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Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) Indicates He'll Support Trump's Supreme Court Nominee; Fauci Says, 200,000 Deaths Sobering, and in Some Respects, Stunning. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

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SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): President Trump's nominee is also consistent with history. I came down to the side of the Constitution and precedent, as I've studied it, and make the decision on that basis.

REPORTER: Senator, you said that in your release that you would look at qualifications. What qualifications are you looking for, and what would make you not consider someone that President Trump is putting forward?

ROMNEY: Well, I think it's straightforward in terms of the qualifications you look for, which is someone who is an expert in the law, someone who has a record of fairness and judgment that you think is consistent with the law. I prefer choosing those folks who are, if you will, strict constructionists, meaning that they look at the law itself and the Constitution as opposed to sort of looking into the sky and pulling out ideas that they think may be more appropriate than either the law or the Constitution.

So I recognize that we -- we may have a court which has more of a conservative bent than it's had over the last few decades but my liberal friends have, over many decades, got very used to the idea of having a liberal court and that's not written in the stars. And I know a lot of people are saying, gosh, we don't want that change.

I understand the energy associated with that perspective, but it's also appropriate for a nation which is, if you will, center right, to have a court which reflects center right points of view, which, again, are not changing the law from what it states but instead following the law and following the Constitution.

REPORTER: Senator Romney --

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: That was Senator Romney virtually guaranteeing that we'll have a vote for the SCOTUS nominee. This is the president speaking at the U.N. General Assembly.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: In the United States, we launched the most aggressive mobilization since the Second World War. We rapidly produced a record supply of ventilators, creating a surplus that allowed us to share them with friends and partners all around the globe. We pioneered life-saving treatments, reducing our fatality rate 85 percent since April.

Thanks to our efforts, three vaccines are in the final stage of clinical trials. We are mass producing them in advance so they can be delivered immediately upon arrival. We will distribute a vaccine. We will defeat the virus. We will end the pandemic. And we will enter a new era of unprecedented prosperity, cooperation and peace.

As we pursue this bright future, we must hold accountable the nation, which unleashed this plague on to the world, China. In the earliest days of the virus, China locked down travel domestically while allowing flights to leave China and infect the world. China condemned my travel ban on their country, even as they canceled domestic flights and locked citizens in their homes.

The Chinese government and the World Health Organization, which is virtually controlled by China, falsely declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Later, they falsely said people without symptoms would not spread the disease. The United Nations must hold China accountable for their actions.

In addition, every year, China dumps millions and millions of tons of plastic and trash into the oceans, overfishes other country's waters, destroys vast swaths of coral reef and emits more toxic mercury into the atmosphere than any country anywhere in the world. China's carbon emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has, and it's rising fast.

By contrast, after I withdrew from the one-sided Paris Climate Accord, last year, America reduced its carbon emissions by more than any country in the agreement. Those who attack America's exceptional environmental record while ignoring China's rampant pollution are not interested in the environment. They only want to punish America, and I will not stand for it.

If the United Nations is to be an effective organization, it must focus on the real problems of the world. This includes terrorism, the oppression of women, forced labor, drug trafficking, human and sex trafficking, religious persecution and the ethnic cleansing of religious minorities.

America will always be a leader in human rights. My administration is advancing religious liberty, opportunity for women, the decriminalization of homosexuality, combating human trafficking and protecting unborn children.

We also know that American prosperity is the bedrock of freedom and security all over the world. In three short years, we've built the greatest economy in history, and we are quickly doing it again.

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Our military has increased substantially in size. We spent $2.5 trillion over the last four years on our military. We have the most powerful military anywhere in the world, and it's not even close.

We stood up to decades of China's trade abuses. We revitalized the NATO alliance where other countries are now paying a much more fair share. We forged historic partnerships with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to stop human smuggling. We are standing with the people of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom.

We withdrew from the terrible Iran nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions on the world's leading state sponsor of terror. We obliterated the ISIS caliphate 100 percent, killed its founder and leader, Al Baghdadi, and eliminated the world's top terrorist Qasem Soleimani.

This month, we achieved peace deal between Serbia and Kosovo. We reached a landmark breakthrough with two peace deals in the Middle East. After decades of no progress, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain all signed a historic peace agreement in the White House with many other Middle Eastern countries to come. They are coming fast, and they know it's great for them, and it's great for the world.

These groundbreaking peace deals are the dawn of the new Middle East. By taking a different approach, we have approached different outcomes, far superior outcomes. We took an approach and the approach worked. We intend to deliver more peace agreements shortly, and I have never been more optimistic for the future of the region. There is no blood in the sand. Those days are hopefully over.

As we speak, the United States is also working to end the war in Afghanistan, and we are bringing our troops home. America is fulfilling our destiny as peacemaker, but it is peace through strength. We are stronger now than ever before. Our weapons are at an advanced level, like we've never had before, like, frankly, we've never even thought of having before, and I only pray to God that we never have to use them.

For decades, the same tired voices proposed the same failed solutions pursuing global ambitions at the expense of their own people, but only when you take care of your own citizens will you find a true basis for cooperation.

As president, I have rejected the failed approaches of the past and I am proudly putting America first, just as you should be putting your countries first. That's okay. That's what you should be doing.

I am supremely confident that next year, when we gather in person, we will be in the midst of one of the greatest years in our history, and, frankly, hopefully, in the history of the world.

Thank you, God bless you all. God bless America, and God bless the United Nations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the General Assembly --

SCIUTTO: That was President Trump there addressing the U.N. General Assembly. That was, we should note, a pre-recorded speech delivered remotely, not from the floor of the general assembly hall there in New York.

CNN's Daniel Dale, CNN Chief White House Correspondent is also -- Dana Bash is here, Chief Political Correspondent -- Chief White House Correspondent John Harwood, Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash and John Kirby here as well.

Dana Bash, if I can. I just want to take a step away from Trump for moment, because right before we saw Mitt Romney announce his support to considering a Supreme Court nominee, tell us what this means for the president, for the Senate majority leader. Are we going to have a new nominee by Election Day?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We certainly could. I mean, this is really, really big news because it gives a green light to the Senate majority leader to make a decision to push this nominee, whomever she may be, through the Senate before the election. It is not a done deal. He has a lot of considerations before him, including how it will affect the vulnerable members, and he's got several of them, the vulnerable Senate Republicans, how that will affect them in the election, from Susan Collins in Maine to Cory Gardner in Colorado.

However, this is -- he's got -- he's got more options now, and that is important when you're somebody like Mitch McConnell who spent most of his professional political life focusing on one thing, and that is the bench and focusing on becoming the majority leader in order to fill the bench with conservative judges.

Now, he has the ultimate opportunity, and from his perspective perhaps one of the last opportunities because it's unknown how the Senate is going to go in November and how the White House is going to go.

[10:10:08]

So this is a huge deal.

I was cautioned by Republican sources after the senator from Utah, Mitt Romney, made his announcement, that the senators haven't gotten together as a caucus yet to have a discussion about timing, and that does matter. But, again, there are a lot more options. And McConnell already laid the groundwork in his big speech on the Senate floor yesterday in setting up what he claims are the precedents for doing things quickly rather than waiting what we've seen in more recent times, a couple of months to go through the motions.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: Dana, just to build on that for a moment, I mean, I was really struck when Romney, one of his answers just a moment ago to one of the reporters, was, quote, I recognize we may have had a quote that has had more of a conservative bent -- that we may have a conservative court more than we've had in the last few decades. But my liberal friends, he says, over many decades got used to the idea of having a liberal court and that's not written in the stars and point to decisions, as Jim has noted, like Citizens United, et cetera.

But to his point, Dana, being able someone who voted for impeachment of the president to be able to say, look, this is conservative credo. I can separate it from the president to constituents.

BASH: It's so important, you know, over the last almost four years, you know. So all of the votes that we've seen taken in the Senate has understandably -- they have understandably gone through the prism of Trumpism and of Republican Party being led by Trumpism.

The Supreme Court is different, and Mitt Romney is a true conservative. I mean, he ran for president of the United States as a Republican and promising to fill the court with the kinds of nominees that we've seen President Trump do. And so that is really important.

This gives Mitt Romney the opportunity to stand up for the conservative principles he has espoused his whole life separate and apart from the things that he obviously does not like about Donald Trump.

SCIUTTO: Yes. John Harwood, the president has searched for a campaign message for November 3rd. He had hoped it would be the economy. The pandemic took that away. He had pushed concern about violence in the streets for a number of weeks, law and order. We saw him tweet that many times. This is now his new election issue, I imagine.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He is going to emphasize this theme, but I think it's important to recognize a couple of things. First of all, the polling in this race has been incredibly stable throughout the year. Before the pandemic ever hit, Joe Biden had a lead in the polls over Donald Trump comparable to what he has now. Very little has changed the trajectory. It's possible that COVID has prevented changes from happening, has locked in that deficit, but stability is the watchword of the election. And so I think there's reason to wonder whether this will have a large effect.

Secondly, the more this is viewed as a done deal that we will know the nominee by the end of the week, we know that Republicans are going to affirm this nominee, whether before or after the election, doesn't really make that much difference. The more that is seen as a done deal, that is something that will satisfy the president's base and anger the Democratic base. So there's also a reason to expect that on net, the energy of this issue is going to be from -- from the side of Democrats.

HARLOW: John, apologies. Let's get to Mitch McConnell. He is on the floor of the Senate speaking.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Let's stop with all the threats. There is no deal that would stop these dangerous tactics. Giving in to political blackmail would not do a thing to secure our institutions. So, madam president, you do not put a stop to irresponsible hostage- taking by making hostage-taking a winning strategy.

I'll tell you what really could threaten our system of government. It's not Senate Republicans doing legitimate things squarely within the Senate rules and within the Constitution that Democrats happen to dislike. No. No. What could really threaten our system is if one of our two major parties continues to pretend the whole system is automatically illegitimate whenever they lose.

If they continue to act like from their side of the aisle, a legitimate defeat is an oxymoron, that -- that is the danger to our democracy.

[10:15:00]

Every one of these attacks on our institutions only underscores how important they are. Every threat to turn our courts into a political tug-of-war only reinforces why the Senate is charged with protecting our independent judiciary --

SCIUTTO: The Senate majority leader speaking there. Goodness, here we are. It's Tuesday. It's less than four days after the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the table is set for her replacement to be at least considered on the Senate floor prior to the election, possibly through before the Election Day.

But before we go, I just want to get your view of those comments, Dana Bash there, when we hear the Senate majority leader basically laying out the Republican defense, right, of doing this, having blocked President Obama from doing the same in 2016.

BASH: We heard it yesterday, and we heard it really from the moment, unfortunately, moments after the justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, that they are not going to follow the same path that Mitch McConnell laid out and, you know, threw himself in front of a lot of political fire in order to stop President Obama's nominee from even getting a hearing.

They argue, and you even heard Mitt Romney signing on to these talking points that this is a different situation because the Republicans run the Senate. The Republicans -- there's a Republican in the White House, therefore, it's not divided government. McConnell pulling up his statement from four years ago saying that it was divided government. So it's -- it's not a surprise, and frankly, unfortunately, politically, they don't really care. It doesn't matter.

SCIUTTO: No, they don't.

HARLOW: Dana, thank you. Thank you to everyone. John Harwood, we appreciate it. Sorry we ran out of time, guys. We got a lot of news to get to this morning. We'll have you all back very soon. A quick break. We're back on the other side.

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HARLOW: Welcome back. We are near a very grim milestone. The U.S. is inching closer to nearly 200,000 COVID-19 deaths. And just moments ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that those numbers are, quote, sobering and stunning and Americans should prepare for a rough fall.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It's unacceptable to not realize that we -- we are entering into a risk period, and we've got to act accordingly as we enter into that risk period. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Contradicting the president, the president last night said the virus affects virtually nobody. Dr. Fauci made clear that's not true. Lots of folks are vulnerable to it, sadly.

Let's go to our CNN Senior Medical Correspondent. Elizabeth, U.S. numbers nearing -- the death toll nearing this tragic milestone here. The direction of this is one that folks have been warning about for some time and that is an upsurge in the fall.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That is definitely what we are in. I wouldn't even say heading into. It's what we're in right now.

Let's take a look at a map of the United States, and you'll see what I mean. Look at the states in orange and red. That is where the rates are rising. The rates this past week were higher than the previous week. That's 24 states. That's almost in half the states the rates are going up the wrong direction.

Eight of those states, the one in red, they are going up by more than 50 percent. That is their rate of increase. The other states that you see are orange and green, those are either holding steady or the rates are actually going down.

What that tells us is that despite what the president says, we have not licked this. You know, he said months ago, oh, it will get better when the weather gets warmer, oh, we're rounding the curve, oh, we're getting better. This map tells you that that's not true. Poppy, Jim?

HARLOW: It's a sad map and a very sad reality. Elizabeth, thank you for that.

With us now is Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Jay Varkey, an Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory. Doctor, thanks for being here. Good morning.

DR. JAY VARKEY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

HARLOW: There were so many headlines from Dr. Fauci's interview with Sanjay just last hour. I would like to play this in terms of the response to Sanjay asking him, you know, do we really know in April if we'll have widespread vaccines available for everyone? Here is what Dr. Fauci said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAUCI: My projection is that it likely would be November and December. It is conceivable that it could be October. I mean, there's no doubt that that could happen. I think more likely it would be November and December.

And then at that point if one or more vaccines reaches that critical point, then the FDA will make their decision and then we could start rolling out the vaccines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, October, November, December for maybe a vaccine approval and then how long after that for really rolling it out widely?

VARKEY: Yes, Poppy, I agree 100 percent with Dr. Fauci, that, you know, the answer is to trust the science, to trust the process. I know that is hard for people that have pandemic fatigue. But the reality is until we identify a safe and effective vaccine through some of these phase three studies, which might this fall, we still have the challenge of actually allocating these in an equitable way to the country and to the world.

And, again, I think, mentally, the sooner the general public realizes that this is likely to push well into 2021 and that introduction of this vaccine is only the beginning of the end game to this pandemic, I think the better.

[10:25:]

SCIUTTO: Okay. Another point from Dr. Fauci in this conversation with Sanjay Gupta, a hopeful one, and Dr. Fauci has been consistent on this in terms of school reopening. He has said that if communities have transmission rates under control, that they can do so in these so- called green zones. I mean, he mentioned dark green zones, anyway, areas that meet certain benchmarks of keeping the virus under control, that they could have a degree of indoor activity.

I wonder if you agree with that assessment because there's been such a broad reaction to that, right? I mean, you have some schools in green zones that are not opening and then elsewhere you have schools in yellow or red zones that are opening.

VARKEY: Yes. Jim, this question is very personal to me because, again, this is an active discussion right now in metro Atlanta where I've got two school-aged kids in online learning since is the middle of August.

Yes, I think that the key is these decisions can occur in a vacuum and be based on individual schools making these difficult decisions. If a community is serious about prioritizing things like schooling, as we should, then we need to drive down community transmission.

When community transmission is driven down to low rates where we can easily identify, isolate and contact trace people, yes, I do believe that you can restart schools. But if community transmission is skyrocketing, then that increases risk for everyone, which is, again, part of the reason why I think society and communities each need to make difficult choices. And some of that is actually making decisions to shut down high-risk settings that have the risk of being a super- spreader event, things like indoor bars and indoor restaurants.

HARLOW: How much does it really cost to -- for all of us have to or at least all the schools to have what the NBA has? I mean -- or the University of Illinois? They told us it's $10. And, you know, I ordered a saliva test for my child. It was $150. I don't understand. Is there a cost here? What's so prohibitive here for everyone or every public and private school in the U.S. to have what the University of Illinois is doing?

VARKEY: Poppy, you nailed it. I think that the issue here is less related to actual cost, because you'll see variance from location to location. I think it's really about scale. In other words, if we had a magic wand and it can really, you know, kind of wave it now and to set up the country for success and -- and a safer way for kids to return to school, it would be essentially having daily, easy tests that would be part of like brushing your teeth in the morning, where you essentially test yourself for COVID.

Scaling that up for the entire country is the real challenge. And, Again, I'm not -- I think it says something --

HARLOW: But why, Doctor? Sorry to step on you, but why? If the University of Illinois is doing two or three times a week, and it's $10 each, you would think at scale, could you get the cost down, why is it? I mean, and it doesn't even take all the reagents that the other tests need?

VARKEY: I agree 100 percent. And, again, I wish I had access to this also. And, again, I say this as an infectious diseases physician. But I don't have the ability to actually go purchase these things and plug (ph) it in my bathroom and to be able to actually test my family on a daily basis. I think we're really talking about -- we're not doing this in a cohesive way, which I think is probably core to your point.

In an organized, federal response to this pandemic, we would have to actually tier priorities and not have every university, every school, every community fighting for each other for these scarce resources. We'd be doing it on scale and really prioritizing this in a logical manner.

SCIUTTO: No national place. Another place that does have regular testing, of course, is the White House and everyone around the president.

HARLOW: Good point, Jim, yes. Like a lot of test a day.

SCIUTTO: Not for you and me.

Dr. Varkey, thanks very much.

VARKEY: Okay. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next this hour, new reporting, it is happening again. Russia is interfering in the 2020 election to help Donald Trump and hurt his Democratic challenger. The latest, next.

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