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White House Evading Some Questions Over Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis; Gold Star Families Quarantining After White House Event; Interview with Furloughed Flight Attendant Breaunna Ross. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired October 07, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Top of the hour now, I'm Brianna Keilar. And President Trump has been feeling great and free of COVID symptoms for the last 24 hours, that is according to his doctor who provided that update here in just the last hour.

But while the president may be showing very early signs of improvement, it is his behavior that has some in his administration concerned. This includes taking to Twitter for an extended rant that included jabs at political rivals, more unfounded claims about voter fraud and a call to end stimulus talks that sent stock markets into a tailspin.

"The New York Times," reporting that some White House staffers worry that the drugs that are part of the president's treatment -- including a steroid that can cause mood swings -- could be playing a role.

All of that as the number of coronavirus infections is growing nationwide and inside the White House, at least 20 people -- including the president -- have now tested positive. This includes his top aide, Stephen Miller. Let's get now to CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta. Jim, tell us what else the president's physician said.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it was a very short statement from Dr. Sean Conley, the president's top physician. And we could put it up on-screen. It begins the way you read it just a few moments ago, Brianna.

"The president this morning says, "I feel great!' His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range. He's now been fever-free for more than four days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed or received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalization."

You know, a couple of things to point out in all of this. I mean, the beginning of this statement from Dr. Conley begins with something that the president wants to get out there, and so this is pretty consistent all throughout this saga for the president, that the top doctors for the president are essentially putting out information that he wants to get out there to the public. The other thing we don't really have a firm handle on, Brianna, is why

the president is fever-free and why he's been symptom-free for some time now. Is it because of the medication? And if he gets off of medication, could he be fever-free and symptom-free after that? Those questions have not been answered.

Other questions that have been raised this morning, we're still not getting straight answers from top White House officials as to the president's whereabouts since he's been back on the White House grounds since returning from Walter Reed earlier this morning.

One of the top economic advisors for the president, Larry Kudlow, said the president had been in the Oval Office yesterday. And then Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, told reporters, no, that's not the case. He wanted to go to the Oval Office yesterday, according to Meadows, to deliver some kind of statement. But it ended up not happening.

And so we're still not getting straight answers from White House officials including when the president's last negative test was. Of course, they're closely guarding that sort of information because then it would help us determine the timeline of events, as to when the president might have been testing positive and when he began showing symptoms.

The White House continues to say he first tested positive last Thursday, but we don't know whether or to he was symptomatic before that and potentially spreading the coronavirus during the week last week, potentially at a presidential debate, potentially at a rally in Minnesota last Wednesday and so on. So a lot of unanswered questions so far today -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So many, Jim. Thank you so much for that report from the White House.

I want to bring in Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, he is a primary care physician, an internist and pediatrician.

OK, so let's start with how the doctor is very conspicuously saying that the president has antibodies in his bloodstream. You could look at that and say, oh, that means he is fighting this off. That -- is that really the truth, though, considering that the very thing that they infused into his body are antibodies? And also just what this tells us about his prognosis.

PRITESH GANDHI, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Yes. Well first, thank you for having me today. More -- the most important thing is that we need some data, right? The data so far from the White House has been unclear. Great, I'm glad that they're able to detect antibodies. He did receive a hefty dose -- maybe seven to eight grams -- of an antibody last week. That was the Regeneron, the two monoclonal antibodies.

And for folks watching at home, an antibody is a protein that's produced by these cells to fight pathogens, right? And so when you find an IgG antibody, that usually happens around 10 days after symptom onset, and it means that your body is mounting an immune response.

[14:05:02]

Now, what I would potentially question is, is this the Regeneron, one? And two, in the setting of taking Dexamethasone, which is a powerful steroid, it makes it even a little bit less likely that this is actually a true IgG response. And so we need more data, we need a little bit more transparency to give some better assessment for folks watching at home.

KEILAR: OK, so he also says he's fever-free. But that would really only be meaningful if the president is not taking any medications that would reduce his fever. This is something that Sean Connolly said a couple days ago, that he hadn't (ph) been taking fever reducing medicine. We don't know that about this right now, though.

GANDHI: Yes, we don't know what fever-reducing medication he's taking. We know that he's ending his current doses of the meds that he's been on for a few days. I mean, I think the most important thing here is that we need to know exactly when his symptoms started, we need to know when his last negative test was, and then we need to just follow the guidelines, right?

At the earliest, he should be out and about 10 days after symptom onset, provided that he's gone 24 hours without fever and he's had an improvement in his symptoms. And if he's able to do that, that's great. But to be able to make a judgment on that that's predicated on having some of these facts which we just don't have right now.

KEILAR: What happens, Dr. Gandhi, if a COVID patient is on steroids, but then they stop using steroids and they leave the body and they're still battling infection?

GANDHI: Yes, so at times, the body can actually be falsely thinking that it's doing a good job -- right? -- because the steroids help you fight this infection. When in reality, when patients get off steroids, sometimes the infection can worsen, right? And so I think we have to keep an eye for that.

Remember that Dexamethasone is a powerful steroid used for patients that have moderate to severe COVID, right? We don't typically use this for people that have mild symptoms. I don't use it in the outpatient world, right? I mean, this would be used by my colleagues in the hospital setting.

And so we have to keep an eye and see how the president does. And remember, we're still in this window here, right? The typical window is that at times, people can feel fine in that first week. And then around day seven, eight, nine and 10, these symptoms can worsen. So I am thrilled that he president feels great, but let's just keep an eye for the next couple of days here.

KEILAR: And I'm sure you've heard the president is going to be returning to the Oval Office. Can you talk to us a little bit about the concerns for staff both in the West Wing and also in the White House residence, considering he is likely still contagious? GANDHI: He is, and these are real issues here, right? Like, this is very complicated. Every day, my team and I think through what ventilation is where we see patients, what is the air exchange per hour, what is the distance that we all need to be working from each other to ensure that folks are safe, what kind of masks do folks have, have those masks been tested so we know that they're actually truly filtering at the capacity that they are.

And so so much investment is made to ensure the safety of our staff and the safety of our patients. It is highly complicated, it's complex and requires time. It is unclear to me if that same kind of investment's happening at the White House.

So look, if they have calculated those things, if folks have access to PPE, if they're trained in how to put it on and put it off, that's wonderful. But it is a massive scale-up of effort to be able to ensure the safety of folks that are around people who have symptoms and who are infectious.

KEILAR: Yes, there is PPE as we understand it. We do not know the answers to those other questions about the level of training to ensure they're using it maximally.

So Dr. Gandhi, thank you so much for your insight, really good to see you.

GANDHI: Happy to be here as always, thank you.

KEILAR: As more people in President Trump's orbit are testing positive for coronavirus, there is growing concern about Gold Star families becoming infected. There were nearly two dozen families of fallen service members who were recognized at a White House event just 24 hours after the president's Rose Garden ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

And as you can see there was no social distancing and many people there were not wearing masks. Also attending that military indoor event was Coast Guard Admiral Charles Ray, who has contracted coronavirus now.

Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby is a CNN military and diplomatic analyst. He's also a former spokesman for the State Department and the Pentagon. It's great to see you. Tell us about what you are observing here because there are questions being raised about how the White House handled this event. What concerns do you have given what we now know about the president's health and the health of others around him?

JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Well first of all, it doesn't appear that they've done any contact tracing, at least press reports are indicating none of the families that were present there have been contacted by the White House, and many of them are left on their own to sort of figure out what they should do. Some are quarantining themselves of course.

[14:10:12] But, Brianna, look, I think it's great that the White House took time on a Sunday to honor these families and their sacrifices, but you would think that in the midst of a pandemic, you would want to show even greater respect to them and to their sacrifices and their families by doing everything you could during the event to keep them safe: social distancing required, wearing of masks as you pointed out.

But it could have been done outside as well. I mean, it was a nice day, that Sunday. There's no reason why this event had to have been held indoors, and it just doesn't seem like the White House went the extra mile to really show the proper respect for these families by making sure that they could arrive and leave in perfect health.

KEILAR: And in stark contrast, the generals who were in contact with Admiral Ray are still quarantining despite the fact that they've been tested and they're negative.

KIRBY: Right.

KEILAR: They know you can continue to get negative tests until you get a positive one, so you have to wait this out. It seems they're more inclined to follow the health guidelines than the White House.

KIRBY: Yes, they're being very stringent about this and they're mindful that they have staffs too, all these four-star admirals and generals, they have a circle of people around them. They're trying to be responsive and responsible to their own staffs and to other people at the Pentagon, they're doing the right thing.

And I'm convinced and confident that they'll be able to do their jobs, you know, from quarantining at home, they've got communications set up, even classified communications at their residences. They've been careful even before this, they're clearly being careful afterward and I think they're doing exactly what you would expect a responsible leader in our government to do, having known that you may have come in contact with somebody that tested positive.

KEILAR: They're doing it by the book.

KIRBY: They are.

KEILAR: Admiral Kirby, thank you so much, great to see you.

KIRBY: You too, thanks.

KEILAR: The president's former economic advisor says the U.S. is on the verge of economic calamity after he pulled the plug on stimulus talks. I'm going to speak to a flight attendant who was brought to tears on the last flight before she lost her job.

Plus, the vice presidential candidates face off tonight behind a wall of plexiglass. We're going to tell you what to watch for on the substance of this debate, and there will probably be more tonight than in the first presidential debate.

And later, former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden has a stark warning in a new ad endorsing Joe Biden.

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KEILAR: Right now, millions of Americans are out of a job and they're eagerly awaiting our leaders in Washington to do theirs. And yet as of today, Americans are no closer to a desperately needed second round of stimulus.

After dumping talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday, President Trump attempted to walk it back. But all it's done is cause confusion when, more than ever, Americans are looking for clarity and an economic lifeline.

Take the millions of parents who are unsure how they're going to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads.

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ROSE RODRIGUEZ, FURLOUGHED WORKER: When we go up to the laundromat, we see homeless washing themselves. And one day, if I don't go back to work, I'm going to be one of them. Yes, I'll live check by check. But now, it's not a check, it's a box. A box that I have to stretch out for seven days.

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KEILAR: Or this father, Israel Rodriguez, who was recently evicted along with his two young children.

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ISRAEL RODRIGUEZ, RECENTLY EVICTED: It was a lot going on during the coronavirus -- when it hit, I lost my job. So it took me like a month to get another job. This is my check, but I ain't making it with $300.

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KEILAR: And restaurant owners who are barely scraping by.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went from being about to franchise, to basically running a to-go business. I'm worried about having a heart attack, to be perfectly honest with you.

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KEILAR: And the tens of thousands of pilots and flight attendants whose jobs just evaporated.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: So Congress getting a new deal together could save 1,900 pilot jobs at Delta? ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIR LINES: Absolutely.

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KEILAR: My next guest is one of those nearly 32,000 airline workers who was furloughed after Washington failed to provide more federal aid to the struggling industry. Here's Breaunna Ross saying goodbye on her last leg as a flight attendant.

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BREAUNNA ROSS, FURLOUGHED AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT: As all of you know, the airline industry has been impacted greatly by this global pandemic. Our routes and flying (ph) have been significantly reduces, resulting in our company having an overage in staff. For myself and one other crew member on our flight today, this means we'll be furloughed October 1st. And unfortunately, this was my last working flight before that day comes.

I will never forget seeing your faces today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kindness shown on today's flight.

I also want to personally thank each and every one of you for choosing to fly American today. While I have already begun my next chapter, there are many of my coworkers who have not. In the present then, I ask that you please keep them in your thoughts during this time.

Finally, I have one last request for each of you today. With so much happening in the world, you never know how small actions can impact the next person. Please be kind to one another, practice compassion with everyone, (INAUDIBLE) acceptance of yourself and others. And until I'll see you guys in the friendly skies again, please take care of yourself and your health.

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KEILAR: Breaunna Ross is joining me now. Breaunna, thank you so much for being with us. I know you told my producer in response to the president ending stimulus talks that people see these numbers, but they don't realize that we are real people, that's what you said. Why do you think the human factor is getting lost in all of this?

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ROSS: Yes, ma'am. First of all, thank you of course for having me on. Yes, I talked with a producer earlier and I let him know. You know, all this time that has gone by where companies have been saying that they may have to furlough this amount of people, the country sees these numbers and we are real people behind those numbers. You know, we all have a story, we all are going to be struggling very soon just to make ends meet.

I think people are forgetting because of course everyone is being affected. That the numbers are more than just numbers, there are people behind the stories and people behind those numbers as well. KEILAR: Your address to the passengers on your last flight was

incredibly touching. You were so sensitive in asking for their thoughts as well for your colleagues. What was their reaction after you said that to them?

ROSS: So after we landed and we got to the gate, as everyone was deplaning, everyone was stopping me and you know, saying you're going to do great with your next chapter, good luck. People were giving me hugs. I actually had a lady who wrote me a letter and I didn't read it until I got home that evening, but in the letter she wrote that she made a donation to the Make a Wish Foundation in my honor. And she said, you know, I don't know your name but I know that a child somewhere will be touched because of you.

So the response has been amazing. I never expected the response to be what it is. I've had people contact me from literally all over the world, telling me how touched they were and you know, keep your head up, everything's going to be OK. So honestly I'm still in a little disbelief of all the people that it has touched.

KEILAR: I mean, it's not surprising, right? Someone posts that, it goes viral. I think a lot of people need to hear it, they sort of need that right now.

But you mentioned in the video that that passenger shot of you, that you have a next chapter. So what are you going to be doing now that you're furloughed?

ROSS: Yes, ma'am. So I actually do already have a bachelor's degree and I left a desk job to become a flight attendant. And I knew I didn't really want to go back to that, so I love skin care, so I'm actually in aesthetician school right now. I started in September. So for the month of September, I was just flying for the airline on the weekends, so that's what I'm in right now.

KEILAR: All right. And what is your message? You have the floor right now, Breaunna. What is your message to the president and to Congress and to leaders in Washington who have the power to do something to help Americans?

ROSS: Yes, ma'am. I just want to say it feels like we're on an emotional rollercoaster right now. You know, one day it's we're going to do something about it, and the next we're not. I feel for all of my coworkers who have packed up their lives and, you know, moved across the country or moved back home with their parents just to be able to make their ends meet.

I just ask that they realize that you know, these are the people that you were elected to be there for and, you know, to take care of. And it sort of feels like we're not honestly being taken care of right now. It feels like it's being dangled over our heads. So yes, like I said, it's an emotional rollercoaster right now and I just want to get off the rollercoaster.

KEILAR: I want to get off the rollercoaster, too, I hear you on that. Hey, thank you so much for coming on today and talking to us, we

appreciate it.

ROSS: Yes, ma'am, of course. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: All right, Breaunna Ross, thank you.

Next, an E.R. doctor with her own message for the president: We are afraid. She's going to join me live to explain why she's so upset with President Trump's attempt to downplay this virus.

[14:24:02]

Plus, a Republican senator in a tight race in Arizona has a hard time answering a question about whether she's proud to support the president.

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KEILAR: President Trump's aides are reportedly preparing for him to return to the Oval Office despite the fact that he still has coronavirus.

His attempts to portray strength, though, have infuriated some medical experts. When he told the nation not to be afraid of the virus, emergency room doctor Amy Cho took to Twitter herself with a long threat that said in part, "Please know that COVID-19 scares the doctors and nurses and other health care workers. We are afraid because we have witnessed what it can do if you or your loved ones get severe COVID. We know that money, power and fame can't purchase a cure."

And Dr. Amy Cho is joining me now to talk more about this. I mean, explain to us, Dr. Cho, why it just got to the point where you needed to speak out and you needed to put your voice out there in response to what the president said.

AMY CHO, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak today. You know, I wanted to speak out to my fellow citizens and my family members and my friends to let them know that while most people do recover from COVID, not everybody does.

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