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U.S. Coronavirus Makes a Comeback, over 2 Million Cases; Calls for Policing Reform Show Signs of Progress; Milley Apologizes for Appearing in Trump Photo; Earlier Lockdown in U.K. Could Have Cut Deaths in Half; "Cops" TV Program Canceled; Early Lockdown, Lifestyle May Have Prevented Surge in Africa; WarnerMedia CFO on Cultural Changes, Race Relations; Obstacles to Black Business Owners. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 11, 2020 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST (voice-over): Coming up this hour, coronavirus makes a comeback as the U.S. counts more than 2 million cases. The world is
forced to turn its attention back to when, how or even if they should begin lifting lockdowns.
Then this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voice-over): More anger on the streets, more controversial symbols and statues removed. I'll speak to Martin Luther King III about what is
next in this global fight against racism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voice-over): And Donald Trump digging in his heels over Confederate names. Where the U.S. president stands on the reforms
protesters are demanding.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: Well, with states across America deciding to ease social distancing measures, the country has surpassed now 2 million confirmed
coronavirus cases. New hot spots are emerging. Hospitalizations are up in some states.
And with no vaccine in sight, one Harvard doctor predicts the U.S. death toll will nearly double by September. surpassing 200,000. That's even
higher than what some other models are predicting. Dr. Ashish Jha spoke with CNN a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ASHISH JHA, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: I'm being, you know, very conservative about this. I'm -- because, obviously, if we see increases in
cases and hospitalizations, which we are seeing in 21 states -- or 20 states we are seeing increases in cases, nine we're seeing hospitalizations
-- if those trends continue then I'm being too optimistic that it will come sooner than that.
But I'm hopeful that we can get our act together and at least put back some of the social distancing stuff that we have let go. Nobody wants a
lockdown. And that's not what I'm suggesting we need at all. But we do need to take this virus seriously. It is not done. We are not done with this
pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It's not gone in the U.S., it's not gone in many other countries. CNN's Nick Watt has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This morning, Miami's beaches reopened. In New Jersey up to 100 people can now gather outdoors.
And this weekend, NASCAR will allow some fans back in the stands. Nationally, our daily new case count is falling but is there devil in the
detail.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: If you're going to get into trouble, you'll see it in the numbers. You'll see them starting to increase. And as
we sit here today, states are getting into trouble.
WATT (voice-over): Hospitalizations are often at least a dozen states since Memorial Day. And in 19 states, the average daily new case count is
rising, as is concerned that this coronavirus is making a comeback.
JHA: And it worries me because there's no obvious way to stop it without shutting down or without really aggressively increasing our testing
capacity.
WATT (voice-over): Arizona's average daily case count has doubled in just the past 10 days. Hospitals across the state now being told if they haven't
already, to fully activate your facility emergency plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is prudent to start looking at the surge capacity, because unless there's an intervention that comes in the next few days, I
think we're on a railroad to over capacity in early July.
WATT (voice-over): In North Carolina, there are now more people in the hospital with COVID-19 than at any time since this pandemic began
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You still need to wash your hands as often as you possibly can
and avoid congregation in large numbers.
WATT (voice-over): The D.C. National Guard deployed to quell protests sparked by George Floyd's killing says some members have since tested
positive.
FAUCI: The report of the National Guardsmen being infected is certainly disturbing, but it's not surprising. It's the kind of things that we were
concerned about. And unfortunately, we're seeing it come true right now.
WATT: Arkansas is right now basically a microcosm of what problems the U.S. will face moving forward. Hospitalizations are spiking but
unemployment is also running at over 10 percent, so they are pushing ahead with the reopening. The governor summed it today. Americans are back on the
move and they can't be restrained but we're not out of the woods, he said. We are still in the heart of the woods.
[10:05:00]
WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me right now.
We are seeing many states in the U.S. seeing spikes in numbers.
Have they started opening up too soon?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly some people think that's the case, that they opened up too soon and we're seeing
spikes. Look, when you open up and then, two, three, four weeks later, you see spikes in cases and hospitalizations and spikes in deaths, that kind of
gives you the answer.
The question is are we OK with that?
Some states are basically saying, you know what?
This is what happened, we think opening up is important for all of the X, Y, Z reasons. We are going to continue. Although they might not put it that
way, implicitly, that's what they're saying when they continue with their efforts to open up.
GORANI: Yes.
What about the rest of the world, in Latin America, Russia, Brazil in particular?
You're really seeing the number of cases climbing there.
COHEN: Right. You certainly are. So when you look at Latin America, you're seeing the number of cases climbing. Brazil accounts for about half of that
increase. There are about half of these new cases.
But certainly, Peru, Colombia, those countries are also seeing increases. This is now considered, you know, we started off with China being the hot
spot and then Italy was the hot spot, New York City was the hot spot. And now many of the hot spots in the world are in Latin America.
GORANI: Yes. And so there seems to be some confusion -- or at least different opinions about what distance we should keep between people who
don't live in the same households. Here in the U.K., it's two meters. It's virtually impossible to respect two meters if you're indoors. Other
countries say one meter is enough.
What is the consensus?
COHEN: Unfortunately, as you said, there's no consensus. Different countries have decided different things, one meter versus two meters. Here
in the U.S., they say six feet. I will say when I'm out and about -- and I'm not out and about as much as other people are-- you can do six feet. It
is possible when you go grocery shopping.
If you want to get that gallon of milk that's on the shelf and someone else is at the shelf, you sit and wait until that person walks away. Obviously
in all situations it's not as easy as I described. But unfortunately there's just not a consensus about one versus two meters. But I think it's
safe to say, the farther away the better.
GORANI: In some supermarkets in London, for instance, the aisles are so small it's virtually impossible. You just have to pass people. I guess you
need to get your groceries. So I guess wearing a mask is one of the options to feel a bit safer. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.
Let's talk now about the latest on the death of George Floyd. One of three former Minneapolis police officers who was on the scene, as another officer
pinned Floyd under his knee, is out on bail. Thomas Lane is charged with aiding and abetting second degree murder. He was released on $750,000 bond.
Lane will be monitored while he's out.
There are also more protests going on. Demonstrators in Richmond, Virginia, toppled this statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate
States during the U.S. Civil War.
Crowds in Portland, Oregon, gathered Wednesday night outside the city's justice center. You can see the words, "I can't breathe," uttered by George
Floyd in his dying moments, on a building there.
President Donald Trump heads to Dallas, Texas, today for a roundtable discussion about justice disparities that could include police reform. But
the U.S. Congress is not waiting for the president of the United States, who has vilified these protesters on his Twitter page, it has to be said,
to act, as Boris Sanchez now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?
PROTESTERS: Justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When do we want it?
PROTESTERS: Now.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While protesters march on, amplifying their voices within American cities to demand changes in policing --
PROTESTERS: George Floyd.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): -- discussions are underway inside the White House on a possible executive order addressing police reform.
But it's unclear just what kind of action President Trump may take. He's stayed silent on the issue, other than repeatedly claiming --
TRUMP: I am your president of law and order.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): The White House press secretary says Trump's possible plan is reaching its final editing stage.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON: The president has spent the last 10 days quietly and diligently working on proposals to address the
issues that the protesters have raised across the country.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): But lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not waiting for the president. They're already debating sweeping police reform legislation.
[10:10:00]
SANCHEZ (voice-over): This week, congressional Democrats introducing the Justice in Policing Act, looking to ban tactics like chokeholds, end no-
knock warrants in drug cases and create a national registry for tracking police misconduct.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE (D-TX): It baffles me that the president of the United States and his staff can't take a deep dive into this legislation
and realize that America just cannot continue on the pathway that it is.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): House Republicans pledging to work with Democrats on some of the issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is not a legitimate defense of chokeholds or lynching or bad cops that get shuttled around and you will be able to count
on Republican cooperation.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Senate Republicans also crafting their own police reform bill expected to be released by Friday. It's led by the only black
GOP senator, Tim Scott, who says this about whether they will earn Trump's support.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): If history is a teacher, the president has been receptive for the last three years on the priorities that I have brought to
him.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Meantime, Philonise Floyd asking Congress to serve justice for his brother, George.
PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE'S BROTHER: I'm here to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): The emotional testimony before the House Judiciary Committee just one day after the funeral of the man killed while in custody
of the Minneapolis police.
FLOYD: George wasn't hurting anyone that day. He didn't deserve to die over $20.
I'm asking you, is that what a black man is worth, $20?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: That family has been through so much. Boris Sanchez reporting there.
All week we have been talking about how the death of George Floyd seems different from previous cases of black people dying at the hands of police.
It has sparked a true sense of reckoning in the United States and outside the United States as well. And the outrage over systemic racism and police
brutality has gone global truly.
Here to talk more about the pivotal moment in history is Martin Luther King III, son of civil rights icon, Martin Luther King Jr.
Thank you for being with us.
Do you think this moment is as important as potentially the civil rights movement?
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, SON OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I would have to say that when we talk about the overall civil rights movement, this is
certainly another milestone moment in the history of our nation and really our world because this is the first time that the world has paid attention
to this issue in a global way.
And it was sparked and --
(CROSSTALK)
KING: -- by the death of George Floyd.
GORANI: And why do you think this moment is different from previous protest movements?
We saw it in Ferguson and other parts of the United States after instances of police brutality against black people. Why now is this -- has this
sparked so much anger that has been long lasting over many weeks?
KING: I think that we saw -- yet, when you talk about Ferguson, you hear in the United States -- and certainly over the last 90 days we have seen
three very tragic deaths that took place in -- that have taken place.
And one was Mr. Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, here in Georgia. One was --
(AUDIO GAP)
KING: -- one was Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. And yet, with Mr. Floyd's death, we saw for 8 minutes and 26 seconds an officer having his
knee on the neck of that person. And I think the world, if our eyes were closed, they were all of a sudden opened because of this moment, to see how
inhumane a public servant was and how he tragically --
(CROSSTALK)
KING: -- it would -- I mean, we have never seen anything like -- we have seen incidents and all of the incidents are beyond terrible.
But that one incident related to everyone, mothers all over the world. This man was calling for his mother, who had been deceased or passed for the
last 18 months. So I think that's, you know what catalyzed and caused everyone to be engaged, to want to be engaged.
GORANI: But as you said, if you didn't have your eyes open before they were wide open, they were opened for you when you watched that video,
almost nine minutes of a man kneeling on the neck of George Floyd until he passed away.
You have spoken about how you believe your father, Martin Luther King Jr., first, you said that, had he lived, we wouldn't be where we are today.
But if he were alive today, what do you believe his reaction would be to this particular movement?
[10:15:00]
KING: Oh, his reaction to the movement would be, he would embrace wholeheartedly and perhaps have been in the forefront of this movement,
certainly working with others.
This is not an effort where one person is the person who actually just totally leads. It's a coalition effort. I think that, you know, he always
said that violence or riots are the language of the unheard, which -- but he also never condoned violence.
So my point is, he understood what and where some who were engaged in violence were. But the higher point I think is that the overwhelming
majority of demonstrators and protests were peaceful.
And of course, certainly over the last -- over the last weekend, they have been very peaceful. I think he'd be very proud that so many Americans and
people around the world have come together and acknowledged that this issue has to breeze (ph) off and enough is enough, that people are saying, Black
Lives Matter all over the world.
The time is now and change has got to come in a very responsible period of time. And I think it would. I think it will.
GORANI: And it's interesting that it's a global movement. We have been talking -- we're on CNN International, we're seen all over the world and we
have had so much reaction from minority communities in the U.K., in France, in other parts of the world.
They have been inspired by African Americans and their movement following the death of George Floyd.
And I wonder -- I mean, why do you think that is?
Why this movement?
Why has this inspired a global movement?
I know you mentioned the video; that's one thing. We all saw it with our own eyes. But there's something about this moment that led to a wave of
anger and frustration everywhere in the world.
KING: Well, I think that, again, I don't believe that the world has been focused. For whatever reason, at this particular moment, the world saw this
incident and saw the inhumanity, saw a human being operating at beyond the lowest level that you could get and saw it graphically, a white man
standing on the neck of a black man.
And all of those emotions came together to say, you know what?
Wherever there's injustice -- my dad used to say injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And so I think people have now realized that
at this particular moment.
Maybe they kind of thought about it in the past but this moment brought it all together. And this moment calls for significant action by the United
States Congress, by the president and by (INAUDIBLE)
GORANI: You're very much in demand and I understand why. Let me ask you one quick last one about the president, because here you have a president
who is questioning the motives of the protesters. He's even gone further, calling them domestic terrorists and the radical Left.
How do you react to that?
This is the president of all of the United States, saying of these protesters that they're not legitimate, that they're violent and that, in
some cases, might be terrorists.
KING: It's pretty obvious that he does not realize that he's the president of all. He has chosen to be the president of a select few. And I would say
there's a greater number of people but that's the -- not the majority of people in our country.
The majority of people, I believe, want to see different leadership, want to see a coalition, want to see a president that brings people together. He
seems not to know how to do anything but divide because he believes that causes him to win.
But I have to hope and pray that some way, at some point, something can be appealed to him. It doesn't appear that that's going to happen but we have
to keep trying.
And if we're not successful in getting him to change, I think that there's an effort being -- by mobilization, by organizations, by people registering
to vote. And I think that people are going to vote like never before in the upcoming election.
And perhaps there will be a change at the presidential level because the president has not demonstrated a capacity to change, to bring people
together.
GORANI: Martin Luther King III, thank you so much for joining us on CNN International. We really appreciate it.
KING: Thank you.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: And the -- this breaking news. The top general in the U.S. is apologizing for appearing with President Trump, and you'll remember this,
photo-op last week.
[10:20:00]
GORANI: Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was wearing combat fatigues when they walked outside of the White House. The
protesters had been forcefully removed with tear gas, you'll remember, to clear the way for the president.
Before the appearance, Milley says he's outraged by the killing of George Floyd and that the protests speak to centuries of injustice toward African
Americans.
A rather significant statement by a man who's the top general in the United States, very publicly distancing himself from Donald Trump and that
particular photo opportunity, you'll remember, appearing in front of a boarded up church, brandishing a Bible.
Still ahead, Boris Johnson is defending the timing of U.K.'s coronavirus lockdown after top scientists said half of the lives lost -- half -- could
have been prevented in this country. The latest from London is coming up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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GORANI: Well, Europe is trying to move forward when it comes to all of these COVID lockdowns. The E.U. has announced guidelines for the gradual
reopening of the external borders next month. Those borders have been closed since the outbreak began in March.
European countries will be asked to draw up a list of non-E.U. nations which can have their travel restrictions lifted then reviewed regularly.
That decision comes as the global number of cases has risen to nearly 7.4 million. More than 417,000 people have died. Those numbers are according to
Johns Hopkins University.
Here in the U.K., COVID-19 deaths have passed 50,000. That's a staggering number when you consider the size of the population. But the country's top
epidemiologist said it could have been halved if the government had imposed the lockdown just one week earlier. Britain's prime minister, though, is
saying it was based on scientific advice. CNN's Scott McLean is joining me from London.
GORANI: 50,000 is half the U.S. total and one-fifth of the U.S. population. And the U.K. had many weeks to prepare for this pandemic. It
had hit other countries in Europe several weeks before it arrived in the U.K.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You're right. And the U.K. government has taken a lot of incoming heat, a lot of criticism, for the
handling of the coronavirus outbreak. It is hard not to see why.
You mentioned the United States. It has, you know, more cases per million than that country. Its death toll, the U.K.'s, is on par with Sweden. They
haven't had a lockdown at all. They haven't closed schools en masse. The U.K. did issue a nationwide stay-at-home order in late March but that was
more than a week after Spain did.
[10:25:00]
MCLEAN: And more than two weeks after Italy did the same. The U.K. has surpassed both of the countries in terms of the death toll.
Yesterday, a leading epidemiologist, named Neil Ferguson, a told parliamentary committee that the death toll could have been halved if that
lockdown were to be moved up even by one week. Here's how the British prime minister responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: We made the decisions at the time on the guidance of sage (ph), including Professor Ferguson who we thought were
right for this country. I think that the questions that are posed are still unanswered and there's a lot of data that we still, frankly, do not have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Ferguson no longer advises this government. It was reported that he himself had actually broken the lockdown and was forced to resign.
Perhaps what he said to Parliament, though, shouldn't come as that big of a surprise because almost three weeks before the lockdown went into effect,
the government's scientific advisory board had written that -- sorry, household isolation and social distancing could reduce the death toll
compared to the worst case scenario by one-third.
What the paper did not outline though is when those should be implemented. We've got news, in the last 24 hours, 151 more COVID-19 deaths were
reported in this country. The government though seems quite keen on getting the economy reopening. Stores and shops that are nonessential will start to
reopen. Houses of worship will be able to reopen for individual prayer, not mass gatherings.
A government source has also told CNN that the business secretary and the chancellor are keen on having the two-meter social distancing rule scrapped
altogether.
The prime minister seemed to indicate he would like to see the number of new cases start to drop off a little bit more before he considered it,
advocating for a cautious approach. What might end up happening is that the U.K. can go down to the one meter distance, which is the WHO guideline.
That can get commerce back up and running.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much. Scott McLean for that.
Later, as African countries start to drop strict lockdowns, new modeling suggests a slow, quote, "smoldering" coronavirus outbreak could be ahead
for the continent.
Also, we'll hear from the Minneapolis police chief and why he's going all in for reforms. We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GORANI: A demand for change in policing is sweeping across the United States after the killing of George Floyd. Protesters in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he died, have been squaring with police, demanding accountability, restructuring and the defunding of police departments and
also just a change in methods as well.
The police chief there says he's already working towards those reforms. CNN's Sara Sidner spoke with him to learn why he will be making changes and
what those will be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIEF MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: History is being written now. And I'm determined to make sure that we are on the right side
of history.
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo laying out a plan for his tarnished police
department to move forward following the death of George Floyd at the hands of now four former Minneapolis officers.
ARRADONDO: People are tired. They want action.
SIDNER: Without ever mentioning the four officers involved by name, the chief revealing two key measures of his plan to change the department.
One, the immediate withdrawal of contract negotiations with the Minneapolis police union until a thorough review of how the contract can be
restructured to provide more community transparency and flexibility for reform.
And the other, to implement the use of an early warning system to identify misconduct.
ARRADONDO: If police unions and certainly mine here in Minneapolis, if they do not evolve, if they are not listening to the voices that are
screaming out, if they are not listening, they are ultimately contributing to the harm.
SIDNER (voice-over): But the chief acknowledged, none of this will happen overnight. Arradondo's plan has the backing of the city's mayor.
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D-MN), MINNEAPOLIS: We don't just need a new contract with the police. We need a new compact with the police, one that centers
around compassion and accountability.
SIDNER (voice-over): Last month, I asked the chief what he thought of the three other officers, who didn't stop Derek Chauvin from pressing his knee
down on Floyd's neck.
ARRADONDO: Being silent or not intervening, to me, you're complicit. So I don't see a level of distinction any different.
SIDNER (voice-over): Today, he was asked if he stood by that belief.
ARRADONDO: I don't put policies out to say that you should only react or respond if you're a two-year member or a five-year member or a 10-year
member. And if policies or subculture get in the way, then I expect and I demand one's humanity to rise above that.
SIDNER (voice-over): Tonight we're learning Chauvin was in talks to plead guilty before his arrest, which the state attorney general denied last
week.
KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I really don't have any idea of what the negotiations or anything like that. It's simply way too early to
begin that conversation. At this point, we are preparing to try this case.
SIDNER (voice-over): Chief Arradondo recently met with the Floyd family. He shared what that moment was like.
SIDNER: Did they respond to you?
How did they receive your apology?
ARRADONDO: With grace and the love that they showed, they hugged me. And we hugged and so that will also lead my reform work, my transformational
cultural change work. The Floyd family will lead me forward in the days and weeks ahead for this important work.
SIDNER (voice-over): Back in Minneapolis, the chief is calling on the public to help police the police.
ARRADONDO: Record. Call. Call a friend. Yell out. Call 9-1-1, we need a supervisor to the scene, absolutely. I need to know that. We need to know
that. So the community plays a vital role and did two weeks ago, absolutely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right, Sara Sidner reporting.
Now as soon as today we could hear from U.S. president Donald Trump about which type of police reform measures he'll endorse. He could back one of
the proposals on Capitol Hill or use executive action.
But as we have been reporting, he has been accusing protesters in some cases of being domestic terrorists. He's accused them of being part of the
radical Left. He accused the 75-year-old man who was shoved by police in Buffalo as being Antifa. So there are low expectations as to how much
meaningful reform the president will endorse.
Something quite significant today, the top U.S. General, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. apologized for appearing in
a photo-op with the U.S. president last week in front of a church. You'll remember that the president walked to that church.
[10:35:00]
GORANI: And police cleared with tear gas some of the protesters outside of the White House to allow the president, his daughter and other members of
the administration to walk toward the church.
General Mark Milley said that this was inappropriate, that it gave the impression that the military was associating itself with domestic politics.
Abby Phillip joins me now live from Washington with more details on the very public apology -- Abby.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is extraordinary and it's one of several of these kinds of apologies that have been coming
from top military officials.
The Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, similarly tried to explain his presence at this photo-op. And it is also in the context of a lot of former military
officials, seeing the photo-op and seeing the president use and threaten the use of the military to quell protesters as a red line, that he's tried
to -- they believe that the president has tried to drag the military into domestic disputes, pitting them against fellow Americans, who they are
sworn to protect.
And this is an enormous amount of pressure that the president's military leaders are facing right now to explain that, to walk back those decisions
and to essentially say, not just to rank and file but to their fellow officers, that they are going to stand up for this principle and tradition
of the American military, being independent from political forces.
They swear an oath to the Constitution, not to the president of the United States. And that has been very difficult to disentangle in a Trump
administration.
As you know, President Trump likes to ensure that the people who work for him are loyal to him. But that is not a role that the military is
comfortable playing. And this extraordinary apology for that is just another sign that they have been forced to assert their independence from
the political system in a certain way that they -- I have never seen something like this happen in modern political times.
And I think it is a sign of how distraught I think a lot of people in the military world have been over the last couple of weeks, watching what is
going on.
GORANI: And Milley also said the protests that have ensued following the death of George Floyd not only speak to his killing but also to the
centuries of injustice towards African Americans. This is not something we have heard from the president at all.
But if he says it was a mistake, why did he do it in the first place?
I mean, are some people who accompanied the president saying now that they didn't know this was a photo opportunity?
How did they justify accompanying him?
PHILLIP: We initially saw Mark Esper basically saying just that, that he wasn't entirely sure that this was going to become a photo op. He thought
he was going to be inspecting a facility on the edge of Lafayette Park that had been damaged by the protests.
Then he walked that back, saying that it was a mistake for him to do it. So there's been a lot of confusion about how this even ended up happening. And
military leaders had been at the White House for a meeting prior to the president's remarks. And some of them seemed to be suggesting that perhaps
they just walked over, not being aware that they would actually be physically in the photo-op.
And White House officials have acknowledged that they didn't really think through what the president would do once he actually got to the church. So
I can't say with certainty how they ended up doing this without thinking it through.
But it's clear that this was not actually very well thought through by a lot of people around the president. And it became almost a caravan of
officials, just following him through the park, in front of the church.
And then the president, as he was standing there, gesturing to his aides and to military officials to come into the photograph, a lot of it seemed
off the cuff. But it really highlights the degree to which a lot of these officials have never had to contemplate scenarios like this before.
And they're having to do it for first time because prior presidents have never attempted to pull the military into politics in this way. So it's
just another norm that President Trump is -- seems to be breaking. And military officials are realizing they have to be more assertive in
asserting their independence.
GORANI: All right, Abby Phillip, thanks very much.
Despite Mr. Trump's staunch stance, a cultural shift appears to be starting, not just in politics and policing but also in entertainment.
Brian Todd has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your hand where I can see it.
[10:40:00]
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than three decades, the show "Cops" was lauded as a real life, unfiltered, intimate look at the
daily lives of law enforcement officers.
Tonight, "Cops" has been unceremoniously dumped from the cable TV universe, canceled by the Paramount Network which says it has no plans for the show
to return.
Worldwide protests after the police killing of George Floyd have drawn new scrutiny on shows like "Cops" and the similar popular A&E show, "Live PD,"
which has been postponed.
A "Live PD" crew was filming when Javier Ambler, an African American man died in police custody last year in Austin, Texas.
In newly released police bodycam video, we can be seen yelling, "I can't breathe," a plea also made by George Floyd.
A critic who's investigated the show "Cops" says the program often led off with crimes committed by African Americans at a disproportionate rate. And
that they shows generally offered a distorted picture of police as the good guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those shows are built to scare people and to make people believe that the only thing between them and the violence they're
seeing on that show is the "Thin Blue Line."
TODD (voice-over): Police reality shows are not the only showbiz icons under the microscope after George Floyd's killing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GONE WITH THE WIND")
HATTIE MCDANIEL, ACTOR, "MAMMY": You've been brave so long, Miss Scarlett. You just got to go on being brave.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "GONE WITH THE WIND")
TODD (voice-over): HBO Max owned by the same company as CNN has removed the classic film "Gone with the Wind" from its catalog. The 1939 movie
which romanticizes the South during the Civil War will be brought back, HBO says, but will include a discussion of its historical context and a
denunciation of racism.
NISCHELLE TURNER, HOST, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT": Yes, indeed, it does glorify the antebellum south and yes, that it does whitewashed slavery. So
I think the movie does have its place in history. But it definitely is a problematic movie in a lot of ways. And I think having a conversation about
that is appropriate.
TODD (voice-over): Audiences are also seeking out films and shows about the black experience and racial justice. Movies like "Just Mercy" and "The
Hate U Give," documentaries like "13th." TV shows like "Blackish." And of the top five best-selling books on Amazon, four of them are about race,
including titles like "White Fragility" and "How to Be an Antiracist."
STEVEN THRASHER, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: This is a real big cultural shift. All of these very powerful players throughout the society from
Hollywood to City Hall are now responding to the protesters after just a couple of weeks of action and they're able to do what electoral politics
has largely failed to do.
TODD: The cultural shift has made its way to the racetrack. Following pleas by Bubba Wallace, NASCAR has announced it is banning fans from
bringing Confederate flags to races.
As for those cop reality shows, some critics have called for them to be completely purged from TV. But analysts say that's unlikely. They say
several cable networks have committed their lineups to true crime shows and reruns of the show, "Cops," can still be seen on some cable stations --
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Coming up, after sounding the alarm in Africa, new modeling is suggesting that the coronavirus might spread slowly and not surge across
the continent. We'll take a look at that after the break.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
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GORANI: The World Health Organization is warning that the number of coronavirus cases in Africa has doubled in less than 20 days and that it's
clear that the pandemic there is accelerating.
But new modeling suggests age and lifestyle factors might keep the virus from surging in the same way that it has in other parts of the world. CNN's
David McKenzie has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As lockdowns across Africa began, health officials sounded the alarm. Frightening, severe,
catastrophic -- words used to describe the continent's prospects in the pandemic fight. But that was then.
DR. HUMPHREY KARAMAGI, WHO TEAM LEADER: The countries in the African region are not where they have predicted that they would be by now. I think a lot
of earlier predictions had painted a picture of, by this time, it would be quite overwhelming.
MCKENZIE: A group of leading African scientists had predicted a very different outcome. Even in the worst case scenario, they're modeling
suggests a smoldering outbreak in Africa, where many countries could avoid a deadly surge.
KARAMAGI: The deaths or the severity of the outbreak would be less severe than we've seen in other countries.
MCKENZIE: A key to their modeling work, including the socioecological factors that impact COVID-19 spread. Like weather, population movement,
urbanization.
Two factors stand out -- the relative youth of sub-Saharan Africa, 70 percent of people are under 30; and the lower overburden of so-called
diseases of lifestyle like diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Both they believe could lessen the severity of the disease.
But even if countries avoid a surge, they believe that any spikes could overwhelm weaker health systems.
KARAMAGI: Those are less severe outcomes that need to be balanced against the capacity of the system to respond to those outcomes.
DR. JOHN NKENGASONG, DIRECTOR, AFRICA CDC: Our curve is increasing and increasing quickly. So I think the virus is seeding (ph) itself into the
communities and getting momentum.
MCKENZIE: And despite the new predictions, the head of the Africa CDC says it's far too early to be complacent. He says just five countries on the
continent represent more than half the confirmed cases, and overall testing is still woefully inadequate.
[10:50:00]
NKENGASONG: I have characterized it as a delayed pandemic, and now we have to intensify our efforts be bold and aggressive in and putting in place
probably health measure.
MCKENZIE: Health measures like the army of health workers in South Africa, tracing and testing for COVID.
Here and like in many African countries, the cases are rising quickly. And the modeling of COVID-19's future spread will soon be tested -- David
McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: We'll be right back after a break.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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GORANI: Well, there are very important conversations happening in the corporate world in our own parent company. The CFO of WarnerMedia said it's
time to hire more black creatives, to ensure black voices are heard and amplified properly.
Pascal Desroches was speaking after WarnerMedia decided to temporarily pull "Gone with the Wind" from its streaming service, HBO Max, over long-running
over concerns about its racist depiction of some characters. Desroches says, while we can't change the past, the future begins today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASCAL DESROCHES, WARNERMEDIA CFO: "Gone with the Wind" is but one example of a -- of a film that portrays blacks in an unrealistic and unflattering
light. There's not much we can do to change the past. What I think as a company our obligation is to do is to tell stories in a much more epic way
about the black experience.
And how do we do that?
I think it's important that we hire black creatives that actually can tell the story in a very authentic way and make sure that blacks are being
portrayed much more realistically than they have historically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the movie will return eventually, along with, quote, "a discussion of the historical context," unquote.
Black entrepreneurs in the U.S. say they're being held back by a combination of systemic discrimination, racial bias and a lack of access to
funding. Clare Sebastian spoke with several black business owners about the challenges they say they're facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In 2016, an e- commerce startup set out to fill a gap in the market, delivering hard to
find African and Caribbean groceries to immigrant communities, a need close to the hearts of the two Nigerian-American founders.
BOYEDE SOBITAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, OJAEXPRESS: I think the most serious thing about retail was an investor we spoke with that took a meeting with
us asked us if immigrants even have money. That was -- that happened -- from my perspective, that meeting the over. They didn't believe in the
market.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): It would be another four years and around $200,000.00 of their own Boyede Sobitan and Fola Dada two were accepted
into several accelerated programs and gained some seed funding. They are now planning to expand beyond their hometown of Chicago.
Between 2013 and 2017, only one percent of venture-backed founders in the U.S. were black according to a study by ratemyinvestor.com. It is a
struggle Diana Vertus knows too well.
She started her Boutique Events business in 2010 with just $2,500.
[10:55:00]
DIANA VERTUS, FOUNDER, CURATION AGENCY: I was extremely discouraged by one investor. I was told that I should be should have a Caucasian person be the
face of the company and I should be the background, and that was like a way for me to get more funding. From that point on, I did not move forward with
asking for funding.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Before COVID-19 hit, she had hired a small team and was making six figures in annual revenue. In the wake of the nationwide
protests that followed the killing of George Floyd, there has been a wave of support for black entrepreneurs.
SoftBank has launched a new $100 million opportunity fund intended only for people of color. And Jason Horowitz announcing a $2.2 million fund for
underserved founders.
MELISSA BRADLEY, MANAGING PARTNER, 1863 PARTNERS: I am deeply concerned about the amount of money that is pouring into our community that is
probably going to be controlled by the people who write the check, who don't understand our reality, who don't experience the racism and
challenges we have and the desired outcomes will be unrealistic.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Melissa Bradley who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations has spent several decades funding and mentoring black and
minority business. She says this is about much more than just investor prejudice.
According to 2014 data from the Federal Reserve, 47 percent of black-owned businesses who applied for credit were fully funded, compared to 75 percent
of white-owned.
BRADLEY: The inputs for those credit loans require a set of assets that oftentimes declined to black Americans, and so you obviously get different
ratings if you rent versus if you own.
You obviously get different ratings if you have student loan debt versus no student loan debt and those are inputs that are to no fault of our own, but
literally because of lack of access, lack of scholarship, bias and applications. But yet, we are penalized for the rest of our lives.
SEBASTIAN: Do you think this might be a moment where things change?
VERTUS: I am optimistic that things will change, but I don't want it to be a one-time marketing campaign with these companies.
SOBITAN: We are not looking for a handout. We are not looking for charity. We are looking for the same type of access you would give a white founder
who came from Harvard.
SEBASTIAN (voice over): Clare Sebastian, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. Much more ahead in the next hour. I'll see you on the other side of the break. I'll be speaking to spoken word artist George the
Poet. He has a podcast that's fascinating. In fact, it just won a Peabody Award and I'll speak to him about the global nature of the Black Lives
Matter movement, after a quick break. Stay with us.
[11:00:00]
END
