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Biden, Trump Respond to Questions about the Economy; Manchester Mayor Blasts U.K. Government Plans for Tier 3 Lockdown; Kenya Stars Struggling Through Pandemic; World Food Programme: 265M Facing Acute Food Shortages; Biden And Trump Town Halls Mirror U.S. Divide; Town Halls Won't Change Minds; Trump Rallies As COVID Numbers Rise. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 16, 2020 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Ahead this hour. On different networks in different cities, Trump and Biden held two very different town halls. In many ways, symbolic of a country deeply politically divided and socially distant.
The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic now crashing across Europe. Cases on the rise in almost every country. London on maximum alert, a nighttime curfew for Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My plan is already crushing the virus. Look at our numbers, look at our numbers.
CROWD: (Applause)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Look at the numbers. By any measure, the numbers are shockingly tragic. With predictions the U.S. will count almost 390,000 dead from this pandemic by February.
The U.S. president and his Democratic rival were more than 2,000 kilometers apart on different networks in different cities but they may as well have been in different universes.
President Trump and Joe Biden were meant to have a virtual debate Thursday night, a health precaution after Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus. But he refused.
So voters had to flip between dueling town halls airing at the same time. Joe Biden answered questions about policy including how he'd deal with the coronavirus pandemic, how he'd protect black Americans from police violence and racial injustice.
He did make a commitment though about the issue of packing the supreme court. More on that in a moment.
Meantime, Donald Trump's town hall was mostly antagonistic. He argued with the moderator about conspiracy theories, his tax returns, how he'd handle the pandemic, face masks, the whole works.
But the question is did President Trump's town hall offer any new information or insight to those very few undecided voters?
Not really, according to our Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The voters did not get a lot of straight answers from President Trump during that town hall that took place of a presidential debate with Joe Biden.
Given multiple opportunities to denounce the false conspiracy theory, QAnon, the president evaded the question and simply would not say what he thought about the group.
And here's more of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I know nothing about it. I do know they are very much against pedophilia. They fight it very hard. But I know nothing about.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "NBC" TOWN HALL HOST: They believe it is a Satanic cult --
TRUMP: If you'd like me to --
GUTHRIE: -- run by the deep state.
TRUMP: -- study the subject. I tell you what I do know about. I know about antifa and I know about the radical left and I know how violent they are and how vicious they are.
And I know how they are burning down cities run by Democrats, not run by Republicans.
GUTHRIE: Republican Senator Ben Sasse said quote, "QAnon is nuts. And real leaders call conspiracy theories conspiracy theories.
TRUMP: He may be right.
GUTHRIE: Why not just say it's crazy --
TRUMP: Can I be honest?
GUTHRIE: -- and not true?
TRUMP: He may be right. I just don't know about QAnon.
GUTHRIE: You do know.
TRUMP: I don't know. No, I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And the president also gave evasive answers on health care, abortion, even his own personal income taxes.
But perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of the night for the voters was when the president would not say when his last negative coronavirus test was.
Leaving open the possibility that he walked into that last presidential debate with Joe Biden potentially symptomatic for COVID- 19.
Jim Acosta. CNN, Miami.
VAUSE: Now to the Biden event in Philadelphia. The Democratic nominee mingled with the audience, long after the town hall was over.
CNN's Arlette Saenz has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Over the course of a 90- minute town hall here in Philadelphia, Joe Biden faced a range of questions from how to handle the coronavirus pandemic to the economy. And even his support for the 1994 crime bill.
This was a heavily policy-focused discussion as he faced questions from a mix of undecided voters and people who have already made up their minds about supporting Biden or Trump.
And one of those noteworthy exchanges came during a discussion about the issue of court packing. Joe Biden has deflected when asked about adding more justices to the supreme court for weeks now.
And he offered a bit more of a detailed answer in this town hall.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT AND DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I'm not a fan, I didn't say -- it depends on how this turns out. I'm open to considering what happens from that point on.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, CNN ANCHOR: You've said so many times during the campaign, all through the course of your career, it's important to level with the American people.
BIDEN: It is. But George if I say -- no one matter what answer I gave you, if I say it, that's the headline tomorrow. It won't be about what's going on now, the improper way they're proceeding.
[01:05:00]
STEPHANOPOULOS: But don't voters have a right to know where you stand?
BIDEN: They do have a right to know where I stand. And they'll have a right to know where I stand before they vote.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you'll come out with a clear position before election day?
BIDEN: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: So Biden there not completely ruling out the possibility of adding more justices to the supreme court, saying he wants to see how this nomination with Amy Coney Barrett moves forward. And will give voters a bit more of an answer closer to election day.
Now Biden also criticized President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. And he was asked about a coronavirus vaccine and whether it should be mandated.
Biden said that there should be a discussion of making it mandatory but acknowledged that there could be legal issues with actually implementing that.
But overall, Biden stayed very policy focused as he was presenting his agenda for a Biden Administration. Offering a contrast to the president without the president even being on that stage.
Now on Friday, Joe Biden is heading to Michigan where he will have two stops in that critical battleground state as early voting is underway, he's trying to get people to head out and vote.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us from New York, CNN political commentator and former Clinton White House aide, Keith Boykin. And in Louisville, Kentucky, CNN political commentator and former assistant to George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.
So. Great to have you both with us.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good evening.
KEITH BOYKIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: (Inaudible).
VAUSE: Here's a split screen moment which I thought kind of captured the differences here between these dueling town halls.
In Miami, appearing on the NBC network, President Trump arguing with the moderator over wearing a face mask.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: By the way -- GUTHRIE: (...) required at your rallies and you could say --
TRUMP: -- I never said don't wear them.
GUTHRIE: -- everyone put on a mask right now. And the University of Washington says --
TRUMP: Savannah --
GUTHRIE: -- you would save lives.
TRUMP: -- University of Washington then you have other places say different things. You have a lot -- hey, Dr. Fauci said don't wear a mask, right?
GUTHRIE: At first, but then everybody agreed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Sixteen hundred miles away in Philadelphia on "ABC," Joe Biden who was taking a deep dive into education policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: We have one school psychologist in America now for every 1,507 kids. It should be one to 500, not just in schools that are poor, but in all schools.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And, Scott, we'll begin with you because I'm curious. How did Trump actually decide that this town hall was a better option than a virtual debate with Joe Biden?
JENNINGS: Well, good question. Frankly -- he had a live audience, Biden had a live audience. There was no reason they couldn't have had their normal debate tonight.
I frankly lay a lot of the blame at the feet of the presidential debate commission for not pulling this together. So I think it would have been better had they been together.
That having been said, Trump, I think, had a better night tonight than he did in his first debate against Joe Biden.
He had a decent moment on taxes, he had some not so decent moments on masks and then on the Seal Team 6 tweet and on a couple of other issues.
But all in all, he looked good. He was strong, his voice was strong. And he, I think, comported himself better tonight, frankly, than he did when he faced off against Joe Biden a couple of weeks ago.
So a better night. Not necessarily a winning night, but a better night. VAUSE: And Keith, your assessment overall?
BOYKIN: Well, I think we've really lowered the bar for the President of the United States.
The fact that he's able to complete a few sentences, he doesn't fall down and collapse and that he doesn't go off into crazy -- as many crazy tangents as he did in his first debate is supposed to be somehow a better night.
It's a reflection of just how bad he was. He was evasive and dishonest, he was like a used car salesman.
He didn't remember the last time he had his most coronavirus test which is completely implausible. The idea that they're sticking this six-inch swab in your nose and you can't possibly remember the last time that happened to you.
The comment that Scott mentioned about the QAnon tweet. This is the president of the United States who is retweeting a conspiracy theory from this domestic terrorist group known as QAnon, which is suggesting that former vice president Joe Biden somehow was involved in a conspiracy to murder or assassinate the members of Seal Team 6.
That's an outrageous thing for any president to say, for any American to say. And the fact that the president of the United States said that, repeated it. And then he went on Savannah Guthrie's town hall and claimed he didn't know anything about QAnon. it's just completely implausible.
It's the same lie he used when he talked about the white supremacists at Charlottesville, the same lie he used when he talked about the Proud Boys and the same lie he used when he talked about David Duke years ago.
VAUSE: Let me jump in. Because you mentioned the president when he was asked about that -- when he was last tested negative for COVID-19. And in many ways, he did talk in circles. And this is part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTHRIE: Did you take a test on the day of the debate is the bottom line?
TRUMP: I probably did. And I took a test the day before and the day before. And I was always in great shape. And I was in great shape for the debate.
GUTHRIE: Do you take a test every single day?
TRUMP: No, no. But I take a lot of tests.
GUTHRIE: OK. And you don't know if you took a test the day of the debate?
TRUMP: Possibly I did, possibly I didn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:10:00]
VAUSE: Scott, surely the Trump Campaign knew that this question was coming. Could they have come up with a better answer than "I don't remember?"
JENNINGS: Well, yes, you're right. They should have known it was coming and B., yes, they could have a better answer. And the answer is just to say when it was. It's not a hard question.
The evasiveness is -- sometimes I find that President Trump is evasive even when it's not in his -- it serves no purpose. Like there's no -- you don't gain anything here, you're not saving anything, you're not scoring any political points. And so better if you just answer it and move on.
You already had coronavirus, he came out on the other side of it so the issue is kind of over. So by being evasive, you're prolonging it. I don't understand it.
VAUSE: Keith, when it comes to the coronavirus vaccine, Joe Biden made some news with this statement.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: We should be talking about, depending on the continuation of the spread of the virus, we should be thinking about making it mandatory.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But how could you --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And you know, Keith, making anything mandatory in this country comes with a boatload of blow back. And vaccines are in a league of their own.
This seems to be sort of counter to the strategy we've seen so far from Biden which is sort of lie low and let Trump implode.
BOYKIN: Well, when he used the word "mandatory," he offered a ton of caveats. He didn't say everybody's going to be required to do it and George Stephanopoulos even asked him about that.
He was talking about the same sort of way that we talk -- we do with schools where we mandate that people are vaccinated to go to schools.
He said he would encourage governors of the various states to do that. And if the governors wouldn't mandate it, he would encourage the mayors and the local city officials to put in mandates. But it wasn't a hard mandate saying that you're going to go to prison
if you don't take a vaccine, it was more of a statement of government policy. So I don't think there was anything earth shattering in that statement at all.
But I think what's more responsible was that he was actually willing to talk about the fact that we do need testing, that we do need a vaccine and we do need to encourage social distancing and mask wearing.
And Donald Trump was doing the exact opposite. And he's responsible for the reason why we have so many deaths right now; 215,000 Americans dead. And more than 7.9 million who are infected with coronavirus because of his mismanagement and negligence.
VAUSE: This wasn't "FOX NEWS," this was NBC. And so the president faced some tough questions. Like why he -- and to whom did he owe $430 million as reported by the "New York Times."
Here's his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUTHRIE: Are you confirming that yes, you do owe some $400 million?
TRUMP: What I'm saying is it's a tiny percentage of my net worth.
GUTHRIE: That sounds like yes.
TRUMP: I don't owe money to any of these sinister people. This has been going on for years now, Russia, Russia, Russia. It turned out to be a hoax.
And it turned out to be that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were dealing with Russia, not me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Scott, much like "When did you last test negative for the coronavirus," this could also be very easily cleared up if he released his tax returns.
Is it fair to say that until he does that, the denials by themselves just seem like weak tea?
JENNINGS: I'm going to defend the president on this one. Because this is an attempt to launch a conspiracy theory when really none exists.
The president files a personal financial disclosure form just like every federal official. And on page 34 and page 35 -- it's online, you could google it -- it clearly lists what his debts are and to whom he owes money. And he owes money to a bank, Deutsche Bank.
No one's hiding it, there's is nothing in there about Russia. It is a simple -- I owe this much to a bank. And it is on a government document for all the world to see.
So for Savannah Guthrie tonight, just like a lot of Democrats do, to bring it up like it's some sinister cover-up or conspiracy theory is just not true. She should have known better that the president's already filed these documents and they're out there for the world to see.
VAUSE: Keith, though --
BOYKIN: I want to just be --
VAUSE: -- how important is this right now to voters? Because normally it would be pretty huge any other time but not, I guess, at the moment in the midst of a pandemic?
BOYKIN: Well, I'm sorry. I didn't get the question, what was it?
VAUSE: Just how important it is to the voters right now, this whole issue of what the president owes and his tax returns?
BOYKIN: Well, the reality is it's not very important to the voters at all. Because they knew about this in 2016, they suspected he didn't pay taxes.
The "New York Times" came out with the report recently, showed that he paid only $750 in taxes in the year 2016 when he ran for president. Which is an outrageously low sum of money for somebody who claims to be a billionaire. Most people who are working people pay far more than that in their taxes every year.
And so he's clearly been evading taxes and there are many years where he didn't pay taxes at all. And he's the first president in modern history, the first president since Richard Nixon, not to release his tax returns.
The federal financial disclosure forms that Scott talked about, those aren't sufficient, they don't give you all the detailed information you can get in tax returns.
And Scott knows that, the president knows that. He keeps using this excuse about he's under audit.
[01:15:00]
The audit doesn't preclude you from releasing your tax returns, we all know that.
Even his Republican opponents were saying that in 2016. Nicki Hailey who was (inaudible) recently was out on the campaign trail with Marco Rubio in 2016 saying as an accountant, she knows that there's no audit that precludes you from releasing your tax returns.
So the one thing that Trump and Scott are both right about is that they made a central (ph) calculation. That it doesn't matter to voters because people --
VAUSE: Yes.
BOYKIN: -- make --
VAUSE: OK. Very quickly though, Scott. If I just finish up on Scott. Because we also heard from Biden, he made a concession that he will state a position on stacking the supreme court with extra justices. That's after the current nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg is confirmed.
Were you surprised by that, Scott? Do you think that has some political downside and risk for Biden?
JENNINGS: Well, number one, court packing is horribly unpopular. All the polls show it.
And that's why Biden has not wanted to take a position on it because the majority of Americans don't think it's right.
But a lot of people in his base do want to do it because they think it's a way to get revenge on Donald Trump for appointing supreme court justices. And he's been stuck between a veritable still and a carapace (ph).
I am surprised that he has mishandled it so badly so far. if he really he was sitting on such a large national lead in this race, he would just say to his base look, I'm not going to do it and move forward. And the American people would say good, he gave us a straight answer.
The vacillation and obfuscation on this has hurt the Biden Campaign. I'd like to see what position he comes up with here because I'll be stunned if he ever truly gives a straight answer before election day.
VAUSE: OK. We are out of time. Thank you both, Keith Boykin and Scott Jennings. Appreciate you being with us. Thanks.
JENNINGS: Thank you.
BOYKIN: (Inaudible).
VAUSE: Well, packing them in the midst of a pandemic. Donald Trump continues to hold likely super spreader events as a new model predicts a soaring U.S. death toll.
Also, the ongoing debate: Saving lives or saving jobs. The debate over lockdowns takes on new urgency on both sides of the Atlantic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: By any measure, the United States is failing to contain the pandemic and with that comes devastating consequences. Almost 8 million infected, more than 200,000 dead and counting.
At least 35 of 50 states are heading in the wrong direction. Some states have seen record daily infections, a surging death toll and rising numbers admitted to hospital. And on the same day the number of infections peaked in North Carolina,
President Trump was there holding a campaign rally, downplaying the risks and the impact from the coronavirus.
An influential model now predicts there could be more than 390,000 virus deaths in the U.S. by February. That's slightly lower than the previous forecast.
But keep this in mind. It still means another 172,000 Americans could die in the next three and-a-half months.
We get the very latest now from CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[01:20:00]
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New warnings that this pandemic is taking a devastating toll on rural America.
Tennessee's health commissioner sounding an alarm for her state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LISA PIERCEY, TENNESSEE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: That has been very startling to me and the team over the last several days.
Our death rate in rural population is double that in the urban population.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: In Kentucky, one of seven states that have just reported record high hospitalizations for one day, the governor says residents need to be jolted into action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY.), KENTUCKY: Everybody ought to be concerned and everybody ought to be doing the right thing.
And those that are out there that try to confront you for wearing a mask or being a jerk, that's all they are. And they're putting your health at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Wisconsin just reported more than 1,000 hospitalizations on Wednesday. Its highest number for a single day since the pandemic began.
What's behind the spikes in rural areas across the U.S.?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA MALATY RIVERA, THE COVID TRACKING PROJECT: Some of the bigger mandates that happen in cities like mask wearing and physical distancing are not really translating or going as far as rural areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: This comes as 35 states are trending upward in experiencing new coronavirus cases. And for the first time in months, the U.S. recorded nearly 60,000 new cases in one day on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALATY RIVERA: A lot of reasons that can explain these trends. Number one, fall weather usually brings colder temperatures and that means more people are doing indoor activities which is very high risk when it comes to virus transmission.
We're seeing some restrictions loosening in several states.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Meantime, America's top voice on the pandemic citing the dangers of household gatherings told "ABC" that this year, more Americans may have to forego bringing their extended families together for Thanksgiving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We really have to be careful this time. And each individual family evaluate the risk-benefit of doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: And there's new pushback to the idea of so-called heard immunity. Letting the virus run unchecked through communities so more people would contract COVID-19, the thought being some could later develop resistance to the virus.
It's been promoted by some scientist and some people in the Trump Administration. But 14 public health organizations are condemning the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: If you just let things rip and let the infection go, no masks, crowd, it doesn't make any difference. That, quite frankly, is ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: And there's new concern that another great fall institution in America, college football, could be in some jeopardy.
The biggest name in the sport, Alabama head coach Nick Saban, has tested positive.
The coach of the University of Mississippi says his team is, quote, "having issues" with COVID after having played Alabama last Saturday. And a big game between Florida and LSU slated for this coming weekend
has had to be postponed at least until December after several members of the Florida program tested positive.
Brian Todd. CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, we'll stay in Washington now. Dennis Carroll is an infectious disease expert and former director of USAID's Emerging Threats Division.
And it is good to see you again, Dr. Carroll.
DENNIS CARROLL, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: It's good to see you, John.
VAUSE: Thank you. Now for months, experts around the world they've warned about this second wave, they've warned it would most likely be more severe than the first and that's where we are right now by all accounts.
And many countries are considering lockdowns or at least targeted lockdowns but not the United States.
Here's the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP (VOICE OVER): We're not doing any more lockdowns, and we're doing fine. We're not doing any shutdowns.
No, we learned about the disease. Young people, 99.9 percent, right? They're in great shape, strong immune systems. The younger, the better. It's hard to believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What happens to this country in the coming months, assuming that Trump does what he says? Because regardless of what happens in November, he will be president at least until January.
CARROLL: Well, I think you mentioned it earlier. That the projections -- that we keep going in the direction that we're going, there will be another 180,000 lives lost over the coming months.
So regardless of what happens on November 3rd, as you point out, President Trump will be president until January 20th.
And he's been, if nothing else, been very consistent in his denial of this virus and his refusal to provide leadership.
So I think all of us are concerned that we're in for a very, very severe winter as we move into this COVID season.
VAUSE: It's not just in the United States where there is this reluctance to go with another lockdown.
We're seeing something similar play out in the U.K., despite the government's own scientific advice. The prime minister there, Boris Johnson, is reluctant to call for or implement a whole nationwide lockdown.
And regardless of where this happens, the argument seems to be the same. It's all about saving jobs versus saving lives, the economic cost of a lockdown is too high.
But that assumes that the pandemic is an entire separate issue to the crashing economy. You can't fix the economy though until you get the public health worked out.
[01:25:00]
CARROLL: Well, first off, it's important -- people's frustration with lockdowns is perfectly reasonable. They're really not what we want to do.
And so as we go forward, using lockdowns as our primary intervention for this virus is really unfortunate.
Back in the spring, it was very clear lockdowns are critical towards responding to a newly emerging virus. But we also know that the real key to bringing this virus under control is to have widespread testing and very widespread contact tracing.
Know where the virus is, identify it, control it, and eliminate it.
And unfortunately, neither in the United States or in Europe have we seen the kind of robust investments to make sure testing and contact tracing is very much a core part of our response.
So we're left with really no real other option than, again, to look at lockdowns as a way of preventing the spread of the virus. It's really an extraordinarily unfortunate situation that we've put ourselves in ourselves.
VAUSE: You mentioned contact tracing and rapid testing. That seems to be what's happening right now with the Biden campaign.
His running mate, Kamala Harris, was grounded because of possible exposure to COVID-19.
The vice president tweeted that because of contact tracing they identified a crew member on the plane which had been charted for the campaign, that crew member tested positive.
But he says he was always at least 50 feet away from that positive staffer. And Biden has since tested negative.
Rapid testing, contact tracing like that. As you say, it's not happening in the White House, it's not happening nationwide. If it was, could it minimize the extent of those lockdowns? Maybe targeted areas as opposed to nationwide? CARROLL: Well, again, think of lockdowns as a blunt instrument. And
it's a blunt instrument because we don't really know where the virus is. You're just casting as broad a net as possible.
Diagnostics and contact tracing tell you where the virus is and allows you to be far more surgical and far less disruptive. So it's the lack of, if you will, intelligence make us -- force us into having to make -- take actions which are really the enormously unpopular response.
And quite frankly, it's one that we shouldn't have to do. We should be smarter, we should be more strategic.
And look, this virus is going to be with us for a while. We've wasted the last eight months not putting in place these capabilities.
We need to do it now, because we're going to still be faced with this virus in the spring. And, as we've seen, it'll be with us in the summer.
So we either get it right or we're going to be seriously, seriously affected by this virus. Well --
VAUSE: Very --
CARROLL: -- beyond where we're now.
VAUSE: So very quickly, we're almost out of time. But the U.S. president has continued to misquote or stated or lied, however you want to put it, about a report from the CDC which has looked at mortality and the rate of wearing a face mask.
This is what he said at a rally in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Look at all the masks. They keep saying nobody wears masks, wear the masks. Although then they come out with things today -- did you see it, CDC? That 85 percent of the people wearing the masks catch it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: "FOX NEWS" got this wrong on Tuesday so it was only a matter of time before Trump did as well. It was on the crazy end of the internet.
Can you clarify the findings here from that CDC study? Just how dangerous is it to have this sort of misinformation out there as this second wave approaches?
CARROLL: Look, first off, the mask is not dangerous, it is a lifesaver. And in the absence of an effective and safe vaccine, the mask has shown itself to be extraordinarily effective in protecting people from the transmission of this virus.
Once again, President Trump not just misspeaks but is just communicating absolute falsehoods about what people should be doing.
And a measure that is so simple and so profoundly effective being undermined by the president is just, again, an extraordinarily awful thing to be doing.
VAUSE: Dennis, thank you. It is always good to see you. Dennis Carroll in Washington. Appreciate it.
CARROLL: OK. Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Well, we'll take a short break. When we come back, the economy is always a big issue in any election year. And now the pandemic is raising the stakes, find out what Biden and Trump had to say about that in their dueling town halls.
Also, two town halls on two different networks but only one is coming under fire and criticism. We'll tell you which one and why when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:32:14]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for staying with us. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause. And we are 18 days away from the U.S. presidential election, a critical campaign time for democratic nominee Joe Biden and his campaign team.
But Kamala Harris, Biden's running mate, will not be traveling for a few days after three people, working close to the campaign, were diagnosed positive with the coronavirus. Harris says, this highlights the difference between Biden's response to the pandemic and President Trump's.
And she spoke exclusively with CNN's Don Lemon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: His approach to this issue is something the American public are suffering from. For example, what we did is we have had -- and he mocked Joe Biden in their debate about wearing masks and protocols that say we understand. Love thy neighbor, wear your mask.
We have had protocols that have been about saying that we need to have social distancing. We're not going to bring large crowds together because we don't want people to get sick as they exercise their rights in our democracy.
On the other hand, you have a Donald Trump who has overlooked all of that, when he had information since January, about how serious this was and he did not tell the American people.
So again, you have clear contrast. You want to talk about the difference between the two choices people have in just 19 days? But people are voting right now, by the way.
The choices: Joe Biden who has been saying since March we need to have a national plan for testing, for treatment, for contact tracing. And when, God willing, we get that vaccine as soon as possible, for distribution of the vaccine, taking into account exactly --
(CROSSTALK)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I'm glad you mentioned that.
HARRIS: -- and making sure it is free.
LEMON: I'm glad you mentioned the vaccines. And before I get to -- that's my next question, but you have tested negative, right? you've been tested --
HARRIS: Yes. Many times.
LEMON: Many times. Ok.
HARRIS: Yes, I was last exposed to the folks you mentioned, seven days ago. I've had multiple tests since.
LEMON: Ok.
HARRIS: I've come up negative. They are all doing well, and I am happy to say, and yes --
LEMON: Ok.
HARRIS: -- and this is where we are.
LEMON: Great. Ok. So listen, you mentioned vaccines. At the Biden town hall, he was asked about vaccines, and a voter brought you up. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Hey Kelly, how are you?
KELLY: Hi, Mr. Biden. My question is about the coronavirus vaccine --
BIDEN: Yes.
KELLY: -- or potential. Senator Harris stated that she absolutely would not take a vaccine from President Trump. Of course, we all know it is not President Trump that would create this vaccine, it would be doctors, and scientists that, presumably, we all trust.
[01:34:47]
KELLY: So my question for you is, if a vaccine were approved between now and the end of the year, would you take it? And if you were to become president, would you mandate that everyone has to take it?
BIDEN: Two things. Number one, President Trump talks about things that just aren't accurate about everything from vaccines. We're going to have one right away. It's going to happen and so on.
The point is that if the scientists, if the body of scientists say that this is what is ready to be done and they're - it's been tested, it's gone through the three phases, yes I would take and I would encourage people to take it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So Vice President Biden went on to say that he would consider mandating a vaccine. But do you -- do you have any regret about initially saying that you wouldn't trust President Trump alone on a vaccine? Or, do you think you got -- it got misconstrued?
HARRIS: Let me be very clear, I think I have been, but I'll say it again. I do not trust Donald Trump, on the issue of a vaccine. If the public health professionals tell us it's safe, I will take the vaccine, I'll be the first in line.
If Dr. Fauci says it safe? I'll be the first in line.
I will not take Donald Trump's word on this. He has over, and over, and over again, lied to the American people while he has been equipped with information that if he had shared it, could have saved lives.
He has been playing politics with people's lives. And we are now looking at one of the greatest mass casualty events in the history of our country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, it's been three decades since Bill Clinton declared "it's the economy, stupid" but that's as true now as it was then. Only now, it's an economy which has been cratered by the coronavirus with unemployment not seen since the great depression.
Here is both Biden and Trump, on how they would fix the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You can contain the pandemic by being rational and not just the economy. For example, I laid out a plan how you can open businesses. You can open businesses and schools, if in fact, you provide them the guidance that they need, as well as the money to be able to do it.
What is happening now is we know, for example if you can open a business, and you can have a sign on the door saying safe to come in, that is why people aren't going anyway when anyone open. And say, because you have social distancing, you have plastic barriers, when you go to the cashier, you have separators between the booths, you don't have large crowds, you reduced the size of the number of people you can have in the restaurant.
You make sure there is testing, that's in a really critical piece that you didn't do -- testing, and tracing.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was a thing that came into our country, and it happened more than 100 years ago, and it happened now. We are talking about a 42 percent unemployment rate.
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC HOST: Who was talking about that?
TRUMP: -- which came out at 7.8 percent unemployment, and people can't even believe it. Our economy is going to be, next year, if we don't have somebody that raises taxes and quadruples taxes, which they want to do and kills everything, our economy is going to be phenomenal next year. We're going to have a phenomenal --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's John Defterios is live this hour from Abu Dhabi.
It's going to be John , but you know, be Trump -- going back all the way to the Spanish flu, you know, of 1918 to defend his economic response to this modern-day pandemic. Did he inflate the threat from unemployment here? Is this something that is going to those crucial swing states that he needs to win?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, all key points you are bringing up here, John. Because the has a tendency to throw it outlandish numbers to play on a narrative that he believes in. I don't know where he ever heard 42 percent was the threat of the unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a questioner suggested, 20 percent, yes, we didn't get to that level It was at 14.7 percent, and the president was correct to say it was 7.8 percent, but we are stalling now.
This is a reality of the second wave of the pandemic, with the jobless claims, just 24 hours ago, coming in at nearly 900,000.
Also, this is a two-tiered to economic recovery. And this is not going to play well in the swing states that you're talking about, John because we have Wall Street doing well after that collapse in March. The tech companies are doing well. But the lower-tiered, working class of America, the Trump base, are not doing well. And in particular, in the swing states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is the harsh reality.
Then the president says we're going to have a phenomenal 2021. Again, just yesterday, the president of the Minnesota Fed, Neel Kashkari was saying it's going to be a grinding 2021 and particularly, without a stimulus package.
Now, a president who's leading during a pandemic, he got the first stimulus package through but he can't get a consensus between the House $2.2 to $1.8 from the White House but the Republicans were at a half a trillion, John. So he's not leading in to the second wave of the pandemic and the economy is stalling as we go to the polls in November. [01:39:54]
VAUSE: So is there I guess, disconnect among voters between managing, you know, the second wave of the pandemic, which could be much worse than the first, and economic recovery?
DEFTERIOS: Yes. If you look at all of the polls, John, that is what they are saying at this stage, right. Joe Biden was being very rational and saying we have to have testing, and if you put the right testing into place, they can open businesses and the schools.
So, across every poll I've seen so far, particularly in swing states, he ranks high on health care.
The president ranks higher on mending the economy. But again, you have to ask, at what cost? Right. So $3 trillion dollar stimulus package to start, I know that we don't have one to follow up going into the election, and that's a big question mark.
We've gone to 100 percent of GDP on debt for the first time in American history. This is the first time a president is running with an unemployment rate of nearly 8 percent for reelection since World War II. So that hat does not bode well for the president.
But his narrative is, I will do whatever it takes to make the economy grow, even if it is not the reality that we're faced with Today.
And this is something that's going to be a big question mark as we go into the last two or three weeks, if the second wave picks up and particularly hits the swing states and the Rockies, by the way, in the Midwest that I'm talking about.
VAUSE: John, it's always great to have you with us. John Defterios there live in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.
DEFTERIOS: Right.
VAUSE: Well, for voters who wanted to compare and contrast these two candidates, there's some unhappiness right now. Because these dueling town halls were held at the same time, and that forced many to flip back and forth between both events. Obviously, those were the viewers who couldn't actually watch one and record the other at the same time.
But it is the NBC network which is coming under fire for scheduling the Trump town hall, at the same time as Joe Biden's.
Here is CNN's chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there. These twin town halls were a poor substitute for an actual presidential debate. However, they were still worthwhile. And some of the critics who were complaining about the format and the scheduling of these town halls, started to change their tune about halfway through. Of course, it was ABC that scheduled the town hall with Joe Biden first, and then NBC that followed up with a town hall with President Trump. They were at the same time on the East Coast in the United States. Some viewers didn't flip back and forth but I think there was more interest in the Trump town hall because he had not sat down with a journalistic interview, someone of the caliber of Savannah Guthrie ever since he came down and look for her virus two weeks ago.
Trump has been is called into Fox, calling his friends on the radio, but he had not sat down for a big, rigorous interview. So it was notable that Guthrie challenged him about his coronavirus testing history, as well as some other issues in the news, like his comments in the past about QAnon.
So it was a very newsworthy town hall at NBC, but there has still been a lot of criticism both internally and externally, about why the network decided to host a town hall with Trump at the very same time that Biden was scheduled to appear on ABC.
In some ways, this was just about a petty network TV rivalry, but the stakes are very high with just a few weeks left in this election, and millions already voting.
Over on ABC, Biden tried to appear to be above the fray, above all the Trump noise. Trump of course, is always in the fray, always making lots of news, always shocking people with lots of comments.
Biden, on the other, hand tried to play the decent statesman, suggesting to people, hey, you look over at NBC. Do you want, really want four more years of that.
It was definitely a split screen for the ages between these two networks. And later on Friday, we will hear about the ratings. We will see if Trump or Biden had higher ratings, I suspect Trump will be the higher rated program. But of course ratings are not all that matters.
What matters in puppy's town hall is was there news made that we learn more about the candidates. And most importantly were any minds change at all? Of course, this time next week, there is one more debate on the calendar. Trump, and Biden, are expected to meet for one more debate on October 22nd.
Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, the second coronavirus wave crashing across Europe, living health officials and government scrambling, and facing lots of criticism at the same time, we'll explain why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no other they can go now because they are there are no jobs for them now because they are full time rugby players.
And the only thing they can wait for is for rugby to leave zero (ph) for them to get both their contract.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The coronavirus pandemic taking a high toll on Rugby Seven. How one player though is keeping the group's spirits higher.
[01:44:27]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: About 80 percent of all European countries are now seeing a number of confirmed cases rise during the second wave. That number comes from senior infectious disease expert at the World Health Organization. Moments ago Germany announced it set another for new infections. More than 7,300 -- about 700 more than the record set the day before.
The Italian health ministry on Wednesday reported its highest daily increase in cases since the pandemic began.
The Czech Republic, once a model for how to deal with the pandemic, now home to one of the fastest-growing outbreaks. The prime minister even says the latest numbers are catastrophic.
France meantime, set a new record for cases a few days before nightly curfews in the Paris region and several other cities go into effect.
And in the U.K. London has been moved to a high alert level. That means different households can't mix indoors anymore. Greater Manchester and other city regions are slamming the government for wanting to move them to a very high alert level, in which case, pubs would have to close.
Before we go to CNN's Melissa Bell in Paris, let's hear from Salma Abdelaziz in Manchester, England.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: 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 tier in England's the new three-tier COVID alert system. This is what the mayor had to say.
ANDY BURNHAM, MAYOR, GREATER 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 off for that.
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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Here in France, a system of curfews announced by the French president in order to try and tackle the country's soaring COVID 19 figures, again tonight, another record was set in terms of the number of new cases announced for a single 24- hour period. That's something that we've seen over the course of the last week several times, records broken, And of course, that will have an incidents on the strain on ICUs.
The French president explained last night on television that the second wave threatens to be even worse than had been the first because the virus was now so spread out across France and because there were now no spare beds.
The question now of whether that will be enough, of course, poses itself from Saturday. It is also a state of emergency that France enters with restrictions possibly than if the numbers don't improve.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, before this pandemic swept across the world and Africa in particular, one of the stars of Kenya's Rugby Sevens team was hoping he would have an Olympic battle now. Instead, he is training on his own and not getting paid.
Here is CNN's David McKenzie.
[01:49:57]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Andrew Amonde likes to lead by example. After months of lockdown, the 14-year veteran and captain of Kenya Sevens rugby team is back training for his Olympic dreams.
ANDREW AMONDE, KENYA SEVENS: Sports can still go on despite having the pandemic around.
MCKENZIE: Training without his teammates or even a contract.
AMONDE: All of the contracts were canceled. And there is the dangers for free because I love the game, you know. When I play the rugby, I came and developed a love for it. And I just (INAUDIBLE) myself into it and it's something that I do with the passion.
MCKENZIE: A love of the game tested by COVID-19. Organizers grabbed the popular global Sevens tournament when the pandemic struck. Suddenly out of cash, the Kenyan rugby union says, it was left with little choice. But you stopped paying its players.
Amonde says the youngest team members were hardest hit.
AMONDE: There's no other can go now because there are no jobs for them now because they are fulltime rugby players. And the only thing they can wait for is for rugby to resume and for them to be get both their contracts.
MCKENZIE: When CNN visited the Sevens Team in 2018 they were on a high. Their success growing the fast paced Sevens game in Kenya, even competing for attention with the country's fabled runners. But the national team has struggled to win games since then.
Amonde says its time to rebuild.
AMONDE: Getting -- to get your expectation level --
MCKENZIE: His goal is to medal in Tokyo -- that's a challenge. And the Kenyans' strict lockdown-rules. Amonde still can't compete or even practice with his teammates. Hard work and sacrifice is something Amonde and the Kenyan Sevens team know all about. If fans don't call them to or heroes for nothing.
David McKenzie, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people are now facing epic new challenges. CNN travels around the globe to find out the impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Some alarming new details from the U.N. on the impact of the COVID-19 virus. The World Food Programme projects 265 million people could face what it calls acute food insecurity this year because of the pandemic. A 130 million increase compared to last year.
The virus is disrupting supply chains and economic hardship means fewer are giving to charities. That means food programs are being cut just when they're needed the most.
We have reports now from CNN correspondents in Havana, London, and Johannesburg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Eleni Giokos, in Tembisa in Johannesburg. And today we have families, children waiting for their weekly food parcel. And it basically includes staples like corn meal and the likes of oil, some (INAUDIBLE) as well sanitizer and this will last the family for a whole month but scenes like this existed before COVID-19 and before the lockdown. According to Stat South Africa (ph) Almost 7 million people in the country went hungry in 2017. And then of course, the lockdown exacerbated an already dire situation with the round 2 out of 5 adults losing their main source of income in the months of May and June this year causing a devastating impact on households with half of families running out of money for food.
[01:55:04]
GIOKOS: And of course, children were also under big pressure. The nutrition program that was feeding around 9.6 million children daily came to a standstill for a few months.
Now, we are emerging out of a lockdown. Economic activity is resuming, but assistance like this absolutely remains vital in South Africa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
I'm Patrick Oppmann in Havana. What you see here, a food line that goes on for blocks, has now become a common occurrence following the coronavirus outbreak.
Cuba is certainly no stranger to shortages or scarcities. But everywhere you look all across this island, there are lines that go on for hours sometimes just for one single item. People waiting in the hot sun for hours or more. Often, that item runs out before the line does.
The Cuban government blames increased U.S. sanctions and the fact that there have not been any tourists, hardly any tourists to Cuba for now more than six months. They say that they're going to begin to reopen the economy and that should help the economic situation here. But no one expects these lines to disappear anytime soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anna Stewart in London. The pandemic has pushed people into poverty on an unprecedented scale here in the U.K. In March, there was an 81 percent increase and people needing help from food banks like this one, according to the Truffle Trust Charity.
At the start of the lockdown, about half of those turning up for emergency food parcels had never needed help from one before. Job losses ,reduced hours and reduced pay have been detrimental, particularly to those who are already on low incomes. The number of people on welfare support called universal credit here in the U.K. has more than doubled this year. It is expected to rise further.
The government's furlough scheme has ended and the new replacement scheme is far less generous. Many fear that the U.K. could be on the brink of mass unemployment. The Truffle Trust Charity says that 670,000 additional people could be classed as destitute by the end of this year if the government does not do more to support them. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with. I will be back after a very short break.
You're watching CNN.
[01:57:24]
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