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Trump Gives Divisive Speech From White House In First Public Appearance Since His Coronavirus Diagnosis; Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Pushes Giving Congress A Role In Removing Presidents; Trump Sows Doubt About Election Integrity As Polls Show Him Trailing; Chris Christie Leaves Hospital A Week After Testing Positive; New IHME Model Projects Over 180,000 Additional Americans Will Die Of COVID By February 1st. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 10, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us. I'm Erica Hill in New York in for Ana Cabrera.

In his first major public appearance since his COVID diagnosis and just 24 days out from the election, President Trump down in the polls, sidelined from the campaign trail for more than a week, invited hundreds of people to come to him for what was clearly a political rally disguised as a White House event. The president taking to the balcony, as you see there, just two weeks to the day after that Rose Garden super-spreader event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, I'm feeling great. I don't know about you. How is everyone feeling?

I want you to know our nation's going to defeat this terrible china virus, as we call it.

It's going to disappear. it is disappearing, and we're -- vaccines are going to help and the therapeutics are going to help a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Let's be clear here. The president is lying when he says the virus is disappearing. It is not disappearing. It's spreading.

Here are the facts. Not only is it spreading through the White House, but for the last three days, the United States has reported more than 50,000 new cases each day. The last time we saw numbers like that was in mid-August. And a key model is now projecting some 395,000 deaths in this country by February 1st.

Now, despite all of that, the president seems laser focused on his campaign. We have learned the president will hold three rallies next week, all while the White House refuses to answer basic questions about the president's health, questions that matter to the American people. Is he still contagious? Well, we don't know. Has he tested negative? We don't know. When did he contract the virus? Don't have that answer either.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is standing by at the White House. So, Jeremy, today's event was supposedly aimed at African-Americans and Latinos. Tell us more about the president's message today.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, Erica, there's no question that this was a political rally disguised as an official White House event. The White House saying that this was an official event not related to the president's re-election campaign, but, of course, what you saw there was hundreds of people, many of them wearing make America Great Again Hats and the president opening up with decidedly political rhetoric, the president talking about voting Democrats out of office.

And, of course, he tailored much of his message on one of the central themes of his re-election campaign, which is this notion of law and order. This time though, the president directing that message at minority communities, black and Hispanic Americans. Listen to what the president was saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every day, more black and Latino Americans are leaving behind left-wing politicians and their failed ideology. They failed many years, many, many decades. The fact is that I've done more for the black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln. (INAUDIBLE), nobody can dispute that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And you hear the president there saying, nobody can dispute that. Of course, many people do dispute and can dispute it. Just think about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to name just a couple there.

What is notable here is, of course, many of those people who you saw in the crowd there were indeed black Americans. That's because they were there as part of an organized group, BLEXIT, which is a conservative group run by the conservative activist, Candace Owens, which encourages black Americans who overwhelmingly vote Democratic to switch over and vote for the Republican Party. So that's why you saw that there.

Of course, the president uses this message to his mostly white rally crowds all the time and that's because in large part this message isn't just aimed at black Americans across the country, it's instead aimed at creating this permission structure for white Americans to believe that President Trump is not racist and therefore be able to support him.

HILL: Jeremy Diamond live at the White House, Jeremy, thank you.

Joining me now, CNN's Senior Political Analyst and Senior Editor of The Atlantic, Ron Brownstein, CNN Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley and CNN Medical Analyst and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

Dr. Walensky, we did see masks in that crowd. We did not see much social distancing. The president was there on the balcony. Yes, he was not in the crowd. But as you're watching all of this, especially when we don't know whether he's the contagious, we don't know the status of a lot of White House staffers, what's your reaction to the event earlier today?

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good afternoon, Erica. You know, my colleagues, public health officials, the CDC has been working tirelessly to create guidelines so that people can follow the science, be safe in their isolation guidelines, in their masking, in their quarantine guidelines and in their contact tracing.

[17:05:07]

The Washington, D.C., Department of Public Health has specifically said, no gatherings over the size of 50. When you gather at 50, you should be seated. The seats should be six feet apart. There should be no mingling. So this has been a flagrant, irresponsible disregard for all of those guidelines.

The other thing I just want to point out is that if he was talking to the black and Hispanic communities, this is what I think he should say. They have two-and-a-half full times the number of cases. They have five times the number of hospitalizations and he should be doing something to protect them and keep them safe, which we did not see today.

HILL: We did not hear any of that addressed. You're right, Dr. Walensky.

Meantime, Ron, as Dr. Walensky points out, in terms of mass gatherings, clearly that was over 50 people. It is not what public health experts would advise. We should also point out the president's close ally, Chris Christie, only just got out of the hospital. We know there are staffers in quarantine. There was a super-spreader event two weeks ago at the White House. The White House is filled with infection.

The president is not talking about any of that. We don't hear him publicly talking about his staffers, Chris Christie, how they're doing, wishing them well. Instead, he's up there on the Truman balcony, and this as we know that voters say coronavirus is their top issue. How is this helping him?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it is not only damaging to public health, to be flouting the guidelines and the restrictions -- and the requirements so overtly as he's done, not only here but in rallies all over the country, in Nevada and Pennsylvania, going in, explicitly defying what governors have set. It's not only damaging to public health. It's just political malpractice as well. I mean, no matter what he says at any of these events, the dominant message he is sending to Americans is that no matter how many people die, no matter how long he is in power, he will not take this seriously. It simply overshadows anything coming out of his mouth.

And I was struck, Erica, that all this was happening today as Joe Biden unveiled this pretty remarkable ad, one-minute ad of Cindy McCain, you were talking about Arizona just now, endorsing him unequivocally, an ad that's going to run tomorrow on Fox News Sunday, on 60 Minutes, on football games, she's doing local market interviews, and it just symbolizes how much of what had been the center-right Republican coalition, particularly college-educated suburban voters, that this president is alienating precisely with this kind of behavior in which he is so contemptuous of science and also of law while running as the law and order president.

HILL: Doug, as we look at this both balcony moment and what we saw on Monday when the president returned from Walter Reed, how do you think history will look back on these two balcony moments?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: It's going to be remembered as Donald Trump wanting to be some kind of authoritarian dictator, trying to be the Putin of America. But it's -- I've never, in, I think, U.S. history, seen a sitting president struggle to find momentum in the final weeks of a campaign.

Really, I mean, Jimmy Carter in 1980 had a hard time, and it led to the Reagan revolution of just finding footage. I mean, standing there today with people in turquoise T-shirts, we know 90 percent of the African-American community is totally opposed to Donald Trump, him trying to pander there, it's not a rally, it's not really an official event, it's just Donald Trump on a balcony, this is a president who can't find his footing and is slipping rapidly.

Maybe the traveling in these rallies will help him. But he now is, I think, people don't want to be near the president or a photo-op with him. He's the COVID president. And he's just having a hard time getting any traction.

HILL: Look, we don't know if he is still infectious because we can't get an answer and that non-answer, I think, tells us a lot, Dr. Walensky. The president in speaking with Fox News last night talked about where he thinks he's at. He says he's not on any more medications. Here is what else he revealed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I didn't feel very strong. I didn't feel very vital. I didn't feel like the president of the U.S. should feel. And I knew there was something a little bit off.

MARK LEVIN, FOX NEWS HOST: Did you want to leave earlier, the hospital, earlier than they said, Mr. President?

TRUMP: I did. They wanted to keep me for observation. They wanted to be sure I was good. But I did. I was there for, I guess, three and a half days. They wanted to keep me -- I wanted to leave after the first day. I really felt I was in not bad shape after the first day.

Right now, I'm medication-free. I'm not taking any medications as of, you know, probably eight hours ago, so I'm medication-free, which frankly makes me feel good. I don't like medication.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: It's very clear the president's goal there is he wants to project strength. He wants to portray this image of being stronger than the virus. What do you, though, actually take away from what he revealed, Dr. Walensky?

WALENSKY: Yes, so very much of this is image so it's very, very hard to unpack the truth here. I would really like to know when his last negative test was before he developed disease.

[17:10:03]

I believe he's probably off medications. The Regeneron is simply a one-dose medication. The remdesivir is five days. So I believe he's off of that. I understand he's also off dexamethasone. I certainly hope that he gets his strength back.

In terms of his infectiousness, we and the CDC guidelines do not suggest that actually you document a negative test after you have COVID, and part of that is because your tests can be positive for up to three months, 12 weeks, after your initial positive. So we don't use that as a marker for continued infectiousness and we use more likely time or more importantly time. And so a ten-day period after your initial symptoms or your initial positive test, again, we don't know exactly when that started, and for people who have severe disease, up to 20 days.

HILL: You know, as we're looking at all of this play out, there's the reality of what's happening for the American people and, frankly, I should say, what's not happening in terms of a stimulus. A Republican senator, we're learning, had shot down the White House's latest stimulus offer, $1.8 trillion. The president reversed course, we know, said he wants to go big.

When he got the news on a conference call today, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said, quote, you will all have to come to my funeral, implying that when he brought the news to the president, he wouldn't be happy.

Take the Democrats out of this equation. When we look at this, Ron, for a lot of Republicans, this would be in their interest in terms of the American people, 24 days out from an election, to come together and try to agree on something, would it not?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Again, political malpractice from the point of view of the Republicans trying to hold seats and maintain their majority. I mean, you know, you're talking about Republican incumbents who are in serious, serious trouble in Colorado, Arizona, in North Carolina, Maine, and facing tough races in Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina and Iowa and maybe Alaska. They want a deal. They need a deal. They are looking at headlines of accelerating layoffs in the airline industry and the hospitality industry, but it is -- you know, many people have interpreted this decision by the majority of the Republican caucus as basically saying, we don't think Donald Trump is going to win. We're not even sure we're going to hold our majority and we don't want to do anything that will help the economy recover under Joe Biden.

There's a little bit of kind of defeatism in this where they are essentially cutting loose their own colleagues who face these tough races and sentencing them in the last few weeks to decline -- headlines about the economy slowing and layoffs, even as you pointed out, infections are going up, and they're going to spend the time in Washington debating a Supreme Court nominee who has indicated that she is skeptical of continuing the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

I mean, the environment for the last few weeks, as Doug said, doesn't provide a lot of footholds for Republicans to try to pivot gain moment other than ginning up their base and attacking Biden and the Democrats as socialists.

HILL: The latest cover of Time Magazine, I want to put it up on the screen, if we can, it shows the coronavirus shooting out of the chimneys of the White House like a toxic cloud. Molly Ball wrote the cover piece, and in it, she made this observation. She writes, when the president sneezes, America gets a cold. When the president gets COVID-19, America, too, must contemplate its frailty.

His pathologies are our pathologies. Trump, like COVID, has scrambled our sense of national identity with effects that will linger beyond November 3rd. What have these past four years done to us and what will it take to recover? Will we be humbled by weakness or plunge forward in a state of dangerous denial?

Doug, I'm curious. What do you think the answer to that question is?

BRINKLEY: It's all going to depend whether Donald Trump gets re- elected. He has so mishandled the COVID-19 crisis from day one. He was -- had his head in the sand. We all know all of the missed opportunities, the dead Americans, you know, well over 200,000 Americans, many because of Donald Trump's failed leadership. So if he gets re-elected, I think that tells us a lot.

But if Donald Trump loses, I think we might have an effort to do a bipartisan kind of medical core, pandemic core. How do we protect ourselves in the future by, you know, stock -- medical stockpiles, having hospitals prepared. We might even be able to do like the old civilian conservation of FDR, a medical corps (ph) young people for two years, getting prepared for this in the future. So time will tell.

But make no mistake about it, Trump lost 2020 with COVID.

HILL: All right. I appreciate you all joining us. Douglas Brinkley, Ron Brownstein, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, thank you all very much.

I want to take all our viewers now, I want to take you straight to Joe Biden. He is campaigning there live in Erie, Pennsylvania.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I asked, what you call a K- shaped recovery. Those folks on the top of the K are doing very, very well. Recession at the top, those folks, everything is going up for them. But everybody in the middle and below is going down, seeing things get worse. It means essential workers who sacrificed to keep us going through this pandemic are being left behind by the most unequal recovery in American history.

[17:15:02]

And it means while the top -- this is a fact, which is startling to me, when I found it out. The top 100 billionaires in the middle of this pandemic, they made $300 billion additional. You hear me now? 100 individuals made $300 billion this year. And what did the bottom half get? They got the K, they got the slide down. Because the fact is the president can only see the world from Park Avenue. I see it from Scranton. I see it from Claymont, for real. You all know what I'm talking about. You all see it from Erie.

That's why my program to build back better is focused on working people. Think about it. Think about all the people you know who got up this morning and had the following conversation. You know, honey, I know we need four new tires, they're bald, we can't do it now. We got to wait. We got to wait. Well you know what?

I know we just lost our insurance, but we're going to be okay. We're going to hang in there. Or, you know, having to make a choice, literally, a choice, between getting the prescription or putting food on the table. If I said that to you ten years ago, you'd look at me like I was writing a fiction story. But that's the truth. They're the decisions people are making today, right now.

Independent analysis put out by a highly respected Wall Street firm of all things, Moody's, from a Wall Street firm, projects that my build back better plan is going to create 18.6 million jobs in four years. That's hard -- that's not a liberal think tank. That's Moody's. And it's going to create 7 million more jobs than the president's economic plan.

HILL: You're listening to former vice president there, Joe Biden, campaigning in Erie, Pennsylvania. As you hear, he is making that pitch to working class voters as we look at 24 days now left until Election Day.

Meantime, looking at the events of 2020, they have been startling, to put it mildly. But we actually could be in the most dangerous month of this year right now.

The president diagnosed with COVID-19, the election now just weeks away. That's on the tip of the iceberg though. We'll explain, coming up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:20:00]

HILL: Republicans railing against a move by Nancy Pelosi that would give Congress a say in removing a president under the 25th Amendment. On Friday, the House speaker announced a bill to create a commission that would determine if the president is able to do his job. Pelosi has repeatedly questioned President Trump's mental fitness since his COVID diagnosis but insists this proposal is not about him but about future presidents, the White House press secretary calling it absurd.

Joining me now to discuss, Garrett Graff, CNN Contributor and author of Rave and Rock, The Story of The U.S. Government's Secret Plan to save Itself While The Rest of Us Die. Garrett, always good to talk to you.

We're just over three weeks at this point out from an election, congress isn't in session, so, really, any serious consideration of this measure is unlikely at the moment. What does Speaker Pelosi actually gain for putting this out there, for bringing it up now?

GARRETT GRAFF, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, she puts front and center this conversation that is taking place otherwise in the shadows of fundamentally whether the president is capable of fulfilling his duties of the office. And we have seen plenty of behavior over the last couple of weeks, even before the COVID diagnosis, that makes him seem sort of particularly reckless. And then now in this last week, we have seen him distracted by this disease and saying things that seem quite troubling and undertaking behavior that seems quite troubling for a president of the United States.

HILL: Well, to follow up on that, you actually -- you wrote about some of the potential security risks from the president's COVID diagnosis in Wired, writing, his prognosis and behavior presents an ongoing risk to the United States as for the first time in history, the president is literally prohibited from being in the room with his top advisors. Should a crisis arrive, Trump will be governing and making decisions over a speakerphone or video teleconference with little of the normal staff structure and aides available to help.

And that's saying something because, let's be honest, it was already a little bit different from the way there has been structure and aides present for past presidents. So, given that, what is your biggest concern right now?

GRAFF: My biggest concern is how many concerns there are. You know, this was going to be a challenging election coming into November under the best of circumstances with the track record of foreign interference that we saw in 2016 and the number of warnings that we've been hearing from government and intelligence leaders about 2020.

Add to that the fact that we have a pandemic. Add to that the fact that we have had massive street protests on both the left and the right. The fact that we saw, you know, just this week, this militia group in Michigan trying to kidnap and try the Michigan governor.

And then, we have overseas, you know, it's easy to forget that America doesn't exist in a vacuum. There's war going on between Azerbaijan and Armenia right now, India and China, 2 billion-person nuclear armed countries are clashing over their border for the first time with casualties since the 1970s. This is a very unstable environment that we are already in.

And now, you have a president who is diagnosed with this deadly disease. You have a White House that literally can't report to work. You have a military Joint Chiefs who are all in quarantine themselves with two top military commanders already testing positive for COVID.

[17:25:00]

This is a very distracted U.S. government that you are seeing right now, and distraction spells weakness to adversaries.

HILL: And that is the last thing, of course, that you want to spell out or put out there.

You know, we look at, and you touched on this, but since the police killing of George Floyd, the protests that we saw, the president and the attorney general have chosen repeatedly to focus not on the peaceful protests but on some of the riots that we saw and on left- wing extremism that broke out in other areas as well.

And yet, when we saw this militia, this foiled plot to allegedly kidnap the governor of Michigan, to overthrow several state governments, when these arrests were announced, when we saw this complaint, we've really heard nothing in terms of the seriousness of that and what it represents from the president and especially nothing from the attorney general. What are we supposed to make of that?

GRAFF: Yes. And what -- this did -- this arrest, this plot did not come out of nowhere. FBI Director Chris Wray has been out there all year saying, white supremacy, white nationalist groups are the biggest terror threat to the United States currently. DHS, back in January, was saying that they felt that we were in a pre-9/11 moment with white supremacists, white nationalist groups. And now, even actually just this week, DHS has put out a homeland threat assessment that ranks white supremacy, white nationalist militias as the top national terror threat.

So this is something that we are hearing all of the right warnings about. The challenge is we are not seeing the president or the attorney general take this threat seriously, and, in fact, we are seeing plenty of actions by the president trying to stoke it. His remarks in the debate just ten days ago, two weeks ago or so, saying to the Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, refusing to condemn white supremacy, you know, and all but encouraging them to stand by for the election in a few weeks.

HILL: It is a lot to take in. Garrett Graff, always good to have you here, thank you.

Republicans and Democrats making plans in case there is no clear winner on Election Day or even in the days and weeks beyond. So, what do you need to know about casting your vote? That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:57]

HILL: Twenty-four days until the election, already more than six million ballots have been cast. Yet, the president is continuing to sow doubt about the integrity of the election.

This, as polls show him trailing Joe Biden in key battleground states.

Here's more now from CNN's Pamela Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump is continuing to undermine the integrity of the election.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): They're sending out millions and millions of ballots. Are they sending them to all Democrats?

This is going to be the second-biggest political scandal in history.

BROWN: Trump is spreading disinformation. Vote-by-mail states send ballots to all active voters and there are no signs of a looming scandal.

And he went on.

TRUMP (voice-over): You're never going to know who won the election, you know? It's going to be two weeks later.

BROWN: But election night, results are always unofficial. The very real chance there won't be a winner on election night is something even Trump's security team warned is not a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On November 3rd, we might not know the outcome of our election and that's OK. But we're going to need your patience until official results are announced.

BROWN: The plot to kidnap Michigan's Democratic governor, along with Trump's disinformation and fiery rhetoric, is raising fears of voter intimidation on Election Day as tensions rise.

DANA NESSEL (D), MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's not just a Michigan problem. It's an American problem. And I think there's going to be more incidences to come.

BROWN: Michigan's attorney general is working on guidance for law enforcement on how to handle guns at polling places.

And 11 states and D.C., there's a ban on firearms at the polls. But many swing states, including Michigan, don't have strict rules against it.

TRUMP: Bad things happen in Philadelphia.

BROWN: In Philadelphia, a judge rejected the Trump campaign's lawsuit over its attempt last month to use supporters as unofficial poll watchers ahead of Election Day, something Philadelphia officials wouldn't allow because it's against the law.

The president fumed about it at the debate.

TRUMP: They're very safe, a very nice thing. They were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch.

BROWN: All campaigns are allowed to have registered poll watchers at official sites on Election Day. But the judge upheld that it is illegal at satellite election locations being used for pre-Election Day voting.

And now, both parties are gearing up for the possibility of a contested election with no clear winner on November 3rd or weeks beyond.

"The Washington Post" reports Speaker Nancy Pelosi has discussed the issue in meetings.

One scenario involves invoking the Electoral Count Act, an obscure, untested, 19th century law, which gives Congress the power to settle state-level disputes.

Last week, Pelosi acknowledged any congressional involvement would be messy.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): If all that chaos takes us to a time that could be past the date when the Electoral Colleges must meet, we will be ready.

BROWN (on camera): Well, to clamp down on disinformation around the election, Twitter is now announcing several changes it's making.

Including blocking any Twitter user, including the candidates themselves, from declaring victory before state officials have announced so, or before two national news outlets have made their public projections.

[17:35:04]

Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is out of the hospital.

Across the country, though, the number of new COVID cases is surging. And there are concerns about the nation's hospitals. Why things could get even worse.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announcing today he's out of the hospital. He was there for a week after testing positive for coronavirus.

Christie helped to prepare President Trump for the first debate and also attended the Supreme Court nomination ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett, which is now believed to be a super spreader event.

This comes as most of the country is really struggling to get on track.

Take a look at the map here. You see the states in orange and red. They're the ones heading up, 28 states.

Only those two states in green are trending in the right direction, reporting a decrease in new cases over the past seven days.

Today, a grim new projection from a key model, an often-cited model, now projects more than 180,000 additional American lives will be lost to this virus by February 1st.

[17:40:08]

CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro joins us now.

Evan, first, what more do we know about Chris Christie's condition at this point?

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, we don't know much about the details of former governor's health right now, much as in the case of the president.

But what we know is, around 9:00 this morning, he tweeted that he had left the Morristown Medical Center, had been released, a hospital in New Jersey that he checked himself in about a week ago after that positive coronavirus test.

He didn't say whether he's still positive. He didn't say what measures he's taking to deal with the virus now.

He did say in his tweet that he will tell us more about it all next week. So I guess we have to wait for that.

But while that super spreader event that you mentioned at the White House has a lot of Republicans in politics nervous, those new numbers from the IHME model that you referred to should have all of us concerned.

I have a few graphics here just to walk you through the state of the pandemic now according to this model.

The IHME model now predicts that 395,000 deaths from coronavirus in the United States, nearly 395,000 deaths, by February 1st. That's just a shocking number that, if it's true, would suggest a very, very grim winter ahead of us.

And if you dig into that number, you see how important continued vigilance about the virus is.

They report that if more states ease their restrictions on the virus, that we're seeing now in some states, like Florida, for example, if more states do that, the death toll could be around half a million people by February 1st.

Conversely, if 95 percent of people obey mask rules, the IHME model shows that death toll would come way, way down.

Now, unfortunately, that number comes as there's still a very, very ongoing, continuing, roiling debate about masks and social distancing.

I mentioned Florida, where the governor is reopening schools and despite concerns from the teachers' unions.

And here in New York City, where we're seeing closures of some businesses and schools in neighborhoods where officials are saying people just aren't wearing masks and aren't doing social distancing.

Now, Erica, you were in New York City in April. I was in New York City in April. The idea that with numbers like we're seeing from this IHME model, people are not following those social distancing guidelines, it's just kind of unfathomable -- Erica?

HILL: Yes, it has a lot of people scratching their heads, I can definitely say, from talking to folks here in New York, saying, after all the progress we've made, we cannot go back.

Evan McMorris-Santoro, appreciate it. Thank you.

Outrage is growing on the campus at the University of Notre Dame where students and faculty are furious that the school's president, Father John Jenkins, tested positive for coronavirus after attending that White House event for Amy Coney Barrett.

He was there without a mask, shaking hands, as you can see, in a crowd of more than 200 people.

Well, now, there are calls for him to resign as CNN's Omar Jimenez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For college campuses in 2020, coronavirus protocol is a delicate balance.

(BELL TOLLS)

JIMENEZ: And the university of Notre Dame is no different, requiring masks, avoiding crowds, social distancing, which is why these images of their president cut so deeply.

Father John Jenkins at a White House Rose Garden event for Supreme Court Justice nominee and Notre Dame alum, Amy Coney Barrett, without a mask, shaking hands, and ignoring distancing protocols.

ASHTON WEBER, JUNIOR, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: A few days before that happened we had gotten an email from him detailing the protocol that we're supposed to follow and he said this is what everyone needs to do to make sure that we're still here on campus together.

So to see him breaking his own rules was really -- it made us feel like we were disrespected as a student body.

JIMENEZ: Jenkins released a statement shortly after, reading, in part, "I failed to lead by example at a time when I've asked everyone else in the Notre Dame community to do so."

But the damage was done. Weber helped organize a petition pushing for Father Jenkins to resign. The student newspaper published an editorial headlined, "Frankly, this is embarrassing".

Then Father Jenkins became one of the many who attended that Rose Garden event to test positive for COVID-19.

MAKIRA WALTON, JUNIOR, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: I felt vindicated. I was like, I was correct. You did the wrong thing and the consequences of your actions we have predicted came true.

And that's horrible. I never want to feel vindicated about somebody that is sick with a potentially deadly disease.

JIMENEZ: In the wake of his diagnosis, the faculty senate debated going forward with a vote of no confidence in their president. They narrowly decided to postpone further action.

The president's office declined to comment.

In general, the stakes for maintaining COVID protocol at colleges and universities are as high as nearly any aspect of life.

When Notre Dame students began returning to campus, they had to quickly move to all virtual classes after the school said that more than a hundred students tested positive in a little more than two weeks.

[17:45:03]

WEBER: It was really scary. A lot of people started to realize the severity of, you know, having a spike in 147 cases after being just two weeks back on campus.

JIMENEZ: Other schools saw similar outbreaks, with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and North Carolina, Chapel Hill, both among those also having to move to online learning at points to save their semester as they have each now seen coronavirus cases top a thousand total.

And at Notre Dame, their president's diagnosis is just the latest reminder of that high-stakes bounce.

WALTON: I think a lot more people are taking this seriously because people got sick.

You know, I think if there hadn't been as big of an outbreak, if he hadn't gotten sick, people do (INAUDIBLE) because they could.

JIMENEZ (on camera): Now, campus-wide, the university has been able to get their coronavirus positivity rate to under 1 percent.

As for Father Jenkins, university officials say that he's been experiencing mild symptoms and has continued to work remotely throughout his recovery.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, South Bend, Indiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Be sure to join Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and five former CDC directors tonight for a new CNN global town hall. You can join us for "CORONAVIRUS, FACTS AND FEARS," at 9:00 right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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[17:50:48]

HILL: More people are traveling by planes in the early days of the pandemic when airline passengers' numbers bottomed out.

And to boost confidence, the TSA is updating some protocols. And an airport in Florida is going beyond that to offer COVID tests to all passengers.

CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to make you tear up, but I'm not going to make you cry. OK.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This may look like a doctor's office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great. Go to your happy place and count to five, OK. And don't pull back from me. Awesome job. Thank you so much.

KAYE: But it's Tampa International Airport, one of the first airports in the country to offer a COVID tests to departing and arriving passengers.

Passenger Gevelyn McCaskill was flying to Massachusetts and didn't want to quarantine for 14 days as the state requires unless you have been tested.

GEVELYN MCCASKILL, AIRLINE PASSENGER: I'm go him to Massachusetts. And because of the restrictions there, I figured once we get into Tampa.

Then I heard about this, literally, 24 hours ago, that this pilot was launching. I'm like, on, my god.

KAYE: All passengers can be tested if they are traveling or have traveled within 72 hours.

There's a fee for the test too, $57 for the rapid antigen test or $125 for the PCR test, which may take a couple of days for results but is considered the gold standard.

BayCare Health System has partnered with Tampa's airport.

DR. NISHANT ANAND, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, BAYCARE HEALTH SYSTEM: We believe in order to get through this pandemic, we have to have widespread testing and test and allow people to have access.

KAYE: People like Victoria and Louis Kikis, who were heading to New York City.

VICTORIA KIKIS, AIRLINE PASSENGER: For me, it's the cost is irrelevant. It's a matter of doing the right thing.

LOUIS KIKIS, AIRLINE PASSENGER: We're meeting family and friends and I want to make sure we're not doing anything that would harm anybody else.

KAYE: The couple chose the rapid test.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it's positive, there will be a plus.

KAYE: And after 15 minutes passed, they learned they tested negative.

Tampa International's CEO hopes these tests will bring more travelers back to the airport and the skies.

JOE LOPANO, CEO, TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Yes, it's for all passengers, no matter what airline they're on, no matter what destination they're going to. And we think it's a real boost to the confidence of the travelers.

KAYE: A confidence boost is just what this woman needed. She's on her way to Virginia to see her 75-year-old mom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to make sure that I don't have COVID. I don't want to expose her. So this is the perfect way to make sure that I'm being safe and keeping her safe as well.

KAYE: Her rapid test came back negative, too.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Cases is not the best measure --

KAYE: Statewide, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' office tells CNN everyone they can get a COVID test if they want one.

Currently, Florida is averaging about 25,000 tests per day, half of what it was doing during the summer surge. But that could soon change.

DESANTIS: I think it will really contribute to our efforts as we continue to work to protect the most vulnerable in COVID, but also making sure kid are at school.

KAYE: Florida will receive another 6.4 million rapid tests. Already, 800 nursing homes have received some of the tests. And the state plans to deploy rapid tests to public schools next.

The tests are also available statewide at drive-through sites for those who are symptomatic or elderly.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Tampa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: The 2012 "CNN Hero" Scott Strode's nonprofit provides free athletic activities and a sober support community for thousands. So when COVID-19 force the organization to close it gyms, they found new ways to stay connected online.

CNN's Phil Mattingly gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep moving, everyone. Let's try to get two or three more. You've got 20 seconds.

Nice job, Phil.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What was your thought when coronavirus first started to spread and lockdowns really started to kick into gear?

SCOTT STRODE, CNN HERO: I just knew that that social isolation was going to be a big risk for relapse for a lot of people.

So, pretty quickly, we pivoted to offering virtual programs. We knew we had to keep people connected in this sort of uncertain and stressful time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three, two, one. And down for the sit-up.

STRODE: Just always lifts my heart to log into a Phoenix virtual class and meet somebody in recovery who's doing the workout in their basement somewhere in Tennessee, where we don't even have in-person programs, but they can come to the Phoenix anyway.

[17:55:10]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whew. Nice job, everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: To learn more about Scott's program and to see if Phil made it through that class, just log on to CNNheroes.com.

That will do it for me. I'm Erica Hill. Thanks for joining me this afternoon.

My colleague, Wolf Blitzer, picks up our coverage for a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)