Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Donald Trump Wants To Vote On Supreme Court Pick Before Election Day; Collins, Murkowski Side Against Fast-Track Confirmation; CNN: Social Conservative Legal Circles Pressuring Trump To Choose Judge Amy Coney Barrett As Ginsburg Replacement; Twenty- eight States Now Trending In The Wrong Direction; Former FDA Chief: One More Virus Cycle Into Fall And Winter. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired September 21, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing your day with us. 200,000 American deaths, the United States very close just about to pass that gut punch marker today. Yet the president grades his Coronavirus response an A-plus and says the United States is rounding the final turn.

Doctors and the data tell us that are simply not true. More on the virus later but we begin the hour with the death of the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Word last hour, Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week and word from the president this morning he plans to move full speed ahead on a replacement, just 43 days now from the November election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are actually five I'm looking at. It's down to five and we're, you know, they're all -- it could be any one of them. I'm going to make a decision on either Friday or Saturday. I will announce it either Friday or Saturday and then the work begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The Supreme Court pick, a confirmation would reshape the American legal system. This fight will reshape the final six weeks of a presidential election. The only question in that regard is how? The president campaigns in battleground Ohio today. Joe Biden visits battleground Wisconsin.

The president thinks a court fight is to his advantage making the courts a campaign issue did help candidate Trump back in 2016 but Democrats believe the giant stakes this time a high court with three Trump Justices with the votes to perhaps unmake Obamacare and to undermine Roe V. Wade, Democrats think the issue works in their favor this time.

The first test is whether the president and Leader Mitch McConnell can win the votes for a fast track confirmation. It would take four Republicans to block that and there are two already. Democratic Nominee Biden making this case in his appeal for two more to step up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My appeal to those few Senate Republicans, the handful who really will decide what happens? Please, follow your conscience. Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created.

Don't go there. Uphold your constitutional duty, your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country. We can't keep rewriting history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Let's get straight to CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House for us. Kaitlan, Joe Biden has his view but the president has a very different view his as I have this power, I plan on using it.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yep and he has made clear as he did today that he wants that confirmation vote to happen before the November 3rd election, that is what he conveyed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in several phone calls that the two of them had weekend.

It's something he said on Fox News and so of course the question here is going to be the timing and the president says he is going to announce his pick, who's going to be a woman, he has already noted by Friday or by Saturday and if he announces it on Friday John that would give him 39 days until the election to get that nominee confirmed by the Senate.

Of course there are still so many questions about whether or not they have the votes and it will ultimately be up to McConnell whether they're going to do it before or after the election and there are a lot of factors that go into play there.

But that 39-day period would be incredibly short given on average it's taken about 70 days to confirm Supreme Court Justices since the 1980s. And the White House has repeatedly pointed to how long it took RBG to get confirmed?

Saying it was around 40 days actually it was closer to 50 days from when she was nominated to when she was confirmed by the Senate but that is the timeline they're looking at and they're looking to move quickly and the president is being encouraged by several people to do so.

Now of course what they spent the weekend doing was the president was on the phone a lot, they have whittled down the list to these top three women. Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa and of course Allison Jones Rushing these are three women that they have been looking at, the latter believe may be too young but she is only 38 years old but she does have some fans inside the White House.

And so they're still trying to figure out who exactly the pick is going to be because John what they realize here is there's absolutely no room for error if they're going to move this quickly and try to get someone confirmed in the next 45 days or so.

KING: The next several days going to be consequential as the president narrow and then makes his decision. Kaitlan Collins, I appreciate the live reporting there. Step one for the president and Leader McConnell or step two anyway the president has to make his pick or a two would be to prevent two Republican Senators from joining Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.

They have already said they will not vote before the election on a new Supreme Court pick. Let's get up to CNN's Manu Raju live for us up on Capitol Hill. Manu, these two Republicans Senators have said the president has a right to name somebody we don't think the Senate should act before Presidential Election. Let's have the American people weigh in on this. The question is can we get from two to four?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the question. We don't know the answer to that yet. There are several Republican Senators who have not said one way or the other how they will ultimately come down?

And getting someone done in just probably 38 or 39 days if the president were to nominate someone on Friday or Saturday as he's saying typically this process takes two or three months the vetting process.

So getting someone by Election Day will be incredibly complicated particularly as Senators want to go back home and campaign to keep their own seats.

[12:05:00]

RAJU: Now one of those Senators is Cory Gardiner of Colorado he is in a very difficult race and in Democratic-leaning state. And he of course in 2016 said that the voters should decide who the next president is and that president should pick the nominee when Barack Obama named his choice back in March of that year.

Now he was asked over the weekend back home whether he still stands by what he said in 2016 and he side stepped the question?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY GARDENER (R-CO): We need to make sure that we are giving time for personal reflection on this loss of an American icon and I hope that before the politics begin, because there will be plenty of time for that, that we have some time for this country to reflect on the legacy of a great woman who led to our nation's highest court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But Trump this morning was applying some pressure to Republicans like Cory Gardner. He said on Fox said Gardner is loyal to the party, loyal to his state and he also criticized Collins and Murkowski. He said Collins would be "Very badly hurt by her opposition to moving forward in this -- before the election. And of course Collins is in a very difficult race, most difficult of her career up in Maine. There are other Senators who have not said yet and how they will come down. Chuck Grassley of Iowa told me in late July that they should not move forward any vacancy this election year now that that there is one he has not yet said we do expect a statement from him later today.

Of course where will Mitt Romney come down the Utah Republican Senator? I'm told that he is not going to weigh in until after he meets with Republican Senators tomorrow. So a lot of questions about whether they can get this done before the election or whether they can get it done after the election, particularly if Trump loses but those are all the questions that these Senators will have to grapple with as they return back to Washington today John.

KING: That would be a very, very dramatic few days in Washington. I think we call that a punch from Cory Gardner there that sound back home from him this week and as he tries to figure out the delegate politics there. Manu Raju, grateful important live reporting off Capitol Hill. We'll stay in touch.

Let's continue the conversation now with our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and New York Times Errol Louis. And Dana to you first, now the president has spend the weekend reaching out to advisers about this and you have some new reporting that he is conflicted.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Very conflicted. I spoke to a source familiar with the president's thinking who said he is really appears to be torn between at this point the two leading contenders, Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa both federal judges.

Amy Coney Barrett as we know as we have been reporting all weekend is the pick for social conservatives and for those in conservative legal circles who are very, very influential historically, with presidents but most importantly with this president, because he understands that it's those figures who really helped him become President of the United States across the country holding their nose and saying, okay, we are okay with this nominee to be the Republican Nominee as long as he promises to gives us the judges we want she is somebody who they like.

And then on the other side Barbara Lagoa, I'm told that he is saying privately that he -- much like he is saying publicly but even more so in private. He really likes the idea of her, he likes the idea of a Latina, he likes the idea of somebody from Florida but we know that the way that he tends to go.

And according to again a source I was talking to one that issues and one of the questions is, is he going to go for what the source termed a social conservative war with Barrett because she is somebody who has been publicly very clear about her personal views being against abortion or is he going to go for something that might be more politically promising for him in the short term?

If past is prologue this is a president who tends to go with the base- driven decision on whole host of issues.

KING: And he has two already confirmed and so he and Mitch McConnell have developed this relationship where he trusts the math from the Majority Leader that will have some impact there as well. And Errol, you know the Democrats are screaming hypocrisy when Obama tried to appoint Merrick Garland they work nearly 300 days.

It was nearly 300 days to the election well, an excess of 200 days this is six weeks and the Republicans say, yeah, so what? Forget what we did in 2016. Listen to the president this morning essentially making clear we have this power, use it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This is up to the Senate. The only problem was President Obama did not have the Senate. We had the Senate. And the Senate didn't want to do that. And Mitch didn't want to do that. So there's a difference.

When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can sort of do what you want as long as you have it and so now we have the presidency and we have the Senate. And we have every right to do it and we have plenty of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: It is interesting to me in the sense that he is the undisputed Leader of the Republican Party he does not tend to care very much about other people saying this should hurt Susan Collins very badly it could doom her election in Maine. She is in a very close race this year in Maine.

[12:10:00]

KING: The president of United States essentially telling his voters I'm mad at her doesn't help but the president here is trying to pressure those other Republicans. Manu was just trying to do the math for us. Will it be Mitt Romney, will it be Chuck Grassley? Will it there is a surprise? The president is trying to say don't you dare.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's right. Every one of the Senators especially the ones who are up for election but all the rest of them, as well, they're going to be looking very carefully at the polls and the upside of all of this is that the voters get to weigh in, maybe not just directly in the early voting states and the rest of us on November 3rd.

But those who want to make their voices heard now is absolutely the time because everyone is going to be looking over their shoulder to see how's this going to play? Basic raw power calculation is just as the president described it.

They have the presidency, they have control of the Senate, they have the votes and they have enough time because the time really stretches until the inauguration next year. So they've got what they want. They just have to figure out what is going to work for them and they also have to fear something that I think we're seeing some early signs John which is Democratic backlash.

Meaning a Democratic surge in activity in fund raising activity, emails going out all over the place, every part of the Democratic coalition now sees what is at stake in this election beyond the economy, beyond the pandemic.

The future of really important issues is going to be decided including the outcome of the election itself possibly by the high court and so it is becoming one of top issues going into the election.

KING: And, Dana, because of that there are some -- there are internal conversations; you were just talking about the president's own internal conversations. There will be a debate on the Republican side about who this should be and who's the best pick for the court and who is the best pick to help us in November whether that's the presidential perspective or the Senate map?

But the Democrats have the calculation, too and Joe Biden -- president has one strategy. There are other more progressive Democrats who say Biden should be out there saying with Roe V. Wade at stake, with climate change at stake, with Obamacare at stake, do this, Mr. President, do this, Leader McConnell, we will expand the court if we win.

We'll grand statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico and expand the Senate if we win. Instead Joe Biden more of an institutionalists trying at least in the short term to focus on winning over a few old Republican friends, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look. I'm not being naive. I'm not speaking to President Trump who will do whatever he wants. I'm not speaking to Mitch McConnell who will do it what he wants and he does. I'm speaking to those Republicans out there, Senate Republicans, who know deep down what is right for the country and consistent with the constitution?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Biden has been incredibly consistent on this point even when he was taking flack for it in the primaries. There are a lot of progressives who would like to tell him they don't believe that world exists anymore.

BASH: That's right and they are telling him that. What we saw emerge yesterday it was kind of a good cop/bad cop situation gone going on. Good cop if you will is Biden not going there on all of the things that Democrats could do if they take the House, if they take the Senate and the White House to make sure that this situation doesn't happen again or to change the dynamic like you said, expanding the court, changing the filibuster rules beyond just nominees but also on legislation.

He doesn't want to go there. He is appealing to the kind of negotiator that he actually had on the other side of the table with Mitch McConnell when he Joe Biden was Vice President but he doesn't have to do it because Chuck Schumer is kind of doing it for him, the Democratic Leader in the Senate.

Yesterday he not only said everything is on the table, the imagery and the theatrics of how he had his press conference, standing next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke volumes about what Chuck Schumer is trying to tell the base about what he could be willing to do?

So you have both of them out there trying to kind of appeal to every player on the political spectrum here.

KING: This is the political stakes and the legal stakes are fascinating. Dana Bash and Errol Louis I appreciate the reporting and insights. Up then later, we'll talk more about the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the bench too. Up next for us, President Trump givers himself an A-plus on his handling of the Coronavirus pandemic.

[12:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: United States all but certain today to hit a horrifically grim milestone, 200,000 Americans dead from the Coronavirus. We will hit that mark sometime later today most likely. President says he deserves an A-plus. We will hit that mark as the case trend also starts to go back up. Let's take a look starting with our 50-state map.

Red and orange are bad there is a lot of red and orange on this map. 28 states now reporting more new infections now compared to a week ago, 28 states meaning trending in the wrong direction eight of them reporting 50 percent plus increase new infections this week compared to last eight of them in the deep red the rest in orange trending in the wrong direction.

16 states holding steady at the moment, only six reporting fewer few infections compared to a week ago. So you look at the case curve we have been through this now 7 months down to about 20,000 new infections a day around Memorial Day and then this horrific summer surge up above 60 close to 70,000 infections.

Came back down some but look at this even before you look at the number that is not the way you want that line going the red line trending back up. 36,000 and change new cases yesterday. Case count tends to dip some on Sunday as coming out of the weekend.

We are averaging more than 40,000 new infections a day right now heading back up in the wrong direction. This is the sad count of American deaths Sunday 199,509 we will 200,000 at sometime today.

[12:20:00]

KING: That is the population of Salt Lake City, Utah. The population of Huntsville, Alabama the population of Grand Rapids, Michigan wiped out by the Coronavirus pandemic. This count sadly continues to climb as we go forward.

The testing trend in the United States relative plateau at about 800,000 new tests a day. We had a couple of days last week one day over a million one day right close to it. Public health experts would like it up higher but we have a pretty straight line of around 800,000 tests. What matters most of course are the results of those tests?

Nationally the average holding steady, pretty flat line there at just about 5 percent public health experts say get it to 5 try to push it down then from there. It's held pretty steady nationally at 5 percent the problem is different states at different times having issues.

These are ten states above 10 percent over the last week 10 percent of the tests coming back positive. You have high positivity, you have new cases, you have new cases ultimately that death count kicks in as well which is why the president says give me an A-plus. The president says we have turned the final corner. The president's own experts say this is no time to let down your guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HHS: We have to stay strong and do the things that could decrease the spread. Number one, wearing a mask when we can't physically distance, number two avoiding crowds and number three hygiene and with smart testing we can flatten the curve and slow the spread but we all have to be disciplined and diligent to make sure we obey that every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joining me now to share her expertise CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Seema Yasmin. Doctor it is good to see you and I want to just start by; I want you to listen to the President of the United States. I just went through the numbers you know them better than I do and yet the president says we've turned the corner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're rounding the corner with or without a vaccine. They hate it when I say that but that's the way it is. We're rounding the corner on the pandemic and we've done a phenomenal job. Not just a good job a phenomenal job. On public relations I give myself a "D" on the job itself, we take an A-plus with the ventilators and now with the vaccines that are years ahead of schedule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: If you take those words and match them up with the data it's a parallel universe.

DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER CDC DISEASE DETECTIVE: It doesn't match. And you just have to wonder John what kind of adjectives you can use to describe a leader that gives himself a grade of A-plus for a pandemic response which has failed.

How do you give yourself an A-plus when we're hitting that milestone of 200,000 Americans who have died? Over the last week, we've seen an average of 41,000 new Coronavirus cases every single day, that's a 1 percent increase from previous weeks. And then of course he gives himself this grade of a "D" for public relations. I would say as a communications professor myself he gets an "F" for an outright failure because look at what just happened in the last week when CDC Director Dr. Redfield said to congressional lawmaker that even if a Coronavirus vaccine was approved in the next few months that it still would not be widely available to the American public until the late second or third quarter of 2021.

Then that same day, John, just a few hours after the CDC Director said that President Trump convened a White House press conference and said that Dr. Redfield was mistaken that he was confused. He said on "Fox & Friends" that he himself would be getting a COVID-19 vaccine in a matter of weeks.

And then two days after that he said actually there won't be a Coronavirus vaccine available for most Americans until April even that is not guaranteed so his self grading is abysmal. The pandemic response has been deadly. And this lack of clear communication is just causing so much confusion about the virus and about a vaccine.

KING: And the trajectory at the moment is concerning. I say that as a layperson who crunches the numbers every day. Back above on average 40,000 new infections a day heading up after several times too slowly but starting to come down heading back up. Dr. Scott Gottlieb the Former FDA Commissioner says here we go again, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: Well, I think we have at least one more cycle with this virus heading into the fall and winter. If you look at what's happening around the country right now there's an unmistakable spike in new infections. There are about 15 states with a positivity rate is 10 percent or higher which is deeply concerning. There is about 30 state where the RT, the rate of transfer is above 1 meaning they have an expanding epidemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: How big of a spike is this? What can be done to minimize it if possible as we go into number one you have that high positivity rate. Number two you have the new cases starting to mount. And number three you have the seasonal change which is more people indoors?

DR. YASMIN: Yep. And seasonal -- we may also think about the flu season which we're heading into. Now people really need to get that flu vaccine to make sure that they're protected against that virus and therefore less vulnerable to becoming infected with the Coronavirus as well.

[12:25:00]

DR. YASMIN: Dr. Gottlieb makes this great point of so many other states seeing increases in positivity rates. Many more tests coming back positive because even though the national numbers are not great it can be misleading in that some states and particularly I'm looking at South Dakota, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia also Guam and Puerto Rico are seeing a really high spike.

And then John, you take that into a global context, too. You see what's happening in Europe? You see what the World Health Organization is saying about daily case counts across the planet and it is not a good pitch it means we really need to double down.

We really need to make sure people have the right kind of mask, they're doing physical distancing, that they're getting the flu shot all the of that becomes much more difficult under leadership that's giving itself an A-plus grade for a pandemic response that's actually failing us.

KING: Well, leadership trying to pretend this has gone away because there is an election six weeks from Tuesday.

DR. YASMIN: Yeah.

KING: Dr. Seema Yasmin, as always, I appreciate your expertise and your insights.

DR. YASMIN: Thank you.

KING: Still ahead for us to that election, the battle for 270 electoral votes likely come down to maybe a few states and possibly a congressional district or two.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)