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Trump Holds First Rally since COVID-19 Diagnosis; Democrats: Barrett Nomination Threatens Health Care; Fauci Asks Trump Campaign to Pull Misleading Ad; U.K. Prime Minister Announces New Coronavirus Restrictions; Millions to Be Tested after China's New Outbreak; Voting Underway with Some Voters Seeing Long Delays; Fauci: Trump Campaign Should Take Down Ad Featuring Him; Partisan Lines Drawn for Barrett Nomination Fight. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired October 13, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, make America great again, no mask required, no social distancing needed.
North versus South, Liverpool under harsh new restrictions while life in London goes on.
It's not voting day in the U.S. but voting season.
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VAUSE: Donald Trump is again holding campaign rallies. Dr. Anthony Fauci says they're asking for trouble. Trump held his first campaign event since being diagnosed with COVID-19 11 days ago.
Florida is one state where new infections have risen and over the weekend nine states reported record high hospitalizations. CNN's Kaitlan Collins begins our coverage.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was only hours before this rally that President Trump's doctor actually announced he had tested negative for the coronavirus, the first time we've been told that since of course the president's diagnosis. And in this memo Dr. Sean Conley said the president had tested
negative for consecutive days using a rapid test, though he didn't say which days it was that the president had actually tested negative.
And we know that the White House has declined to say when the president last tested in a detective for his diagnosis. Something that Conley made no mention of in his memo. But this memo came out just hours before the president took the stage in Florida. He was there and spoke for little over 65 minutes or so. And at times
he sounded hoarse. But at others he talked about his diagnosis with coronavirus and said that he felt powerful. And talked about what his recovery has been like. And of course, as he's been doing now, claimed that he is immune.
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TRUMP: One thing with me, the nice part, I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I can fell -- I feel so powerful. I'll walk into that audience. I'll walk in there I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the -- everybody. I'll just give you a big, fat kiss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Of course, we know science says that what the determination on immunity is and how long it lasts is still very much out despite the way the president is spinning his own health. And though he tried to talk about coronavirus as if it was in his past, we know it's at the top of mind for voters.
And it even appeared to be so for some of the president's own advisers, including his chief of staff who doesn't typically wear a mask but was seen wearing a mask on this trip yesterday. Only hours after he refused to take questions from reporters on Capitol Hill because they asked him to keep his mask on -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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VAUSE: Well, U.S. senators will have their chance to either grill or gush over the president's nominee to the Supreme Court. On Monday, Amy Coney Barrett gave her opening address, her opening statement in the confirmation process.
Democrats have all but conceded that they will not be able to stop the confirmation to the Supreme Court and replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And so the strategy now seems to focus on America's health care in the middle of a pandemic, arguing that her employment will threaten millions of Americans who don't have insurance.
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SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This hearing has brought together more than 50 people to sit inside of a closed door room for hours while our nation is facing a deadly airborne virus.
This committee has ignored common sense requests to keep people safe, including not requiring testing for all members, despite a coronavirus outbreak among senators of this very committee.
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VAUSE: Joining me now in New York, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin and in Washington CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner.
Thank you bought. It's good to see you.
Dr. Reiner, we'll start with you. In the last few hours, the president held a rally in Florida. He wants apparently a rally to be held like that for every day for the next 21 days, which means that no one will be wearing a face mask, no social distancing.
So if Trump gets his way, what are the chances by the end of that 21- day period, someone will be dead as a direct result?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: One hundred percent. If you look at where the president held his rally today, in Florida, they have a 10 percent positivity rate, about twice the national rate right now. About 10 percent higher than New York state, for instance.
Virus is very active in Florida. If you use some online tools from Georgia Tech, which can estimate the likelihood that a gathering of a given size will have at least one positive person in the crowd, it's 100 percent where the president had his rally tonight.
And it'll be the same wherever he goes. When he goes to Iowa, their positivity is 18 percent. So I'm not sure the president has heard this but we are in the middle of the pandemic.
VAUSE: Anyone who attends a Trump rally signs a liability waiver. If they get sick, they don't hold Trump responsible. But waivers don't apply in cases of gross negligence.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: I would not be surprised if lawsuits were filed as a result of these rallies if people do get sick. I frankly doubt any of these cases will result in liability.
These waivers are binding, by and large, and people do assume the risk. Most people are assumed to know that there is a pandemic going on.
I think this is really a moral question rather than a legal question about whether the president is morally correct to expose people to these kinds of risks. But as a technical legal matter, I think he is very unlikely to be sued successfully if somebody does get sick.
VAUSE: Apparently he needs the free airtime from these rallies because his campaign has pulled ads recently. "Politico" reports Trump's TV spending problems stem from his fund-raising woes. In August Biden had more money to spend than Trump, first time this happened during the 2020 campaign.
Democrats smashed fund-raising records with $365 million haul that month, beating Trump by over $150 million.
These rallies it seems, in many ways they are reminder that how Trump has not taking the pandemic seriously. There's also the closing argument, one of depraved indifference to coronavirus.
TOOBIN: It's very difficult to imagine that this is even going to help him politically because the people who he has lost are mostly college educated people in the suburbs. These people, by and large according to polls, are offended by the idea of exposing people to the virus. They actually understand how dangerous these rallies are.
I'm not even sure that it is correct to say that these are substitutes for television commercials. I think it's more psychological than that. It's that the president needs the affirmation of these crowds. This is what he lives for.
This is why he likes being out in the world, is because he gets the adulation from these crowds. That, I think, is what is driving this more than any sort of strategic thinking because the just strategic thinking doesn't seem to make any sense to me.
VAUSE: Dr. Fauci has warned the Trump campaign to pull an ad where he's quoted out of context. Here's the offending part of the ad let's listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): President Trump tackled the virus head-on as leaders should.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.
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VAUSE: And here is the original interview. This is for context, from back in March. Listen to this.
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FAUCI: I'm down at the White House virtually every day with the task force.
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FAUCI: I'm connected by phone throughout the day and into the night. And when I say the night I'm talking 12, 1, 2 in the morning. I'm not the only one. There's a whole group of us that are doing that. It's every single day. So I can't imagine that, under any circumstances, that anybody could be doing more.
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VAUSE: So, Jonathan, clearly the Trump campaign and Donald Trump who approved those ads, knew that they were twisting Dr. Fauci's. Words how many other red flags does that raise for you?
REINER: First, it's disrespectful to Dr. Fauci. Dr. Fauci is apolitical. He's been at NIH for 40 years. And he has worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations. And he has tried very hard through this cycle to stay out of politics. This is like a thumb in his eye. They have muzzled him over the last
several months. I thought recently that he should just speak out, he should just do the media, whatever he's asked regardless of whatever the administration. Says because I don't think they can fire him.
At least I think it would be politically disastrous to fire Tony Fauci 3 weeks before the election. And I think if they continue to provoke him, they'll leave him no choice but to speak out even in a more forceful way.
VAUSE: Listen to the Mark Meadows on Capitol Hill Monday during a break.
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MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Let me do this. Let me pull this away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, pull away.
MEADOWS: And then that way I can take this. Off
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
MEADOWS: Well, I'm more than 10 feet away. Well, I'm not going to talk through a mask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Republican Senator Mike Lee recently tested positive. He was there in person. He addressed the committee notably without a mask.
So was the reporter right to have concerns about the chief of staff?
When you look at this hearing, were you concerned that the chairman, Lindsey Graham, who refused to have the test for COVID-19, carrying it out, saying everything is fine, don't worry.
REINER: Well, he didn't want to know what the test was going to show. Except not knowing what the test is going to show can kill your neighbor or the senator sitting next to you.
It's irresponsible behavior. The lack of wearing a mask is maybe the most unforgivable sin in this whole pandemic disaster. It has been the fact that the administration knew exactly how this virus was transmitted, that it was airborne, that it was lethal and yet they discouraged the wearing of masks.
In April, the Postal Service, in conjunction with HHS, was going to send off three quarters of a billion masks around the country. And the administration stopped that. They didn't like the look.
It makes me angry. It makes me really angry. Everyone I work within the hospital wears a mask all day long. Now because we do this, just not just for ourselves, we do it for each other, we come home with marks on our face, wearing N-95 masks all day. And he can't get the president's chief of staff to keep his mask on to answer couple of questions?
I replaced an aortic valve wearing a mask, and do it all day long and I somehow to make my voice heard to the people in the room. The least he could do, is man up and wear a mask and set a standard for the country.
VAUSE: And Jeff, just finally, when we look at this nomination process, Republicans saying, all of this is historical precedent, nothing to see here. Democrats say it's an egregious grab of power.
Which is it and does it matter?
TOOBIN: Well, we're talking about the irrational behavior of the president in connection with the pandemic. It's important to remember that he's still the president. And he still wields tremendous power and it looks like Amy Coney Barrett is going to be confirmed to the Supreme Court at 48 years old and will serve for decades after Donald Trump is gone from the White House.
There has never been anything like this sort of jammed confirmation hearing at the end of a presidency. But it is also true that, under the rules of the Senate, what the Republicans are doing here is legally permissible. It is outside the norms of behavior but it is permissible.
And it looks like it's going to get through and the consequences of that will be enormous, as I say, long after this presidency is over.
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VAUSE: We are out of time. Thanks to you both. Great being with you.
Johnson & Johnson is now the second drugmaker to pause coronavirus vaccine trials after a volunteer fell ill. The test included 60,000 volunteers. It says complications are not unexpected.
Plus the AstraZeneca trial remains on hold in the U.S.
Still to come, in a city of 9 million people, just a dozen new cases. And that means everyone must be tested. How China is dealing with the resurgence of the virus.
Last call for alcohol in the pubs of Liverpool. Boris Johnson's latest efforts to fight the pandemic.
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VAUSE: A secret remedy known to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, wearing face masks, social distancing, washing hands. Experts have been telling us this for months.
Despite, that the number of global infections is exploding. Out of control. That is despite a rosy assessment from a number of leaders about the worst being over. New records have been set in just the past few days. The world is still in serious trouble.
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DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We are now seeing an increase in the number of reported cases of COVID-19. Especially in Europe and the Americas. Each of the last 4 days have been the highest numbers of cases reported so far.
Many cities and countries are also reporting an increase in hospitalizations and intensive care occupancy.
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VAUSE: Some local leaders as well as business groups in England are pushing back against restrictions being imposed by the government. On Sunday, the U.K. reported more than 12,000 new COVID-19 cases and 65 dead. But only some parts of England are facing new shutdowns. CNN's Nic Robertson reports now from London.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The prime minister is saying these new measures are essential, because infection rates in the country continue to go up.
For the past 3 weeks, he said the R number currently between 1.2 and 1.5. He is designated these 3 tiers, medium, high and very high. It's designed to simplify people's understanding of what measures they have to take in their local areas and.
The prime minister said that Liverpool will now fall into the very high category there. Gyms, pubs, casinos will all close. He laid out that this was going to be a very tough path ahead.
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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: This is not how we want to live our lives but this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lockdown.
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JOHNSON: And the massive human and indeed, economic cost of an uncontained epidemic. With local and regional and national government coming together in a shared responsibility and a shared effort to deliver ever better testing and tracing , ever more efficient enforcement of the rules and with ever improving therapies with the mountains of PPE and the ventilators that we have stockpiled, with all the lessons we have learned in the last few months.
We are becoming better and better at fighting this virus. Though I must warn the house again, that the weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country. I have no doubt at all, that together, we will succeed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: One of the difficulties the prime minister has been facing is criticism from many of the regional and local councils in the north of the country where infection rates are highest.
They believe that the prime minister has not been firm enough on their advice on test and trace, for example, and that some of the measures the government has put in place have not been working.
The prime minister indicated it is still talking to the some of those regional authorities in the northwest, the northeast, Yorkshire, Humberside, all in the north of the country. This is far from a done deal yet but the prime minister said, however bad it gets, he intends to keep retail, schools and universities open -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Much the same in France where health officials have declared maximum alert in two more cities. That means infection rates are on the up or more than 30 percent of ICU beds are being used for COVID-19 patients.
Toulouse and Montpellier join Paris, Marseille and beyond. Some critics have suggested a better solution would be to provide more ICU beds.
China is moving quickly to contain the country's first new cases of coronavirus in nearly 2 months. Qingdao plan to test 9 million people in the coming 5 days. After a dozen new cases were reported.
South Korea is easing social distancing measures but face masks are required in crowded, public transport and protests as well. We have Paula Hancocks in Seoul, Kristie Lu Stout standing by in Hong Kong.
First you, Paula. Mandatory face masks.
Is this something they are willing to enforce in any major way or is something the population are happy to do?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it's something that most of the population have been doing since, really, the beginning of the year. It's not something you really have to enforce too carefully here in South Korea, although there are some exceptions to that rule.
What this is doing is it's making what was mandatory already in places like Seoul, the greater area and other cities and provinces, nationwide. It's saying if you're in a situation like a medical facility, nursing facility, public transport, protest rallies, you have to wear a mask.
It also specifies that you have to wear it correctly. We all know and have seen people who wear it under the nose so they could breathe easier or even as a chin strap. The government says that is simply not good enough. From a month's time, there is a grace period of 30 days. You could be
fined here in South Korea for even not wearing a mask correctly. It would be just under $90 for that fine.
This comes at the same time as the social distancing rules have been lessened. We are now on level 1, which is the lowest level it could be, which effectively means that all restrictions of gatherings inside and outside have been lifted.
Churches from now on will have 30 percent capacity. They will be allowed sporting facilities, sporting events. They will have a similar 30 percent. National parks will have half capacity.
What the government says they are doing is they are putting in place the framework going forward over the next few months. Of course, people fear the numbers could rise. To make sure that those who aren't wearing masks properly or not following the rules can be fined and can be brought to justice quicker.
VAUSE: Paula, thank you.
Let's go to Kristie Lu Stout. The city of Qingdao, 9 million people, everyone is getting a test. It's going quickly. It will be done over 5 days.
What do you say about the Chinese bureaucrats and party officials, once they get their marching orders, there will be no virus and no outbreak again, they take that seriously?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: They take it very seriously. China is literally on another level here. We've seen it happen before. These orders for masks, rapid fire testing on just a small cluster of cases.
As you mentioned, Qingdao reported just a few cases over the weekend. It has ordered a city of 9 million people to be tested. We learned from authorities that 3 million people have tested negative for COVID- 19.
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STOUT: The virus is still very much active in China and all across Asia. Despite that there are some other surreal scenes across the region that recall life well before the pandemic. Take a look.
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STOUT (voice-over): Test rugby is back in New Zealand. To the fans, some 30,000 of them, cheering. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with no masks in sight unless you count the face paint.
COVID-19 restrictions in Wellington where the matches were held, were lifted just last month. But with so many sports events around the world being played with fewer or no spectators, some wonder if a large gathering like this could set the country back.
After being a model for coronavirus containment, the prime minister encouraged fans to be vigilant. JACINDA ARDERN, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: We want people washing
their hands. We definitely do not want you to attend if you are unwell. These are your acts of public service now.
STOUT (voice-over): The reality across Asia for countries that have successfully contained the virus in the past is that they will have to do it again.
China, which has been largely virus free since mid August, is facing a new cluster. It will test the entire population in the city of Qingdao, some 9 million residents over the next few days. It is a mass response that has worked before. One that may be need to be used again.
Especially since the country just wrapped up Golden Week, a holiday where the government says 600 million people traveled. Some crowding into tourist sites.
In densely populated parts of India, which now has more than 7 million infections, officials worry about its upcoming festival season, which begins in less than one week. They say many people are tired of social distancing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): People have become very negligent. They're stepping outside on roads without wearing masks. They are crowding markets. Only 40 percent of the people are using masks.
STOUT (voice-over): Australia, which still has one of its largest cities, Melbourne, under lockdown, says it is in talks with nations like South Korea and Japan to reopen travel, as infections in these places level off.
While there are signs of progress around the region, confirmed cases in Myanmar have shot up from just a few hundred two months ago to nearly 30,000 today, an example of how fast things can change.
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STOUT: From Myanmar to China, India to New Zealand, Asia has been offering the full spectrum of the pandemic response. There is one common denominator: even for countries that have the outbreak this pandemic under control, this virus is a beast. It just keeps coming back -- John.
VAUSE: It's a bit like the terminator. More like terminator 2. Nothing you could do to stop it. Kristie, thank you for being with us.
Paula Hancocks, thank you.
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VAUSE (voice-over): Still to come, after Donald Trump talked up the fake (INAUDIBLE) over fraudulent mail-in ballots, now its Republicans in the state of California. Busted for fake drop boxes and absentee ballots. State officials have issued a cease-and-desist. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
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The headlines this hour, the U.S. president has held his first campaign rally since being diagnosed with the coronavirus. There was no social distancing at the event near Orlando in Florida.
President Trump said he felt powerful. He also joked about giving everyone in the crowd a big, fat kiss. Most were not wearing masks.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new coronavirus restrictions for England on Monday. As infections rise, bars, restaurants and other businesses in areas with high COVID-19 case counts could close again.
Some leaders in the north of the country critical of measures so far, claiming they just have not been working.
And Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court will face her first questions from senators in the coming day. Amy Coney Barrett outlined her judicial philosophy on Monday, saying courts are not designed to solve every problem.
Democrats claim she would threaten America's healthcare system.
Now, in-person voting is already underway in almost 20 states in the U.S. And in places like Republican-controlled Georgia, right now casting a ballot could mean a six-hour wait or more. Civil rights groups say it's all about voter suppression to deter those who would traditionally support the Democratic nominee.
And then there are the Republican objections to the use of drop boxes for absentee ballot -- votes, I should say. Now filing some legal action in some states but now, Republicans are being caught out using fake illegal drop boxes in California.
For more, here's CNN's Pamela Brown.
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roughly eight million Americans have already cast their ballots, some standing in line for hours.
JULIE VINEYARD, NEVADA VOTER: I thought maybe one hour, most. I would never have even came out. To be honest, if I knew it would be five hours, while others are putting them in drop boxes like these.
BROWN: But the seemingly simple process has turned quite complicated throughout the country.
SHANNON KAEHNY, CALIFORNIA VOTER: Insane. I just -- I can't imagine in what world you would think that that would be acceptable.
BROWN: This California woman alerted local officials after finding an unofficial ballot drop box at a nearby church. In a Facebook post, the church's pastor told followers that the church had a voting drop box, but it wasn't a legal one.
MATTHEW JUDGE, CALIFORNIA VOTER: It was up for, like, four days before I even saw it, before it started to kind of gain traction. So I'm really worried that -- that someone put their ballot in there.
BROWN: In a sermon at the church, the pastor denied tampering with any ballots.
PASTOR JERRY COOK, FREEDOM'S WAY BAPTIST CHURCH: Obviously, we have a situation here with the ballot box, and folks are saying things that -- that we're tampering with it and things of that nature. Of course, we're not tampering with anything.
BROWN: Meanwhile, California's secretary of state tells CNN "Operating unofficial ballot drop boxes -- especially those misrepresenting to be official drop boxes -- is not just misleading to voters, it's a violation of state law."
The box has been removed. The Facebook post also gone, as the Los Angeles County registrar's office investigates.
KAEHNY: It's an attack on democracy. It's not OK.
BROWN: And while the president urged supporters on a recent prayer call to get out and vote for him.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The poll booths, and I can tell you, we see it, we see it now, they're going to be swamped. Get out and vote and make sure your vote counts.
BROWN: In Pennsylvania, a Trump-appointed federal judge rejected an argument by the RNC and Trump campaign that drop boxes were unconstitutional.
While in Texas, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Republican Governor Greg Abbott's directive for one location per county for ballot drop boxes, after a lower court reversed Abbott's decision last week.
And in Georgia, early voting started at one location with a little hiccup. Delays of an hour due to a technical glitch that caused voters' cards to be rejected.
(on camera): Now in California, the district attorney investigating these fake drop boxes that popped up in several counties. In fact, in one county, it was the Republicans who bought these drop boxes, according to the spokesman, though the spokesman would not say how many and where they were placed. The GOP says they have done nothing wrong.
Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN election analyst Franita Tolson joins me now from Los Angeles. Welcome to the show. First time. Good to see you.
FRANITA TOLSON, CNN ELECTION ANALYST: Good to see you two, John. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: That's a pleasure. Now, we'll start with the drop box issue in California. Here's a statement posted on the official Twitter account of the Republican state party; "If a congregation, business or other group provides the option to its parishioners/associates or colleagues to drop off their ballot in a safe location, with people they trust, rather than handing it over to a stranger who knocks on their door -- what's wrong with that?" OK?
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What's wrong with that? By the way, address the gross hypocrisy here, as well.
TOLSON: Right. It is potentially misleading for voters who mistake that for a box that is established by the state. And it's also notable that the GOP's position of having drop boxes is at odds with their general suspicion of drop boxes, which they have challenged the litigation across the country.
VAUSE: Now, they've challenged them. Has that litigation been sort of lodged in mostly Democrat-controlled areas, where these boxes would be used the most?
TOLSON: It has been. It has been. And notably, in Texas, they went down to one drop box per county, which is really terrible, given that some counties have millions of people. And so, essentially, what you have is the Republicans here taking a different position that is at odds with their usual suspicion, right?
Because the argument has been that drop boxes can be a source of voter fraud. They have challenged them. They have challenged them as ways to make it easier for people to cast their ballots.
But here, you have them using them predominantly in conservative areas in order to encourage their own voters to use them. But the problem is that a voter may not know that the drop box was established by the local Republican Party, as opposed to the state itself. And that's a problem.
VAUSE: Hypocrisy in politics. My goodness, there's gambling going on.
You know, there was a report out last year by civil -- a leading civil rights group, and they found that since this 2013 court decision which essentially gutted the Voter [SIC] Rights Act, almost 1,700 polling sites in 13 states have been closed. And that meant, for many people, in particular for voters of color, all the voters, rural voters and voters and voters with disabilities, these burdens make it harder and sometimes impossible to vote. So in that context, how's that now all coming to a head in this particular election amidst a pandemic?
TOLSON: I do think we have to look that everything happened in this broader context of what has occurred since the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County.
So jurisdictions that were formerly covered under the Voting Rights Act, these jurisdictions closed 20 percent more voting places on average than non-coverage jurisdictions.
And so some of the lines that we saw in Georgia today, yes, people were excited, right? It's the first day of early voting. People want to turn out. They want to cast their ballots. This is a high-interest election.
But at the same time, some of the lines were, you know, people were in line eight, nine, ten hours. And that is a form of voter suppression. I think we have to be clear, in looking at this broader context of that is not OK, especially if we're holding ourselves out as a democracy.
VAUSE: Yes. There seems to be something especially cruel or cynical about exposing the most vulnerable during a pandemic, to make this choice between their health and their right to vote.
TOLSON: It's awful, especially since we talk about the right to vote as fundamental. Which suggests that they should try to make it easier for people to vote, particularly in a global, once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. But we're just not seeing that.
You know, we've seen a lot of efforts to deter voter turnout. And what occurred in Jordan today was no exception to that.
VAUSE: During the first unpresidential debate, Donald Trump made a statement, which was -- essentially, it amounted to a threat. Listen to this.
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CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You go first.
TRUMP: I'm urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that's what has to happen.
I am urging my people. I hope it's going to be a fair election.
WALLACE: You're urging them what?
TRUMP: If it's a fair election, I am 100 percent on board. But if I see tens of thousands of ballots being manipulated, I can't go along with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And what he could not go along with, just for clarity here, was urging calm among his supporters if the result was close or didn't go his way.
And this issue of poll watchers comes with a lot of historical baggage, especially in the south, right?
TOLSON: Yes, so poll watchers are not new, right? But Donald Trump's statement seemed to -- it seemed like a broad call to his supporters to just come out and watch the polls. When in fact, poll workers are pretty closely regulated by the state. In many cases, they have to go through training. They have to wear identification that -- it tells, you know, voters who they are.
And it's also important to note that there's no room for voter interference. Being a poll watcher does not mean you get to go to the polls and intimidate lawful voters.
And so the danger of Donald Trump's statement is that he's not making this distinction. And it's entirely possible that his supporters believe that they can just go to the polls to, quote unquote, watch when, in fact, it could quick devolve into voter suppression and voter interference.
VAUSE: Yes. Voter intimidation and a whole bunch of other things.
TOLSON: Voter intimidation, yes.
VAUSE: Which, you know, which is the kind of stuff which this country has worked so hard over the years, over the generations, to move away from. And you know, there's always this danger looking back.
Franita, thank you so much. We really appreciate you being with us.
TOLSON: Yes, thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Well, Microsoft says it has disrupted a massive hacking operation which may have impacted U.S. election systems. The company says it took down a service behind Trickbot, a huge malware network.
Microsoft officials said hackers can use ransomware to infect computer systems that maintain voter rolls or report on election night results. Microsoft admits the hackers will probably adapt and try to revive their operations eventually.
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A short break. A lot more news in just a moment. You're watching CNN.
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VAUSE: Could you imagine having Machu Picchu ruins all to yourself? Well, one lucky Japanese tourist had that adventure. He only had to wait about seven months.
The coronavirus robbed Jesse Takayama of the chance to tour the site in Peru back in March. Instead, he was actually stranded in the mountains of a nearby town. Takayama actually is heading home right now but asked if he could still use his ticket. The park said yes, so he toured the site on Saturday. No wonder, said it was amazing.
Machu Picchu is set to open again to the general public next month.
Well, chess champion Magnus Carlsen's 125-game winning streak has come to an end. It was checkmate for the champ at the Norway chess tournament. The Norwegian grandmaster lost to Poland's Jan-Krzysztof Duda over the weekend.
Revenge came swiftly, though. He faced Duda again in a later round and this time, beat him in just 26 moves. Apparently, that's -- Carlsen previously hadn't bene defeated since July of 2018.
Doesn't look happy.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. WORLD SPORT starts after the break, and then I'll be back in about 15 minutes.
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