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Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine; India's and Mexico's Death Tolls Likely Underreported; More than 20 Fires Burn across California; Biden's and Trump's Divergent Views on Climate Crisis; Interview with Rep. G.K. Butterfield on Trump and the Military. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired September 08, 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]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UGUR SAHIN, CEO, BIONTECH: I consider this vaccine as a vaccine which is near perfect.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): In a CNN exclusive, the head of a German biotech company reveals we could have a COVID-19 vaccine in a matter

of weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Then India moves to reopen amid soaring coronavirus cases. We are live in New Delhi on the toll of India's colliding economic

and health crises.

And California wildfires rage, how U.S. presidential contender Joe Biden is planning on tackling the climate crisis.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Well, it's 4:00 pm in Berlin, it is 7:00 am in California, 6:00 pm right here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to our

expanded edition of CONNECT THE WORLD.

Well, the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, where are we, who do we trust, why is there such conflicting messaging and it goes on. So here's what we know.

There are currently eight vaccines in stage 3 trials, several being touted as close to approval, including in what is a CNN exclusive, BioNTech saying

its vaccine could be ready by October. It's a timeline that U.S. president Donald Trump is continuing to tease just in time for Election Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're going to have it soon. So now, what they are saying is wow, this is bad news. President Trump is getting this vaccine in record time.

By the way, if this were the Obama administration, you would not have that vaccine for 3 years. You probably wouldn't have it at all.

We are going to have a vaccine very soon. Maybe even before a very special day. You know what talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, he's backed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control which has told all 50 states to prepare for a vaccine for health care workers and

other high-risk groups in a matter of works. However, many health experts have been quick to dismiss that reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD HORTON, EDITOR, "THE LANCET": We can't cut corners. There will not be a vaccine available for public use by the end of October. President

Trump is simply wrong about that. And I have no understanding why he is saying it because his advisers will surely be telling him that that's just

impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, meanwhile, Russia claims it has already got a vaccine, although experts have been extremely skeptical about its safety or

effectiveness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Today it is obvious for our scientists that this vaccine forms stable immune

resistance. Antibodies appear in the blood, just like in the case of my daughter. And it is harmless. My daughter feels well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, I'll forgive you for feeling like a yo-yo. There is a lot of conflicting messaging here but we'll do our best to cut through it and

set the record straight for you this hour.

So first, to that leading trial in Germany. A U.S.-German pharmaceutical cooperation between Pfizer and BioNTech. Now BioNTech's CEO told my

colleague, Fred Pleitgen, that its vaccine could be ready by mid-October. Here is part of that CNN exclusive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAHIN: It has an excellent profile and I consider this vaccine as a vaccine which is near perfect, which has a near perfect profile. We have

done preclinical experiments. We have shown that this vaccine is able to protect animals from infection in really tough, challenging experiments.

And we have of course done much more testing than we have published so far. And this provides us a lot of confidence in combination with understanding

the mechanism of action in combination with the safety data coming in from the running (ph) trial. Yes, we believe that we have a safe product and we

believe that it will be able to show efficacy.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're not in any sort of rush to bring this on the market, either, right?

Because I mean, as we have said, you know, this should never be rushed because right now in politics, people are talking about the end of October

(INAUDIBLE) the American electorate.

But you guys are just focused on the science?

[10:05:00]

SAHIN: Yes, we are looking at how the development can be accelerated. So we have, for example, implemented a 24/7 research program. Really ensuring

that we don't lose any time. We're collaborating with the authorities who have us to ready our documents, including the safety data, almost in real

time, to ensure that there's no time lost.

But we will not make any shortcuts. It is extremely important that we have a full development addressing all needs of pharmaceutical development to

guarantee that we have a safe and efficient vaccine.

PLEITGEN: Would we be talking about an emergency use approval or are we talking about full approval?

SAHIN: I believe given that we have addressed the full package, which is required for vaccine development, including scientific studies, preclinical

studies, safety for the (INAUDIBLE) testing and efficacy testing, there should not be too much time between emergency use authorization and full

approval.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Right. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has told us many times there's only a slim chance for a viable vaccine before

the U.S. election.

What should we make of BioNTech's development?

Elizabeth is live for you in Atlanta.

You have heard that interview. It is a CNN exclusive.

What do you make of it, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think it's really important, Becky, that we listen to these executives' words very

closely. Pfizer, the CEO of Pfizer has said something similar in the past month or so.

When we hear there's confidence in a vaccine and we could have data before Election Day, think about the word "could." Think about the conditionalness

of this and we also couldn't.

Sometimes the executives say things for certain purposes and we don't know what the purposes are. So I always take statements that have a "could" in

it with a grain of salt and in this case, a shaker of salt because every infectious disease expert, every U.S. government employee involved in this

effort, has said to me, I don't think this is going to happen by Election Day. The chances are very, very slim.

The head of operation Warp Speed, the government effort here in the U.S. has said that. I spoke with a federal official who is familiar with

Operation Warp Speed, who says I don't know of any scientist involved in this effort. who thinks we'll have shots in arms in October.

Really, the reason is biology. When you do the trials you have to get enough of the study subjects to encounter the virus in order to test the

vaccine out and those numbers don't always happen very quickly -- Becky.

ANDERSON: I hear what you're saying. And you have rightly pointed out that Pfizer has already said that this vaccine will be -- could be approved by

October. You say you take the word "could" with a shaker of salt.

But there is an outside chance here, right?

If there wasn't, these Big Pharma and biotech companies surely wouldn't be putting their reputations on the line.

COHEN: Yes, I mean, I don't know if they're putting their reputations on the line. I don't live in the corporate world.

But when you say "this could happen" or "that could happen," I don't know if that's putting your reputation on the line. You're just saying it could

happen.

You're also saying that it might not happen and no one would blame Pfizer or BioNTech if they don't get the approval by October 30th. If they get an

approval versus October, versus November versus December, nobody would criticize them if they didn't get it by November 3rd.

ANDERSON: Let's be clear, there is big money involved in who gets these vaccines out first. I mean, these companies aren't being entirely

altruistic. Those who get involved in these trials, though, often are, they are volunteers. In the U.S., a new ad is encouraging minorities to roll up

their sleeves and participate the trials. I want to run a short clip of it, Elizabeth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): We know that someone, somewhere, is full of hope and strength and wants to take action and will take a step forward

to hug their grandkids.

[10:10:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Walking the walk and rolling up their sleeves to go back to normal sooner. Volunteer to find the COVID-19

vaccine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: It's really important to these companies that they get a diverse profile of volunteers.

Where do we stand in terms of a sort of diverse enrollment of participants at this point?

COHEN: So, Becky, it has gotten better since they started the trials in late July. The numbers were not great then and they have improved since.

But they're not still not where Dr. Anthony Fauci wants them to be, Dr. Fauci, the top infectious disease doctor here in the United States.

And this is according to the latest numbers posted by Moderna. And he wants them to be 64 percent minorities. Moderna has only 26 percent and Pfizer

has 19 percent. You can see they're not getting the percentages that Dr. Fauci wants.

The reason why he wants those numbers is because, in the United States, coronavirus has affected minorities much more so than white people -- Black

people, Latino people are more than twice as likely, for Latino people almost three times as likely -- to get it than white people.

You want to test out the vaccine in the population proportional to who is going to get the disease. You want to test a vaccine out in people who are

likely to run into the virus. If you vaccinate or, you know, enroll in your study a bunch of people who will get their shots, go home, stay at home,

maybe go out once a week to the supermarket and put a mask on, they're probably not going to get COVID-19. And you'll never know if your vaccine

worked. You want to test it out in high-risk people and in the United States that's minorities.

ANDERSON: Yes. That's fascinating. One of the Chinese vaccine trials being run here in the UAE is being run here specifically because there are some

120 nationalities here in the Emirates. So again, another reason why you'd run a trial in a place that's got a diverse population.

Elizabeth, always a pleasure. Thank you for your analysis. This is an almost daily conversation we are having but such an important one as we try

and sort of take a deep dive in exactly what is going on because there's myriad information out of there.

One of the driving factors, of course, behind the push for a COVID vaccine is to get kids physically back into schools. The scientists don't know the

real risk to the children and in schools in the United States, millions of students are starting classes totally online. Dianne Gallagher has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the first day of school for over 1.8 million students.

But for those attending 14 of the nation's 16 largest school districts opening today, classes will be held entirely online.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reported over 70,000 new cases in children over the two weeks ending August 27. That's an increase of 17

percent.

And while grade schools evaluate the safest way to begin the academic year, some college towns are already turning into coronavirus hotspots.

In upstate New York, SUNY Oneonta reported at least 651 cases since the start of the semester. And at Iowa State, at least 900 students tested

positive since August 1. At the University of New Hampshire, a cluster of cases has been linked to a fraternity party attended by more than 100

people.

BETH DALY, CHIEF, NEW HAMPSHIRE DHHS BUREAU OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL: So we're concerned about any other individuals who may have been attending

events there or visiting their friends at this location, just because we know that there have been at least 11 people who have tested positive.

GALLAGHER: That risk? Why NYU says it's suspended 20-plus students for violating the university's health and safety guidelines. This as health

experts fear celebrations and crowds over Labor Day weekend could fuel another round of dangerous spikes, as seen over Memorial Day and the Fourth

of July holidays.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, FORMER CDC OFFICIAL: We're not in a sprint. It's very, very important that we continue to have all the social distancing,

mask-wearing, avoiding large groups. We're all very concerned that the behaviors this weekend will be an accelerant and spread COVID virus even

further. Flu is on the way. That will double the danger.

GALLAGHER: President Trump once again implying a vaccine could be ready by November.

TRUMP: So, we're going to have a vaccine very soon, maybe even before a very special date. You know what date I'm talking about.

GALLAGHER: But health experts say there is no guaranteed timeline, emphasizing that delivering a safe and effective preventive is key.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, FORMER U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Really hopeful that we will have a vaccine by either year end or by early next year.

[10:15:00]

MURTHY: But the key thing about the process for getting a vaccine is that it has to be driven by science and scientists, not by political or, you

know, figures or by political timelines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Dianne Gallagher reporting for you there.

Of course, every day we see more and more COVID-19 cases.

But are even those numbers telling the whole truth?

We'll take you to India and to Mexico to look at why the numbers may be off. Those numbers may be giving India a false sense of security and that's

affecting their reopening plans. We'll take a look at the cost of those decisions. That all after this.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ANDERSON: Well, the numbers and the news paint a vivid picture of the coronavirus pandemic. But no matter how vivid, it's not the whole picture.

In the nine months since the first case of COVID-19 was reported outside of China, official numbers show that more than 27 million people have gotten

the virus around the world. Nearly 900,000 have lost their lives to it.

But the ugly reality is that the toll is likely to be much higher; case in point, India. Despite the second highest number of cases and the third

highest confirmed deaths in the world, Indian leaders are moving to reopen.

The government claims the death toll is relatively low. But medical experts say that's just not the case. Vedika Sud is following the story from New

Delhi and she joins us live.

VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Right, Becky. I think what we really need to tell our viewers, India has been easing restrictions since June of this

year and this is after the government said that the economy is being hit hard.

The second quarter saw the Indian economy shrinking by 23.9 percent, one of the most severe contractions across the world.

When you talk to medical experts, they said that the lockdown should have been implemented earlier. Some say it was at the right time. But despite

the lockdowns, the numbers have been surging ever since the unlocking down took place.

The most recent unlocking down, we have seen the metro services resume, though obviously we have seen a lot of protocols in place when it comes to

social distancing as well as other measures that have been taken into account.

We have spoken to experts and they say that when it comes to India's death toll, that that could be underreported for the simple reason that, in rural

areas as well as in some urban areas, that people who are dying before COVID-19 tests can be conducted.

[10:20:00]

SUD: Here's more on what the experts said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUD (voice-over): On Monday, India crossed an unenviable milestone, the country surpassed Brazil's COVID-19 caseload and is now second only to the

U.S. in known COVID-19 cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not taking all of the precautions. We are not maintaining the -- all of the decorums (ph) and we are not following all

the instruction given by the government. Not a good idea.

SUD (voice-over): After restrictions were released to boost India's freewheeling economy, many Indians have taken the government's guidelines

lightly. Some can be seen without masks, paying little attention to social distancing requests.

The surge in infections is also because of aggressive testing. India has tested around 50 million samples, reaching about 1 million a day. But

experts worry India's death count could be higher than where it stands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The deaths are certainly being undercounted because a lot of people who would die without getting a COVID test are not counted as

COVID deaths. So it's not clear if India has a lower mortality rate than other countries in the region .

It's certainly lower than western Europe and the United States. but India's death rate as far as the world is concerned is right up there in terms of

the average.

SUD (voice-over): Despite the surging numbers for the easing of restrictions have been announced for September. Metro services resumed

partially with strict safety protocols in place.

Later this month, gatherings of up to a hundred people for public functions will be permitted. While the government has repeatedly cited low fatality

and higher recovery rates to encourage people to head back to work, experts say the country's caseload is too high to ignore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you talk about 2 percent case fatality rates, that's still a 1:50 chance of dying for a disease for which you've tested

positive, which is an unacceptable risk for most people.

But I can understand what the government is trying to do here, which is to play the fine balance because they do have the concern that the economy

will not recover for months if they were not to provide that reassurance.

SUD (voice-over): With the highest daily infections reported from India, many here fear the worst is yet to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SUD: And the biggest concern that these medical experts have, Becky, is the fact that rural areas are now being affected by COVID-19. You had a lot

of migrant workers if you remember who walked from cities to most of their villages. And we have highlighted those stories earlier on.

Now because they have nothing left in the villages, no savings, they're coming back into cities and towns as well.

But the health ministry did speak today, they held a press conference in which they spoke about the surge in cases. And we have been hearing this

repeatedly from them. They say you need to be safe and follow the guidelines. But they're not really addressing the surge in cases.

They talk about the recovery rate, about the fatality rate being low.

But what do we do, what is the message that the government is sending out to the people when the cases go up?

Yes, it's 1.36 billion people. But then you have the rural areas suffering because of the poor health care infrastructure there. That's another point

that a lot of people have been talking about here in India, especially doctors and other experts, who have been tracking the COVID-19 surge in

India. Back to you, Becky.

ANDERSON: And Vedika, we will continue to press the Indian government for answers, of course. Thank you.

Mexico, like India, also feared to have a much greater death toll from the virus than officially reported. Public health officials there admit the

country's infection numbers just don't add up, likely due to the lack of testing.

Matt Rivers has been in touch with doctors in major hospitals and he is with us now.

Talk us through these numbers and what you have learned, Matt.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, right from the beginning, the criticism of the government's response here has been a lack of testing. It

means we don't have a great idea of what's going on with this pandemic but we know from other indicators that things are just not great here in

Mexico.

So specifically, the health ministry took a look from March 15th to August 1st of this year. And they recorded all deaths, no matter what the cause of

death was. They looked at the number and they found more than 120,000 what's called excess deaths.

That means more than 120,000 extra people died during that period than in previous nonpandemic years. We know of the 120,000 figure, more than 47,000

are officially attributed to COVID-19.

But what about the remaining 75,000 or so?

I spoke to the director at a prestigious hospital here in Mexico City and he's of the belief that, of all those excess deaths, in reality the vast

majority of those excess deaths are in fact due to this virus.

[10:25:00]

RIVERS: We know the government itself has said multiple times that the actual death toll is higher than what is officially been reported because

of that low testing.

You can have symptoms of COVID-19 and you can die as a result of those symptoms but you're never actually given a test. So these excess deaths

likely paint a far worse picture of the actual death toll here in Mexico than what is officially been reported.

ANDERSON: Yes. Let's be very clear, the public health infrastructure in Mexico, compared to that of the private health infrastructure, is woeful.

These issues are -- or can be certainly and have been -- similar in many countries across the region.

And I just want our viewers to have a listen to this reporting from our colleague, Nick Paton Walsh, when he was in Brazil recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: The official numbers in Brazil don't tell the whole picture, partly because there isn't enough

testing. You can see that here. These are those who have died from coronavirus but these graves, staggeringly, well, they're the ones they

suspect may have died of the disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Which countries are faring worse?

Perhaps more importantly at this stage, because there should be things that we have learned from those that have fared best in Latin America and why?

RIVERS: Yes. You know, I think, when you look at the countries that have done best, Becky, there's a couple things you see as a commonality there.

You see relatively low populations, you see countries that have invested before the pandemic in their public health systems and those who have taken

strong preventive measures.

The countries who didn't do that are some of the largest ones -- Brazil, Peru, Argentina. These are some of the countries with the largest

populations that have done the worst. If you want to look at a country that's done really well, look at Uruguay.

The case numbers, both in a quantitative measure and on the per capita basis, are the lowest in the region. That is because they invested in the

public health system beforehand.

The WHO director general actually said yesterday that the situation with the pandemic in Uruguay is the best in this region and that is not by

accident. It's because of the proactive measures that the government took before the pandemic really hit.

And that allowed it to respond to the pandemic, once it did hit, in a way that countries like Mexico and like Brazil, like Colombia just weren't able

to do. Those are the commonalties, Becky -- Belize, Uruguay, Paraguay, smaller countries with investment in public health care infrastructure

before things got bad.

ANDERSON: Yes. Matt Rivers on the story. Always a pleasure. Thank you.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson, live from the Middle East programming hub here in Abu Dhabi. The time is half past 6:00 here.

Coming up, one of the largest of more than 20 wildfires raging in California is still 0 percent contained. An update on rescue efforts to get

trapped hikers and campers to safety.

Plus:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're the United States of America and there's not a single thing we cannot do.

ANDERSON (voice-over): How Joe Biden plans to handle the climate crisis if elected U.S. president. Hint: it's a very different strategy from

incumbent Donald Trump's. We'll talk about that with a Biden supporter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): Plus, Lewis Hamilton goes green in the name of climate crisis. More on that ahead.

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[10:30:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Scenes of exhaustion and heroism in California. This is Danny Leach (ph) after 26 straight hours on the front lines of the wildfires in

searing 42 degree heat.

Here is fire captain Scott Byrne (ph), who leads another department, finally resting at home after 20 straight days battling the flames.

More than 20 wildfires are burning across California, fueled by record breaking heat and strong winds. One of the largest is the Creek fire, still

0 percent contained. One official calls it an unprecedented disaster.

It has trapped hundreds of campers, hikers and other vacationers. Helicopters have carried many of them to safety. Another 35 were rescued

overnight but more remain stranded. Ryan Young joins me near another wildfire that was sparked by pyrotechnics at what is known as a gender

reveal party, which quite frankly, beggars belief in a tinder box environment.

What is going on on the ground?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to believe all of the details of all the fires. At first, you started talking about the first responders who

are giving their time, effort and their bodies to fighting the fire. And look at the hours they spending, dealing with this, you understand the toll

on them.

Look at the scorched Earth behind me. You can see what's left behind here. Look, the grass was already dry. This family came out here, for this

beautiful location, to take pictures, to do the video of the gender reveal. The pyrotechnics were going to go off and have either blue smoke or pink

smoke.

But unfortunately, it sparked a fire. And that family is working with the fire department officials. They may face charges. But they tried to put the

fire out with water bottles and that did not work.

This Eldorado fire took out 8,000 acres just like that. When you talk about the Creek fire, that's one where 135,000 acres so far have been burned up.

And that 0 percent containment is something to be concerned about.

When you see the images of that fire, just how strong it is, you think about the fact that they had to use helicopters in four different locations

to rescue people, you understand the massive operation that's going on here.

One other fact I want to throw at you. Already this year, 2 million acres have burned. We haven't even hit fire season yet. So you understand with

the combination of wind and the heat, triple digit heat here, you understand how difficult it is for firefighters.

ANDERSON: Yes. Well done. You have painted a picture, which is absolutely terrifying. Thank you. Your reporting is tremendously important, as we just

continue to monitor the images.

Tomorrow I'll be joined by California's former governor Jerry Brown. He ran the state for four terms and he's got his own take on the wildfires.

Quote, "We're going to have more difficulties."

That will be on CONNECT THE WORLD tomorrow.

Well, the wildfires are part of the increasingly frequent weather extremes we are seeing not only in California but around the world, brought on by

climate change. Pre-pandemic this was a massive voter issue in the U.S. presidential campaign but it seemingly slipped to the sidelines.

Donald Trump and Republicans didn't even whisper the words "climate crisis" at their national convention last month. Democratic presidential nominee

Joe Biden, however, is pushing the issue forward. Listen to one of his campaign videos.

[10:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Science tells us that how we act or fail to act in the next 12 years will determine the very livability of our

planet. Yet, today, President Trump denies the evidence in front of his own eyes, hides climate science produced by his own administration and actively

works to roll back the progress we've already made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: I want to bring in G.K. Butterfield, a Democratic congressman in North Carolina.

Thank you. Wildfires are raging in California. This amid a raging pandemic. The question is, whether or not Joe Biden likes this or not, will climate

crisis play into voters' minds this election?

REP. G.K. BUTTERFIELD (D-NC): Well, thank you. Let me say good afternoon to you and thank you so very much for having me on today. And thank you for

covering the wildfires in California. It is absolutely an unprecedented disaster that we're facing in California.

I'm on the East Coast. But California is certainly is burning right now, 2 million acres have burned. I was looking at video this morning of Fresno.

We have 63 homes destroyed and more than 5,000 are threatened.

Our first responders on the scene, as your reporter said a moment ago, first responders, National Guard are on the scene. Helicopters are now

landing and, hopefully, we can get the fire under control.

But you know this really brings into focus why we need to face our climate issues. Not only does the U.S. need to face the climate challenges but the

world needs to put its attention on climate. It is very serious.

Joe Biden, I understand, that there's no greater challenge facing our country and our world than climate. We have a bold plan. Joe Biden and

Kamala Harris have a bold plan, a clean energy revolution to address the grave threat and so that we can lead the world in addressing the climate

emergency.

So we have a plan. We are going to defeat Donald Trump on November 3rd and we're going usher in a new generation of leadership on January 20th. We

want to achieve 100 percent clean energy and reach net zero emissions no later than 2050.

We hope it can do much earlier but no later than 2050. We want to be strong and a resilient nation. We want Europe to be resilient. We're all in this

together. The rest of the world needs to join us. Europe already leading the way and we all need to join hands and face the future with respect to

climate.

ANDERSON: Sir, a raging pandemic, causing a plummeting economy, unprecedented public attacks against the leadership of the U.S. military

Monday. I want our viewers to have a listen to Donald Trump but I just wonder how damaging this all is for Donald Trump. Let's just have a listen

at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not saying the military is in love with me. The soldiers are. The top people in the Pentagon probably aren't, because they want to do

nothing but fight wars, so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy.

But we're getting out of the endless wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Listen, sir, the Democrats are going to hope that Trump is damaged by losing veteran support.

But he did pledge to get out of these endless wars, didn't he?

BUTTERFIELD: Let me tell you, Donald Trump is absolutely embarrassing.

And I would say to the world, please forgive us, give us until January 20th to change the leadership in this country. Donald Trump has done nothing but

to embarrass the United States. He's put us in a very perilous situation.

But there will be a change. What you just played on the clip a moment ago, when he said that the military is not in love with me, that is just one of

many examples of this president holding a great disdain and a great resentment for our military. He expresses it.

But let me tell you, January 20th, we will have Joe Biden. We will have Kamala Harris. We will embrace the military. We will embrace climate

change. And I assure you that we will have the greatest respect for our men and women in uniform and our military establishment.

ANDERSON: Let me just pressure you though because, you know, there will be people watching this who say, what is embarrassing about wanting to get out

of, quote, "endless wars," sir?

BUTTERFIELD: Well, let me tell you, there are wars that needed to be fought and wars that don't need to be fought and Donald Trump does not know

the difference. He will engage in any type of battle or dispute that he thinks will serve his best interest. But Joe Biden has been around a long

time.

[10:40:00]

BUTTERFIELD: He understands when Americans are threatened and he'll certainly include a military presence, if it is required. But we need to

use military force as the last resort in every conflict of the world.

Joe Biden knows the difference. He's served in the Senate for many years, he knows when American interests are threatened and when they're not.

ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave threat, sir. Thank you for joining us.

BUTTERFIELD: Thank you.

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, Lewis Hamilton going green to promote protecting the environment.

Can the Formula 1 star he influence the world beyond sport?

More on that after this.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, you're looking at fireworks in Abu Dhabi last year after Lewis Hamilton's win at the Formula 1 season finale. We here

were trackside for what was and always is an incredible show.

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ANDERSON: This year's event is an entirely different affair with COVID restrictions in place. Don Riddell is in the House.

Mr. Hamilton who has a voice and, boy, is he using it this year.

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For sure, Becky. He's by far and away the biggest star in Formula 1. Six-time world champion. He has transcended his

sport, I think it's fair to say, a very, very big advocate for social justice issues and he has been particularly outspoken this year.

And now he's going green. He says he's going to be entering a team into the extreme E racing series, which is a climate aware series. They have races

in Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Greenland and Brazil and he says he's combining his love of racing with his love of our planet. And he says that

every single one of us has the power to make a difference.

ANDERSON: Good for him. More on that coming up. "WORLD SPORT" is after this break. See you on the other side.

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