Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump To Nominate Amy Coney Barrett To High Court Today; Florida Lifts Restrictions On Restaurants And Bars; Taylor Family Lawyer Calls For Special Prosecutor; Trump Campaign Spreading Misinformation On Social Media. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired September 26, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:20]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We are just a few hours away from President Trump announcing his new Supreme Court nominee. Sources tell CNN the president intends to choose Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

With just 38 days until voters head to the polls, the president is making the case that a new justice is needed before the election to decide any potential disputes over the final vote.

The nomination announcement comes as the president continues to baselessly cast doubt and uncertainty about the legitimacy of the upcoming election and whether or not he will accept the results. And at a rally last night in Virginia, he repeated his claims that the only way he will lose is if the vote is rigged.

President Trump will hold another campaign rally moments after announcing his new justice nominee.

All of this coming as the U.S. just surpassed two grim milestones in the pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases now exceeds seven million. And the death toll is over 200,000. And now health experts are warning of a major surge in cases in the next few months.

Let's begin our coverage with Sarah Westwood at the White House. Sarah, the president keeps trying to sow doubt in this election process.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Fred.

Though he provided evidence for none of that last night at his rally in Newport News, Virginia. And in fact, recycled a number of debunked theories about mail-in voting, claiming that it could somehow tip the election results. There is no evidence of that, no basis for that. But it's part of his efforts to undermine confidence in the election results with his supporters. As you mentioned he's been claiming that the only scenario in which those results can be trusted is when they reflect a victory for him.

And that, of course, comes after a week in which he stirred considerable controversy by refusing to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election in November.

And he was doubling down on that this week despite some clear unease from even his Republican allies on Capitol Hill with him taking that direction.

Now last night at the rally, the president said he would be amenable to a friendly transfer of power but only if he feels he hasn't been cheated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's the only way we're going to lose is if there's mischief. Mischief. And it will have to be on a big scale. So be careful. We do want a very friendly transition. But we don't want to be cheated and be stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WESTWOOD: Now, in perhaps a cleanup attempt from the White House, if you can call it that. The White House later said that the president would agree to a peaceful transfer of power in the event that the election was free and fair.

Trump clearly seems intent on deciding what constitutes as free and fair in this election, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Sarah, what do we know about among the people the president may have interviewed before announcing his nominee later on today?

WESTWOOD: Yes, Fred. A source tells CNN that Amy Coney Barrett, the expected nominee for this vacancy was really the only person that the president interviewed formally. Although he did say on Monday that he was speaking to several of the candidates for the nominee. Amy Coney Barrett was really the only person who got that one on one facetime.

She was the favorite pretty much throughout this entire process, however short it was. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had expressed his interest in having her be nominated in conversations with Trump and conversations with the White House counsel because she was considered the easiest perhaps to get through this confirmation process. She's a known quantity.

We also are learning that Amy Coney Barrett, if she is nominated, is expected to be on Capitol Hill this week, Fred, for courtesy calls with senators and with McConnell.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sarah Westwood at the White House, thanks so much. The expected nomination of Amy Coney Barrett kicks off an unprecedented scramble by Republicans to get her confirmed before the election, which is now just 38 days away.

CNN's Jessica Schneider takes a closer look at the potential nominee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: People who know 48-year-old Amy Coney Barrett say her family is her number one priority. And she made sure they were front and center at her 2017 confirmation hearing for the seventh circuit.

JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT, SEVENTH CIRCUIT: We have our oldest three daughters with us today.

SCHNEIDER: Barrett proudly showcased all seven of her children including Vivian and John who she and her husband Jesse adopted from Haiti.

[11:04:51]

BARRETT: Vivian is our miracle. Vivian joined our family. She was born in Haiti and she came home when she was 14 months old. She weighed 11 pounds and she was so weak we were told that she might never walk normally or speak.

Today Vivian is a track star and I assure you she has no trouble talking.

SCHNEIDER: The youngest child, Benjamin, has Downs Syndrome.

BARRETT: Benjamin has special needs and that presents unique challenges for all of us. But I think all you need to know about Benjamin's place in the family is summed up by the fact that the other children unreservedly identify him as their favorite sibling.

SCHNEIDER: Barrett's large family is just two children shy of matching the late Justice Scalia's. Barrett clerked for the staunchly conservative justice right out of law school and has marveled at his intensity.

BARRETT: It was intimidating working for him. You know, when he called you in his office, you had to be prepared to just go to the mat and talk about whatever it was. And he was always five steps ahead of you.

CARTER SNEAD, LAW PROFESSOR, NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY: One of my friends put it this way. he said Judge Barrett is the kind of person and the kind of judge that you would want to be the judge in a case if you didn't know which side you were going to be on.

SCHNEIDER: Carter Snead is part of Barrett's close-knit group of friends in South Bend, Indiana. He also has an adopted child and bonded with the Barrett family when it came to kids and cooking.

SNEAD: She and her family host extraordinary parties for Mardi Gras. She's from New Orleans. She cooks Creole cuisine and makes jambalaya and red beans and rice and crawfish etouffee.

SCHNEIDER: One issue that has come up before for Judge Barrett, how she balances her faith and the law.

BARRETT: If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear on the discharge of my duties as a judge.

SCHNEIDER: Senator Dianne Feinstein drew criticism from conservatives with her sharp questions about Barrett's religion in 2017.

SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): You have a long history of believing that your religious beliefs should prevail. The dogma lives loudly within you.

SCHNEIDER: As Barrett emerged as the front-runner this week, her association with a multi-denominational Christian group called People of Praise began drawing attention. The group's board of governors is all male and has referred to women as handmaids in the past -- a term that has since been dropped by the group.

A spokesman for People of Praise tells CNN, "Christian leadership in no way involves superiority or domination among spouses but we have chosen to rely on male leadership at the highest level of our community based on our desire to be a family of families.

We follow the New Testament teaching that the husband is the head of the family and we have patterned our community on this New Testament approach to family life.

Putting aside Barrett's potential past or present membership, Judge Barrett has made clear she leaves her religion out of her judicial opinions.

BARRETT: It's never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge's personal convictions whether they derive from faith or anywhere else on the law.

SCHNEIDER: Jessica Schneider, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's now get more perspective on the president's Supreme Court announcement coming up in just a few hours from now.

Joining me right now Melanie Zanona, congressional reporter at Politico and author of "The Huddle" newsletter; and Julian Zelizer, historian and professor at Princeton University. Good to see all of you. Also Julian is a CNN political analyst.

All right. So Julian, you first. You know, while it's not official, you know, all signs point to President Trump naming Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee. You say her confirmation would finish a historic rightward shift that started with Reagan and will help justify Republican support for President Trump. But you also say it could help both sides politically. How so?

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look this finishes a process that started with the Rehnquist court which starts in 1986 under Reagan and it solidifies a conservative block if this goes through and she's the appointee -- a 6-3 conservative bloc.

So for Republicans, this is very exciting. President Trump is delivering on a Supreme Court that will have great influence on key rulings on every issue from regulation to voting rights.

But for Democrats it will also be energizing because once again the stakes of two terms of President Trump will become very clear. So I think both parties will see exactly why this is a very historic moment and the implications in the election.

WHITFIELD: And Melanie, you wrote a piece about how Democrats are debating scorched earth tactics versus restraint in the Supreme Court confirmation battle. We know -- you know, there's virtually nothing Democrats can do to stop the president's pick from being confirmed. And instead it appears Democrats are appealing to voters by underscoring all that's at stake on the bench from affordable health care to LGBTQ rights and even affirmative action in colleges and universities?

[11:09:55]

MELANIE ZANONA, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Yes, That's absolutely right. I mean there is a real debate in the Democratic Party right now about what their strategy should be if they win back the Senate and if the GOP rams this nominee through.

On the one hand you have progressives who say we need to fight fire with fire. They want to expand the Supreme Court. They want to end the legislative filibuster and they really feel like the other side hasn't been playing by the rules so why should they.

But then on the other side, you have some of these moderate Democrats, including party leadership and Joe Biden, who called for a more restrained response. They say let's keep the message focused on health care and what's at stake. And a lot of these moderate Democrats that I talked to this week are worried about these extreme calls backfiring and being used against them in attack ads on November 3rd.

But look, on the flip side of that, then you have progressives who say this could alienate the base and, you know, it's a mistake to not sort of galvanize the base and the grassroots here. So this is definitely going to be a heated debate going forward if the Democrats win back both the Senate and the White House.

WHITFIELD: And then more to your point, Julian, it seems Republicans have kind of fallen right in line with what the president, you know, is trying to encourage that a confirmation will actually happen even before election day from, you know, Mitch McConnell to Lindsey Graham.

So, even if Republicans have grimaced, you know, at the president saying the election is rigged if he doesn't win, they are on board with getting this confirmation done quickly.

ZELIZER: Absolutely. We often talk about THE Trump base, but the real story is broad Republican support for the president which continues. And an important reason it continues is he delivers on key issues. He delivered on tax cuts. He's delivered on deregulation.

And the courts he's delivered big. He's already done it with federal courts in a shift that we have seen rightward. And now the Supreme Court, as we said, will be a solid conservative block. So I expect to hear very little from Congressional Republicans with Senate Republicans trying to push this as fast as possible so that this is all lined up and there's no risk come 2021 about this nomination.

WHITFIELD: So Melanie, if it is indeed Amy Coney Barrett who is announced later on this afternoon and while Republicans have said out loud, even those like, you know, Mitt Romney who some were thinking might be a little bit reticent about this hurry up with the nominee. He says no, it follows precedent.

What are the potential obstacles that there may be, you know, for Amy Coney Barrett among Republicans who have said, ok, let's go ahead and get this nominee. Let's get the confirmation process going. But there's still a dot, dot, dot about whether they would confirm her.

ZANONA: Right, of course. They still have to evaluate the nominee. This is going to be a battle on Capitol Hill. Democrats are going to try to land some blows at the confirmation hearing. The things we're hearing that they're going to try to make an issue, are they going to press her on whether or not she should recuse herself from any court challenges related to the election especially since Trump this week said explicitly I want that ninth justice there so they can break a tie.

They're also going to raise issues about health care, Roe versus Wade is going to be back in the spotlight. But you know, I think something to keep in mind here is that she has strong support among conservatives and on the right. She's considered really a slam dunk pick for conservatives.

So barring really some sort of big revelation or some big bombshell in the next few weeks the thinking here is that she's going to get through on Capitol Hill.

WHITFIELD: Julian, President Trump continues to cast doubt on the integrity of the election. You know, he's still making false claims about mail-in voting and he won't commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses. Do you think concerns about the potential of a peaceful or lack thereof transfer of power, you know, are overblown?

ZELIZER: No. I think it's totally legitimate to be very worried. The president is not being subtle about different threats that he's making. He has threatened how people see mail-in voting. He's made these statements about a peaceful transfer of power.

So I think the real risk right now is not to take what he's saying seriously. And that will also feed into concerns about the appointment and nomination of the Supreme Court happening right now where he explicitly has connected this to the election. So, it's fair to be worried.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And despite that the president continues to, you know, make those threats it is quite extraordinary that you would have this resolution on the Hill to try and shore (ph), allay fears of the general populace, that no, indeed there will be a peaceful transfer of power but won't that really kind of be up to the president?

All right. Melanie Zanona, Julian Zelizer -- let's leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

ZANONA: Thanks.

[11:14:54]

WHITFIELD: All right, the most anticipated moment of the election is here. Donald Trump, Joe Biden facing off in the first presidential event. Watch it all play out live on CNN with special coverage Tuesday starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. Straight ahead, Florida's governor reopening bars and restaurants as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise in that state. We're live.

Plus, the family of Breonna Taylor with a clear demand for the Kentucky attorney general -- release the grand jury transcripts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never had faith in Daniel Cameron to begin with. I knew he was too inexperienced to deal with THE job of this caliber.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And strong winds and a drought out west threatening to fan the flames of wild fires ripping through the West Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:19:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. New numbers out of Florida, the state recording 2,791 new coronavirus cases Friday. This as Governor Ron DeSantis lifts statewide restrictions on bars and restaurants saying the industry can't afford to wait any longer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS (R-FL): You have some people say, well, you can never do, you know, full -- what you want to do until there's a vaccine. Well, we don't know hopefully. But now people are saying hey, even if there's a vaccine, it's still going to take another year before you can operate appropriately. And, you know, I don't think that's viable. I don't think that that is acceptable.

CNN's Randi Kaye joining me now from Palm Beach County. Randi -- what more are you learning there?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, as you said, the governor is lifting all restrictions on businesses here in the state of Florida, phase 3 is officially under way. We are 100 percent open, according to the governor here in the state of Florida.

Now, that includes restaurants, which will now be allowed to open to 100 percent capacity. So there's still some people sitting outside here at the restaurant behind me but inside you can fill it up, according to the governor.

Bars and nightclubs can also open to 100 percent capacity. There will be some limited social distancing protocols inside there as well.

But also if the county does want to keep a restaurant closed just a little bit, say 50 percent to 100 percent capacity, they have to justify that move to the state and they actually have to get approval for that.

So, the governor really wants to see the state get back under way in terms of business and economic recovery here.

Also, Fred, regarding masks, the governor says that local counties and municipalities, they will not be able to fine people for not wearing these anymore. A lot of the counties around the state have their own mask mandates in place where you can get fined for being inside certainly without a mask. The governor says that's off the table. You can no longer fine people.

And all of this caught a lot of the local officials by surprise including the Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings. He said that he learned about this new opening and this new phase 3 position from the governor from a bar owner.

Here is what else he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JERRY DEMINGS (D), ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA: I have to say that in some ways I'm disappointed about that because as we deal with this pandemic everything happens at a local level. This is where the rubber meets the road. In order for us to be effective at dealing with the virus, we have to have good communications across the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, the governor really believes despite the new numbers coming in that the threat has eased here in the state of Florida so much so, Fred, that he's planning on a Super Bowl that is taking place in Tampa Bay in February at full capacity. He wants those stadium seats filled. Tampa Bay right now isn't even allowing any fans at their games. So that would be a remarkable turn if that stadium is indeed full for the Super Bowl.

And let's just look at some of the numbers just across the country in terms of the threat. Right now Johns Hopkins University is saying that the highest number of new cases was reported on Friday. That is since mid August.

More than 55,000 new cases across the country on Friday. So this virus certainly hasn't gone away if you look at that chart and those numbers, still tens of thousands of new cases every single day.

The seven-day average for the new cases reported in the past week was more than 44,000. So the governor certainly putting a positive spin on this, but we'll see what happens if there is indeed a spike. He says, the state of Florida is prepared.

Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Randi Kaye, thank you so much.

All right. joining me right now to discuss Dr. Saju Mathew, a primary care physician and public health specialist. Doctor, good to see you.

So are you comfortable with the Florida governor's order allowing bars and restaurants to begin operating at 100 percent and even going as far as barring mask fines?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Fred, good day to you.

I an absolutely shocked. I think that is probably the most common sentence that I say on air along with the other doctors.

If you look at every statistic, right, 100 deaths everyday, over 2,000 new cases in Florida everyday, and get this, Fred, the positivity rate is 11 percent. If you look at that play book of rules designed by the task force to decide on how to go through the paces, none of this criteria meets the distinction that the governor mentions saying that we should open to phase 3.

Unfortunately a lot of people will die. A lot of people will get sick. And that really makes me sad.

WHITFIELD: The governor is pretty rosy about the future. I mean he even He even goes as far as saying, you know, the NFL Super Bowl which is scheduled, you know, to be played in Florida -- Tampa Bay, February 7th. The governor says he expects the state to host a full Super Bowl.

[11:24:59]

WHITFIELD: So what would it take for an event like -- of that magnitude, you know, to be held safely just over four months from now?

DR. MATHEW: You know, I don't want to be an alarmist, Fred, but I just see no way that that would be possible. Just like our reporter just mentioned, we have over 40,000 of cases in the United States. We have to look at the big picture and then you have to look at the picture in Florida.

Remember, we don't live in bubbles. People will be coming from so many different states and so many different cities. And I worry about the two Ps in closed spaces. That is proximity and prolonged contact.

If you group in a lot of different people in a tight space, how are you going to be able to socially distance? You could possibly leave every two seats empty, but the Florida governor is talking about packing these stadiums.

You also have to think about that closed ventilation where the virus can definitely transmit in the air. I think it's a very dangerous move.

WHITFIELD: You know, and then back to the whole issue of the governor saying, you know, all those localities that were fining people for not wearing masks, that's out the window. How concerned are you that that incentivized some people to actually wear a mask to keep themselves and everybody else safe?

DR. MATHEW: Right. you know, the other day, Fred, I was just thinking that, you know, as a doctor I always talk to my patients about side effects of certain medications that I give them. Blood pressure medicines or heart failure medicines and I tell them the risks and benefits.

When I look at the risk and benefits of wearing a mask, there are no risks. There are all benefits. You can protect yourself. You can protect your grandmother from dying. You can protect yourself from becoming a long hauler.

So ultimately what we need to be telling everybody, the state of Florida, all states in the United States is that masks need to be mandated. They save lives. If 95 percent of Americans wear masks, we can save over 100,000 lives by January.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Saju Mathew, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much. Be safe and well.

All right. Still ahead, the family of Breonna Taylor now demanding a special prosecutor and the release of grand jury transcripts. The president of the NAACP joining me next.

[11:27:19]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now to Louisville, Kentucky, where protests calling for justice in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor were mostly peaceful last night. Police did throw out some flashbang devices when a group refused to move on to the sidewalk. At least 22 people were arrested.

This following Wednesday's grand jury decision to not charge any officers as it relates to Taylor's death. And now her family and supporters are demanding the transcripts of those proceedings be made public after the grand jury decision was announced, Breonna Taylor's aunt read a note on behalf of Breonna's mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIANCA AUSTIN, AUNT OF BREONNA TAYLOR: You didn't just rob me of my -- and my family, you robbed the world of a queen. A queen willing to do a job that most of us could never stomach to do. A queen willing to build up anyone around her. A queen who was starting to pave her path.

I hope you never have to know the pain of knowing your child is in need and help and you're not able to give it. I hope you never hear the sounds of hearing someone cry and beg for your child to get help and she never receives help. Those cries was ignored. I hope you never know the pain of your child being murdered 191 days in a row.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to discuss these developments with the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson. Good to see you.

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, NAACP: Good morning.

WHITFIELD: So your thoughts on the decision. You know, it was Wednesday, but it is still a lot for people to digest over the last few days. What has been on your mind?

JOHNSON: You know, it is unfortunate. The one officer that was indicted was indicted for a bullet that went into a neighbor's wall, not the bullet that went into Breonna Taylor's body. We have to value the lives of individuals in the African-American community.

Black lives matter. That's a factual statement. And what just took place was a travesty of justice and an erosion of the confidence in a criminal justice system for African-Americans.

You know, we have to get a criminal justice system that's just for our community because we have not seen justice in too many situations.

WHITFIELD: Listen to one of the lawyers for Breonna Taylor's family after the Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron made his announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONITA BAKER, ATTORNEY, BREONNA TAYLOR AND FAMILY: I do want to say one more thing to Daniel Cameron. If you, in fact, did not say Breonna Taylor's name to the grand jury; if in fact, you did not present any charges on behalf of Breonna Taylor to the grand jury; we demand that you appoint a special prosecutor to present charges on behalf of Breonna Taylor to a grand jury because it's not too late. We still demand full justice for Breonna Taylor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And she put it like that, you know, Derrick, because it was said that, you know, the AG Cameron never even said her name Breonna Taylor, when making the statement about what was proceeding. And so this attorney was wondering, how about to the grand jury? What did they hear?

[11:34:53]

WHITFIELD: So then what is the likelihood, in your view, that the transcript of the grand jury proceedings will actually be made public?

JOHNSON: The problem with the grand jury system is archaic. It should not exist. It allows for elected officials to go behind closed doors and present information uncontested and the public not even know what's then presented.

We don't know how vigorously this state attorney, who has strong political aspirations aligned with Donald Trump, what he presented. We don't know what type of framing he put on the arguments in front of the grand jury and how the grand jury was led down the course that may not have had anything to do with the fact that Breonna Taylor was sleeping in her bed when someone kicked in her door and she was murdered.

At some point we have to reform the criminal justice system. We have to reform the mechanism by which we hold police officers accountable. Reform this alignment between district attorneys and state AGs, where law enforcement AGs against the public. We have to do this differently.

What if it was your loved one that was impacted? How would you feel? And that's what I ask for individuals outside of the African-American community. What if it was you and your loved ones, how would you feel?

WHITFIELD: Emotions have been bubbling, you know, over the top on this case and even, of course, since Wednesday.

And now I want to get your reaction, you know, to what was said involving conversation between NBA's, you know, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal on TNT's pre-game coverage Thursday. TNT is owned by the same company as CNN.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, BASKETBALL LEGEND: It's bad this young lady lost her life, but you know, we do have to take into account that her boyfriend did shoot at a cop and shot a cop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And so the conversation was about that and then largely, you know a lot of folks on social media were on fire. What are your viewpoints on that discussion?

JOHNSON: You know, to react to the reporting of an account from a reaction is too far down the road of hypothetical conversation. We have to come back to the facts with this case but also look forward. This election cycle is most important. In order for us to change the system we must overwhelm the systems on election day so we can reform the criminal justice system overall.

It is important for celebrities and athletes and commentators to use their platform for social justice, but they must be informed with the facts.

And unfortunately there are too many accounts that's being speculated about in the media because we don't know what happened in the grand jury proceedings. We don't know what evidence were presented. We have no concept of what the facts are. That's why it's important for the transcript to be released so everyone can understand what happened based on the evidence that's -- that's in hand.

WHITFIELD: All right. Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, president of such -- thank you so much. Appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you. Have a good morning.

WHITFIELD: You, too.

All right. Just as the smoke begins to clear, more dangerous, hot and dry conditions return to the western U.S. Details on this latest fire threat.

[11:38:35]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. It seems never ending. It's another hot and dry weekend across the Western U.S. Increased temperatures and wind presenting new challenges for firefighters still struggling to contain more than 70 large wild fires burning. Including in California where five of the largest fires in recorded history have already charred more than two million acres.

CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar is tracking this heat wave. Allison, you know, where is the greatest wild fire threat this weekend?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really. So, I mean Fred if you take a look, it's basically along and west of the continental divide because it's not just all in one state. You have several states dealing with these large fires.

In fact, you have over 70 large, active wild fires at this same time. Keep in mind, this does not take into account some of the smaller fires. So you'll likely have even that are a bit more widespread on that map.

But again, the question really becomes how -- what does this do compared to other years? So when we take a look at that you'll notice that the total U.S. fires so far to date are just about 44,000. The normal ten-year average about 46,000. So we are below in the total number of fires. But here is the thing what that doesn't tell you is the scope of the size because the fires that we've had this year have been much larger than in past years. And you can see that here because the total acres burned has been about 7.1 million acres. The ten-year average is six.

So we're talking over a million more acres than usual and it's just because the fires themselves have been so large. How big? Let's take a look.

Here is the list for California specifically. Their top ten largest wild fires in history. You'll notice five of them are from this year, September of this year to be exact. So again you're not just talking a lot of little fires here and there. These are massive, complex fires.

Now let's get to the forecast because this is really the concerning part going forward. You'll notice these orange areas here. This is the elevated fire risk. And that is expected to spread over the next several days especially into next week which is not good news because you have about 73 percent of the west under drought conditions right now.

In addition to there being dry conditions, Fred, it's also the temperatures. You've got have places like Reading, Sacramento, Bakersfield, all likely to get into the triple digits next week. And that's not just bad for the fires themselves but for the firefighters trying to battle those blazes.

[11:45:01]

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. So much at stake. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up, a remarkable look into how viral disinformation campaigns on social media are actually impacting the 2020 election. A CNN investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:49:43]

WHITFIELD: President Trump's social media feeds and those of his allies have been repeatedly flagged for spreading misinformation and manipulated videos about the election and Democrat Joe Biden. The president's campaign claims those doctored videos, it's just humor.

But CNN's Donie O'Sullivan found that oftentimes Trump supporters aren't in on the joke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWD: Four more years. Four more years.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've come to a Trump rally in Bemidji, Minnesota today to ask Trump supporters what they see when they open their Facebook feeds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one has been more wrong more often than Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The November 3rd election result may never be accurately determined.

O'SULLIVAN: On that post, is there any label or fact check or anything?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they have a little thing at the bottom that says voting by mail has a long history of trustworthiness in the U.S.

O'SULLIVAN: Are you a Facebook user?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I use Facebook, yes.

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. What sort of pages do you follow on there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody that agrees with me.

O'SULLIVAN: Only people that agree with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

O'SULLIVAN: You don't want to hear --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be a Republican and anti-abortion guy and a pro-gun and pro-beer.

O'SULLIVAN: But you're not thinking it would be good to follow some pages of people that you disagree with? See their opinion maybe --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No because they call me stupid, ignorant. You know, why would I follow people that throw rocks at me constantly because they don't agree with me. I've got tens of thousands of people that do.

O'SULLIVAN: So Trump, his campaign, a lot of senior Republicans over the past few weeks have been sharing doctored and manipulated videos on social media. Now, the Trump campaign and Trump supporters will often say these videos are clearly jokes. They are memes, people know they're memes. People know they're fake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they say, well, this is fact-checked. It's wrong because it's taken out of context. Like when Joe Biden fell asleep during a live interview on television.

O'SULLIVAN: A claim that he fell asleep. I think that was an edited one, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think it was. It looked pretty live to me with no cuts in it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Live this morning from New York. Hey, good morning. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.

Ok. This is your wake-up call.

O'SULLIVAN: Is this the video that you're talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could be, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I watch it really quick?

O'SULLIVAN: Sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Washington Post". Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: So an article there is saying that it was faked, but it looked real, right? I mean it looked real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean -- I definitely wouldn't doubt that it would happen.

O'DONNELL: Even if it is fake, does it change your opinion of Biden?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God, no. You have to sift through it. I missed that one, but it was a good laugh. It was a really good laugh. And like I said, I wouldn't doubt it.

O'DONNELL: A lot of people we spoke to today are sharing posts on Facebook that later get fact-checked by Facebook's third party fact- checkers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything I put on there about our president is generally only on for a few minutes and then all of a sudden they're fact-checking me saying this, that and the other thing which I know is not true. Their fact-checker is wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll right away go to the conservative site and say that's wrong, then and they pull it. And they're not going to the liberal sites. And them are the real lies. They are the real liars out there.

O'DONNELL: Also circulating online, more insidious forms of misinformation, including baseless claims about vice president Joe Biden being a pedophile.

Do you guys seriously think that Joe Biden is a pedophile?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do. But that's just my opinion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel he is. I feel he's part of the game of the whole thing.

O'DONNELL: That baseless, fabricated claim about Biden is circulating among supporters of QAnon, the conspiracy theorist that the FBI says is a potential domestic terrorism threat. Some of these false claims have been amplified by the president himself.

The FBI is saying QAnon is a dangerous conspiracy theorist. Does that make you think, for a second, hang on, should I be following this thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, because QAnon is bringing up the bad things about the FBI. That's why they're saying it. That's why they're afraid of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Donie O'Sullivan bringing us a variety of sentiments there.

All right. Coming up, President Trump once again baselessly casting doubt on the election. And in just hours, he'll announce his pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

Live team coverage next.

But first, go inside the incredible story of the boy from Troy turned civil rights icon.

Here is a preview of the CNN film "JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): If John Lewis wasn't doing what he did, I would not be here today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressman Lewis gave us the blueprint. It is to organize. It is to mobilize. And it is to legislate.

[11:54:53]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a country that had a hard time loving people like John Lewis.

SENATOR CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): John Lewis beat back numerous attempts over his career. People trying to alter voting rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm going to mention Representative John Lewis.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D-GA): We came here to do our job. We came here to work.

We must say, wake up, America. Wake up.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: His voice and his example are needed now as much as they've ever been.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's probably the most courageous person I ever met. A lot of guys wouldn't have taken what he took.

LEWIS: You only pass this way once. You have to give it all you have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE", tomorrow at 9:00 Eastern.

[11:50:39]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)