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Infected Trump Invites Thousands To White House, Two Weeks After Super Spreader Event In Rose Garden; White House To Say When Trump Last Tested Negative; Influential COVID Model Predicts Almost 395,000 Deaths By February; Economic Crisis Leaves Families Struggling To Buy Food; Dr. Deepak Chopra Discusses Mental Health Amid Pandemic & Economic Crisis. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 10, 2020 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:50]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me on Fredricka Whitfield. All right, we began at the White House right now. Guests are lining up outside the White House side by side as you see right there, many not even wearing masks arriving for what could become a potential super spreader event.

Next, our President Trump still possibly contagious from coronavirus is holding his first public events since testing positive nine days ago. We know the President has invited 2000 people and is expected to speak to supporters from the White House balcony.

The last large gathering held on White House grounds is now considered to be a super spreader event. At least 20 people in President Trump's inner circle have tested positive for the virus since that Rose Garden event to announce Amy Comey Barrett as Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nominee. And that includes among those who tested positive, the president of course, First Lady advisors, the press secretary and two U.S. senators.

And on top of that the President and his doctors refused to say whether he has tested negative in the last 24 hours or what his numbers might be. And they continued to remain evasive about his overall condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been retested. And I haven't even found out numbers or anything yet, but I've been retested. And I know I'm at either the bottom of the scale or free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's start at the White House. CNN's Sarah Westwood is there. So Sarah, we're just an hour away from this scheduled event that is possibly putting so much and so many at risk. What do we know about who the people are who are lined up and how this event will be carried out? SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, we're expecting this to be a large bustling event this afternoon on the South Lawn. And we are not seeing from the images so far, a lot of mask squaring among the crowd that's filtering in. Those people also are not expected to be tested before they gather for the President's speech. Although the White House did announce a slate of precautions that they say they are taking.

They are requiring that attendees wear masks while on the White House complex. And they're saying that the attendees will get screened through temperature checks in a brief questionnaire about COVID. But that mask wearing requirement is clearly not being enforced totally in the White House today because we spotted National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien in the briefing room earlier today giving it to her not wearing a mask despite the fact that not every six inches on the wall in the briefing room.

There are signs reminding people to socially distance and wear their masks. We're seeing the images of attendees, they appear to be from conservative groups. They appear to be packed in tightly as they wait in line and get on to the South Lawn there. The event is just under an hour from now. White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah told reporters here at the White House earlier this morning at this is expected to be a brief appearance for President Trump.

They're not expecting a long speech from him. It all seems to be part of this effort from the president to project the sense of normalcy, the sense of back to normal that he has been trying to put forward all week through releasing Twitter videos and doing a number of interviews with friendly news outlets. But we are still awaiting the results of the President's most recent COVID test.

And that's really important because we do not know how to get into the speech today whether the President is still positive for coronavirus, whether he's still contagious. We haven't heard from the President's position in a while. So, there's not a lot of transparency into the President's condition right now. He did give an update on himself last night in one of those interviews. He said he was no longer taking any medication to treat the virus.

And he revealed for the first time that a lung scan taken at some point during his treatment revealed that there was some congestion in his chest. That's not something that we knew before. Despite all of that the President is hitting the campaign trail this week. He will start with a rally in Florida on Monday, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Do we know anything about what's scheduled, you know, that the format that's scheduled for Monday?

WESTWOOD: On Monday we are expecting that rally to be in an airport hangar. So typically, when the President does a rally like that all or most of it will be outside. There have been encouragement for attendees to wear masks at these rallies but it's not required. It's not always enforced at those rallies. So, there could be some potentially shocking images of people packed in closely at this rally just a week after the President was hospitalized, Fred. [13:05:09]

WHITFIELD: And again, as you underscore what we're already starting to see with the many people who are lined up right there for the South Lawn on the White House event, many people are not wearing masks. And one more question for you, do you know -- do we know, you know, what they'll be doing? I mean, they just -- are they going to be sitting there on the South Lawn?

Are they just going to have an opportunity to mingle while the president, you know, has his brief moment? Whatever brief means, you know, on the balcony?

WESTWOOD: You've heard the White House hasn't said a lot about the format for the event and about the structure out there on the South Lawn, but from the images that we are seeing people are milling about closely in a crowd that you might expect to see in any normal campaign event. We're not seeing a lot of attempts at social distancing so far. Now that could come into play because remember, the South Lawn is a very large outdoor space.

It's much larger than the Rose Garden, so there is more room for social distancing but again, the White House not providing a lot of insight into the steps that they are taking to keep people spaced apart.

WHITFIELD: Right. More room but it also means it seems like it calls for more personal discipline in which to adhere to six feet or, you know, spacing between them and of course, the masks. All right, Sarah Westwood, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right, and this just into CNN, the latest forecast of an influential coronavirus model from the University of Washington projects, almost 395,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths by February. That's about 180,000 more lives lost beyond the current U.S. death toll of almost 214,000. Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi is a professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. Good to see you, Dr. Obi, you, me.

So, what are your thoughts? When you look at these images of the many people who are lined up who will be on the South Lawn at the White House, many of whom don't appear to be wearing masks. Some are. And also, many of whom seem to be in close proximity. What are your thoughts, concerns, observations?

DR. GIGI EL-BAYOUMI, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, as someone who took care of hospitalized COVID patients, I can tell you that it's irresponsible. And ultimately, it's sad, because the President got top of the line treatment, has top of the line doctors, has access to excellent care. But I don't know about the people who are sitting in the south lawn, especially people who are older.

Especially people who are overweight, people who have chronic medical conditions. And you realize according to this study that you just quoted, or the projection that you just quoted, if 95 percent of Americans wore masks between now and February 1st, we could cut that number of deaths, projected deaths from 200,000. To about 120,000. You could save 80,000 lives. So it's no joke. And I think it's irresponsible. And sadly, people will learn lessons when it's too late.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You know, and they -- I guess there's a feeling that this event right here could potentially be a super spreader. Just because you have a lot of people convening in close proximity, many of whom are not taking, you know, the precautions, you know, but the president is trying to send a message and has been for some time, but particularly after being diagnosed with coronavirus that, look, look at me, you know I -- I'm virus free.

In fact, he's willing to say I don't have it, and it wasn't a big deal and don't let it consume your lives. Don't be afraid. And now he's got this event where he's saying, hey, welcome to the property. And we don't know what he's going to say. But how worrisome are those actions, you know, is that, you know, jargon to you?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, first of all, he's not out of the woods yet. We don't know enough about his inflammatory status. And if what he's saying is correct, and that he stopped all the medications, including the steroids, there could be a rebound. That's number one. Number two, life may be going back to normal for him. But I can guarantee you that anybody who has COVID whether it's younger people who have some of the long-haul symptoms or hospitalized patients who might die or have other complications.

Did you know that 50 percent of people who have -- had COVID have some kind of cardiac involvement? So, we really don't know if things are back to normal. And again, even if things were normal for him, doesn't mean that things are back to normal for the rest of the country.

WHITFIELD: And quickly. He says he's virus free. What and how do you determine whether someone is virus free?

EL-BAYOUMI: Well, first of all, you do a test of viral load, much like we do an HIV testing. So, what's the viral load that's important and furthermore, when he says he's immune, that may be because he's tested positive from the antibodies that he received as part of his overall treatment.

[13:10:13]

EL-BAYOUMI: I just want to say one thing, because this reminds me of some of the rhetoric around HIV, I'm old enough to have been on the front lines when HIV devastated the country in the world. It's the same argument that people did not use or did use for not using condoms. And I heard Stephen Colbert, the other night say, well, the pregnancy test was negative in the morning, that means that we don't need to use the condom.

It's the same kind of logic of the tests being negative, that doesn't matter if you test negative and are exposed right to a virus. And then finally, just to add, the super spreader events are also just because you're outside doesn't mean that you are free from being exposed to the virus, especially because when you're outside, you're probably speaking more loudly, right? And so instead of six feet, it may be more like 10 feet that you have to distance yourself.

So, lots of factors but the bottom line is this is highly irresponsible. And unfortunately, I predict that people are going to lose their lives as a result of participating in this event.

WHITFIELD: Right, completely unnecessary to be exposed based on all that we do know about behaviors and how to protect ourselves. Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

So, the President's decision to hold this White House event as the pandemic worsens, is drawing fire from his competitor, Joe Biden. CNN's Jessica Dean joining us now from Pennsylvania. So, Jessica, how is the Democratic nominee responding?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, yesterday we heard from the Biden campaign, they called it stunningly reckless. They said President Trump is living in an alternate reality. Joe Biden has made President Trump's response to the COVID pandemic central to his campaign. And while he was on the campaign trail yesterday, we really heard his sharpest rebuke yet of President Trump since his diagnosis with COVID-19. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis for the stabilized destabilizing effect is having on our government is unconscionable. He didn't take the necessary precautions to protect himself or others. And the longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he gets. How can we trust him to protect this country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And you heard the honking in the background there, Joe Biden has taken two holding driving events where people can gather together but stay in their cars. The Biden campaign has constantly and continues to seek that sharp contrast between themselves between, Joe Biden and President Trump is President Trump goes on now to host an event at the White House. And also the Democratic National Committee doing what it can to draw attention to Trump's response as well.

They're going to be driving around a billboard truck in Washington, D.C. as that happens today with coronavirus pandemic statistics on this side. So again, drawing attention to what the Trump administration has been doing in response to COVID, how they've been handling it and the President's behavior versus how Joe Biden would handle it and how he has been handling it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jessica Dean, thank you so much in Erie, Pennsylvania. All right, coming up a major ruling on voting in Pennsylvania just 24 days before the election, a Federal judge denying a request to make ballot drop boxes in the state unconstitutional. So where does -- what does it all mean rather and what impact will it have on the selection of former assistant U.S. Attorney joining us live.

Plus, stimulus controversy. Why several Republican senators are upset with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

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[13:18:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news out of the battleground State of Pennsylvania. A major ruling, a Federal judge there has denied a request by President Trump and the Republican Party to make ballot drop boxes in Pennsylvania unconstitutional. This comes just a day after a Federal judge in Texas blocks governor Greg Abbott's directive limiting ballot drop boxes to one per county.

I want to bring in law professor and former assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Wehle. Kim, good to see you. Also, you're the author of, "What You Need to Know About Voting -- and Why." Boy, is that timely, super timely right now. Let's begin with your reaction now to this decision from this Federal judge who by the way was appointed by President Trump this out of Pennsylvania?

KIM WEHLE, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE: Well, what it means is that this constant cry that we're hearing from the president that there is widespread voter fraud, that's a problem is not true. I mean, the judge basically said, listen, unless you show that there's real impending voter fraud, any -- some kind of evidence to suggest that if we allow drop boxes, there will be fraud, you can't stop this expansion of access to the ballot in Pennsylvania,

Essentially, there have been across the country efforts to make it easier for Americans to vote during an election. And Republicans have systematically been challenging those on the theory, it looks like that they will win. They're better -- they're more likely to win elections by keeping people from the polls, and it's just not flying with Federal judges.

WHITFIELD: In fact, more specifically what the judge said in his ruling he, says while plaintiffs may not need to prove actual voter fraud, they must at least prove that such fraud is certainly impending. They haven't met that burden at most, they have pieced together a sequence of uncertain assumptions. So --

(CROSSTALK)

WEHLE: Yes. Most of --

WHITFIELD: It's pretty clear what it means.

[13:20:02]

WEHLE: Right. I mean most of the law on these issues comes down to a balancing test that is, on the one hand, we need access to the polls. We have a pandemic. We have, you know, seniors, people that are shutting down, hard to get to voting places don't want to get sick. And the other hand, we have the states needing to make sure elections are safe, and that they're fraud free and that they're, they're legitimate.

And in this moment, the balance weighs much more heavily in favor of voter access. So, that's one thing to say something on the campaign trail, it's one thing to tweet something about voter fraud. It's another thing to go before a Federal judge who's there for life, doesn't have to worry about being reelected and actually present facts and law. In that setting, it's very hard to persuade these judges that there's somehow this Boogeyman that's going to sort of destroy the election by allowing people to vote during a pandemic.

WHITFIELD: You've also written extensively about the problems with the U.S. Postal office, you know, Federal judges now rejecting GOP and Trump, you know, trying to limit drop off boxes, curb mail-in balloting. What needs to be done to make sure, you know, the postal service can handle this election, especially now, just 24 days away, you know, all kinds of changes in deadlines.

But then, you know, there is a universal urging of -- because we're in a pandemic, you know, of mailing in absentee ballots.

WEHLE: Yes, I mean, Michelle Obama mentioned this at the DNC, she said, have a vote plan, and I've tweeted about this and put it on my Instagram. I mean, that really means because the laws are changing so much that everyone should get on their Secretary of State's Web site right now, today. And register -- make sure you're registered, get your absentee ballot, if that's available for you in your -- in your state.

And I think optimally drop it off, we're seeing the Republicans in the Trump campaign try to make that harder. But because of delays in the Postal Service, that really is the best option to physically go to an early voting site. But barring that, the number one thing to keep in mind is early, early, early, the earlier you vote, the easier it is for these election officials to process your ballot. And keep in mind too, Fred, that these are people like you and me, our neighbors, our friends, these are not fraudsters.

These are Americans that are trying very, very hard to make the electoral process work for regular people in a pandemic. They're there every day on the front lines of democracy, and we should support them by getting our ballots in as early as possible and tamping down this nonsense about widespread fraud. It's just not the case. And this isn't democracy by we the people, not we the politicians. And that means every eligible voter should have access to the polls.

WHITFIELD: Kim Wehle, thank you so much. Good to see you. Congrats on the book.

WEHLE: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. A new roadblock in the stimulus talks. Republicans firing back the White House over the latest proposal. We'll have an update on the negotiations next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republicans blast President Trump's $1.8 trillion stimulus proposal, making it all but certain Congress won't pass an economic relief package before election day. Joining me right now by phone is CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju. So, Manu, Republicans wrapped up a conference call just a short time ago. What are you learning about that?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, it did not go well for the White House but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were on the call discussing the report of the President's new proposal to the House Democrats, that proposal worth $1.8 trillion. And Republicans did not take it well, according to multiple sources familiar with the call.

According to these sources, the Republicans raised a wide range of concerns about the specifics in the President's approach, things including increased money for state and local governments and a lot of Republicans are opposed to expansions for tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, also a major concern that was raised. And also, the overall price tag $1.8 trillion, Republicans and the Senate Republicans, of course, had united around $500 billion to move almost four times as much just (INAUDIBLE) sparked a lot of criticism from a lot of different Republicans.

And ultimately, Meadows and Mnuchin told the Republicans that they would take that those concerns back to the White House. Relay that to the President. Now at the same time, the question is can that bipartisan deal be cut between the White House and the Democrats? Well, it doesn't even look like that's possible. Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote a letter to our Democratic colleagues this morning that the White House plan is in her view, one step forward and two steps backwards.

She argues that it gives too much discretion for the President to spend money and that -- it just is another indication both of the criticism from both sides, Fred, is a clear indication that getting anything through in the next few weeks before the election is highly, highly unlikely even as millions are awaiting or (INAUDIBLE) for Congress that two sides have been at odds for months, Republicans are divided themselves about exactly what is needed.

And as the White House has moved closer to the Nancy Pelosi on her $2.2 trillion price tag you're hearing a number of Republicans balking at that approach. So a sign, Fred, a lot needs to be done but so many people are waiting, they may have to wait even longer. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. It doesn't sound very encouraging at all. Manu Raju, thank you so much.

[13:30:07]

RAJU: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Up next, crowds gathering at the White House for President Trump's first public event since his COVID diagnosis. It comes on the same day as a new model forecasts almost 395,000 U.S.

coronavirus deaths -- 395,000 U.S. coronavirus deaths by February.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The nation is battling a health crisis and an economic crisis and, for millions of Americans, that means struggling with hunger.

According to the Hamilton Project, 14 million children in the United States are not getting enough to eat. That's three times more than during the Great Recession and five times more than before the pandemic.

CNN's Kyung Lah spoke a mother of three who is running out of food after being furloughed from her job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[13:35:04]

ROSE RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF THREE RUNNING OUT OF FOOD: Wake up. You got to go to school.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The morning routine for Rose Rodriguez and her three girls.

RODRIGUEZ: Time for school.

LAH: And 3-year-old Alejandra --

RODRIQUEZ: Come on, get up.

LAH: -- and 12-year-old Terry in one bed. And 13-year-old Ulisa sleeps on the couch.

Breakfast --

RODRIGUEZ: You want this one?

LAH: -- is what she's scrounged from the day before.

RODRIGUEZ: It's good? Yes.

I'll eat whatever is left over.

LAH: Everything has changed since coronavirus.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you.

The pantry, that's all I have.

LAH (on camera): Before coronavirus, was this full?

RODRIGUEZ: Everything was full. LAH (voice-over): This was Rodriquez at her full-time job at LAX

Airport. She worked for Qantas Airlines cargo making more than $20 an hour.

RODRIGUEZ: I thought everything would be good. I thought, you know what, I have money for my rent. I have money for the food. I don't have to worry about the girl's health.

I never thought that, on Wednesday, I would show up to work. But, no, it wasn't that way. You could lose your job at any time.

LAH (on camera): How about the food? I mean, how much --

RODRIGUEZ: The food, that's what we struggle more.

LAH: Tell me about that struggle?

RODRIGUEZ: Some things we eat. Some things we don't.

LAH (voice-over): What she manages is cheap unhealthy food.

Rodriguez says she's applied for fifty jobs. Thirty interviews later, still nothing. Her unemployment applications stalled, part of more than one million stuck in a log jam of California system.

Her car and most of her furniture repossessed. She's months behind on rent.

RODRIGUEZ: 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 lived 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.

LAH (voice-over): That weekly box is donated food from the L.A. Food Bank and Salvation Army.

(CROSSTALK)

LAH: While her older daughters learn virtually on public school laptops --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is ready for lunch.

LAH: -- Alejandra gets free childcare and lunch at the Salvation Army, too young to understand a virus' impact on her family.

RODRIGUEZ: My youngest, she wants what she sees. But I tell her, I can't. I have to tell her tomorrow so she can forget.

LAH (on camera): And every day is tomorrow.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes. Everything is tomorrow.

LAH (voice-over): Food banks across the country have seen hours-long lines as record unemployment devastates working families.

MORTIMER JONES, THE SALVATION ARMY, SIEMON CENTER: We do have peas.

WHITFIELD: At the salvation Army food bank in Los Angeles, they fed 10 times the number of people as last year.

JONES: It is not like it happened for a week or two weeks. It's been happening for months.

And even though we're trying our best to help, we know that we're barely scratching the surface. Because we can only do so much with the limited resources that we have.

LAH: Today, fresh food bank supplies mean their shelves are more full.

(CROSSTALK)

LAH: But the joy is short-lived. Counting down the days to the next food box has begun.

RODRIGUEZ: They shouldn't go through this. They don't have to be worrying like how we can eat the next day. And mom has to go look for food. Or has my mom eaten? And they shouldn't be worried about that.

Like I should be working. And they should be just worried about school and their futures. It is just hurts.

LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we're facing an unprecedented number of crises this year, from the coronavirus pandemic to an unstable economy and a divisive political climate. Well, the list seems to go on and on.

And the weight of all of these things is pretty immense. With more people facing mental health issues, today's recognition of World Mental Health Day could not come at a more crucial time.

Joining me right now is Dr. Deepak Chopra, a clinical professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego. Also the founder of the mental wellness organization, Chopra Global. And author of the new book, "Totally Meditation."

Dr. Chopra, it is more than just stress so many of us are facing.

And it's so good to see you.

And I know all of our stress levels are through the roof. So we know you are going to help bring it all down.

So help us through this. You know, step by step. What do we need to be recognizing? And how do we digest what seems to be the weight of the world on so many of our shoulders?

[13:40:06] DR. DEEPAK CHOPRA, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF FAMILY MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO & AUTHOR & FOUNDER, CHOPRA GLOBAL: So first of all, thank you for having me, Fredricka.

I think what we're experiencing globally is what we call grief. And in different parts of the world, people are going through stages of grief.

So some feel victimized, some are angry, some are hostile, some are resentful, some are helpless, some are resigning, some are accepting. I think it is important right now to accept what is.

And what is, is a financial crisis, a pandemic of stress and, at the same time, the illness acute and chronic.

So once we accept, then we can find meaning. And the meaning right now is, if we are not centered within ourselves, there are no creative solutions.

So we have to be open minded. We have to be patient. We have to be carrying for each other. And we have to reflect, what is the meaning of what's going on.

Unless we ask these questions, there's no solution.

WHITFIELD: That's powerful.

You know, people have to accept this but then how do you get centered as you say?

CHOPRA: Well, right now, the stress that people are experiencing is due to something called sympathetic overdrive.

Your sympathetic nervous system gets overactive. It puts you in what is called fight/flight/freeze mode. And then we engage in ego dramas, controlled through manipulation, anger, resentment, so on.

So to stay centered with have the stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system through deep breathing, mindful awareness. Just pausing, noticing, feeling and choosing.

And I have been practicing this forever. But now, I'm engaging lots of people globally to collectively experience attention, affection, appreciation, and joy.

And if we can do that together, we can be the change we want to see in the world.

It is easy to only blame the pandemic or national policies or wait for a vaccine. But the situation is very complex.

Climate change, social injustice, racial injustice, economic injustice, war, terrorism, polarization of politics is all hindering creative solutions.

Creative solutions can only come when we have shared vision, we bond emotionally, we look for how he can support each other, and we have open systems and total transparency of facts. And then we can create a new story.

WHITFIELD: Meditation is something else because sometimes people think meditation is, you know, trying to not to think of anything. But you underscore, no, it is thinking about a lot.

I tried myself during this pandemic and, I must say, you know, it is very peaceful. It is very helpful.

But sometimes my own mind still wanders because I'm like, I'm supposed to be thinking of something constructive. But then you get all tensed up thinking about the stuff that brought you to that moment.

So what is your best advice? It is the title of your book. What is the best advice for people to try to find an instructive way which to meditate, where you place your mind?

CHOPRA: OK. So wherever you are right now, whoever is watching, just stop, just stop right now. Take three deep breaths and smile. From your head to your toes. Feel your body. And now, choose the next experience consciously.

If you do this -- it is called Stop -- S -- stop - D -- take three deep breaths and smile. Or observe and feel. And proceed now with awareness.

Make this a habit. Call it a stop formula.

Meditation, of course, is also about self-reflection inquiry, and many things, awareness of mental space, awareness of relationships, awareness of consciousness, where all experience occurs.

It is a huge discipline. But a simple way to start is just observe your breath. That is it.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Start with Stop. I like it.

Dr. Deepak Chopra, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

CHOPRA: Thank you very much. Glad to be here.

WHITFIELD: I'll be putting those lessons to better use now in my intensive meditation and everything else.

Thank you.

I'm feeling better already right now, actually, just hearing his voice.

All right. Coming up, guess what? Now it is hundreds of people gathering at the White House to hear President Trump speak, to see him. However there remain concerns about whether this event. Even if the president is on the balcony, this event could be a super spreader in the making.

[13:45:02]

And there you see a lot of people who are gathering on the South Lawn. Who are they? Why are they there? And what is this really all about? We'll take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At any moment now, President Trump, still possibly contagious from coronavirus, is holding an event on the White House grounds, his first public event since testing positive nine days ago.

We know the president has invited 2,000 people and is expected to speak to supporters from the White House balcony. We understand that hundreds have shown up. You see right there, people who are in line.

[13:50:02]

And this, after the White House Rose Garden event, which is now considered to be a super spreader. At least 20 people in President Trump's inner circle have tested positive for the virus since that event.

With me now is chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, CNN White House Correspondent, Jeremy Diamond.

Good to see you both.

Jeremy, you first.

What do we know about who is there? We see the pictures. People mostly wearing these light-blue shirts. But who are they? What's going on?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Fredricka, not two weeks removed from that super-spreader event in the Rose Garden, where the president announced Amy Coney Barrett as the Supreme Court nominee, the president is hosting another event. This time, on the South Lawn on the White House.

Hundreds of supporters expected to arrive here. The president is expected to address these supporters from the balcony of the White House, not actually being in close proximity.

But these hundreds of people, they will be in close proximity.

You're seeing the blue shirts on your screen. That's because many of these people are coming from this group called Blexit, which is a group organized, in large part, by Candace Owens, the fire-brand right-wing political figure, who is black.

And who is encouraging, essentially, black Americans, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic, to leave the Democratic Party and to begin voting for Republicans.

While the White House has insisted this is not a campaign event, it is. It is a campaign event. Because that is what the president is expected to do here is to talk explicitly to those black Americans to encourage them to leave the Democratic Party.

But beyond that, he's also going to be delivering one of the central messages of his campaign, which is this law-and-order focused message.

Which, while he may be addressing many black Americans today, this is a message mostly aimed at white Americans.

And the message the president has tried to use with little success, we should note, to try to get those white suburban Americans, particularly white suburban women who have overwhelmingly moved towards the Democratic Party in recent years, turned off by the president personal political style, and to try and bring them into the fold of the Republican Party for his 2020 reelection process.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. So that's a lot there.

Because, Gloria, it certainly seems like the people who are invited, black and brown people, as Jeremy is describing, just disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.

WHITFIELD: But the message, the verbal message is going to be crafted to a mostly white audience.

So now you're talking about the message being sent of using these people of color for this event, who are all putting their lives at risk, right, by showing up at an event, mostly not wearing masks and in close confines already.

And the president is doing this why? What is the goal here?

BORGER: Well, as Jeremy was saying, it's a campaign event, since they can't go on the trail at this point. Although, he is going to go, I guess, starting in a day or so.

He wants to have - he wants to have another photo-op and he wants to be out there campaigning and using the message of law-and-order.

But the question that we should all be asking is: When was your last negative test? Have you tested negative yet?

WHITFIELD: We saw how he answered that yesterday.

BORGER: Yes, he did. Right. He said I'm kind of near the bottom, and if I'm not there, right, I'll be there. So we don't know. I want to hear it from a doctor. I want to know definitively.

The people there, this morning, were told to wear masks. Said there would be no exceptions, that they had to wear masks. So that's good if that is what occurs.

But this is a president who wants to be the hero of his own story. The story is, don't let COVID dominate your lives. I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing. I got great care. But I am promising I can get you the same kind of care.

And I think that's part of the message to black voters, who have been impacted so tremendously by COVID.

You know, he'll say, I'm going to get this to you. I'm going to get this to everyone. I'm going to get to seniors, I'm going to get this to minorities, the people with whom he has a lot of trouble, in voting terms.

WHITFIELD: We'll talk some more about it.

And again, that image is extraordinary, too, seeing the balcony where he will emerge and say something, do something and a crowd of people down below.

As we've just described, part of a group who have all been brought in. I'd love to hear more about how they were bought in, invited, how this was arranged.

And what the message will be from the president of the United States there, who, again, has yet to prove he is no longer infected with COVID-19.

[13:54:00]

Jeremy, Gloria, stand by.

A quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: -- the White House. He just did a very similar move that he did when he got off Marine One after leaving Walter Reed Hospital prematurely in the midst of his treatment. He walked up the stairs and then took off his mask.

That was the moment that was repeated just moments ago. This time, coming from inside, walking out on the balcony there, and then taking off his mask.

And hearing a large crowd of people, we understand estimates of hundreds of people, whose travel arrangements, whose travel arrangements, whose transport to this location were taken care of by conservative group called Blexit.

And let's hear the president right now.

[14:00:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- people into oblivion.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Vote them into oblivion. Got to get rid of them. So bad for our country.

First of all, I'm feeling great. I don't know about you. How is everyone feeling?