersey are getting out and about. What are you seeing? Are people listening to Dr. Fauci's warning?

EVAN MCMORRIS SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, that's exactly the question that we came to Hoboken to answer. Governor Phil Murphy yesterday in a press conference said, look, we're going to reopen things like movie theatres and indoor dining at a very slight level, 25 percent capacity, got to wear a mask when you're not eating and see if it works. If people don't abide by those rules, he said, we'll shut things down. So we came here to see how it's going.

Now, the big movie at the movie theatres right now is a movie called Tenet. I talked to a guy who traveled from New York City here to Hoboken to see it because in New York City, you can't go to the movies, and here Hoboken, you can. He spent about $30 to get here. And I asked him what it was like inside a theatre right now. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Relatively, there was few people inside then compared to before this whole thing started.

[15:25:00]

And from what I've seen, out looking around, everybody was wearing their masks. And when they were eating popcorn, they had it on their quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCMORRIS-SANTORO: So, going to the movies is a very different experience now than it was before. The question is, is it different enough to keep the pandemic numbers down here in New Jersey, a place that's fought so hard to bring it down from a very, very lofty level earlier in the year. Ana?

CABRERA: Evan, thank you.

Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Carlos del Rio joins us now. He is the Executive Associate Dean of Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System.

Dr. del Rio, we're facing what could become another super-spreader holiday weekend. Your reaction to what we've been seeing so far, especially when you look at the images of that crowded beach in New Jersey?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Well, Ana, I think crowded is never a good word when you're talking about a pandemic, but crowded outside is probably safer than crowded inside. We don't want people -- it's okay probably that they're at the beach. Hopefully, they won't go to bars afterwards, they won't go to crowded places to eat afterwards. That's what I'm more concerned about. That's where a lot more transmission will happen. Outside, in general, is much safer than inside.

As far as the movies, what I heard is 25 percent capacity, people using their masks. I think it's reasonable. I think we can do that. But we have to keep those limits very strongly and we've got to make sure that they're not violated, because if they are, then you really lose the opportunity. And, again, the movies will be inside, right? So inside is less safe than outdoors.

CABRERA: Sources tell CNN that the Trump administration has been putting pressure on the FDA to get a vaccine by the election, adding more fears that an approval could be politically motivated. Here is what Dr. Anthony Fauci is saying. He's backing the FDA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: I have faith in the system that the FDA will do what they promise and they promise that they will make decisions on a regulatory basis purely on the basis of the science and the evidence. And I'm counting on them to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: He also mentioned that he would call out any political interference if he sees it. Do you think the process will be transparent enough to know with 100 percent confidence that a vaccine is safe and effective when approved without any question of political interference?

DEL RIO: Well, Ana, I sure hope so. As an investigator in the study, as somebody who talks to Dr. Fauci regularly, as somebody who has been involved in what happens in Operation Warp Speed, I am hoping that science will trump everything. And even the chief scientist for Operation Warp Speed will say -- said the other day unequivocally, I will resign if there's political interference.

We've got to let the science do its job. If the science does its job, we will have a vaccine. I'm sure about that. But we need to be sure that we don't politically interfere with the approval process. That would be reckless, that would be not very good and at the end of the day it will hurt the health of Americans.

CABRERA: Let's dig into the timeline of this vaccine because Dr. Fauci has called it unlikely, but not impossible to have it by the election. Meantime, the editor-in-chief of the medical journal, Lancet, says this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HORTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE LANCET: We can't cut corners. There will not be a vaccine available for public use by the end of October. President Trump is simply wrong about that and I have no understanding why he is saying it, because his advisers will surely be telling him that that's just impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Dr. del Rio, he says, impossible. Would you go that far?

DEL RIO: I would go as far as saying it's close to possible. It's highly unlikely. The vaccines and all these studies looking at this vaccine in phase three, they're looking at two things. They're looking at the ability of the vaccine to prevent people from getting sick, so once you get infected, you won't get sick. And as a secondary outcome, they're looking at the ability of the vaccine to prevent infection.

It's going to take some time to show that that indeed is the case. You may see it in a couple of people between now and October, but I don't think the number of events you need in order to be assured that the vaccine is indeed doing what it's supposed to do, the efficacy, is simply not going to be there that quickly.

By the end of December, late January, I think so. I mean, I think it's going to take some time but it's not going to take two or three years. We will know soon. But I don't want to put the election as the date we must make a decision by. That would be a mistake. CABRERA: December or January would still be, again, literally Warp Speed for a vaccine.

I have to ask you about --

DEL RIO: It would be unbelievable.

CABRERA: I know, and I know you are working really hard to help the trial process move along as an investigator on one of the trials. And we now know the data so far from Pfizer and Moderna, coming from the enrollment, is that not enough minorities are participating at this point.

This week, Moderna actually announced that they're slowing down the enrollment to work harder to recruit diverse populations. Dr. Fauci says phrase three clinical trials should aim to include minorities at least double their representation in the population.

[15:30:00]

Why is that important? And if those standards aren't met in the trials, could that impact the effectiveness of the vaccine?

DEL RIO: Well, what it will impact, Ana, is the ability or the acceptance of the vaccine by those populations.

We saw published by analyst in "Internal Medicine" today a survey saying that about 30 percent of people are not sure they will take the vaccine and another 10 percent, 20 percent are saying they definitely won't take it.

And the things associated with not wanting the vaccine was young age but also being a minority, like an African-American. So it's skepticism about a vaccine that is going to be a problem.

And the population most impacted, which are minorities, you've got to get them enrolled in the study so you develop the trust you need to roll out the vaccine.

Trust is a critical component to make this vaccine into the population that's most at risk.

CABRERA: Dr. Carlos Del Rio, really appreciate your time. We always enjoy having you here. Thank you. You're working so hard. You've got to be exhausted. But keep up your great work.

DEL RIO: Thank you, Ana. Great talking to you.

CABRERA: You, too.

Coming up, it is a Kentucky Derby like no other. Already delayed by the pandemic, now facing protests over the death of Breonna Taylor. We'll take you live to Louisville next.

Stay with us. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[15:35:41]

CABRERA: After a four-month delay, Louisville is getting ready to run the Kentucky Derby amid a pandemic and protests demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police during a no-knock raid.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us from Louisville.

What are you seeing, Jason? Are there protesters?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just a little earlier, right out here in west Jefferson, in downtown Louisville, we saw clashes between white militia members and members of Black Lives Matter. There are just a few folks out now.

I want to show you the tape of what just happened on the streets a short while ago. We saw heated exchanges between members of the white militia group and members of Black Lives Matter.

At one point, moved into here some of the members of the white militia group shouting, we're going to go one way, you guys go the other way.

Then, at one point, police moved in. Louisville Metro Police took a position in the middle of the street to separate both groups. They did that and then both groups were able to disperse.

Now, across town, there's going to be a separate protest at about 5:00. That's going to be protesters who are here for Breonna Taylor. They want justice for Breonna Taylor, talking about this investigation, five months after her death, still no result of the investigation.

The attorney general tweeting about that earlier today, saying the following, saying, "Today, while we honor a Kentucky tradition with the running of the Derby, we remain cognizant of the community's desire for answers in the investigation into the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor. We continue to move forward with our investigation, reviewing each fact to reach the truth."

The separate demonstration that's going to get under way at about 5:00, what they're going to do, Ana, is march from that park to Churchill Downs where they say, at race time, they're going to have a rally.

They say their demonstration will be nonviolent, but they say there will be acts of civil disobedience -- Ana?

CABRERA: Jason Carroll, thank you for being there for us.

Kanye West doesn't have a shot at being the next president so why the worry from some about his candidacy? That's next.

Plus, tune in to "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow at 9:00 for CNN's exclusive interview with Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Senator Kamala Harris.

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[15:41:59]

CABRERA: Kanye West doesn't have a chance of being president. He didn't file, he missed the deadline, or had his application denied in 38 states. And yet, he could still play a role in deciding who wins in November.

CNN's Sara Murray explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KANYE WEST, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & RAPPER: In 2020, I'm going to run the whole election.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite his predictions, Kanye West is not going to be the next president.

So far, the rap superstar has only made the ballot in 11 states, missing so many others, he can't mathematically win.

(CHEERING)

MURRAY: Yet, across the country, GOP operatives and lawyers are bolstering West's presidential bid in hopes it will skim off support from Joe Biden and boost President Trump's chances of getting re- elected.

QUINTIN JAMES, FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, THE COLLECTIVE PAC: I think it's more of a employ that the Republicans are kind of using Kanye to diminish Joe Biden's votes.

MURRAY: Critics like Quintin James, who works to elect black candidates, say GOP efforts to prop up West are particularly shameless in light of West's diagnosis with bipolar disorder, which are marked by swings between mania and depression.

West has said he does not take medication for it.

JAMES: It's really sad. And we wish Kanye the best in getting his mental health under control. But, again, this is not what we want to see in politics.

WEST: I'm not running for president. I'm walking.

MURRAY: Still, Republicans are turning up to help West. One source tells CNN that GOP operatives believe they have the Trump campaign's blessing to aid West's efforts.

GOP lawyer, Lane Ruhland, who is also doing legal work for the Trump campaign, dropped off signatures for West's attempt to get on the ballot in Wisconsin.

Mark Jacoby, an executive at Let the Voters Decide, is helping West collect signatures in multiple states. He previously pleaded guilty to voter registration fraud for his work for the California Republican Party.

A representative for the company said any focus on Jacoby's record has "nothing to do with any political campaign and is misplaced and irresponsible."

GREG KELLER, GOP OPERATIVE: Hello, American conservatives.

MURRAY: Half a dozen GOP operatives say, at the heart of the effort is Greg Keller, a Republican and former executive director of the American Conservative Union, who has been recruiting other Republicans to get involved.

Ruhland, Keller and half a dozen others involved in the campaign did not respond to our request for comment.

(SHOUTING)

MURRAY: While West has polled around 2 percent with registered voters, any third-party candidate can pose a risk in a tight race.

TERRANCE WOODBURY, PARTNER, HIT STRATEGIES: Kanye West will not garner enough votes to become president but he can garner enough votes to determine the outcome of this election.

MURRAY: The president and his complain insist they have nothing to do with west's efforts.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I like Kanye very much. I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot.

MURRAY: West did not respond to a request for comment. Also brushed side rumors that he's in cahoots with Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say that they're paying you to do what you're doing to be a distraction.

WEST: Bro, ain't nobody pay me.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got more money than Trump.

WEST: I've got more money than Trump.

MURRAY: As West has set off controversy after controversy in recent years, including by supporting Trump --

WEST: But I love this guy right here. Let me give this guy a hug.

(LAUGHTER)

WEST: I love this guy right here.

[15:45:01] TRUMP: Come here. That's really nice.

And that's from the heart. I didn't want to put you in that position.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But that's from the heart.

Special guy.

MURRAY: He's also been open about his bipolar disorder in interviews and in his music.

(SINGING)

MURRAY: His campaign kickoff prompted concerns.

WEST: We are trapped in a loop. And we are going to break that trap.

MURRAY: As West broke into tears talking about abortion and his relationship with his family --

(SHOUTING)

MURRAY: -- after his wife, Kim Kardashian West, asked for compassion, writing, "We, as a society, talk about giving grace to the issue of mental health as a whole. However, we should also give it to the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it the most."

(on camera): Now part of the reason people are skeptical of the Kanye West campaign is because of his previous support for the president.

But also because he's close with Jared Kushner, the president's son- in-law and a senior adviser. In fact, the two men met up in Colorado in August. Kushner confirmed it was just a policy talk.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Coming up, Joe Biden's long journey. His emotional new interview with CNN about the personal tragedies that have shaped his life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:59]

CABRERA: He's been a city councilman, a Senator, and vice president. But now, Joe Biden wants the one office that has eluded him for decades.

In a new CNN special report, our Gloria Borger takes a look at Biden's years of service in public and the multiple personal tragedies that have shaped his life on the long journey to this point. GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Ana, while Joe Biden was

serving as vice president, his son, Beau, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. The vice president rearranged his life, and Beau worried about him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORGER (voice-over): While the vice president tried help his son, the son tried to help his father.

TED KAUFMAN, FRIEND & LONGTIME POLITICAL ADVISER: I absolutely believe, and I'll believe it until the day that I die, the thing Beau was most afraid of was not dying. What he was most afraid of was the impact it would have on his dad. That is would really take his dad out.

BORGER (on camera): Did he tell you that?

KAUFMAN: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. All of the time.

BORGER (voice-over): It is something the vice president wrote about in 2017 in his book, "Promise Me, Dad."

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Beau just made me promise. This was just before he died. He said, dad you have to promise me you're going to be OK. I said, Beau. He said, dad, look at me, look me in the eye, dad. Give me your word as a Biden, dad, you're going to be OK.

BORGER (on camera): Are you OK?

BIDEN: I am. Because it is still emotional but I knew what he meant. He was worried that I would walk away from everything I worked in my whole life, the things I cared about.

He knew I would take care of the family. He never worried about that. But he didn't want me walking away.

UNIDENTIFIED SERVICEMEMBER: Forward march.

BORGER (voice-over): Beau Biden died on May 30th, 2015. He was 46 years old.

(on camera): Is it true you keep Beau's rosary with had you?

BIDEN: Got it in my pocket.

BORGER: All of the time?

BIDEN: I keep it all of the time. He had it when he passed away. It was more gold. You could see it's worn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BORGER: Of course, Biden didn't end up running in 2016, and he felt his political career was over. But as we all now know, it surely wasn't -- Ana?

CABRERA: Gloria Borger, thank you. We look forward to your special.

We bring you the stories of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump and their fight for the White House. You can see their triumphs, tragedies, and their dramatic journeys to a showdown. Don't miss the back-to-back documentary events starting Monday at 8:00 on CNN.

And now, here's CNN's Anderson Cooper with a story of three "CNN Heroes" working to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): These "CNN Heroes" are hard at work, temporarily transforming a business to provide and push for safety measures in Ethiopia.

UNIDENTIFIED "CNN HERO": We have produced over 50,000 clothes masks to help out the most vulnerable women and children in our community.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED "CNN HERO": And I speak out to the need to wear mask and social distance.

COOPER: Bringing medical care and crucial awareness to remote areas of Kenya.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED "CNN HERO": There's a lot of misinformation that it's a disease that's not going to come all the way to the rural areas. Information sharing is a number one key.

We set up all the billboards on the entry ways covering the messaging around COVID-19.

COOPER: And providing supplies and protective gear to those that need it most in Cameroon.

UNIDENTIFIED "CNN HERO": We focus today on the population due to the crisis in Cameroon. We focus to orphanage. And I hope this will reduces the number of people that die due to coronavirus. That's my dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:55:07]

CABRERA: To see Anderson's full story about these remarkable heroes, go to CNNheroes.com right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)