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Dr. Fauci: Trump Ad Took His Words Out Of Context; Chuck Schumer Threatens Democrats Could Boycott Supreme Court Vote; Trump Chooses Denial As He's Set To Return To Campaign Trail; One Man Shot Dead In Denver; Vice Presidential Debate. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 11, 2020 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: The battle of the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy intensifying as Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing is set to begin tomorrow. The consequential hearings are scheduled to run through Thursday with Republicans pushing to fill the Supreme Court vacancy ahead of election day, just 23 days away.

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee again threatening today to boycott Barrett's committee votes.

And the White House is now calling for the Commission on Presidential Debates to reschedule the canceled second debate, saying the president is no longer contagious. Today the president claimed he is, quote, "immune' from the coronavirus, even though there is no medical evidence of immunity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was like I'm immune, so I can go way out of a basement, which I would have done anyway, and which I did, because you have to run a country. You have to get out of the basement. And it looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time or maybe a short time. It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows. But I'm immune. So -- so the president is in very good shape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All of this as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, says his words were taken out of context in a new Trump campaign ad that touts President Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Let's get straight to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who is at the White House. So, Jeremy, first, you know, I want to play the ad and then let's talk about how Fauci is responding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus. And so is America. Together we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should. DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND

INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody else could be doing more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Jeremy, Dr. Fauci is not happy about this.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, he's certainly not. And, you know, with good reason. You know, the ad takes Dr. Fauci's comments completely out of context and also you'll notice there that there is no time stamp for when that ad took place and when Dr. Fauci made those comments.

This isn't happening now as we are sitting on more than 210,000 deaths in the United States. Those comments were from back in March, in the first months of the pandemic. And Dr. Fauci says that he was taken out of context and he was referring to the public health experts in the administration.

Listen, he says, "In my nearly five decades of public service I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials."

As for the Trump campaign, it is responding in the form of a statement from the communications director, Tim Murtaugh. He tells CNN, "These are Dr. Fauci's own words. The video is from a nationally broadcast television interview in which Dr. Fauci was praising the work of the Trump administration. The words spoken are accurately and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth."

It's pretty clear that they are taking him out of context, making it sound like he's talking about the president's leadership and the president having done everything that he could when in fact if you listen to the full interview, it's very clear Dr. Fauci is talking about himself and the other public health experts. But what is clear is the Trump campaign recognizing that nearly six in 10 Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the coronavirus and that they also overwhelmingly trust Dr. Fauci over President Trump when it comes to telling them the facts about this pandemic.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Jeremy, there's this, the effort from the White House now to resurrect the scheduled -- what was the second scheduled debate for this week. It was canceled because the president wouldn't agree to a virtual debate because of his medical condition. And so now what are the demands or requests coming from the White House?

DIAMOND: Yes. The timeline on this is super important because the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the second debate was going to go virtual after President Trump tested positive for coronavirus. The president immediately taking to Twitter to say that he would not participate in a virtual debate and then following that the commission decided to ultimately cancel that debate. The White House now saying that now that President Trump has been

cleared for public activities by his doctor, Dr. Sean Conley, that that second debate should be back on the schedule. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: The president's ready to debate and his doctors have cleared him for participating in public engagements. They've said he's no longer a risk for transmission, so it would be nice if the commission would get the debate back on the schedule. I think, you know, the president is ready to go. He wants to be on stage debating Joe Biden in person. So if they'll do that, get it back on the schedule, I think the president would be happy to show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: At this point, though, Fredricka, it's unlikely that that debate is going to be rescheduled. Joe Biden has already announced that he's going to be doing a town hall with another network since President Trump pulled out of the debate. The president may do something very similar.

And we should note, of course, that while the White House's physician Dr. Sean Conley has indeed said President Trump is no longer a risk of transmission for the virus, there are a number of questions about the president's health that he has yet to answer.

[16:05:09]

We haven't yet had an opportunity of course to press Dr. Conley about that memo which was released late last night -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: You know, and it's interesting about phase two, Jeremy, because Donald Trump's son, you know, Eric Trump, was on the air earlier today and said, you know, this is a traditional president, his father is a traditional guy, and wouldn't want this kind of conference call type of debate. But at that point never said anything about, you know, an interest to try to get this back on again face-to-face.

All right. Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

All right, more breaking news now. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer is again warning that Democrats could boycott Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Judiciary Committee vote if Republicans don't have enough members present to begin the voting process.

Joining me right now is CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox.

Lauren, what more are you learning?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has been suspected all along, Fredricka. And this is why it was so important to understand why any potential absence of Republican members on this committee, including the two members who we learned more than a week ago had contracted and tested positive for coronavirus, was so important because essentially in order to have that vote on Thursday, you need to first have a quorum of the committee.

That means a majority of the members there. If both Senator Lee and Tillis were out, that Thursday vote could be compromised because essentially Democrats could procedurally just not show up. That makes it hard for Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the committee, to even hold a vote.

Now this vote on Thursday is traditionally won in which they try to get the nominee out of committee but we do know based on past Judiciary Committee markups, that you can hold that nomination over for an additional week. So because of the tight timeline that we are talking about here, it was essential that members are in place on Thursday so they can have that vote, essentially a Democrat will ask for it to be held over an additional week, and then they can have the vote a week from Thursday.

So I know that's a little complicated but it's very important. And that's why Senator Schumer said here, and I want to play the tape in just a minute, that he wanted to promise that Democrats will not make sure there's a quorum in the Judiciary Committee. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Well, they're going to the hearing and I will say this, Democrat -- we will talk about when the actual vote occurs in committee and on the floor. Democrats will not be -- will not supply the quorum, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And we, of course, know that Senator Thom Tillis has said his expectation is that while he will be virtual early in the week tomorrow when there are opening statements of the committee, he does plan to be there by Thursday. I'm told by an aide for Senator Mike Lee that they are undecided about whether or not Lee will be there in person this week. So it looks likely that Republicans will have the quorum they need.

But it just speaks to the fact that coronavirus is really overshadowing what is a traditional big deal hearing when it comes to Amy Coney Barrett's SCOTUS nomination.

WHITFIELD: Right. I'm sure lots of their colleagues are having questions about for Tillis and Lee about that -- whether that self- quarantine or that quarantine post diagnosis is now long enough to now show up to carry out business.

All right. Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

All right, meantime, President Trump is set to return to the campaign trail less than two weeks after he announced that he had contracted COVID-19. And although his doctor has cleared him to travel, it isn't completely clear if the president is virus-free. On Saturday the president held an event on the White House grounds and told the crowd that the coronavirus was disappearing. With me now is Doris Kearns Goodwin. She's a presidential historian

and is doing a voter empowerment event on Tuesday with MasterClass. It is a get-out-the-vote effort on how the past informs this election.

Doris, always good to see you.

DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So, all that we're seeing from the president in the White House, you know, would you call this desperation, you know, of an incumbent president trying to, you know, resist acknowledging the seriousness of his own COVID-19 infection, a crumbling American economy and widespread hardship?

GOODWIN: Well, I think what's happened is because of his illness and the situation we're in right now with the spiking of the illnesses and with the crumbling economy, he knows that not only are the polls going down, but history shows that whenever an incumbent is running for re- election in the middle of a crisis, the crisis is the most important thing that happens. All these other things are side shows in a certain sense. So it was certainly in 1932 when President Hoover had failed to take a national responsibility for the growing depression.

[16:10:01]

No national guidance, no ability to really get the economy moving again, kept saying we're turning the corner now, things are going to be all right. And there was such a yearning for leadership that FDR won a landslide election. And the interesting thing is, once he won and the inauguration took place, headlines said, we have a leader that government still lives.

So I think that's where we're at right now in this country. The yearning for that kind of leadership. And it may have been that without his getting the illness, we would have been focused on the Supreme Court or focused on law and order situations but now the virus is the center of our focus.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And then --

GOODWIN: Which, you know, we should have been.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes. And, you know, and here we are a week out from, you know, this moment when, you know, the president was at Walter Reed, and he did this video and he said, you know, I get it. And maybe that was sign posting that there was going to be some empathy coming from, you know, the president. But then contrast that with yesterday's balcony, you know, rally, his public appearance since diagnosis. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school. This isn't the let's-read-the-book school. And I get it. And I understand it. And it's a very interesting thing. I'm going to be letting you know about it.

Before go any further, I want to thank all of you for your prayers. I know you've been praying. And I was --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: In that hospital. I was watching down over so many people. And I went out to say hello to those people. And I took a little heat for it but I'd do it again, let me tell you. I'd do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So that's, you know, a different tone in the president and it was just a week span, you know, that separates that. So were you anticipating, you know, a president changed by a personal experience, you know, like America has seen in some of his predecessors?

GOODWIN: There really was a moment there when he talked about the bipartisan support that he had gotten, that he learned a lot about this illness, that I began to think, to imagine, that maybe he would go forth and talk about the importance of how this adversity had changed him and he understood the importance of masks, he understood the importance of social distancing and would become a national leader.

I mean, what happened to Franklin Roosevelt is when he got polio, it really did change him. It created a greater sense of humility of spirit, it allowed him to connect to other people to whom fate had dealt an unkind hand. He had understood the resilience that was necessary to get through his illness through his own paralysis. So when he comes into office, he helps the country get through their paralysis with resilience, with optimism about the future but confronting the brutal facts.

So every now and then I just imagine, maybe this will happen, but obviously we saw that it did not happen.

WHITFIELD: Today's "New York Times," you know, is reminding readers, Trump campaigned on draining the swamp. But then "The New York Times" writes, and I'm quoting now, you know, "As president, he built a system of direct presidential influence peddling unrivalled in modern American politics."

You know, when asked about that on ABC today, the president's son, Eric Trump, said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC TRUMP, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: We're a hospitality company. We've got tens of millions of people staying at our properties every single year. "The New York Times" is absolute fake news. All they want to do is take out my father. And you know what's really interesting about "The New York Times," I'm glad you mentioned them, every single day, every single day, starting literally the morning of the debate, they've dropped some story that they've been sitting on for literally the last six months or year or two years to try and influence the election.

It's horrible. I mean, you know, the media's gone in this country. The media is gone in this country. I mean, even when I hear the tone of this conversation, it's -- I mean, the media has become the activism arm for the Democratic Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Doris, perhaps another example of what you would call desperation by, you know, this re-election campaign? I mean, so with 23 days, you know, from election day, demonizing the media, undermining trust in a free and fair election during a pandemic. I mean, will this only intensify over the next few weeks?

GOODWIN: Well, there's no argument about fake news that can compare with what the people are actually experiencing right now in terms of the virus. Not only the numbers who've died but the radiation to all their families and all their friends. You can't take -- you can't claim that anybody's not taking the truth about that. And I think in the end, undermining the trust in our democracy is the most important thing we have to fight for right now.

The power of democracy is the power of the ordinary vote. And people have fought for generations, when you think about the revolution, you think about the women's suffrage movement, you think about the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama, lives were given to make that right to vote not be suppressed as it's being suppressed now. That's what we should be fighting right now.

Not all these distractions about -- even about taxes or fake news. It's the reality of the situation we're in right now. This virus has to get under control before we can even get our country back. And the answer is for people to vote and to vote without suppression and to make sure they get to the polls.

[16:15:02]

WHITFIELD: Right. If anything, all of this should be added incentive, that's right, to not squander this opportunity, this right to vote but get out there and vote, period.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, always great to see you. Thank you so much.

GOODWIN: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

All right. Still ahead, a troubling prediction from former CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden. He predicts 20,000 more Americans will die of coronavirus by the end of the month.

Plus, a bitter Senate battle in South Carolina heats up. Senator Lindsey Graham's seat may be in jeopardy after these comments about race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I care about everybody. If you're a young African-American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state. You just need to be conservative, not liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ten days after announcing he tested positive for COVID-19, President Trump is set to resume his live, in-person rallies this week.

[16:20:01]

This as a former director for the Centers for Disease Control says 20,000 more Americans will die from COVID-19 by the end of this month. And consider this, four states have seen their number of new cases rise 50 percent or more in the past week. 26 more have increases between 10 percent and 50 percent.

I want to bring in Dr. Uche Blackstock, A Yahoo! News medical contributor and emergency room physician.

Good to see you. So let's begin with the president resuming his rallies after being sick with coronavirus so recently. What concerns you about this?

DR. UCHE BLACKSTOCK, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Thank you for having me, Fred. I mean, it's incredibly concerning. You know, given the information that we had about the president's diagnosis and the specifics about the course that we were given, you know, he likely had a course of severe COVID-19 so at a minimum he would need between 10 to 20 days of isolation.

And so to have him out at rallies, not wearing masks in large groups, is incredibly irresponsible and reckless. And really not role modeling, you know, the appropriate public health preventive measures that we know actually work.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I was going to ask you, you know, how undermining, you know, that message will be when from the president of the United States, you know, he is going to go on about business and kind of defy that 10 to 20-day isolation that everybody else, you know, is getting, how that undermines the messaging that you as a doctor are trying to convey to your patients and, you know, to your fellow, you know, medical cohorts and the messages they're trying to convey.

BLACKSTOCK: Yes, exactly. And, you know, I was hoping -- many of us were hoping that this would be a lesson that he would learn, that this would be, you know, a diagnosis that he would take seriously. But, you know, he was able to receive world class care, an assortment of medications, both approved and experimental, that probably no other patient in the country has received at such an early course in his disease.

And so he seems to be doing very well. And the same could not be said of, you know, the over 200,000 Americans who have already died from this virus and who don't have the same level of access to care and medications that he has. And so, again, incredibly irresponsible of him to be sort of sending this message but I feel like almost this experience have made it -- made him seem like it's more invincible to the virus.

WHITFIELD: And then there's this grim prediction, you know, coming from the ex-CDC chief Dr. Tom Frieden that another 20,000 people will die of COVID by the end of this month. So, what can we all be doing, you know, to perhaps defy those numbers, bring them down?

BLACKSTOCK: Right. Right. Yes. No, as you mentioned a little bit earlier, we're seeing 43 states with uncontrolled spread of the virus. We're seeing daily cases that haven't been this high since the summer. And we're also seeing an increase in hospitalizations. So we know this is not just about an increase in testing. And so what we need is what we've always needed. We need a national strategy. We need a national mask mandate.

We also need to ensure people are still physically distancing, avoiding indoors and large gatherings. All the things that we know actually work. And I was hoping that this experience for our president would be, you know, an opportunity for him to sort of pivot. But unfortunately, we know we're not seeing that. So I think the state and local governments are going to have to pick up the slack and put -- and enforce some of those measures that we know actually work.

WHITFIELD: So on our CNN coronavirus town hall last night, at one of the CDC's former acting directors, Dr. Richard Besser, told CNN's Anderson Cooper and chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta that he feels the CDC's integrity has been compromised by politics. So as a physician, are you in a position now where you're starting to, you know, second guess information coming out of the CDC or do you still have confidence in it?

BLACKSTOCK: Yes. Absolutely. It's so demoralizing. There are so many wonderful career professionals that have dedicated their lives to working in the CDC. And, you know, even when I give presentations now and I quote data from the CDC, you know, I kind of like shutter a little bit. But we've seen a pattern of interference in the agency from school re-openings, to churches to this mask mandate on commercial transportation.

And so, you know, I think that, you know, what I would love to see is for the leadership, for Dr. Redfield, to really -- you know, to stand up. And I think that we're seeing him play an incredibly passive role in this situation. And, you know, we need to really see some -- you know, some pride and, you know, some show of strength and confidence from the CDC because right now we're not seeing that, and, you know, it's really undermining its credibility.

[16:25:12]

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, we shall see. Dr. Uche Blackstock, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

BLACKSTOCK: Thank you, Fred. Take care.

WHITFIELD: You too. Be well.

All right. Straight ahead, a Democrat threatens a Republican stronghold. Could Jaime Harrison unseat Senator Lindsey Graham?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is in a tight race for re-election and he's facing criticism for something he said during a campaign event with his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, who is black.

Here's what Graham said as part of an answer to a question about civil unrest over racial injustice.

[16:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: My opponent is going to lose. Not because of race, but because he's aligned with the most liberal people in the country. You can be an African-American and go to the Senate. You just have to share the values of our state. I care about everybody. If you're a young African-American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state, you just need to be conservative, not liberal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, Jaime Harrison has just set a fund-raising record. Graham's challenger raised $57 million in the final quarter of the campaign. That's more than any Senate candidate has ever raised in a quarter.

And the race is incredibly close. The latest polling by Quinnipiac University shows the candidates tied. CNN's Manu Raju has a closer look at the race and how Graham's relationship with Donald Trump may be helping him and hurting him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's gone from outspoken Trump critic to a staunch Trump defender.

GRAHAM: Thank you for being the best commander in chief.

RAJU: And now, Lindsey Graham is battling to keep his Senate seat in South Carolina and trying to convince voters he should be rewarded for his loyalty to the president.

GRAHAM: Here's what I want to tell all the liberals talking about South Carolina. We're going to kick your ass.

RAJU: Despite attacking Trump five years ago --

GRAHAM: He's a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. RAJU: He now says this.

GRAHAM: I think it's, we're a team.

RAJU: And Graham is betting in his vigorous defense of Trump's Supreme Court nominees and push to confirm his choice of Amy Coney Barrett by month's end will win over voters in this conservative state, despite what he said in the past.

GRAHAM: I've been helping Trump and I, apparently, pissed every liberal in the country off. But we'll be fine.

RAJU: But Graham is being swamped by a deluge of attack ads painting him as a craven politician. Suddenly, making him among the most endangered Republicans. Democrat Jaime Harrison, a former Congressional aide, state party chair and lobbyist, is raising a staggering amount of money and bombarding the air waves with ads like this one.

JAIME HARRISON (D), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: One of the reasons our political system is broken is politicians who've been in Washington so long.

RAJU: Harrison has already spent $40 million in advertising compared to roughly $14 million by Graham. Harrison has let his ads do the talking, doing little public campaigning and speaking sparingly to the media.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have been blitzing us with ads back-to-back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen a lot of Jaime Harrison ads.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't seen him much more than just that and on the Internet.

RAJU: As father of two young sons and pre-diabetic, Harrison has been cautious in the age of Coronavirus, even insisting a large plexiglass be placed side him during Saturday's debate. Harrison's campaign says his schedule has been packed, but his aides would not provide a list of his virtual events, despite many requests by CNN.

(on camera): Mr. Harrison. Hi, Manu Raju at CNN. Do you have a quick minute to talk before the debate? Yes, we've been trying to talk to you. Your campaign hasn't been responding to our questions.

Mr. Harrison, do you have a quick second to talk about the debate, how it went? Any questions for CNN, will you take them?

(voice-over): At the debate, Harrison attacked Graham over his repeated promises in 2016 and 2018 not to advance a Supreme Court pick in a presidential election year.

GRAHAM: You could use my words against me.

HARRISON: You have taken an oath to serve and that's what you have done. Now, just be a man of it and stand up and say, you know what? I changed my mind.

RAJU: Graham was unapologetic about his reversal.

GRAHAM: Amy Barrett will be a buffer to liberalism.

If you want conservative judges, I'm your only bet in this race.

RAJU: Yet, it's that kind of shift that may cost Graham this voter in Myrtle Beach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kind of liked him until he flip-flopped on the Supreme Court thing. And that kind of turned me off.

RAJU: But Graham thinks most voters will, ultimately, reward him in his quest to keep the court and the Senate conservative.

(on camera): Do you worry that voters may have lost trust in you?

GRAHAM: No, not at all. I think people can trust me to be fair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (live): During my interview with Lindsey Graham, I asked him if he had any concerns with the president's handling of the Coronavirus, whether the president should not have downplayed the virus, as the president did with his own admission. Graham said the president was right to not to create a panic or, in the words of Graham, not say the country was going to, quote, "blow up."

And I asked him, though, what about having packed rallies, for instance, crowded White House events? He sidestepped that question. But he ultimately said that this virus came from China not from Trump Tower.

WHITFIELD: Manu Raju, thank you so much.

All right, coming up, the remnants of Hurricane Delta slamming into the south triggering a train derailment and a water rescue in Georgia. A closer look at the damage coming up.

[16:34:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. One man is dead and another in custody after a dueling protest ends with a shooting in Denver yesterday. Denver police say they have a 30-year-old man in custody. CNN's Natasha Chan is following this story for us -- Natasha.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, this happened yesterday about mid-afternoon local time in Denver at the Civic Center Park where, as you mentioned, there was a patriot rally and also a counterprotest, which organizers called the BLM-Antifa Soup Drive. Now, police say that, around that time, there was a gunshot that was fired. As you mentioned, one person was shot, later pronounced dead at the hospital. Now, our local affiliate stations where they're covering these protests -- and, in fact, in the footage, you can actually see when they were interviewing someone, the sound of a gunshot can be heard in the background. And then, their footage shows police running toward people on the ground. Here's what a couple of witnesses said to our local affiliates about what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I turned around. I saw the two -- the victim and the suspect facing each other at very close range.

[16:40:03]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two feet or arm's distance. And he raised -- had his hand-- already had his arms up, at the moment I turned around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rally was supposed to be about, basically, understanding what was happening with police brutality within the United States of America. And now it resulted in this. This is -- this is not OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: Police say they found two guns and a canister of pepper spray on the scene. Here's what we -- what we know about the person they have in custody. 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff, the -- our local affiliate, KUSA-9 News, reported that they had hired him as a private security for their news crew who was covering the protest. They said, in their coverage of this incident, that it's been their practice, for a few months now, to send security with their crews when covering these events. And, right now, Dolloff is being held under investigation for first-degree murder -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Natasha, help us understand the nature of these protests?

CHEN: Yes. So, before this happened, in fact, police and the witnesses were describing this as, of course, two opposing protests, two opposing groups with high emotions. But law enforcement had done a lot of work to try and keep the two groups separate in that area. In fact, Denver police said that they had the assistance of three local sheriff's departments. And that, for the most part, they were kept apart for the -- for the day.

And when this happened, this is actually when the groups were dispersing. So, the protests were, really, ending, at this point, when the gunshot was fired -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

All right, the remnants of Hurricane Delta caused some big problems in Georgia. Investigators say heavy rain may be to blame for this CSX train derailment in the town of Lilburn, and that's right near Atlanta. Thirty-eight cars derailed and some were on fire when emergency crews arrived. The train's engineer and conductor were on board when it happened. They were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Investigators say they're working to learn the exact cause of the crash.

Up next, comedy and the campaign. "Saturday Night Live" pokes fun at the vice presidential debate. And, yes, the infamous fly made an appearance.

[16:42:27]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this just in to CNN. Republican Senator Mike Lee says he will make a final decision on whether or not to attend Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Senate judiciary hearing in person tomorrow. He'll make the announcement tomorrow.

The Utah Republican releasing a statement saying he is symptom-free without mentioning whether or not he has tested negative for the virus. Senator Lee met with Judge Barrett on Capitol Hill just days after attending her nomination ceremony at the White House. And then, of course, also testing positive for COVID.

All right, Jackie Kennedy's time in the White House was brief; 35 tumultuous months that promised a new dawn for America but were marked by private betrayal and public tragedy. Tonight, on an all new episode of CNN's original series, "First Ladies," we examine one of America's most glamorous first ladies and her heart-breaking task of establishing her husband's legacy after his assassination. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jackie stage managed her husband's funeral perfectly. Every detail, the riderless horse, to heartbreaking children standing next to her, with John-John saluting, as his father's coffin rolled by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Jackie holds firm to her final wish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jackie walked with Bobby and Teddy, followed by all these other world leaders. Charles De Gaulle, Prince Philip, Haile Selassie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is believed to be the first time a president's widow has walked in his funeral procession. All follow behind the president's casket.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now is CNN Contributor Kate Andersen Brower. She's also the author of the book "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies." It's good to see you.

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: I think so many are always enamored by any story about Jackie Kennedy. You know, and, sadly, of course, you can't, you know, forget those images. I mean, she was by her husband's side when JFK was shot. She almost immediately set about planning a monumental funeral for her husband and planning a way to cement his time in the White House as Camelot. So, how instrumental was she to making all of that happen, cementing his legacy?

ANDERSEN BROWER: I mean, it's incredible that she had the foresight and wherewithal after seeing him killed right in front of her to immediately call. Even from Air Force One, on the way back to Washington, she called from the plane. She talked to White House curators about how this funeral had to be just like Abraham Lincoln's.

And then, a week after Kennedy's funeral, she famously talked to Theodore White of "Life" magazine and created this whole Camelot story which cemented his legacy for future generations forever.

[16:50:02]

ANDERSEN BROWER: Because, as you say, they were in the White House for such a brief time. And she was only 31 years old.

WHITFIELD: I was going to say, she was only 30 something. I mean, to have the wherewithal to handle all that. And even that decision she would make of, like, I am not taking off this suit, you know, splattered with blood because America needs to see what happened. I mean, that's powerful, huge decisions.

ANDERSEN BROWER: Yes. And one -- and one of the last things she did in the White House is actually writing a letter to the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, and she encourages him to continue the nuclear disarmament talks that Kennedy and he had begun. And so, that, also, you know, makes it clear that she was a diplomat. And she was so incredibly brilliant.

And she had a huge appreciation for history. She opened the White House to Americans in 1962 when she gave a live walk-through, where she talked about the historical artifacts in the White House. She helped restore the White House. She was just an incredibly iconic first lady, and I think it's important that we celebrate and recognize her. And I learned things, watching this show and being part of it, that I hadn't known before. It's fascinating.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wow. And she was astute, not just in the art, but photography and then, you know, fluent in French. I mean, there was so just much about her that's fascinating. We could talk for a very long time but we are out of time. But we're going to watch that special tonight.

Katie Andersen Brower, thank you so much. Appreciate that. And be sure, you know, to tune in to an all new episode of the CNN original series "First Ladies," airing tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

All right, there was a lot of buzz about this week's vice presidential debate. And, of course, "Saturday Night Live," you know, took a swat at it. Get it? Check it out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA RUDOLPH, ACTRESS: Responsibilities --

BECK BENNETT, ACTOR: We do not.

RUDOLPH: Mr. Vice president, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.

BENNETT: Well, I'm just trying --

RUDOLPH: I'm speaking.

BENNETT: Yes, but --

RUDOLPH: Yes, yes, but I'm speaking. See, I'm speaking right now as (INAUDIBLE) in Nevada and some parts of Texas. I'm speaking.

BENNETT: I understand that. I understand.

RUDOLPH: Yes, I don't think you do.

BENNETT: I do.

RUDOLPH: Because you're talking and I'm speaking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vice President Pence, there's a --

BENNETT: War on police in country. I couldn't agree more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, there's a -- there's a giant --

BENNETT: Lack of respect for militias. You're darn right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, Senator Harris, help me out.

RUDOLPH: Oh, no, I'm good. Looking real good, Mike. Keep it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me at him. Let me at him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. So much more straight ahead. But, first, I want to highlight 2012, CNN Hero, Scott Strode. His nonprofit provides free athletic activities and a sober support community for thousands. When COVID-19 forced the organization to close its gyms, they found ways to stay connected online. CNN's Phil Mattingly joined a class to see how they have kept the interaction going strong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 CORRESPONDENT: What was, kind of, your thought when Coronavirus first started to spread and lockdowns really started to kick into gear? SCOTT STRODE, FOUNDER AND NATIONAL DIRECTOR, THE PHOENIX: I just knew

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: It 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.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice job, everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: For more information, go to CNNheroes.com.

[16:54:13]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, before we go, we all need some news of new beginnings and love. I want to introduce you to the newest members of the CNN family and this show team. Meet Madeleine Louise. Her dad, Daniel, is a writer extraordinaire on this show and his little princess was born last month. New mom, Shannon, is already so in love as is big brother, Chub, the dog.

I'd also like you to meet Gabriel Daniel. This handsome young man is the son of our exceptional executive producer, Pam. And as you can see, big brother, Austin, and dad, Eric, couldn't be more excited. Welcome to the world, little ones. Of course, we can't wait to see you one day in person.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Erica Hill.

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