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President Trump, Still Infected, Returns to the White House; Biden Leads Trump by 16 Percent Nationwide; COVID-19 Pandemic Worldwide; Hunger in the Time of COVID-19. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 06, 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]
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He writes this tweet, says you don't have to fear COVID. We have to fear COVID-19; it is a
contagious, deadly disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this macho thing, I'm not going to wear a mask?
Big deal.
Does it hurt you?
Be patriotic, for God's sake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden at 57 percent. It's a 16-point lead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): This hour, some 800 million people around the world infected. This isn't a forecast, this isn't a drill, it's
right here, right now. The WHO declaring one in 10 of us has caught the pathogen.
And perhaps the most famous patient of all, the American president.
It is 10:00 at the White House, it's 6:00 pm here in Abu Dhabi. We are 28 days from the American election and Joe Biden storming ahead of the
American president in a brand-new CNN poll, now 16 points ahead -- 16 points -- that is double the lead he had just a month ago, by far and away
his largest edge in any CNN poll so far in this race.
What's driving it?
Six out of every 10 Americans asked tell CNN they are unhappy about the way the president has handled the pandemic. There could be no greater exhibit
A, no stronger case in point, than the most famous address of all, the White House itself becoming a Petri dish for the virus.
Now the president insists he went to school with it and learned a lot through hard knocks on the way. But there's nothing to suggest that he did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): You are looking at Trump likely still highly contagious with COVID-19 arriving back at the White House on Monday night,
insisting he be checked out of hospital after just a few days of treatment, walking up to a rarely used balcony, newly adorned with flags for his
arrival, then removing his mask.
He stood there, saluting the helicopter he came in on. You're looking at a made-for-TV moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And just to drive that home, still maskless the president restaged walking back into the White House for yet another video moment.
His message in these images is clear. But Mr. Trump tweeting them out anyway, telling Americans, telling the world, quote, "Don't be afraid of
COVID. Don't let it dominate your life."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I knew there's a danger to it but I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader
would not do what I did. And I know there's a risk. There's a danger but that's OK and now I'm better and maybe I'm immune, I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A perhaps rich take on the virus from a man who got treated with a concoction of drugs that virtually no one else on Earth would have access
to. If you and I get sick, we won't get the same treatment. We just won't.
Even so, you can't pretend your way out of a pandemic. Mr. Trump's own doctor announcing that he isn't out of the woods yet. Even after all that,
there is still a lot of uncertainty apparently over just how sick he is. There's way more that we don't know than that which we do about his
condition. We will get to the medical side of things in a moment.
Lastly before we do, let me tell you this, because it's a really important point. We are watching the virus break out in the White House at a full-on
pace. You will remember that, on this show yesterday, we broke the news that his press secretary has become Donald's latest close confidante to
test positive.
Take a look at this, more than 12 people in the president's inner circle now all infected, all after that same reckless approach in the White House
that has overseen more than 200,000 Americans killed by the pathogen. That is a fact.
So while the president talks a big game on not letting it dominate our lives, it's a long way off from what so many of us live. My next guest, Ana
Navarro, is a long-time Republican strategist who has worked with the party for decades, taking great offense at the president's statement because her
mom is sick.
And thanks to COVID, Ana cannot go and see her.
[10:05:00]
ANDERSON: Just like millions of others around the world. And I'm pleased to say that Ana is now with me, along with CNN's Harry Enten, who is
somewhat of a maverick in his own right in the world of polls.
And we will get to you, sir, shortly.
Ana, I know that COVID has touched your life, like so many others, on a very personal level. We've heard Donald Trump's view on the virus; his
attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also telling FOX yesterday, you don't need to be traumatized, paralyzed and incapacitated by the illness.
Before I get to you, just let's have a listen to how Joe Biden has reacted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D-DE), FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is what the scientists tell us. This isn't complicated. The president
is getting out -- I saw a tweet he did, they showed me -- he said, don't let COVID control your lives. Tell that to the 205,000 families who lost
somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: What's your response, Ana?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN COMMENTATOR: I echo what Joe Biden. Those images of Donald Trump on the balcony, evoking some sort of Evita Peron moment, don't
cry for me, quarantiners, don't cry for me, COVID victims, was very offensive.
It made me greatly indignant. He is flaunting his privilege. He gets treatment, he gets access that no other American does, right?
He gets to go to the hospital as a precautionary measure. I know people who have symptoms that were turned away from the hospital. I know people, my
husband's son-in-law's father, who laid in an emergency room hallway because there were no rooms available in Miami.
And I remember his son-in-law, scrambling amongst his friends, trying to find somebody who would donate convalescent plasma because there was none
available in Miami at that time, and scrambling and hoping and praying that you were on the line for remdesivir because it was running scarce in
Florida at that time.
So for Donald Trump, who gets access to experimental drugs, who gets to go into a big presidential suite at Walter Reed, to tell the rest of us not to
be afraid of COVID and to tell those people who have lost a loved one, who are bracing for their first holiday season with an empty chair and with a
lost loved one for the rest of their lives, not to let that dominate your lives?
Listen, I know somebody who yesterday was cleaning out her dead husband's closet. He died of COVID. And who was bracing for having to go to her
granddaughter's birthday for the first time without the grandfather being there.
Do not tell those people who are grieving and are facing loss and are facing the paralysis of this traumatic experience not to let it dominate
their lives.
How dare he? How dare he?
ANDERSON: Look, he apparently knows better than anyone else, he's quote, "been to school with it." He's also suggesting that he could be immune. He
says -- and he has just tweeted again -- comparing COVID to the flu, saying that we're just going to have to live with it.
Look, what is the risk of a wave of disinformation from the president?
I know his critics are already concerned about that.
I mean, is that a real risk at this point?
NAVARRO: Well, we've seen the risk. First of all, you know, he has already been judged as the greatest source of misinformation on COVID-19.
But what is the risk?
It's what you're seeing in the White House. It is where one person, exponentially, you know, gets an exponential number of others infected.
We have seen that from these events, these wantonly reckless events, that he has been holding, whether it be rallies or debate prep or the event he
held in the Rose Garden for the nomination of the new Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
We have seen what the risk is. The risk is -- and that's the thing with COVID-19. The risk is not just to you. If you are reckless and negligent,
the risk is to all of those around you and then to all their families and their networks and friends around that and to all of those people's network
and friends and families.
And it becomes exponential and becomes out of control. I don't know how anybody can see what's happening in the White House, where there is more
now than a dozen people that we know of -- that we know of -- infected. Some of them are horrible comorbidities, like Chris Christie or Rudy
Giuliani, you know, and they were so negligent. They were so negligent.
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NAVARRO: How are you, an elderly, morbidly obese person with asthma or who has had cancer and yet go into a superspreader event, where you are hugging
and kissing people without any precaution?
No mask, no social distancing. The symbolism of it, the example it sets, is wantonly reckless. And as if we haven't just experienced eight months of an
incredibly painful and traumatic experience in the United States and the world.
ANDERSON: His doctor says that the president is not out of the woods yet; yet he was allowed to return home, White House sources telling CNN, that he
was afraid his hospital stay might make him look weak.
Look, you keep an eye on what is going on with his base.
How was his grand entry back home received by his base?
NAVARRO: Look, Donald Trump's base is not going to peel away. We know that. We know that they've heard him on tape, boasting about sexual
assault, and that doesn't affect it.
We know they've heard him on tape tell Bob Woodward he knew just how dangerous and lethal this virus was back in the beginning of the year and
that doesn't make a change.
So you know, I don't think his base is affected. But there is a small sliver of undecideds and there is a small sliver of independents or
disenfranchised Republicans like myself, who have to decide whether to vote for Joe Biden or not to vote, whether to write somebody in.
And I think there's a lot of people who see this and don't think he is immune to COVID. They think he's immune to human empathy and compassion and
common sense.
And so, you know, I think this is not working out for him in the long run because it's just way too many people around the world, who have suffered
greatly from this, to see Donald Trump cavalierly flaunting his privilege and continuing to ask -- act irresponsibly, which is what led him and
landed him in the hospital to begin with.
ANDERSON: Ana, stand by. I want to get to Harry, who is having a listen to our discussion.
Harry, I wanted you with us, because we heard some powerful lines there from Ana. And it does seem that perhaps Americans are feeling that way in
cold, hard numbers.
New CNN polling a month out from this election suggests six out of every 10 Americans asked tell CNN they are unhappy about the way the president has
handled the pandemic. That same poll puts Joe Biden 16 points ahead.
Is this unprecedented at this point?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, look, it's unprecedented, certainly in my lifetime. I mean, we have not had a blowout such as what
the CNN poll shows, you know, a 16-point lead, for the challenger. I mean, it just doesn't happen, right?
You have to go all the way back to 1932 to really find any race that looks anything like this. I mean, incumbents sometimes have 16-point leads. But
challengers having 16-point leads? That's ridiculous, you just do not see it.
ANDERSON: So put it into the context of other polling that we are seeing, if you will.
ENTEN: Yes, I mean, this I think is a rather important point, right?
You can look at one poll and there are sometimes outliers. But right now in the CNN Poll of Polls we show a double-digit lead for Joe Biden, the
challenger. Again, there has been no challenger who has won by double digits since 1932.
The closest was Reagan in '80; he won by a little bit less than 10 points. But the fact is it's very clear that the developments over the past few
weeks have certainly moved the race at least by a few points and in the direction of former Vice President Joe Biden.
ANDERSON: So demographics matter, of course, particularly in the U.S. election. So walk us through what we know.
ENTEN: Yes, I think that there are basically three demographics that, you know, I'm very interested in. And one of those, you know, we can start off
with gender, right?
I think that this sort of tells the story, which is that women voters are absolutely fed up with the president of the United States.
Look at that, a 34-point lead among women. Last time around, Hillary Clinton only won them by about 15 points. So this is a huge difference.
Versus men, male voters still going to the president by a slight margin. But women voters are determining this.
Age, I think, is another key factor here. Normally the way we think about it is that voters over the age of 65, that's where I would point out here.
Since 2000, voters over the age of 65 have gone Republican in every single election.
[10:15:00]
ENTEN: In this poll we see voters 65 and older going for Joe Biden by 21 points.
And then the final thing I would point out is race. I think in our country, what we generally tend to think of is that people of color tend to go
Democratic; white voters tend to be Republican.
But look here: white voters by a 4-point margin, by a 4-point margin they're going for Joe Biden. Last time around, Trump won them by double
digits. The fact is, you have to go back generations before I was born to see white voters going for the Democratic candidate. But in our poll they
are.
ANDERSON: So in the end, this all comes down to the electoral votes, of course. And you need 270 of those to win the Electoral College and the
presidency.
So from what we understand and we've learned through this polling, how close is it right now?
ENTEN: Not. I mean, that's the simple answer. Not.
Right now what we see is, if we look at the electoral map, you see Joe Biden well over 300 electoral votes. In fact, there is some polling that
suggests that the graphic that's up on the screen right now may actually be underestimating Joe Biden's advantage.
He is quite competitive in states like Georgia, which haven't gone Democratic since 1992, and even in a state like Texas, that hasn't gone
Democratic since 1976. But the most important thing, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, those are the three key states. And right now Joe
Biden is leading in those states and he's leading in them by 5 points or more. It's very clear the electoral map is leaning in Biden's direction at
this point.
ANDERSON: Those are the cold, hard numbers from Harry. You got the personal stories of real life on the ground from Ana.
To both of you, thank you so much for joining us.
ENTEN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Well, the political ramifications of Mr. Trump's big trip home are relatively clear. Up next, we will look at the medical side of what is
going on and whether it was a wise move to actually leave the hospital.
Then in the next hour of CONNECT THE WORLD, my interview of the president of Armenia on the conflict between his country and Azerbaijan and its
serious implications for the wider world. That is an interview you will not want to miss.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, I'm Becky Anderson. Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: There are 770 million COVID-19 infections. This isn't a forecast. The World Health Organization now reckons that 10 percent of the
global population has already been infected by it. That is one out of every 10 people you and I know.
Now we've known for a long time that the reported numbers are nowhere near the reality, due to the lack of testing and tracing, of course.
[10:20:00]
ANDERSON: But this number is huge, a big disconnect to the some 32 million confirmed cases currently reported by Johns Hopkins University. And that
pretty much are the numbers that we rely on, of course, to report.
Well, one of those 770 million is Donald Trump, arguably the most powerful man on Earth. That is why his condition matters. His welfare affects us
all.
This hour, he is back at the White House, separated from many of his staff after leaving the hospital on Monday night. We still know very little about
how serious his condition was or is. Let me take you through everything that we know at this point. First have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SEAN CONLEY, TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: Though we may not be entirely out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our
evaluations, most importantly, his clinical status, support the president's safe return home, where he will be surrounded by world class medical care
24-7.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Donald Trump bringing home a slew of unanswered questions.
First and foremost, why was he discharged?
Why was he given the drug cocktail that's usually prescribed for the most severe cases?
And has Mr. Trump suffered any lung damage or had pneumonia?
His doctors refuse to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONLEY: We've done routine standard imaging. I'm just not at liberty to discuss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We also don't know when the president became infected or when his last negative test was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Can you tell us, please, on testing, can you tell us when he had his last negative test?
Was it Thursday, was it Wednesday?
Do you remember when he had his last negative test?
CONLEY: I don't want to go backwards.
QUESTION: When was his last negative test and what was his viral load?
CONLEY: Everyone wants that.
QUESTION: People have been exposed.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: -- when his last negative test was?
QUESTION: Is there any abnormal test or any of his lab tests abnormal?
CONLEY: Again, HIPAA precludes me from going into too much depth the things that I'm not at liberty or he doesn't wish to be discussed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You have to wonder why they are even holding press conferences if they are not at liberty to actually give any information.
Is he suffering from any blood clots, which affect many COVID patients?
Dr. Conley won't say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONLEY: He's on a routine regimen of, you know, COVID therapy. I'm not going to go into specifics as to what he is and is not on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Finally, we do not know how he is going to fare over the next few days. As far as we know, it's just four days into this and, just like
the president's personal physician, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that Trump is not out of the woods yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The issue is that he is still early enough in the disease that, it is no
secret that, if you look at the clinical course of people, sometimes when you're five to eight days in, you could have a reversal.
His physicians know -- a reversal meaning going in the wrong direction and get into trouble. It's unlikely that it will happen but they need to be
heads up for it. He knows it, the physicians know it.
So they are going to keep an eye out on it.
But yes, you are not out of it until you've gone several days out and doing well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Our next guest, a doctor, says if Mr. Trump were her patient, she would have him physically restrained and order a mental evaluation. She
was referring to the president's impromptu drive-by while sick and contagious over the weekend.
Dr. Leana Wen is an emergency room physician and the former health commissioner for the U.S. city of Baltimore. She joins us now from
Baltimore, Maryland.
And it's good to have you on the show. The president only discharging -- or being discharged, despite his doctors saying he was not out of the woods.
He's said he thinks he could be immune.
Simple yes or no, should he still be in hospital?
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Based on what we know, Becky, yes, he should be. You look at why he went to the hospital in the first place. It
was because his oxygen saturation dropped.
We don't know how low it was. But it was concerning enough that he got supplemental oxygen, concerning enough that he received a combination of
medications, including dexamethasone which is a steroid that's given to patients with severe or critical illness.
Dexamethasone is not indicated in patients with non-severe illness and actually may cause harm in these patients. So that leaves us wondering,
especially because we don't know the president's chest X-ray or CT scans, it sounds as if he has what is likely to be moderate or severe pneumonia.
[10:25:00]
WEN: And we know the clinical course of this disease is that the most concerning time period is day seven through 10, which is actually beginning
tomorrow through the end of this week.
So why is it that he's leaving the hospital prior to the period that we are potentially the most concerned about?
ANDERSON: So what should we expect in the days to come?
WEN: Several things. So, of course, we hope that the president has an uneventful recovery. Some patients, in fact, do do very well.
Some patients, though, may seem to be OK in the initial phase but, in the second phase of the illness, around day seven through 10, they could take a
turn for the worse. They may have increased work of breathing, they may require oxygen, sometimes they may require ventilatory support and be put
on a ventilator, be intubated and put on a ventilator.
I'm not saying that this would happen with the president. But rather these are the things that we worry about in patients with pneumonia, who have
required oxygen before. And, again, the best place for someone to be watched in that case is in the hospital.
Of course, the White House does have medical capabilities.
But again, I wonder; if the president was ill enough to be transported for monitoring in the first place, why is he going back just before this period
that could be the most concerning?
ANDERSON: Sources tell CNN he's left the hospital because he doesn't want to look weak. He is on what is being described as VIP treatment, Dr. Wen.
That's a cocktail of drugs that sort of the average Joe, you and I, would likely not have access to.
Now there are questions about whether this indicates more about his health or more about his privilege.
What are your thoughts?
WEN: So it's a good question. I mean, certainly, there is an element of privilege here. Regeneron is an experimental drug. It is not something that
a person with COVID-19 can just receive because it hasn't been approved for authorization anywhere.
That said, I do think the president of the United States is entitled to the best care that's possible in the world.
There is, though, the question of, is it the best care to give the president a combination of therapies that, as far as I know, no one else on
the planet has received?
Should the first person to receive the experimental therapies be the president of the United States?
Is that actually the best care?
I don't think he's receiving poor care; he has the best doctors in the world treating him.
And this is why I wonder, if he's receiving the steroid, one does wonder how severe is this illness actually?
ANDERSON: Donald Trump already suggesting, as I suggested earlier, that he could be immune. He is comparing COVID to the flu, which, by the way, is
nonsense when you look at the stats. And I was just looking at them early on, the stats from the CDC.
Are you concerned about the amount of disinformation that the president could now stoke, now that he's been diagnosed and "been to school," as he
says. He's learned a lot.
WEN: I am. The president could be using this opportunity in such a different way. He could be talking about the importance of prevention
because he has now seen how challenging this illness is.
He could talk about how we should all do our part and wear masks and practice social distancing and washing our hands and avoiding crowds. I
mean, he could be spreading a very useful public health message.
He could also be encouraging people, demonstrating through example how to follow public health protocol, including isolation.
This is why I've written the tweet that you mentioned earlier. It just was unfathomable to me that anyone would put others in harm's way knowingly and
purposefully by getting into a closed vehicle, in an enclosed space with other people, and potentially knowingly expose them to harm.
So he could strictly isolate, encourage all those around him to get tested, to quarantine if they've been exposed to him. That's what he should be
doing, following public health guidelines instead of, frankly, flouting these very same public health guidelines that will keep Americans and the
world safe.
ANDERSON: Dr. Wen, your insight and analysis, of course, is extremely valuable. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you, broadcasting from our Middle East hub here in Abu Dhabi.
Still ahead, the U.S. president has told Americans to not let the virus dominate their lives.
But the reality, Mr. President, it is. The coronavirus pandemic has left millions of Americans unemployed and many wondering where their next meal
will come from. Coming up, we are going to take a look at one family's struggle to put food on the table.
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ANDERSON: Our top story this hour, Donald Trump back at the White House after four days at the hospital, taking off his mask and saluting as Marine
One took off on Monday night.
With less than a month left until the election, Mr. Trump wants to appear, strongly told people, don't be afraid of COVID and don't let it dominate
your life and that he feels better than he did 20 years ago. Later he tweeted this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I knew there's a danger to it but I had to do it. I stood out front. I led. Nobody that's a leader would not do what I did. And I know
there's a risk. There's a danger but that's OK and now I'm better and maybe I'm immune, I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, of course, the pandemic dominating the lives of so many of us and few patients are receiving the same quality of care and experimental
drugs as the U.S. president.
Others are losing their jobs and resorting to food banks for help. Some are losing their homes, even hitting the poverty line. CNN's Kyung Lah has met
with one family, who has struggled during this crisis. Kyung is currently in Salt Lake City ahead of the vice presidential debate tomorrow evening
but joins us now.
You've been speaking to families who are really feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus.
What did you learn?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: You know, national politics seems so far away for these families. What they are feeling, though, is the
impacts of policy and the failure of American policy.
We started with this one number, that there are 14 million American children, who now regularly go hungry on a daily basis. That is five times
the number of what it was before COVID.
So why?
And how could this be happening in the richest country in the world?
Well, we introduce you to the Rodriguez family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSE RODRIGUEZ, FURLOUGHED QANTAS EMPLOYEE: Mami (ph), wake up, Mami (ph). You got to go to school.
LAH (voice-over): The morning routine for Rose Rodriguez and her three girls.
RODRIGUEZ: (INAUDIBLE) in school?
(INAUDIBLE)?
LAH (voice-over): Three-year-old Alejandra (ph) --
RODRIGUEZ: Come on, get up.
LAH (voice-over): -- and 12-year-old Terri (ph) sleep in one bed; 13-year- old Yalitza (ph) sleeps on the couch. Breakfast --
RODRIGUEZ: You want this one?
LAH (voice-over): -- is what she has scrounged from the day before.
RODRIGUEZ: It's good?
Yes?
We will eat whatever is left over.
[10:35:00]
LAH (voice-over): Everything has changed since coronavirus.
RODRIGUEZ: (INAUDIBLE).
My pantry, that's all I have.
LAH: Before coronavirus, was this full?
RODRIGUEZ: Everything was full.
LAH (voice-over): This was Rodriguez at a full time job at LAX airport. She worked for Qantas Airlines cargo, making more than $20 an hour.
RODRIGUEZ: I thought everything will be good. I thought, you know what, I have money for my rent, I have money for the food, I don't have to worry
about the girls' health.
But I never thought that, on Wednesday I will show up to work. But no, it wasn't that way. You could lose your job in any time.
LAH: How about the food?
I mean, how much -- ?
(CROSSTALK)
RODRIGUEZ: The food, that's how we struggle more.
LAH: Tell me about that struggle.
RODRIGUEZ: The struggle is, sometimes we eat, sometimes we don't.
LAH (voice-over): What she manages is cheap, unhealthy food. Rodriguez says she has applied for 50 jobs; 30 interviews later, still nothing. Her
unemployment application stalled, part of the more than 1 million stuck in a logjam in California's system. Her car and most of her furniture
repossessed; she's months behind on rent.
RODRIGUEZ: When we go to the Laundromat, we see homeless washing themselves. And one day if I don't go back to work, I'm going to be one of
them. You all live check by check. But now it's not a check, it's a box, a box that I have to stretch out for seven days.
LAH (voice-over): That weekly box is donated food from the L.A. Food Bank and Salvation Army. While her older daughters learn virtually on public
school laptops...
RODRIGUEZ: Who is ready for lunch?
LAH (voice-over): Alejandra (ph) gets free child care and lunch at the Salvation Army, too young to understand a virus' impact on her family.
RODRIGUEZ: I know she wants what she sees. But I tell her, Mami (ph), I can't. I have to tell her tomorrow so she could forget.
LAH: And every day it's tomorrow.
RODRIGUEZ: Yes, everything is tomorrow.
LAH (voice-over): Food banks across the country have seen hours' long lines as record unemployment devastates working families.
MORTIMER JONES, THE SALVATION ARMY SIEMON CENTER: So we do have RRPs.
LAH (voice-over): At the Salvation Army Food Bank in Los Angeles, they fed 10 times the number of people as last year.
JONES: It is not like it happened for a week or two weeks. It's been happening for months. And even though we're trying our best to help, we
know that we barely are scratching the surface because we can only do so much with the limited resources that we have.
LAH (voice-over): Today, fresh food bank supplies mean their shelves are more full.
RODRIGUEZ: Mac and cheese?
LAH (voice-over): But the joy is short lived. Counting down the days to the next food box has begun.
RODRIGUEZ: They shouldn't go through this. They don't have to be worried next, how we can eat the next day?
Like my mom has to go look for food.
Or has my mom eaten?
And they shouldn't worry about that. Like I should be working and they should be just worried about school and their futures. It just hurts.
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LAH: The hunger crisis is worse among U.S. families, who are Latino and Black as are the nutrition issues. Nutrition problems among those
demographic groups, Becky, are at 25 percent and 30 percent.
One last thing, the Salvation Army you heard there, when they are able to give out fresh produce, they say that the line wraps around their building
and down the block -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Devastating, isn't it. Kyung Lah, thank you.
This is CNN. We will be right back after this.
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