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White House Press Secretary Tests Positive for Coronavirus; Trump's Doctor Says, Expected Findings in President's Lung Tests; Joe Biden Travels to Florida After Negative COVID Test. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 05, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: This is the summer peak. We came down some. We had dipped below 40. Now, on average, the seven-day average of cases, call that plateau, maybe trending back up, but above 40,000 new infections a day. That is a dangerously high number especially as it gets colder.

The death trend as well had been coming down, everyone has said, had been coming down below, 687 on Saturday, 337 reported yesterday. We need to watch this, with the states reporting more cases, and, sadly, most of the projections say the death count will start trending back up and trending back up soon.

Six states have set records for new cases, case highs, new infections, over the last three days. You see the Montana, Nebraska, Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Alaska. Again, smaller states, not big populous states but it adds up overtime as you get these new cases.

On the positivity map, some you might see Mississippi at 43 percent. They're reporting data differently now, so that's a high number. But look at Wisconsin, 21 percent, South Dakota, 23 percent, Idaho, 22, Wyoming, 16. You want the positivity rate around down around 5 percent and then shove it lower.

These double digits in a lot of places, again, across the northern part of the country, a danger sign, including in New York City. This is remarkably low, right, compared to many states but you do notice an uptick in New York, the state of New York, and especially in the city, just an uptick above 1 percent. Again, it has been a remarkable success story in recent weeks and months in New York State and in New York City, but trending up a little bit, it has mayor concerned.

And listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci here. He looks at the national trends, he looks at even a slight uptick here and he says everybody needs to be careful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you look at the test positivity rate in certain areas in the Midwest and Northwest, and now, we're even starting to see a bit of the uptick in New York. You have got to pay attention to that and you've got to jump all over that. Because if you don't do that, then what happens is you're going to see the surges that we've seen in different parts of the country where parts come down and part go up. We've got to stop that trend and get everything going down as a country all together, working together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I want to go straight to the White House, live breaking news. Another one of the president's aides testing positive for the coronavirus. John Hardwood has the details. John?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, the west wing outbreak, which has already had the president test positive, which has had Melania Trump, the first lady, Hope Hicks, close aide to the president testing positive, now adds the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. She tweeted out this statement and I'm going to read it for you.

After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms. No reporters, producers or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House medical. Moreover, I definitely had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' diagnosis prior to holding a White House press briefing on Thursday.

As an essential worker, I've worked diligently to provide needed information to the American people at this time. With my recent positive test, I will begin the quarantine process and will continue working on behalf of the American people remotely.

That reference to the Thursday briefing was because she got a considerable amount of criticism for briefing reporters without a mask as the events developed toward the disclosure that evening that Hope Hicks had tested positive and then later that the president had. But this just underscores the inability of the White House to control the outbreak, even in the White House. And that tells you something about why it's so bad given the numbers that you were reciting across the country, John.

KING: Right. And it also tells us, John, that we've learned this from the public health experts, the White House has ignored this. But just the way they flout the safety guidelines is that testing negative today or yesterday can mean nothing if you've been exposed. It takes -- do we know -- I know this is breaking news, I might be putting you in a bad spot. Do we know if this is from an instant test, one of the quick tests? Or -- because we know the president had one of those that came back positive and he didn't tell us until he had the more thorough PCR test. Do we know, in McEnany's case, what we're dealing with here?

HARWOOD: I do not know which kind of test it was. The White House typically uses the Abbott test, which I believe is a PCR test, but we do not know the method in which she was tested.

KING: All right. We will continue to do that, looking for more details on that. We certainly wish Kayleigh McEnany the best. And we'll find out more details about this and continue to track cases in the west wing. John Harwood, I appreciate the breaking news there.

Still ahead for us, what new details we're learning about the condition of the president, including questions about COVID's impact on his lungs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:00]

KING: Word the president's coronavirus treatment includes supplemental oxygen and a powerful steroid raises questions about possible lung damage, something doctors find in a lot of COVID patients. The president's doctor not offering many details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What do the X-rays and C.T. scans show? Are there signs of pneumonia? Are there signs of lung involvement or any damage to the lungs?

DR. SEAN CONLEY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PHYSICIAN: Yes. So we're tracking all of that. There's some expected findings but nothing of any major clinical concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:40:03]

KING: Dr. Bruce Levy is the Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Levy, thank you being with us today.

Can you give us a translation as the layperson that Dr. Conley there? He says, nothing to be alarmed by, is my translation, that's not the word he used. What did you take away from that?

DR. BRUCE LEVY, CHIEF PULMONARY AND CRITICAL CARE, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Thank you, John. A pleasure to be with you.

So, typically, COVID-19 causes a bilateral viral pneumonia. And so the CAT scan or the chest X-rays typically reveal bilateral, what we would call, infiltrates, cloud-like opacities on the lungs. And they usually cause this infiltrate in the very periphery or posterior sections of the lung, and it is a typical appearance. So I think that's probably what the doctor was referring to.

KING: Another episode in these questions and answers with Dr. Conley, initially, they would not disclose this and then if we can listen here. We know at least twice, the president has needed supplemental oxygen. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Over the course of his illness, the president has experienced two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation. We debated the reasons for this and whether we would intervene. It was the determination of the team based predominantly on the timeline from the initial diagnosis that we initiate dexamethasone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Help us understand, number one, the significance and how serious is it that twice the president has had his oxygen level drops and the prescription of the steroid the doctor mentioned there, Dr. Conley, a lot of people have said that that's usually prescribed in more severe cases, although perhaps they're just being aggressive here because it's the president.

LEVY: Thank you. The very large clinical studies that were done with the steroids in the setting of COVID-19 suggested that the people who benefitted the most from them were the most critically ill, most severely ill. So, in moderate to severe cases, we typically would consider giving steroids. And it could be that they're being quite aggressive with a more moderate severity.

We typically would use criteria, such as severe lung disease requiring supplemental oxygen. So the fact that he was requiring supplemental oxygen, at least periodically, would suggest that he might be a good candidate for the steroid. And that's probably why dexamethasone was started.

KING: And, sir, in closing, if you twice required supplemental oxygen, you're on two experimental treatments plus a steroid, would you recommend that patient be released less than 72 hours after they came to the hospital?

LEVY: That would not be typical if they were requiring intermittent supplemental oxygen. But that would be a recommendation to the general public.

KING: Dr. Levy, grateful for your time today, sir. We'll come circle back as we learn more about the president's condition.

And when we come back, more on more dramatic news of a COVID outbreak in the west wing. The members of the president's team now positive with coronavirus now include the press secretary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

KING: Back now to important breaking news. The White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, says she tested positive for coronavirus this morning. McEnany says she has no symptoms but she will begin, quote, the quarantine process.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins me. Sanjay, I just want to start with a term of definition, she should begin the isolation process because she is COVID positive. You quarantine if you've come in contact somebody and you don't believe you're positive just for safety. But this is dramatic news. This is yet another member of the president's team. The president is COVID positive, the first lady is COVID positive, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Governor Chris Christie, and now Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

She says after testing negative consistently, including every day, since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms. I want to stop there for now. It's another reminder that testing is great because you find out if you're positive but testing does not protect you from this virus.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, that's a -- and I hope that she does okay. She doesn't have any symptoms now and I can -- I know it's jarring to hear this news when you first test positive. I talked to lots of patients who have received this news. So, I hope she is okay. But you're right, John.

When you think about this test, it's really valuable if it comes back and tells you that you are positive. Because then you know, as you point out, that you need to isolate, your contacts need to be traced and they need to be potentially quarantined depending on the nature of the contact. If it's negative, it only means that it's negative at that point in time.

So if you take Kayleigh McEnany, for example, if she tested negative for a few days and then suddenly tested positive, it doesn't tell you for certain when she had the exposure. I mean, you can be exposed and then it takes some time for the virus to replicate to a detectable level in the body, several days perhaps. And so then you have sort of like to retrace your whereabouts to figure out where you may have been exposed.

KING: Right. And so I want to read a little bit more of her statement, because this gets to the idea -- you hear a lot of Republicans now saying, well, if the president can get coronavirus, if coronavirus can get into the safest house, the most protected house in America, anyone can get coronavirus. And my response to that is, yes, anyone can get coronavirus. But if you behave recklessly, you are much more likely to get coronavirus.

Kayleigh McEnany works at the White House, she knows the president is positive, the first lady is positive, her friend, Hope Hicks, is positive, Kellyanne Conway is positive, Chris Christie is positive. This is her yesterday meeting with reporters at the White House.

[11:50:00]

We have some video of her coming out of the White House. She takes her mask off and she's taking.

She is separated from a bit of a distance there but she says in her statement today, Sanjay, no reporters, producers, members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House medical unit. Now, it's an important term in terms of contact tracing. Who else might have been exposed to Kayleigh McEnany? She briefs without a mask. She was around the president during debate prep. She was around for the Supreme Court nomination pick. This is just yesterday. What are the steps now that must be taken for people she's come in contact with, her staff and so on?

GUPTA: Well, you know, first of all, I think, to your point, john, there is still lack of seriousness about this virus, certainly within the White House complex. I mean, it is clear the White House is now a hot bed of viral activity. As much as those public health precautions have always been necessary, they're especially important now.

So, as you point out, outside, away from people like that, it is probably less of a concern. I couldn't see how far apart people were in the clip you just showed. You're inside and you're briefing, I mean, the concern is that in a smaller room, the virus could become aerosolized and you could potentially expel that virus into the small space there and put people at increased risk.

It is one of these risk mitigation things, John. Everyone always asked for exact, hard and fast rules on this. Do you take it seriously or not? Do you believe that you could potentially be carrying the virus in your nose and in your mouth, and if you do believe that, which you should if you at the White House now, because there's obviously a lot of spread happening, then you've just got to do everything you can to be carefully. Why unnecessarily subject people to risk?

So maybe this will make a difference in terms of how people behave. But, clearly, right now at the White House, there's a lot of spread going on and people need to be especially cautious.

KING: Right. And another point about that, she says, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' diagnosis prior to holding a White House briefing on Thursday. She came into the briefing room and briefed reporters. And this is not Kayleigh McEnany's fault. This tells you just about the culture at the White House that the president's press secretary, who had been in close quarters with him and with Hope Hicks, was not told when Hope Hicks had a positive test and she went in a briefing room.

You talk about not taking it seriously. People from the top, the president, his chief of staff and others are not telling people who may have been exposed, and now we know she was exposed about the threats in their own workplace.

GUPTA: That's completely irresponsible and unacceptable. The way it should happen and frankly does happen not just at the White House but in countries around the world when you do this, at the time someone is tested, even before they leave the testing facility, if they come back positive, their contacts are traced at that time. That's the way it should work. Who have you been in touch with over the last few days? They write that list down. People are contact traced at that moment.

Whether or not Hope Hicks was asked about who her contacts were, we don't know. If she was asked, then the names of people who she had close contact with, they should have been contacted, identified and quarantined. This is not happening and now you're seeing firsthand the ramifications of not doing this sort of contact tracing.

We're seeing it because of this high profile sort of event happening at the White House but this exact same thing has been happening in the country over and over again over the last several months, which is why we still have tens of thousands of people becoming newly infected. If you just contact trace like this, you can quickly suppress the trajectory of the pandemic.

KING: Well, let's hope they finally figure that out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Mark me down as a little bit skeptical. Sanjay Gupta, I appreciate the important insights and the hustle in this breaking news.

Still ahead for us, Joe Biden headed to Florida today as the Trump campaign deals with more COVID-19 in the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:00]

KING: Joe Biden is campaigning in battleground Florida today. He says he will continue to campaign but do so safely. Two events in Miami, also a televised town hall tonight, on his way where Mr. Biden talking to reporters saying that he would be willing to keep the debate schedule with President Trump, a debate scheduled for less than two weeks from now if doctors can certify the president is safe to be at that debate. The president, of course, still hospitalized with COVID- 19.

Joe Biden on the trail and on the trail with a lead. A new NBC/The Wall Street Journal survey released yesterday shows a 14-point national lead, four weeks to Election Day. New York Times/Sienna College poll found a five point lead for Biden where he is campaigning today, the state of Florida.

Let's talk this over with Matt Viser, National Political Reporter for The Washington Post.

Matt, it is -- A, it's interesting that Joe Biden is trying to stay on the trail. His campaign sees an opportunity here. The president has mocked for weeks and months about his mask and about his socially distant events. Joe Biden is campaigning while the president is in the hospital.

Also interesting, he said he is still open to that debate.

MATT VISER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: It's a fascinating reversal from a week or so ago. Biden's campaign has been virtual for months. With 29 days to go though, it is Biden who is out. He's on the campaign trail. It's being done in dramatically different way than Trump has been on the campaign trail, but President Trump right now is hospitalized.

So with 29 days left, you're seeing two very different campaigns right now and what they can do, where they can go. Biden's campaign announced last week that they're also, again, door-knocking. So there's much more activity on the Biden campaign side at the moment.

KING: Right. And if you look deep in the polling, the 14-point national lead in the NBC/The Wall Street Journal poll, pollsters will tell you, that's a shock poll, right? The president had a bad debate performance after the stories about his taxes. They expect that to bounce back some.

But as we often say at this time of the campaign, stop watching the national polls. But if you have a 14-point lead, even if that bounces back to eight or ten, an eight or ten-point national lead is a Biden victory.

VISER: And it's hard to find a good result for the Trump campaign anywhere in that poll, a 32-point advantage for Biden on which temperament you want as your president, there's just result after result in there, even if it is somewhat of an outlier immediately after the debate. And there's nothing good in there for the Trump campaign to point to at the moment.

So, really, I mean, Biden, even in the states as you point out, five points ahead in Florida, everywhere at this point, Biden seems to be ahead in polls.

KING: And they believe they can do this as long as they stay safe, right? Stay on the trail?

VISER: Yes. And they're testing, as Sanjay Gupta mentioned in the prior segment, I mean, I think there's a several day lag for this. So the result that, I think, for the Biden campaign has to be nervous about is that he was in close proximity to President Trump on Tuesday night. They believe it is at a safe distance. The podiums were 12 feet away.

[12:00:00]

But you sort of -- if you're a Biden supporter or even internally in the Biden campaign, you want a couple more negative results for Joe Biden.

KING: Matt Viser, grateful for your insight.