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Trump Launches Xenophobic Attacks after Failing Again to Condemn White Supremacy; 27 States Report Increase in New Cases in the Last Week; American, United to Cut 32,000 Jobs as Federal Aid Expires. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 01, 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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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A very good Thursday morning to you. It is almost the end of the week. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Poppy Harlow. We're glad you're here.

Well, the president last night unleashing new xenophobic attacks against a sitting U.S. congresswoman of color. This is one day after he failed to explicitly condemn white supremacists. Listen to this from a rally in Minnesota last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: What is going on with Omar? I've been reading these reports for two years about how corrupt and crooked she is.

Let's get with it. Let's get with it.

How the hell? Then she tells us how to run our country? Can you believe it? How the hell did Minnesota elect her? What the hell is wrong with you people?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Congresswoman Omar, she fled Somalia when she was eight years old and is and has been a U.S. citizen for a long time. At the same time, this comes on the day that the Trump administration informed Congress that it will only accept 15,000 refugees this fiscal year, that's a historic low for the country. Why explaining it, the administration said it is a move, quote, to prioritize the safety and well-being of Americans.

SCIUTTO: How many Americans are the children, the grandchildren and great grandchildren of refugees?

There are also concerns this morning about the message the president is sending, planning massive rallies in the state of Wisconsin despite, and look at the graph there, a surge in coronavirus cases there. Those rallies defying his own task force's advice, what all the doctors say about how to keep safe for infection. Right now, Wisconsin has the third highest rate of new infections in the country.

We begin with CNN's John Harwood. He is at the White House. John, the president, and this contrast was stark yesterday, right? This sort of milquetoast words he used about white supremacists and a very blatant, open, explicit attack on a sitting congresswoman of color, Ilhan Omar.

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it was remarkable that the president went there so explicitly after he had caused heartburn for his campaign and for his party in the debate by so obviously refusing to condemn white supremacy. That was embarrassing. It's embarrassing in the context of modern politics.

But what the president did at that rally was not surprising. He's been very consistent in his message on these issues for the last four years and he and his party share a common strategy, which is to appeal almost exclusively and rely almost exclusively on white votes to win elections. That worked much better back when white voters were 90 percent of the electorate a few decades ago. Now, demographic change in the country has taken that share down to about 70 percent of the vote.

After Barack Obama won a second term in 2012, Republicans entertained the idea of trying to broaden their appeal beyond white voters in a more aggressive way, but Donald Trump seized control of the 2016 campaign, took the party more aggressively down the same path that it had been on and Republicans continue to follow him.

HARLOW: Don't go anywhere, John. Let's bring in to this conversation Daniel Strauss, Senior Political Reporter from The Guardian. Good to have you, Daniel. You guys have been doing a whole lot of important reporting on this. And being from Minnesota, I know how some of those comments can play and he was in largely white Duluth, Minnesota, about four hours north of where the biggest Somali population is in the state of Minnesota.

I just want to hear your thoughts hearing the president do this again and again, especially following what happened in the debate.

DANIEL STRAUSS, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: I mean, this underscores a key strategy for the president, which is to find another, someone to be a boogieman for his re-election campaign and for his argument, someone to sort of argue that this is the person that my supporters need to rally against. And right now and last night in Minnesota, his bet was that Congresswoman Omar is that person.

It's an extension of sort of an antagonism Republicans at large have expressed towards members of the squad, that group of young Democratic lawmakers with very liberal points of view on some of the major policy points that we're facing right now. But Trump, in particular, likes to hit Omar, and like you said, Poppy, it is no coincidence that he did this in front of a largely white audience in this part of Minnesota.

SCIUTTO: John, it's CNN's reporting that the president's own advisers, campaign advisers believe he damaged himself with his comments in the Tuesday debate, particularly refusing to call out white supremacists. After an event like that last night, anyone in his circle telling him that's not the path to take, or is this the strategy the campaign has decided on and will stick to?

HARWOOD: It's very clearly the strategy that President Trump has decided upon and he's running the ship. He is the one who controls what happens in the White House. He is the one who controls what happens in the campaign. And we've seen the people who challenge him tend to get cast aside.

The president, again, has continued to double down on strategies that look controversial to others. There's a certain internal logic his mind. He's somebody whose racial antagonism has been a very consistent theme of his life since before he was a politician and now as a politician. No reason to think that he's going to change that.

HARLOW: Daniel, how significant the way Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, responded, because usually he's very in line with the president? But I thought him saying, you know, well, I guess if the president doesn't correct these remarks, then he meant it essentially on white supremacists. What does that mean to you?

STRAUSS: You know, he does weigh in in situations like this and there have been more than one in the last few years, and it really gives license for other Republicans to agree with Senator Scott but not criticize but warn or caution the president. And Mitch McConnell did that shortly after Senator Scott gave his statement. And so that really opens up a runway for other Republicans to do that. And they feel they need that.

HARLOW: As Senator Barrasso just did also explicitly with Jim, importantly, in no uncertain terms. Gentlemen, thank you. Daniel, nice to have you. John, thanks for the great reporting.

STRAUSS: Thanks.

SCIUTTO: Well, a federal judge in Montana dismissed the Trump campaign's efforts to prevent that state from issuing mail-in ballots for the 2020 election. The judge calling the complaints over mail-in fraud, quote, a fiction. This as President Trump continues though to ramp up his attacks on the integrity of the election, something my next guest says could have a major impact not just on the vote itself but on the Republican Party.

Ben Ginsburg is a top Republican election lawyer who has represented four Republican presidential candidates. Mr. Ginsburg, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

BEN GINSBURG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: Jim, thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: So, big picture, I just want to go big first here because there are a lot of folks watching right now who may have voted already or will be voting soon. Can our election system withstand the sitting president's ongoing assault on its integrity saying that it will be a fraudulent election, attacking ballots and mail-in ballots in particular without evidence, contradicting the FBI director? Can the system weather this?

GINSBURG: Yes, the system can weather that. It does depend on the good faith and the smart judgments of lots of individuals around the country. But the country as a whole has always taken great pride in its elections. It is the cornerstone of our democracy. And you can see that by the positions the president is placing Republicans, you can see Republicans sort of thinking, well, there is more at stake over the long-term than just sort of unsubstantiated allegations by the president.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And to your point, you talk about the risks in particular to Republicans in tight races. Let's say they come out ahead but not by a big margin, has the president given an opportunity to their opponents to say this shall not stand?

GINSBURG: He has. Look, the president's rhetoric about the results not being reliable is something he thinks he needs apparently because he's looking at the current polls showing him behind. But in every election cycle, there will be some close races, and a Republican who is ahead by a narrow margin is going to have to explain why his margin or her margin should stand.

SCIUTTO: No question, okay.

The other public attacks from the president, notably a new Cornell study, says that the president is a prime source of disinformation on the vote. But you also have legal efforts now, numerous lawsuits in a number of states, things like preventing the counting of mail-in ballots after November 3rd, where do these challenges stand and, arguably, are they had the bigger threat, right, to votes being counted than the public comments?

GINSBURG: Well, as we do litigation in this country, there are 50 different states with 50 different sets of laws, and in this case, about 40 different sets of cases, so it varies tremendously. What you cited in Montana, and which has been true in other cases, the president's allegations of fraud now have to be proven in court.

[10:10:02]

And I know from my years of looking for this that that proof is not going to exist.

SCIUTTO: We saw what happened in 2000. I'm old enough to remember where you had just in a couple of counties in one state a massive influx of battles over ballots, the hanging chads, et cetera. The Trump campaign has set up a legal team to spring into action to challenge results, et cetera. I wonder, should Americans prepare for a national version of what we saw in Florida in 2000?

GINSBURG: I think what will happen this time is actually pretty different for Florida. Florida was kind of a random case of the state coming in close and being outcome determinative of who won. There's not a great chance of that. What you'll see in 2020 is the impact of the great influx of absentee ballots, which will make the actual counting and tabulation of votes delayed before we ever know if you get to a Florida-type situation where the result is so close that there will be a recount in a contest.

SCIUTTO: Understood. Well, Ben, it's good to hear from you to say the system, in your view, and you know it well, can withstand it. I think people can need and hear that. And let's hope it's true. Ben Ginsburg, we appreciate your time.

GINSBURG: Jim, thank you.

HARLOW: Well, COVID cases are really spiking in the state of Wisconsin, so why is the president still holding two rallies there this weekend?

Also, United and American Airlines preparing to cut 32,000 jobs today. What about Delta? An exclusive interview with the CEO is ahead.

And also this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They give me 30 days. I'm just thinking about my kids. Where do I go with my kids?

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SCIUTTO: These poor families, a fight to keep their homes in the midst of a pandemic. Imagine yourself with your children in their shoes. We'll have more.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

Well, now, more than two dozen more states are reporting an increase in coronavirus cases. We've been watching the map every day and it's those red, those brown, those red-orange states seeing that are seeing increases. And of those New York seeing a spike in hot spot zip codes, Wisconsin as well facing a surge in hospitalizations. That means serious cases.

HARLOW: Four hospitals in Green Bay are near capacity. The president has two big rallies planned in Green Bay and Lacrosse, Wisconsin this weekend.

With us now is Dr. Arabia Mollette from Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and Dr. Paul Casey, Medical Director at the Emergency Department of Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Good morning to you both.

Dr. Casey, if I could begin with you. Record deaths in Wisconsin from COVID yesterday, record hospitalizations, your hospital is one of the cities where the president is going to hold a rally this weekend. What do you expect the public health implications of that to be?

DR. PAUL CASEY, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT AT BELLIN HOSPITAL: Well, those of us in the medical community are very worried about that. I'm on a number of teams that help the hospital organize our instant command team and we specifically talked about this this morning. We are very concerned about any large gathering, not only weddings, funerals, but much less a very large rally with a bunch of people together without masks.

SCIUTTO: Yes. We've seen data where events can become super-spreader events.

Dr. Mollette, we're seeing in New York -- so, New York, of course, was the epicenter of this and then got a handle on it, and I've been there and it's nice to see it open up again, but now seeing spikes particularly in Brooklyn and Queens areas. What is leading to this, and in your view, can a lid be put on it? Is there a way to do it or is the city looking at a more broader shutdown then?

DR. ARABIA MOLLETTE, BROOKDALE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, as non-religious and religious holidays are rolling in, Americans are starting to have more larger gatherings, especially here in New York City. And so now, we're seeing an uptick in the confirmed cases of coronavirus.

I think what's important to understand is that it's very important to pinpoint and identify the clusters to see where the cases are coming from, and that's what rapid testing and also stressing the importance of compliance. Compliance is vital.

And another thing that can happen to help decrease the number of cases in New York City with the current spikes is to stress to the community leaders that the community leaders should stress the importance of compliance to their communities.

Right now, we don't want to go back to where we were in March. But if community leaders can actively stress to their community about complying with the current coronavirus guidelines, then, of course, we can get through this again and without going back to what we had in March.

HARLOW: Dr. Mollette, what's so sad about this uptick here in New York, I think, I live in Brooklyn, I have kids who go to school in Brooklyn, and they are in school five days a week, and we as parents are all sort of in our community bracing for schools to close. Like we're scared now because of these upticks. And I just wonder if there's a message that you have for anyone who is gathering in large groups, because if it goes too high, all of our kids are going to have to be back at home.

MOLLETTE: I mean, I'm concerned. I have a large family and I know they are trying to figure out ways to prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Kwanzaa. But I stress to them as well, like anyone else, that right now, this is not the time for us to gather in such large crowds because we're still in the pandemic.

[10:20:04]

We still haven't gotten through the hump. And so with the flu season coming up as well -- well, actually, we're here in the flu season. There's an overlap between both viruses. And so it's going to be very difficult for health care professionals to differentiate between the two viruses, and so we have to keep that in mind. We don't want a double-whammy with the flu virus and the coronavirus and more uptick with the coronavirus at hand still.

I suggest to everyone just please, by all means, wear a mask, physical distancing is still important, avoid large gatherings. And if you plan on having Thanksgiving, Christmas or even a religious celebration, try to do it virtually. I know it's hard. It's very difficult. We're all accustomed to doing things as our norm. But right now, we really need to take advantage of virtual gatherings as we speak.

SCIUTTO: Dr. Casey, you know, those key elements have been consistent throughout, right? Wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance, don't go to big events, et cetera, but the fact is large portions of the country are not follow those simple guidelines. And the president, among others, right, is encouraging folks not to do so by, for instance, holding rallies where you are.

I just wonder, from a public health perspective, what turns it around, right? I mean, do folks need shock therapy? Do they need to see a big spike to change? Where are we as a country in terms of following basic, uncontested medical advice?

CASEY: A very good point. We are nearing a crisis in my community and we're hoping that the fact that our community has reached national attention will get people to wake up. Because the reason -- you saw my graph from a very days ago, that early on in March and April, we had a nice bell-shaped curve spike and we thought we dodged a bullet, because by June, we were down to one inpatient in my hospital.

And then you saw the 4th of July come around, people got together with family and friends and it started to rise then and then came Labor Day. And the COVID fatigue, we understand that. But this spike we're seeing in Brown County, Wisconsin, should be a wake-up call to anyone who lives here that our community is facing a crisis.

On one of my meetings this morning, we learned it was a community-wide public health and hospital meeting and currently one hospital out of four in Green Bay has more patients than the entire city had at our peak in April.

SCIUTTO: Wow, that's a concerning measure of this. Listen, thanks to both of you. We know you're fighting this every day in ways that few are. We appreciate it and let's keep up the conversation.

MOLLETTE: Thank you.

CASEY: Thank you much.

HARLOW: Thank you both.

So this could be -- looks like this will be the worst day of job losses in aviation history. American and United set to lay off tens of thousands as Congress fails to reach a funding extension for the airlines. Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, joins us, next.

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[10:25:00]

HARLOW: Welcome back.

Well, unfortunately, today, it looks like it will be the worst day of job losses in the history of aviation. Between United and American alone, 32,000 jobs could be gone as of today as Congress has failed to reach a new aid deal.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian joins us exclusively this morning. Good morning, Ed.

ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIR LINES: Good morning, Poppy. Good to be with you.

HARLOW: Good to have you.

I know that as of today, you are able to avoid any furloughs or layoffs, but I wonder how long that can last if you don't get more money from Congress.

BASTIAN: Well, we are facing an issue with respect to about 1,900 pilots. We have figured out for all of our other groups through efforts they have made to take unpaid leaves of absence, thousands and tens of thousands throughout the summer, early retirement opportunities, we've been able to avoid furloughs in all of our other work groups through the end of the year and well into next year as well. I'm confident of that.

But with our pilots, we're still working on a strategy to be able to hopefully get to that same outcome. But if we can't, certainly, the assistance from Congress would be helpful in avoid is those furloughs as well.

HARLOW: So, Congress getting a new deal together could save 1,900 pilot jobs at Delta?

BASTIAN: Absolutely.

HARLOW: Okay. So, a question a lot of people have and I certainly have is when and if you ever get back to normal, you've still got passenger loads at only about 30 percent, and some are asking does injecting taxpayer money into the airlines right now make sense, or is it delaying the inevitable? What do you say to them?

[10:30:00]

BASTIAN: Well, the industry, first and foremost, is an essential industry to our economy, to our nation, and we've had our people out working throughout.