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Trump and Biden Prepare for Presidential Debate; What to Expect in First Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump and Joe Biden; Democrats Prepare for Trump to Challenge Results; Russia's Propaganda- in-Chief on Trump and U.S. Elections; Women and Children at Risk in Camp in Northeastern Syria; Travel Industry Hit Hard by Pandemic; COVID-19 Have Taken One Million Lives Worldwide; Trump Announce 150 Million Abbott Rapid Tests to be Distributed; Southern France Trying All Measures; Trump and Biden Face-Off in few Hours' Time; Supporters Don't Mind Controversies. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 29, 2020 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead. One million lives lost to COVID-19, how we got here and what's being done to slow the second wave.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden set to face off in the first presidential debate under the shadow of the New York Times tax bombshell.
And a CNN exclusive, with the Kremlin's chief propagandist, what Russia's top state TV news anchor thinks about the U.S. election.
Good to have you with us.
More than one million people across the globe have now died from the coronavirus. And those are just the deaths we know about. That's one million sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, and grandparents who have lost their lives to this deadly virus.
COVID-19 is still spreading across the U.S., South America and Europe. It's been less than a year since the first death was confirmed. Since then, the outbreak has cause heartache and trauma for everyone.
CNN's Paula Newton reminds us who we've lost.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a grim milestone no one wanted to reach, one million dead from COVID-19. And yet in less than one year, the coronavirus has taken so many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't get to say goodbye to my mom or dad. And that's what hurts me the most right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and of course grandparents with no mercy. The spread of the virus so fast, so indiscriminate, striking those tasked with fighting the disease - doctors, nurses, first responders taking away those very souls who stepped into the eye of the storm to protect others from its deadly reach.
The trail of sorrow worldwide now incomprehensible. With a historic speed, researchers are trying to develop a vaccine, a way to lessen the vice grip from this invisible enemy amidst the reality that in some countries a second wave has already begun.
And accusations from some that it never had to get this bad if only people followed lifesaving health measures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adeline (Ph) passed away because of COVID. This isn't a hoax. And if you can do something as simple as wearing a mask, everyone is being affected by this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: As the numbers of lost loved ones rises higher every day, the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has exacted on those who survived may never truly be known.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For him to just die by himself and that is hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: For those who mourn, another blow. Not just longing for those they love as they said succumb to the virus, but also isolation in grief. In person funerals, memorials, a luxury of the pre-COVID era, one that those who want to keep living don't dare risk.
Paula Newton, CNN.
CHURCH: The United States has been the worst affected nation overall with more than 20 percent of the global death toll. More than seven million people have been infected here. And more than 205,000 have died from the coronavirus.
Now months into this pandemic, 21 states are reporting more new cases this past week compared to the previous week. Only 10 states are showing downward trends in new cases. And the nation's top infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has this warning.
[03:05:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: There are states that are starting to show uptick in cases, and even some increase in hospitalizations in some states. And I hope not, but we very well might start seeing increases in deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And now after repeatedly claiming more tests lead to more cases, the White House is giving states guidance on how to ramp up testing. President Donald Trump formally announced a plan on Monday to disperse 150 million tests.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Today, I'm pleased to report that we are announcing a plan to distribute 150 million Abbott rapid point-of-care tests in the coming weeks, very, very soon. This will be more than double the number of tests already performed.
These new Abbott rapid point-of-care tests are easy to use, and return results within just minutes. You'll have the result in a maximum of 15 minutes. Machine, no machine is required to process them.
So, in the old days, when we just started this, you remember we would go out and we have to find these massive laboratories with tremendously expensive equipment. Now we are down to something that you will see that is really from a different planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But even with the millions of rapid tests going out of the states, health experts warn that is nowhere near enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We need a lot more if we want to be able to test schools, colleges, workplaces. So, I see this as a step forward but not where we need to be.
WILLIAM HASELTINE, FORMER PROFESSOR, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: This inadequate even at its present level. It has to be 10 times, 20 times that level to begin to make a real difference and putting a cap on this pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And Dr. Scott Miscovich is a national consultant for COVID-19 testing. He joins me now from Hawaii. Thank you, doctor, for talking with us.
SCOTT MISCOVICH, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So, President Trump formerly announced a plan Monday to disperse this 140 -- 150 million rapid COVID-19 tests that were previously acquired in August. Why weren't these deployed back then? And will this be enough to ensure students, and teachers, and schools and colleges are regularly tested along with other citizens in workplaces and elsewhere? Or should millions more be made available now?
MISCOVICH: Both are good questions. The answer is this technology is now just being made available. This is the rapid point of care antigen test. Now the problem with this test is it's not that accurate, it's probably 75 to 80 percent accurate. And it's only accurate when you're actively symptomatic. So, it's not a screening test.
Now most of us do want to see antigen tests widely available. But I agree with your experts prior that we need at least 10 times this many. This is something you want to do every day, or every other day. So, 150 million is such a minor amount relative to what we need in our country.
CHURCH: All right, and I wanted to ask you this too. Because top U.S. infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci has voiced his concern about false and misleading information being given to President Trump by his new medical adviser Dr. Scott Atlas who is not an infectious disease expert.
But Mr. Trump appears to be following his advice on masks, herd immunity, and the impact of COVID-19 on kids. How concerned are you when you hear this?
MISCOVICH: We'll, to give you an example. Right now, all medical experts believe that as we look at our numbers of deaths in the U.S., that if everyone was wearing masks on a regular basis, we would have saved at least 70,000 more lives. That is 7-0. That's a lot of lives that are lost by people not wearing masks.
And then herd immunity, new data coming out in the last 24 to 48 hours shows we only have about 9 percent of our population which has had contact or has been infected with the disease. You need 65 to 70 percent of the population. The amount of death that would be coming from herd immunity would be just astronomical.
So, any expert would look at these data points and say he is so far wrong. It would only lead to more Americans dying, which we don't want to see.
CHURCH: No, definitely not. And doctor, COVID-19 deaths have now topped one million across the globe. And the U.S. leads all other nations claiming more than 20 percent of those deaths despite representing only 4 percent of the global population. How is it possible that the richest nation in the world has failed to beat this?
MISCOVICH: I think most of us believe it comes, like any failure whether it's in business or in sports, it comes from the top. It comes from leadership. And you know, we would point our fingers at the CDC, of course. You see the revolving door in Washington.
We have not sent a clear message to every state. Almost every state is doing something different. And they are not following best practices. [03:10:01]
Look across the world. We had about five major countries who have been so successful. The roadmap was there for our country to look at whether it was South Korea or Singapore or countries that really were successful. And how did they do it? Broad leadership at the top that explained what practices.
They did it with testing. They did it with testing that was ramped up so quickly, they did it with quarantine and isolation which we're not doing enough of. So, I think it comes from leadership. And we still see across the country as your reports show at the top of the hour.
Look how many states where the numbers are going up. We are not doing enough to get the word out and to enforce the right best practice.
CHURCH: Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.
MISCOVICH: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So right now, there is a spike in COVID-19 cases in countries where the outbreak had been brought under control. Germany is seeing a dramatic increase of new infections. And Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with government officials on whether new restrictions will go into place.
The U.K.'s education union is urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make all teaching online after 1,700 students had to self- isolate at a Manchester university due to an outbreak.
And in Southern France, health officials say COVID-19 admissions at intensive care units have tripled since the beginning of this month.
And CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now from Paris to talk more on this. So, Melissa, what's behind the spike in ICU admissions in Southern France? And what's the government doing about it?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the problem with Marseille is that it has so far been the worst hit, that in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, the French territory that is there, they are the worst hit areas there, the ones that are in the highest possible category. So, you've seen in Marseille that closures of bars and restaurants altogether, Rosemary.
But fears -- the fear is that Paris is also heading that way with those indicators. We look at the number of people per 100,000 people who are positive. That number is inching up towards the crucial 250 here in Paris, the number of ICU beds that are for COVID-19 patients also inching towards that 30 percent. And that could tip into that same category as Marseille.
So, the fear is for the center of Paris right now where the virus appears to be progressing very quickly. Now, of course since yesterday, we've already seen fresh restrictions here put on the French capital. Bars closing at 10 p.m. Gyms close. The numbers of the size of social gatherings are rather made to be smaller.
But the fear is that they might have to be further tightened. Now this morning the French prime minister is meeting with restaurant owners angry about this sort of legislation, these regulations that are so harming their fragile economic recovery.
But it's very difficult to see it from here how actual restrictions can be avoided if Paris is to avoid the kind of catastrophe that we are seeing in Marseille with ICUs threatened under the weight of those COVID-19 patients entering, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, Melissa Bell, many thanks, joining us live from Paris. I appreciate it.
And still to come, we know that a new bombshell report reveals decades of Donald Trump's taxes. What we don't know is if voters care.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRA PENCE, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I just think that's wonderful. I work very hard at trying to pay as little taxes that is legal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: We will hear from that Trump supporter and a range of other voters after the short break. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump will go head to head with his political rival Joe Biden in the first presidential debate tonight. It comes on the heels of that explosive New York Times report which detailed Mr. Trump's extensive financial losses and tax avoidance. A point Mr. Biden will be sure to target him on.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Totally fake news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: As President Trump is lashing out over a damning New York Times report about the dire state of his finances, his aides are claiming it's a last-minute hit jab before the first debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We've seen this play out before, where there was a hit piece about the president's taxes just before a debate and an accurate one at that. BRIAN MORGENSTERN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The
president has made lots of taxes, but the point is that, why would anyone pay more than they owe?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Neither his staff nor the president have provided any documents to refute what the New York Times is reporting, including that he only paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, despite the millions that he earned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Actually, I pay tax. But and you'll see that so as my tax returns. It is under audit. They've been under audit for a very long time. The IRS does not treat me well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That number not only pales in comparison to most Americans, but also to past presidents, who all pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes.
Because of the massive losses, the report says Trump paid no income tax at all in 11 of the 18 years of documents they obtained. When he did pay taxes, he reduced what he owed using questionable measures, including a nearly $73 million tax refund, now the subject of an IRS audit.
It turns out that Trump's best-known properties drained the most money. He's lost around 315 million dollars on his golf properties over the last two decades, including on Trump national Doral near Miami, where the president tried to host the G7 summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't need promotions, OK? But I was willing to do this for free. And it they would -- it would've been the greatest G7 ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The report also shows that Trump made more money than previously known from foreign governments, including during his time in office, and use tax deductions for so-called business expenses that most people would consider personal ones. Like $70,000 in hairstyling while hosting "The Apprentice."
But perhaps what could be most damaging from the reports is what's to come. The Times says an enormous amount of financial pressure is facing Trump because hundreds of millions of dollars in loans that he is personally responsible for will be due within the next four years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This president is the commander in chief. He has exposure to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. To whom? The public has the right to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now the president also claimed that he was not contacted for our request for comment for that New York Times investigation, though his attorney was on the record in the story. And he later, the next day, did not answer questions from reporters at the White House about the state of his finances.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, traveling with the president in Cleveland.
CHURCH: Norman Eisen is a fellow with the Brookings Institution and a former White House ethics czar during the Obama administration. He joins me now from Washington. Thank you so much for being with us.
NORMAN EISEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS CZAR: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, lots of big questions regarding how President Trump avoided paying any taxes for 10 with a span of 15 years and then just paying $750 in 2016 and $750 in2017. He calls this fake news despite bragging about avoiding paying taxes when he debated Hillary Clinton in 2016. Your reaction to all of this, and of course the ethics of a president who thinks this is acceptable.
EISEN: Well, Rosemary, as President Obama's ethics czar, I was responsible for helping to reveal his financial disclosures and process his tax returns and I can tell you that this is not fake news.
[03:20:05]
We now know why President Trump has been so keen to hide these tax returns. The fact that he used his losses, perhaps illegitimately, that's what the fight with the IRS is about, to avoid paying taxes for so many years.
The ludicrous sum of $750, and to me, since you asked about the ethics angle, the fact that he is raking in millions of dollars from conflicted sources including foreign governments. That's revealed in these taxes. So, it's truly shocking.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: Yes. Let's look at that, let's look at that, because the New York Times has exposed a $300 million debt that Donald Trump owes in the next few years, which raises national security concerns such as who his creditors might be and what leverage they may have over him. What are your thoughts on that and the possible implications if it is Russia, or Turkey or some other nation?
EISEN: Well, we know that he received millions of dollars already from foreign governments. Just in the span of two years as president where we have the data. Three million from the Philippines, large sums from other foreign nations including India, places where we have the strongest security interest and we know that he has got hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due in the coming years. Much of it would be during a second term. No wonder he doesn't want to
leave the Oval Office, Rosemary. He wants to use the White House as the ultimate leverage, the ultimate security.
He has shown no compunction at taking this money from foreign governments and that is an alarming situation as another reason that we should have had these tax returns before. And it is disqualifying for a president, these revelations, just disqualifying.
CHURCH: Did Donald Trump break the law by not paying taxes or paying very little taxes, or was he just being smart as he said he was back in 2016?
EISEN: The tax returns have deepened his legal problems. Number one, your -- he used the full amount of his losses to reduce his tax debt, but the rule is you are not allowed to do that if you benefited at all from the transaction that created the loss. This was the notorious casino bankruptcy.
And we know he received 5 percent interest in the new company, so that raises a very substantial issue, whether all of those tens of millions of dollars in losses that he applied or improperly applied.
CHURCH: Norman Eisen, many thanks. Pleasure to talk with you.
EISEN: Thanks, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Well the former president and chief operating officer of Trump plaza casino and author of the book "Trumped," Jack O'Donnell, spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper and here is what he had to say about Trump's businesses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK O'DONNELL, FORMER PRESIDENT & COO, TRUMP PLAZA CASINO: Nobody was surprised that he's, you know, going to take advantage of every loophole, both legal and possibly not. That's Donald Trump. The thing that most surprised me is that he is once again put himself in a position to risk it all. And I think that that's really significant in this case.
And in 90s and the 2000s, this man had amassed $3.2 billion dollars of debt. And he somehow managed to renegotiate that three times with banks and bond holders, and each time he defaulted on that. So, what's happened now is he's got, you know, for years. He hasn't been able to borrow from most legitimate sources.
And so, I think from with some of the other people are saying tonight, and this is what jumped out at me, is who is lending him this money, and not so much who is lending it but who is guaranteed the money to him because back then he had his father to guarantee his loans. Today he doesn't have that.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: His dad used to guarantee his loans?
O'DONNELL: Absolutely. He used the entire Trump organization including his father's assets and real estate to get loans back then. Listen, it's a famous story at this point where Donald was defaulting on a loan at the castle hotel in casino.
[03:24:59]
He needed $3.2 million and his father sent an attorney into the casino, deposited the money at the cage and walked away with chips, which is, in essence alone, the way the casino operates.
COOPER: He got some attorney to buy $3 million worth of chips?
O'DONNELL: Absolutely. His father walk -- had an attorney walk in with $3.2 million in cash. They deposited at the cage and they walked out with chips. So, if you don't redeem those chips that money stays in the bank.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, now, of course, the big question ahead of November's election, do voters care about President Trump's finances?
CNN's Martin Savidge talked to voters in Georgia to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the Marriott a diner in suburban Atlanta, the bombshell of Trump's tax returns is on the menu. But it is on the minds of voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's just the matter how he runs his business.
SAVIDGE: The latest polling in Georgia before the news broke show the race between Trump and Joe Biden a dead heat. Could the revelation Trump only paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 tilt the balance in Biden's favor?
Would that make an impact on your judgment of the man?
PETER DUFRESNE, TRUMP SUPPORTER: The man -- the man is not perfect. I know that. I'm not perfect. But I think he's accomplished a whole lot.
SAVIDGE: One look at Ira Pence tells you who he supports, and he thinks Trump's tax news is a good thing.
PENCE: I just think that's wonderful. I work very hard at trying to pay as little taxes that is legal.
SAVIDGE: And waitress Linda Trapani doesn't believe the news at all.
LINDA TRAPANI, TRUMP SUPPORTER: And here we go again. Once again, it's first of all, it's from the New York Times.
SAVIDGE: But at a nearby booth, Nancy Macharia is furious.
NANCY MACHARIA, BIDEN SUPPORTER: I was shocked. SAVIDGE: Originally from Kenya, she's a software engineer who says
she worked three jobs to get through college and points out Trump often depicts immigrants as the ones cheating the system.
MACHARIA: We have a lot of immigrants in this country that worked very hard to such earned money for such (Inaudible) and they pay their taxes.
SAVIDGE: Trump's campaign communications director calls the New York Times reporting on the president's tax returns completely inaccurate. Retired business teacher Lamuriel Adams says Trump's tax returns prove he is no financial genius.
LAMURIEL ADAMS, BIDEN SUPPORTER: It's a lie. And I worry about that because we got our young people. I don't know what they think.
SAVIDGE: Polls have shown Trump support from white suburban women in 2020 is not what it was four years ago. But Kathryn Coffee is staying the course, unfazed by reports Trump lost tens of millions of dollars in bad business deal.
Doesn't this prove that he is not that successful businessman he's claiming to be?
KATHRYN COFFEE, TRUMP SUPPORTER: You can look at it that way. I don't think that would be a measure that he's not a successful businessman.
SAVIDGE: Rihana Sloan (Ph) is something remarkable rare among Georgia voters, undecided. Polling suggests that percentage of undecided voters in the state to be in the single digits.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm struggling. I'm struggling this year.
SAVIDGE: Sloan (Ph) says Tuesday's presidential debate could be the deciding factor. As for Trump's taxes --
It doesn't appear that this is necessarily a deal breaker.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I wish I could say that it was but it's not. It's not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: It's worth pointing out all the people that we talked to for the story, almost no one was surprised by the information reported about Trump's tax returns. Those who support the president say they don't believe the news or they consider it insignificant, while those who are opposed to the president saying they suspected all along that he had financial difficulties or even irregularities in his reports. After all, he has fought so hard to prevent them from going public.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.
CHURCH: And still to come, more on President Donald Trump's face-off with rival Joe Biden and the first presidential debate and how both men are preparing for the high stakes event. Back in just a moment.
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[03:30:00]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: In less than 24 hours, U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will square off in the first of three high stakes presidential debates.
CNN's Arlette Saenz shows us how they are preparing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden and President Trump have sparred from afar for about the past year and a half, but they will come face to face here in Cleveland for their first presidential debate as they make their case to voters. Each of these candidates are preparing for the debate in their own way.
Biden started out by reading briefing books and he has huddled with his top advisers as he prepares for what he describes will be personal attacks from the president. Now, the president has also been studying up on possible lines of attack from Joe Biden. He had Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie stand in for Biden at times during debate preparations. One big question is how the story about the president's tax returns will play into this debate.
The Biden campaign eager to make this a campaign between Scranton and Park Avenue. Arguing that the president is only looking out for his own interests and not those of everyday Americans that this story about the tax returns amplifies that case.
Now, this debate will look a lot different than past debates. There will be no traditional handshakes between the candidates as they take the stage. They will remain socially distanced, and the audience is much smaller in size, and everyone on hand will be tested for coronavirus as the debate commission has adapted to this debate in the middle of a pandemic.
But later tonight, Biden and Trump will be on that stage, one on one for the first time after (inaudible) all those criticisms at each other, they will be making the case right in front of voters.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Cleveland, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Larry Sabato is the Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia and author of the Kennedy Half-Century. He joins me now from Charlottesville in Virginia. Good to have you with us.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you, Rosemary. CHURCH: So, Larry, just hours away from the first of three
presidential debates between Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden and the Trump campaign is now warning not to underestimate Biden, despite previously attacking his mental state. So, what is behind that strategy?
SABATO: I think somebody in the Trump operations finally realize that it was kind of stupid to tell everybody that Biden could barely function, when in fact, Biden is a skilled debater.
He has been at this for almost 50 years and people forget, he won the two vice presidential debates that he was in against Sarah Palin and Speaker Ryan. So, you don't want to underestimate someone like that. And yet that is exactly what President Trump did and reinforced with his base and everybody else.
CHURCH: And of course, now we are all aware of the report put out by The New York Times that Donald Trump avoided paying any taxes for 10 years, and then only paid about $1,500 for 2016 and 2017. So, how do you expect those revelations to play out in this first debate? How would you think that Biden would handle this?
SABATO: Well, Joe Biden got a big break that this was released on Sunday. And it has been top of the news now, for more than 24 hours. So, most people who watch the debate will be aware of the issue. Though we do have over 80 million people expected to watch. Incredibly 80 million plus.
[03:35:11]
So, and this is a gift to Joe Biden, because it is not that ideological a charge. You simply point to the president and say he paid a lot less taxes than x percent of you and mentioned some average people, maybe featured in the ad that Biden had out today. Almost everybody has paid more in taxes than Donald Trump did.
CHURCH: Now, we pretty much know the approach from Donald Trump. He is going to go on the attack, but he's going to be on the defense when it comes to his own taxes. But what strategies do you expect to see from both Trump and Biden, and how should each of them respond to the opposite attacks to come out on top?
SABATO: Based on past debates, Trump really has only one approach. Attack, attack, and attack again. And that is what we should see. He's going to try to get under Biden's skin, because if Biden loses his temper entirely, he's going to look good. That is not a good look for somebody like Joe Biden. I think his people are trying to prepare him so that he doesn't.
It is perfectly OK for Biden, as I think he will do, to go after Trump in tough terms, but not harsh terms. You have to modulate these things. So I do expect a lot of back and forth. I expect certainly Trump to disobey the rules. Undoubtedly, will need a 90 minute period just to evaluate the lies and misrepresentations in the debate.
CHURCH: Right. As you say, they are both prepared for this. We know that Donald Trump is going to go after Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden. And the work that he did in Ukraine. It would be -- this would be the instance, of course, where you could possibly, potentially see Biden lose his temper. How would he need to handle that?
SABATO: Well, I assume his staff has tried to work with him on that. I'm sure that he will be angry about it. And of course, you know, the Trump family will be a fair target if Trump does indeed go after Hunter Biden. There is a lot of material there.
CHURCH: All right. Larry Sabato, many thanks for joining us. We shall wait of course and watch and see what happens in this first debate. I appreciate it.
SABATO: Thank you, Rosy. Thanks.
CHURCH: And be sure to watch the debate live. Our special coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, that's midnight Wednesday in London, 7:00 a.m. in Hong Kong for our international viewers.
With the U.S. election five weeks away, President Trump seems to be doing his best to throw the results into doubt. His false claims about voter fraud and rigged elections had Democrats preparing to fight any challenge.
Abby Phillip reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: As the president continues to cast doubt out over the legitimacy of an election that is just over a month away --
TRUMP: This is going to be a disaster.
PHILLIP: Democratic officials tell CNN, an army of lawyers are preparing for a wide range of obscure election scenarios that Trump himself has floated. From sending law enforcement to monitor polls, to having the election decided in Congress.
TRUMP: We have an advantage if we go back to Congress. Does everyone understand that?
PHILLIP: A disputed Electoral College result could put the fate of the election in the hands of new House of Representatives elected in November. With each state delegation getting one vote. Republicans currently have a 26 to 22 advantage. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ready for this possibility.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I've been working on this for a while. I have been working almost on every scheme he might have to steal the election.
PHILLIP: Sending a letter to her caucus urging them to focus on winning a majority of state delegations in November and flipping the Senate. Writing, we must achieve that majority of delegations or keep the Republicans from doing so. Trump has also floated the idea of an election that is decided in the Supreme Court, like Bush v. Gore in 2000.
TRUMP: I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it's very important that we have nine justices.
PHILLIP: One of the Florida judges at the center of that recount who sided with Bush to stop the count, and has since retired making his fears of Trump clear in a rare letter to colleagues saying Trump is a threat to democracy and giving only one real solution.
CHARLES WELL, FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE, FLORIDA SUPREME COURT: There will not be a problem if the Democrats win the Senate and Biden wins the presidency. The problem will result if there is continued to be a divide between the House and the Senate.
PHILLIP: Trump falsely claiming that voter fraud is rampant. Tweeting this morning, the ballots being returned to states cannot be accurately counted. Many things are already going very wrong.
[03:40:05]
But the president has been building a case against absentee ballots or mail-in voting for months. None of which is based on facts. Widespread voter fraud is largely nonexistent in the United States.
TRUMP: You could forget about November 3rd, because you are going to be counting those things forever. And it's very dangerous for our country.
PHILLIP: But there are real risks for the election. The FBI issuing its latest election warning, this time, about fake cyberattacks. They cautioned the public to be wary of internet claims of hacked voter data and compromise election infrastructure. Things that manipulate public opinion and discredit the electoral process.
Today, courts in New York and Pennsylvania ordered the post office to stop policy changes that would slow down the mail. Echoing last week's settlement with the post office, forcing it to prioritize election mail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, the man dubbed Russia's propaganda-in-chief is giving CNN an exclusive look inside what the Kremlin is thinking about the upcoming U.S. election.
Russia's top state news anchor sat down with CNN's Matthew Chance to talk all things Trump in his very first U.S. television interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been a distinct change in tone, on Russian television about President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a very nice offer from president Putin, and I could've said no thank you, or I could've said thank you. CHANCE: This spoof video in its English language channel promoting
U.S. election coverage shows Trump as the loser, taking up a job as a top Russian news anchor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I said, I'll take it.
CHANCE: It's a humorous jab at Trump's apparent affection for Russia. But the country's actual tops state news anchor is not laughing. His first ever U.S. TV interview, the man dubbed the Kremlin's chief propagandist tells me how hopes of blossoming U.S. Russian relations under President Trump have vanished.
DMITRY KISELYOV, RUSSIA ONE ANCHOR: Russia has never had as many sanctions as it has under Trump, not a single state visit to Russia or to the United States.
CHANCE: Is it your hope that if President Trump wins a second term, that things will change. That he might be able to have a more positive relationship with Moscow?
KISELYOV: Nothing will change. That's America.
CHANCE: But actually, things might change.
BIDEN: It will be a price to pay and Putin knows the reason he doesn't want me as president, he knows me and he knows I mean it.
CHANCE: And Kiselyov sanctioned by the E.U. for spreading Kremlin propaganda tells me a hard lined Biden presidency could plunge U.S.- Russia relations into a dangerous spiral.
KISELYOV: What will he do? Go to war against us? No way to win for him.
CHANCE: But he said he would.
KISELYOV: Let me repeat. Russia is the only country in the world with the capability to turn America into radioactive ash.
CHANCE: With its vast nuclear arsenal, that may be terrifyingly true.
But on Russia's flagship current affairs show, it's how America's already destroying itself that's dominating coverage. The chaos shows the U.S. has lost its moral leadership. Kiselyov says, for the Kremlin accused by U.S. Intelligence of sowing discord, that maybe a victory of sorts, no matter who the next president may be.
If you are forced to choose between a Trump presidency or a Biden presidency, which one would you go for? Talk in English, tell me. Which one would you go for?
KISELYOV: I would like to throw a coin. So, nothing changes. Nothing will change.
CHANCE: Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Treatable illnesses were already claiming lives in Syria. Now the coronavirus is making things even worse. The grim conditions facing women and children in this camp. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:45:00]
CHURCH: 2020, walls already shaping up to be a brutal year for Syria as the countries decade long civil rage on. I mean, like the rest of the world, Syria was hit by COVID-19. Now fears of an outbreak are spreading at a camp in northeastern Syria and putting women and children at deadly risk.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For its residents, this camp in a desolate part of northeastern Syria feels more deadly than the raging global pandemic. There are things worse than COVID-19, these women from Morocco tell us. The problem is the camp itself and what it is doing to the children.
Shawn and by the world in the Al-Hol Camp, an open air prison for those who once lived under ISIS's still called caliphate -- the women say they were cut off from the outside world and know little about the virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you hear something can take your life you would be worried about it. But we are surrounded by that. We are surrounded by that every day.
KARADSHEH: There has been at least two confirmed cases amongst residence so far, but in this overcrowded city like camp there could be more. Some aid groups have been providing support here, but the burden has been largely left to the Kurdish authorities who are not equipped to deal with this on their own. They fear an outbreak would be catastrophic. Almost impossible to control.
JABER MUSTAFA, AL-HOL CAMP CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATION, (through translator): World powers could not control this pandemic. How can we control it in a crowded camp?
KARADSHEH: Medical access in the camp has plummeted with COVID-19 restrictions and as more and more health care workers tested positive, only five out of 24 clinics are still operational. Nowhere near enough for the more than 65,000 residents, the vast majority of them, children.
For the youngest, the impact of the health care crisis has been deadly. Eight children all under the age of five died then less and a week from preventable illnesses like complications of malnutrition and diarrhea. But even that was not enough to pristine international community into action. Aid has always been a slow trickle to this place that many view as
justified punishment for those who chose to joined a terror group. And while some small repatriations have taken place, a larger scale effort to take back the nearly 10,000 foreign ISIS women and their children has not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the world to sit and just think about what is best for the children. And stop looking at us like a threat and as human beings. My government, my international community, please hurry up and take us the heck out of here.
KARADSHEH: Even this clinic that had stayed open can only provide limited care.
Jasmiya Mohammed says she has not slept in three days. Her two month old cries out in pain.
JASMIYA MOHAMMED, IRAQI AL-HOL CAMP RESIDENT, (through translator): This child is going to die, and they are distracted with this corona. I brought my daughter here because she had diarrhea. And the doctors told me they have no treatment for her. We will all die if we stay like this.
KARADSHEH: Jasmiya says this miserable existence makes her long for life under ISIS.
MOHAMMED: It was definitely better than this life here in the camp. No disease infected us. Even when we were starving, it was much better than it is here.
KARADSHEH: As conditions deteriorate, as COVID-19 slowly spreads, perhaps the most lethal threat is the ideology left to fester in these fertile grounds.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:50:07]
CHURCH: Well, it's no secret, the travel industry has been hit hard financially by the pandemic. Ahead, while tens of thousands more workers could soon be facing layoffs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: We have focused on the massive toll the coronavirus has taken on the world health with more than 1 million people lost to the pandemic. But now we want to look at the economic impact of this global crisis. It hurt two industries especially hard, hotels and airlines.
Airline workers are bracing for mass layoffs expected to start Thursday. Nearly 50,000 jobs could be on the line. United has agreed not to furloughed any of its pilots until at least next June. But as Pete Muntean reports, others won't be so lucky. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am here with just one request.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Airline CEOs are making a new plea on Capitol Hill to avoid a layoff cliff only days away.
ROBIN HAYES, CEO JETBLUE: Please, Congress, we need you to do your job and we need you to do it now.
MUNTEAN: A new CNN analysis finds nearly 50,000 airline workers are facing furloughs that begin October 1st.
DOUG PARKER, CEO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: It would be a very horrific event, I think if that happens, given all the support.
MUNTEAN: Doug Parker is the CEO of American airlines. It's in involuntary furlough notices to 17,500 of its workers. At United Airlines, the new number is 12,000. The furloughs industry wide from mechanics and gate agents to pilots and flight attendants like Angela (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very emotional. I'm, you know, I'm scared for myself, I'm scared for my friends.
SARA NELSON, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: This is real people. Moving their stuff into their cars and trying to figure out how to survive.
MUNTEAN: This new push means a new bailout for airlines, a new bill would give carriers $28 billion to keep workers on the payroll through next March.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is taking longer and is deeper than most people expected 6 months ago.
MUNTEAN: New TSA figures show air travel remains stalled at 30 percent of last year's levels. Airlines are losing millions of dollars a day flying planes that are only two thirds full, but more help is facing new slowdowns. The capital is now consumed with a Supreme Court pick. House Democrats want airline assistance in a larger recovery package. Industry leaders say they need to know now whether workers will be saved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six months from now, I really don't believe we will be close to this level of furloughs, and hopefully zero.
MUNTEAN: Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And the hotel industry is facing similar issues. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE PAYNE, FURLOUGH HOTEL WORKER: I am at the top of the rollercoaster with no harness. It's on me to keep the right going.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is no hiding Kate Payne's reality. Warnings are very different with her daughter Chapatti and son Atreus.
PAYNE: We always go where we find (inaudible) stuff in the mornings -- we're going into our fourth month of not paying our mortgage.
YURKEVICH: Payne, a veteran housekeeper at Marriott downtown Philadelphia has been furloughed since March.
[03:55:00]
She is out of work and not one but two jobs. Her part-time job as a bartender is also on hold. As a single parent, unemployment is not enough to cover her bills. She's nearly drained her retirement account.
PAYNE: This is not just a death sentence economically. This is a death sentence physically, because if one of us gets the coronavirus, either one of us could die. And as a breadwinner, I'm nervous.
YURKEVICH: Hotel occupancy is nearly 50 percent nationwide. In Philadelphia, it's only 27 percent. Last April, Philadelphia County had 77,000 hospitality jobs. More than half were lost during the pandemic and recovery is slow.
MICHAEL ROBERTS, GENERAL MANAGER AT POD HOTEL: It's just a bleak scenario.
YURKEVICH: Michael Roberts is the general manager at Pod Hotel. Temporarily closed and Windsor Suites which furloughed half its staff.
ROBERTS: I had to have those conversations and those are the things that stick with you.
YURKEVICH: In Philadelphia, the slow winter months that hotels are kept afloat by conventions. This year, all are canceled, 74 percent of U.S. hotels say more layoffs are coming if they don't get additional federal aid.
Is there an opportunity for you to return to work?
LISA PALMER, FURLOUGHED HOTEL WORKER: I absolutely have no idea and I wish that I did.
YURKEVICH: Lisa Palmer's hotel is shattered and definitely. She fed hotel guests as a cook for five years as a single mom. Working long hours to provide for her five year old daughter.
She was just months away from getting her pension when she got furloughed.
PALMER: They got ripped for me. And I had no idea if I would be able to get that time back, to be able to secure my pension. YURKEVICH: More than 70 percent of hotel workers in Philadelphia are
people of color. Nationally, black unemployment is nearly twice as high as white workers.
PALMER: The government throwing in there that unemployment or assistance is keeping people from going out and going back to work or getting jobs. How about there are no jobs? How about every job and my field is shut down or restricted?
PAYNE: We're going to have to rough it. That's what we have right now.
YURKEVICH: The Payne's have roughed it once before when the family was homeless for two years. A roof over their heads means everything.
PAYNE: My biggest worry right now is securing home. Securing shelter. And if we have to be cold or no water, I could deal with that, I've been through that. But we need a house.
YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And I will be back with more news in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
