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Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) Is Interviewed About The Trump-Biden Battle In Pennsylvania; Atlanta Falcons Shut Down Practice Facility Due To Positive Test; In N.C. Senate Race, Cunningham (D) Leads Incumbent Tillis (R). Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired October 15, 2020 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Are you seeing that in your district in your area?

REP. CONOR LAMB (D-PA): We're seeing a little bit of that in the registration numbers, of course. I, personally, I'm not sure how many new votes that actually represents for the President. I think what they may be doing is going back and getting people who were registered as Democrats before that voted for the President, and just convincing him to switch over. So, I'm not sure that it's new votes. But there's no question that his strongest supporters have been doing some good organizing work far away from the big cities out in the same area where I've been competing the last two years, and that we need to work very hard to earn back the trust of these people who were the base of the Democratic Party for a long time and used to feel that we represented them very well.

KING: And to people who might not remember your story. You are, Joe Biden hopes anyway, you are the canary in the coal mine, if you will. You want to see that it'd been in Republican hands for a long time. The lines have been redrawn a little bit, but you won a house district that once had Congressman Rick Santorum in it. You have some Allegheny County, but then you stretch out it's a Butler County.

What is the situation on the ground right now? And I think Danna makes a great point, Joe Biden needs to win Allegheny County, which is Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, he needs to win a big, I think you would agree with that. But then in places like Westmoreland County or Butler County or Beaver County, which are in your part of the state, Joe Biden's probably not going to win those counties. The key is can you not get swamped, like Hillary Clinton did, will he?

LAMB: I think he's going to do quite well compared to four years ago. And there's a lot of reasons for that. One is the people that you just showed in Dana's piece. I know those people, Phyllis commissioners, really, they've done an incredible amount of work over the course of the four years to help the Democratic Party, get back up on its feet in some of these areas, and reconnect and re-establish trust with these people.

Secondly, we have the highest unemployment in our region right now that we've had since the steel industry collapsed in the early '80s. And if you talk to people that work in steel around here, they remember standing in line for a sack of potatoes and free butter, and everyone trying to look out for each other. And that's kind of what it reminds people of again. President Trump made specific promises about how he's going to do things like strengthen the steel industry, and help people with jobs and help them earn more and protect their Social Security and Medicare. And he hasn't kept those promises.

And, in fact, a lot of these industries, things are looking worse now than they were four years ago. And Vice President Biden has a plan. No one thinks that perfect or that any particular policy is perfect, but he is saying I will take responsibility. I'll fight for your job, fight for your paycheck, bring back manufacturing, build infrastructure. A lot of the things President Trump managed for -- promise four years ago and just didn't do.

KING: A lot of Democrats as you know, be in the campaign thought Joe Biden was the wrong guy for the moment. I think you think and I think these numbers back it up, this is the Monmouth University poll, people white, no college degree, which is I say people like my dad work with their hands, Trump 53, Biden 44. You say, the President's winning nine points among those voters. If the President won by 30 points plus against Hillary Clinton among those voters, people who work with their hands. Why is it that Joe Biden is running stronger? Is it him or is it the reaction to President Trump saying he hasn't delivered on those promises?

LAMB: I think what it is, is that Vice President Biden is talking straight to them about the problems that they're having in their own families and with their own jobs. President Trump is talking about himself constantly, you know. Everyone who's against him, and the coronavirus that he had and all these things. Vice President Biden is coming here repeatedly, and he made a trip through Westmoreland County. And when he did that, he earned the support of the workers who actually work in natural gas and who actually build roads and bridges and locks and dams. Those two unions stepped up and they stood with Joe Biden on a stage here two weeks ago in a way that they didn't do four years ago.

And I think President Trump thought he had a lot of their votes. But they're seeing that the infrastructure just never got built. And heading into a tough winter, when construction projects are getting canceled, left and right, the price of natural gas is down. So there's not a lot of drilling taking place. We need an infrastructure bill and we need it bad and our local steel -- I mean, there's a steel company in the county that was in Dana's piece that pays three times what they should to ship their goods across the state. It takes their trucks 900 miles, because there's not enough roads and bridges that can bear the weight of them. Where it would take you or I 300 miles to drive that same trip.

And that problem faced them four years ago, it still faces them today. And Vice President Biden's build back better plan, would start to fix that kind of thing. And so I think that's why you're seeing this turn, he is focused on their issues and on them, not on himself. KING: 19 days, we'll be counting the votes. And those are the key counties. Conor Lamb, Congressman, I greatly appreciate your time today, sir. Thank you.

LAMB: Thank you.

KING: Up next for us, more sad news, more positive tests in the NFL.

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[12:39:18]

KING: At the Atlanta Falcons now to the NFL coronavirus outbreak, the team just announcing it is shutting down its practice facilities due to COVID test in the organization. The Falcons scheduled to play the Vikings on Sunday. So far that game is still on the schedule, expected to go forward but this is just the latest problem to hit the league. Tennessee Titans had one of their games postponed when a dozen players tested positive for COVID-19. The Patriots also had a game postponed when four players including quarterback Cam Newton tested positive.

Joining me now is New Orleans Saints star Malcolm Jenkins, he's also a CNN contributor. Malcolm, grateful for your time today. There are some people who say close contact sport, everybody in close quarters, middle of a pandemic, it is what it is, just deal with it. There are others, though, including a lot of your fellow players in the last week or so, are saying this is getting to a crisis point and they don't feel the league is doing enough to keep them safe. What's the truth?

[12:40:10]

MALCOLM JENKINS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's somewhere in between. I think the reality of it is that we're trying to play a sport, a contact sport, where we're all, you know, tied in together in the middle of a pandemic, and really don't have, you know, true guidelines is how to do that. But I think there is, you know, leadership between the NFLPA and NFL that are doing everything that they can do as far as a protocol standpoint, to make sure that we're doing the same as possible and knowing that those protocols are going to change and adapt as we learn more and we push throughout the season.

KING: You see it as well now in the SEC, so it's not just the NFL but you see, I mean, football again. It's close contact sport, people practicing close together, weight room close together, it's hard. It's harder than most professions to keep separate. Nick Saban, the coach of Alabama now testing positive. Florida LSU game postponed after 21 players tested positive. Missouri/Vanderbilt game also delayed due to positive tests and quarantines.

As you have lived through this, it's personal to you, your own health and safety, are there adjustments being made along the way? Are there things that you would raise your hand and say, I think my team, the Saints is doing everything it can but we can do this differently or do this better? JENKINS: Well I think we just always have to follow the science. You know, to me, honestly, I was surprised that we've made it this far. And I think that's been because of the protocols that have been put together. The first month and a half was really just onboarding players back into the facilities, getting back into training camp. And that was pretty uneventful.

But once we now are a quarter of the way through the season, guys, we're having more time away from the facilities, children are going back to school. There's just -- you're bringing players in and out of facilities from a transactional standpoint, so there's just a lot more exposure. And I don't think anybody stepped into the season thinking that nobody was going to have a positive test, or that we weren't going to have some of these, you know, events where we have to reschedule games or shut facilities down. But, you know, we'll just continue to follow the signs and update the protocols as much as possible.

KING: The Chief Medical Officer for the NFL says a bubble would not work for the NFL. People have watched the NBA championship just finished hockey finished its season. But we're watching baseball playoffs right now, the teams have been traveling. Do you think the approach right now where you have to get on a plane, if you're not playing a home game, and traveled to a city, check into a hotel and all of that, is that the only way or could the NFL be doing this somewhat differently?

JENKINS: Well, I think there's been a few opinions on, you know, team travel and, you know, what's the best way to approach it so far. I felt pretty decent about the way we've done is adding more buses so players aren't packing to the buses obviously, has been talks about having more than one airplane, less people traveling, restrictions of us, being able to leave the hotel when we're on the road. Everything being, you know, as much of a bubble as possible when we do leave our facility. But, you know, protocols keep you from spreading the disease, they don't keep you from getting it.

And you know, that can come from someone within the building but also can come just in daily life. So, we're going to do as much as we can to stop the spread. I don't know if there's anything we can do to stop people from getting it.

KING: Malcolm Jenkins, grateful for your time today, sir. Best of luck in the days and weeks ahead throughout the season.

JENKINS: Thank you for having me.

KING: Thank you, appreciate your time.

Up next for us, President Trump on his way to North Carolina where the polls show a very, very close race, that's Air Force One on the way.

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[12:48:12] KING: President Trump right now in the air on his way to battleground North Carolina, North Carolina. Let's go back to 2016 to remind us North Carolina should be a Trump state, right? He won it, 173,000 votes four years ago. It is in play late in campaign 2020. One of the many states, this President won four years ago where Joe Biden is either tied or leading.

Right now, let's just take a look at the most recent polling in North Carolina. Biden 46, Trump 42. So that's statistically a tie, maybe a slight Biden edge, but it is competitive, it's competitive with maybe Biden the lead in a state the President carried four years ago. So, what's the problem and can the President come back?

Let's discuss, CNN Political Commentator, Republican Strategist, Doug Heye joins me now. Doug, you know a little bit about the state. You've done some campaigns in the state. Why is it either slight advantage Biden or at least competitive right now? Shouldn't be?

DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, we have both empirical and anecdotal evidence on this. If you look at the polling that you've shown, it's consistent that Joe Biden is in a very good place compared to where Hillary Clinton was. And the reason for that is Joe Biden is seen as a likable popular candidate, where Hillary Clinton just wasn't.

And, anecdotally, in 2016, I remember being home the weekend after the Access Hollywood tape came out and hearing from people, I'm going to vote for Bernie in the primary, I'm going to vote for Donald Trump in the general because I'm voting against Hillary Clinton. The last time I saw my father before he passed in October of 2016, he said, I'm going to vote for Donald Trump. I voted for Bernie Sanders, but I sure wish Joe Biden were running. I think there are a lot of independence like that.

KING: And so let's go through the state a little bit. I could do this in the wall right here for you. You look at Charlotte, you think African American population but you also have growing suburbs, you think about Raleigh Durham, you think about universities, but also medical centers, rising number of professionals, suburban women, people with college degrees, the state is changing in a way that given the reaction to President trumpet in recent years is not good for him.

[12:50:04]

HEYE: No, it isn't. And when you talk about universities, let's also keep in mind that historically black colleges and universities in North Carolina. There are 11 of them scattered throughout the state. And what we saw for Barack Obama, especially in 2008, but also in 2012 where North Carolina was the second closest state in the country both times is those universities were turnout machines for the Obama campaign. They were a big boost to him.

If you're looking at Durham County, most people think about Duke, I'm wearing my tar heel tie, so I try not to think about Duke. But if you look at the HBCUs in Durham County, in Wake County, Marion (ph) County, Forsyth or Winston-Salem State is, they were turn-out machines for Obama and stand to be poised to do the same role as early voting is happening right now in the state for Joe Biden.

KING: And it's not just a battleground for the presidency, it has a key Senate race. The Republican incumbent Tom Tillis right now trailing a few points to his Democratic challenger. And it's one of the places where some Republicans are saying, if the President can turn his ship around himself and turn it around quickly, maybe Republicans, you see the Tillis-Cunningham poll there, maybe the Republicans should shift.

This is Carl Rove writing in the Wall Street Journal. "The situation today is more dire for Mr. Trump. Four years ago, he needed a straight -- and drew it. This time he needs something like a royal flush. In such a bizarre year anything is possible. But possible doesn't mean likely. As insurance, Republicans better fight like hell to keep the Senate".

Do you see evidence or do you think it is wise that Republican donors, for example, say sorry, Mr. President, we're taking the money from you, and we're going to ram it into these key Senate races?

HEYE: Yes, it does. And I'll tell you having been in North Carolina and South Carolina recently and full disclosure, the Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham went to Forsyth Country Day, which is my rival high school in Winston-Salem. Bishop McGuinness, we would always beat them in basketball. North Carolina is a much closer race, but it doesn't get the attention that South Carolina is getting, and all that money that South Carolina is getting.

If you're a Republican and you want to save the Senate, you have a real opportunity now to keep Tom Tillis in office with Cal Cunningham and the issues he's had personally in his campaign that he still has failed to address. He's basically been running the bunker campaign that the Trump campaign says if Biden is running. If he's not answering these questions and more questions may come up, it's an opportunity for Tom Tillis. I tell Republican donors look at North Carolina.

KING: Old school rivalry is proof, all politics is local and remains local. Doug Heye, appreciate your insights there. We'll keep an eye on North Carolina of course.

HEYE: Thanks.

KING: When we come back, the President says some things about COVID. We'll show you world leaders take a very different approach.

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[12:57:06]

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Melissa Bell in Bordeaux. Here in France, a system of curfews announced by the French President on national television last night that will apply not only to the Parisian (ph) region, but also to eight other French cities. From 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., people will have to be home, everything will be closed. This is France tries to bring down those spiraling COVID-19 figures. This is what the French President had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. EMMANUEL MACRON, FRANCE (through translation): If we stick to this curfew for six weeks, if we take collective responsibility for reducing our contacts, we think that we'll be able to progressively reopen at that stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: The French President explained that the second wave was looking even more dangerous than the first had been because he explained the virus was spread out over the whole of France this time. And this time round, there were no reserve beds.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Salma Abdelaziz in Manchester, where the Mayor has outright rejected calls from the government to increase the alert level of this city to very high risk that is the highest fear in England new three-tier COVID alert system. This is what the Mayor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDY BURNHAM, MANCHESTER: They are asking us to gamble our residents jobs, homes and businesses and a large chunk of our economy on a strategy that their own experts tell them might not work. We would never sign up for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ: Prime Minister Boris Johnson's strategy to deal with this latest spike is under increased scrutiny. On the one hand, you have the Prime Minister and his government arguing that small limited regional lockdowns is the best way to tackle the surge in cases. On the other hand, you have a growing camp of people who say a circuit breaker is needed, essentially a nationwide complete lockdown. On that side, you have the country's top scientific advisers. All of this political wrangling happening while the number of coronavirus cases across the U.K. continues to rise.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in Berlin where the second wave of the coronavirus is now officially eclipsed to the first one. And like in many other European countries, young people are being blamed for spreading the virus. Yesterday, Chancellor Angela Merkel had a message for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN PRIME MINISTER (through translation): We must call especially on young people to do without a few parties now in order to have a good life tomorrow or the day after. And a lot is riding on this. And we saw the unruly effects on our economy that the spring had. And we are a high performing country. But our resources are not unlimited, and so we must be careful with our resources.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCLEAN: Yesterday, Merkel met with the premiers of Germany's federal states to try to hash out a more unified response to the resurgence of the virus to replace the current patchwork of restrictions that vary from state to state. The meeting stretched well into the evening and when it was over, Merkel announced that in virus hotspots, which right now include most large German cities, restaurants and bars will have to close early there, will also be limits on social gatherings both in public places and in private homes as well.

The government is going to see how things go over the next 10 days or so.

[13:00:00]