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Erin Burnett Outfront

New Protests Across the U.S. as Outrage Grows Over Trump Saying It's 'A Great Day' for George Floyd; Trump Touts Economy When Asked About a "Plan for Systemic Racism"; Protests Underway Across the U.S. for the 11th Day; Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) Discuss About His Take on Trump's Language About The Protesters and George Floyd; New Protests Across the Country as Police Clashes Caught on Tape Raise Question About Their Tactics; Army Secretary Reveals How Close Paratroopers Came to Being Sent Into Washington, D.C. Streets; May Sees Biggest Jobs Increase Ever, Unemployment Rate Falls. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 05, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I'll be back tomorrow night 7 pm Eastern for a special SITUATION ROOM. Until then, thanks once again for joining us.

Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, protests growing tonight as the President says today is a good day for George Floyd and his plan to address racism is the economy.

Plus, the protests over police violence are uncovering more instances of excessive force. I'm going to speak to one woman who says she was body slammed by an Atlanta officer, what happened?

And the Army Secretary revealing the administration was ready to use paratroopers in Washington 'if something went bad'.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, Trump says today is a great day for George Floyd. A black man killed in police custody. While touting the surprising new job numbers, the President turn to the protests that have rocked this nation and are underway again as I speak. You see live on your screen Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Washington.

And Trump said Floyd would approve of how he, President Trump, is handling the protests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hopefully, George is looking down right now and say there's a great thing that's happening for our country. It's a great day for him. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day in terms of equality.

(END VIDEO CLIP) Bill Parsleys: A great day in terms of equality, so in what way? I

mean, after all, this president, of course, has threatened to deploy the U.S. Military against protesters. He has allowed rubber bullets and tear gas to be used against peaceful protesters and this is what we've heard from him about the protests pushing for equality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will not allow angry mobs to dominate.

These are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of domestic terror.

You have to dominate, and you have arrest people, and you have to try people, and they have to go jail for long periods of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Bill Parsleys: Dominate. And in a tweet, President Trump also threatened protesters with vicious dogs. So when President Trump said today was a great day for George Floyd, what did he mean? And what is he doing about the bigger issues involving race in America?

Well, he did get a question today which he could have turned around into an opportunity. Let me play for you the exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, why haven't you layed out a plan to address systemic racism?

TRUMP: I'd like to sign this bill. This is very different thing. And by the way, what's happened to our country and what you now see that's been happening is the greatest thing that can happen for race relations, for the African-American community, for the Asian-American, for the Hispanic-American community, for women, for everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your plan?

TRUMP: Because our country is so strong. And that's what my plan is. We're going to have the strongest economy in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Right. So his plan for racism is a strong economy. And look, let's be clear, a strong economy does matter. It is important. But Trump is wrong because it doesn't solve the problem. I mean, look at the facts, even when the economy was good and, wow, it was good. The black unemployment rate was at an all time low.

And as it was trending down, black men were 2.5 times more likely to die during an encounter with police than white men, according to a study. And now Trump is trying to take another victory lap when it comes to the economy, but there isn't a victory here today for blacks.

The white unemployment rate last month in that shocking report fell from 14 percent to 12 percent, but black unemployment essentially remained steady at nearly 17 percent. And fewer than half of all black Americans currently have a job. So how would a better economy have protected Floyd.

OK. Well, Trump was asked that very question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to follow up, how would a better economy have protected George Floyd?

TRUMP: Excuse me. Do you mind if I sign this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. I'll ask after.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you take questions after, sir?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Well, the answer was no, he didn't. And the answer to the question, by the way, is also no. Even a strong economy wouldn't have saved George Floyd. George Floyd is dead. So no, Mr. President, today is not a great day for George Floyd and that's exactly why these protests continue around the country tonight.

Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT in Los Angeles amid protesters there. Kyung, what is happening where you are now?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see for yourself, it's another large gathering on the steps of Los Angeles' City Hall. And what we've been watching here is really quite an extraordinary scene. We've heard the speech, the I Have a Dream speech from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. piped out on speakers.

You're hearing music, people are hugging. It is, yes, the passion and the anger from earlier this week, but now it has almost gotten into more brotherhood and sisterhood and calling for systemic change still, but it is different.

[19:05:07]

It feels very different here, at least, at this very large crowd. The organizers of all of this has said that they will not give up at these crowds will continue. We've also says that there is a difference in the measure of how the state and the city is reacting. You see the police department here, no helmets. The Governor of California this afternoon, Erin, did announce that he is instructing law enforcement to stop training officers and using a stranglehold choke hold.

It's a suppression method and that law enforcement would no longer be trained to do that. So change is on the ground. You already know about the $100 million to $150 million cut in the police budget here in Los Angeles. So at least in this city, these protesters feel there is some small steps forward in their movement, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Kyung, thank you very much. And I want to go now to Kaitlan Collins near the White House. Kaitlan, we heard the President, of course, today talking about the economy. And we heard him say that this is a great day for George Floyd. Does he truly believe that?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, right before that he had been saying that all people should be treated equally under the law when they're dealing with law enforcement. But then, Erin, he said it was a great day for equality and that's really a statement that drew a lot of questions, because the question is, what does he mean by that.

George Floyd is still dead. These protests are still raging across the country and the White House has done very little to address why people are protesting. Instead, you've seen the President focus on those who were rioting those, who are looting, but not actually the majority of protesters and why they're out there. And instead, last night, you saw the President amplify a letter from his former attorney saying that the protesters out in Lafayette Park that, of course, they aggressively cleared on Monday night that the President faced much criticism over. He called them terrorists and the President retweeted that letter.

Now, this comes as we are ending a week where the President has not held any listening sessions with black community leaders like aides had said that they were planning on him doing. They have not introduced any kind of reforms that they believe should happen among officers to prevent what we are seeing happening to people like George Floyd and, of course, so many others.

So that was the question that people really raised and you saw people like Joe Biden immediately come out and criticize the President saying that he should not be putting words in George Floyd's mouth, given the manner in which he died.

So this comes as the president is returning here to a fortified White House. He was scheduled to go to his golf club in New Jersey this weekend, Erin. He's not going to go any longer, because aides were worried about what the optics would be of him being there while you're seeing these protests still happen across the country.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kaitlan. So that seems like they made the right decision on that. OUTFRONT now, Ben Jealous, President elect People for The American Way and former President and CEO of the NAACP and Dana Bash, our Chief Political Correspondent.

So Ben, you hear the President today touting his economic numbers and saying 'hopefully George is looking down right now' and saying there's a great thing that's happening for our country. There's a great day for him. Do you see this as a great day for George Floyd?

BENJAMIN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT-ELECT, PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY AND FOUNDATION: We're still deep in the mourning period and my heart goes out to George's family in this moment to see the President of the United States be so callous when they just had one service yesterday, but planning for more early next week. And people across the country are mourning - is killing and the President come out in the mourning period in such a brash, callous way, really sinks to a new low for a president of our country in a time like this.

BURNETT: Dana, Joe Biden did respond quickly as Kaitlan mentioned to the President's comments today. He didn't seize on it. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Floyd's last words I can't breathe, I can't breathe have echoed all across this nation and quite frankly around the world. For the President to try to put any other words in the mouths of George Floyd I frankly think is despicable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, Dana, he's trying to draw clear contrast here going straight to criticize the President. What impact though will that that have? I mean, certainly on Trump's supporters, it doesn't seem much.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No. And look at this point, even among polls where the President, all polls, where the President is dipping both nationally and in key battleground states, his support is maybe a little bit less among his base than it was before but it's still pretty rock solid.

We're talking about those swing voters, those key voters who were maybe Obama-Trump voters. They are out there and the question is how they're going to go in November. But one thing I will say just on the substance of what the President was saying, let's just say that he was trying to conflate the economy, the economic news with George Floyd.

[19:10:08]

And what's happening in black America. He's wrong. He's just wrong on the basic numbers that came out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. And Mr. Jealous I know knows this as well, as eager as the President was to say how great the economy was compared to how bad we thought it was going to be, It was and is that bad for black Americans.

It's the highest according to one analysis. I saw highest unemployment in more than a decade among black Americans right now. So there is no equality when it comes to how much they're suffering economically, never mind when it comes to social and racial bias.

BURNETT: Right. Right. Even on the micro it was inaccurate. Go ahead, Ben.

JEALOUS: Yes, I'm sorry. That's so right. And it's also, let's keep in mind, people live their lives in the city of United States and cities like, excuse me, states like Michigan. I've seen like 22 percent unemployment getting close to the national high during the Great Depression of 24. States like Nevada have gone even higher around 28.

And I was just, last Saturday, out in Baltimore helping to feed thousands of families. And these are families who are showing up in cars and in clothes. It's clear that they had a job two months ago and now they have to show up to get free food just to make ends meet just to survive the next couple of weeks.

And so the callousness here isn't just to George Floyd and to his family, isn't just even to all the protesters. It's to the people of this country who are struggling, who are anxious and let's be clear that what we're seeing is the result of an economy where we are borrowing massive amounts of money and lending massive amounts of money, trying to prop things up and people have reasons to be very worried about what looms in the future even as hard as things are right now.

BURNETT: And Dana, the President, we heard him say right he is not going to allow angry mobs to dominate, acts of domestic terror. You have to dominate people. People have to go to jail, right? That is how he's talked about these protests. And today, he did, he talked about it in exactly those words and then sort of a whiplash. Here are two nearly back to back sentences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What's happened to our country and what you now see, it's been happening, is the greatest thing that can happen for race relations, for the African-American community, for the Asian-American, for the Hispanic-American community, for women, for everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your plan?

TRUMP: Because our country is so strong. And that's what my plan is. We're going to have the strongest economy in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So Dana, he said that then at another point he said equal justice under the law must mean that every American receives equal treatment in every encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race.

BASH: Yes.

BURNETT: He hasn't said anything like that up into this point. So in a speech where he's talking about, he said call on the National Guard, you have to dominate the streets. He then talked about equal justice under the law. How did that sentence get in there?

BASH: That's a great question. The cynic in me would say got in there so that it can be clipped so that that sentence can be sent to the communities that they're trying to reach out to of color. And the other sentence can be sent to on an ad or a Facebook post or a social media posts near you to the people who he wants to keep firmly in his corner.

He's never been accused of being consistent and I think today was another example of that.

BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you - yes, go ahead, Ben, quick final word. JEALOUS: Yes, just real quick there. The President saying the peaceful

protesters are domestic terrorists gives license to officers to be their absolute worst towards people who simply want to better. And when we saw that man 75 years old thrown down in the streets yesterday and blood coming out of his ears, that's a direct result of the way in which our president eggs on the worst in officers.

Any comments that he makes, the side comments about equality, if he has no plan and if he's going to keep on egging on the worst in officers really falls worse than flat. It just simply looks like the man truly doesn't care.

BURNETT: Thank you both very much.

And next, I'm going to speak to Tim Scott. The GOP's only black senator. He does speak to the President regularly. Does he believe the economy is the answer to combating systemic racism.

Plus, the video is hard to watch. Police appear to be slamming a black woman to the ground in Atlanta. Now, her collarbone is broken. What led to this incident, she is my guest.

Dr. Anthony Fauci with a new warning tonight, calling the protests the 'perfect setup' for spreading coronavirus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:41]

BURNETT: Protests picking up across the country. You're looking right now at live pictures in Minneapolis. A large group is marching and we are seeing that across this country at this hour. As I said the crowds are gathering. They are protesting for racial equality. President Trump meantime today had this message for the nation's governors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I hope that you also use our National Guard. Call me. We'll be ready for them so fast. Their heads will spin. We did it in Minnesota, in Minneapolis, we were incredible. They were ripping that place apart. I love it. We had such success there.

You have to dominate the streets. You can't let what's happening happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. And that was President Trump as I said speaking about the governors. Again, using that word dominate that he has used so many times. "I will not allow angry mobs to dominate. You have to dominate and you have to arrest." And tonight saying, "You have to dominate the streets."

OUTFRONT now Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. Sen. Scott, when you hear him again today using that word dominate to talk about the streets, to talk about the protesters, are you comfortable with that language from this president?

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Well, I believe the President is simply trying to say that we have to have order in the streets so that we can maintain our focus on the main thing. And frankly, as much attention as we're giving to President Trump, we should be given more attention to George Floyd and the people who murdered him. I think that's where the focus should be.

[19:20:03]

And by establishing more order in the streets, allowing more non- violent peaceful protesters to continue to march into force this conversation that we need to have on race and justice, that's really important how we eliminate the violent agitators that are distracting in a selfish way from the main objective, which should be for justice for George Floyd and the family of Mr. Floyd, that's where the focus should be.

So I am focused on making sure that happens when I have my conversations with the President as I did this past Saturday. I talked specifically about the importance of spending as much time on Mr. Floyd and less time on all the other topics as it relates to this current incident because this incident is not simply in the minds of African-Americans about Mr. Floyd. It's about decades of the same struggle, the same deaths, the same murders that have gone unreported.

Thank God for film. Thank God for videos that say it's happening, because most of us would say, "It's been happening all of our lives."

BURNETT: Well, it has been. Those are the facts. And I want to ask you about that. I want to ask you one more point, though, about the President's handling of this, because it is important.

SCOTT: Yes, ma'am.

BURNETT: And that is, as you know, outside the White House when protesters were peacefully exercising their rights. There were rubber bullets, there was tear gas and they were dispersed so that he could go for the pictures, the photo op in front of the church. Gen. Mattis, obviously, former Defense Secretary, decorated four star general, with many senior military leaders has spoken out and he said, "Never did I dream that troops would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens, much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief with military leadership standing alongside." Do you agree with Gen. Mattis?

SCOTT: Well, I would say that no question that the scene that, I understand, that occurred there with the tear gas and the rubber bullets was unnecessary, not appropriate at all. The President's response was that he had no clue about that, so I have to take him at his word.

Now, I do believe that ultimately we should spend more time focusing on how to help the peaceful protesters exercise their rights, because in my opinion people like John Lewis, helped all of us recognize the systemic challenges that we had in society that led us to a place where you and I can have this conversation.

BURNETT: Well, and look, it is important that we can have it and over decades there has been progress. But I was just sharing some of the numbers at the top of the program and the President was talking about the unexpected good news on the job numbers, but obviously we didn't see an improvement for African Americans, right, 17 percent.

White workers unemployment went down two points. Unemployment rate for black workers ticked up. Overall ratio of black Americans without a job is less than 50 percent, Senator. Does the President understand this? When he's told what's your solution for systemic racism, he's answer is a strong economy.

SCOTT: I think the President is focusing on good news as he probably should. We need some good news. As an African-American who's worked really hard on building a better economy for our entire nation and specifically making sure that African-Americans were a part of that process, we were celebrating, frankly, pre COVID-19, the 7 million new jobs created in this country ...

BURNETT: Yes.

SCOTT: ... with two-thirds going to African Americans, Hispanics and to women. So I think the President's trying to get back to the place where we could have this honest conversation, that a strong positive economy part is a part of the foundation of what makes America tick. And frankly, having a job is certainly one of the paths forward for racial justice.

I think it doesn't solve the problem of racism. That is a far more complicated, far more layered problem because it starts with the heart, it starts with fear in a sense of low self-esteem by those people who are racist. So the facts are that we can't solve all of the problems with the good economy, but it does help with the long-term trajectory of this nation when we get education and economic mobility right for the person.

BURNETT: So you say it's bigger than the economy and, of course, it is. And when black unemployment was trending to that all time low that we were at before coronavirus, black men were still 2.5 times more likely than white men to die during an encounter with police. According to a study we were showing. Does the President of the United States at his core, Senator, you talk to him, does he understand that? Does he respect that? Does he care about that?

SCOTT: I actually think he does care. I know that you and I may disagree on this point and obviously I've watched your show and I think we do disagree on this point. But when we started the conversation about criminal justice reform, we were reflecting back on the terrible damage done in the African American community by the 1994 crime bill.

[19:25:04]

The ability to make right those wrongs was a part of the objective of this president. And while that may not be popular everywhere, it is specifically popular in the African American community. I was there at the White House through many conversations, five years worth of work, three years that led to the crescendo where we actually got it passed.

And frankly, the disproportionate beneficiary of President Trump's First Step Act are African-Americans and that's good news. I want to see more of that. That's one of the reasons why I've focused with the President on historically black colleges and universities because this is another place where if he wants to express his concern in strong, deep convictions to help the African-American community, one of the flagships in our community are the HBCUs that have produced more generals, more teachers, more engineers than all the other schools nearly combined.

It is a super success story and I've encouraged the President and he said, yes. We've provided another billion dollars through the coronavirus cares package. So I'm hopeful that the President's good intentions will be reflected in a way that people at least have an objective analysis of some of the things that he has done that has worked.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Sen. Scott, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much, sir.

SCOTT: Yes, ma'am. Have a good night.

BURNETT: All right. You too.

And next, dramatic new video of a police confrontation with protesters. A woman appears to be thrown to the ground. What happened before the camera started rolling? She's OUTFRONT.

Plus, CNN learning Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley are refusing to testify before Congress about the military's role in responding to protests, why?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:47]

BURNETT: Breaking news. You're looking at live pictures right now. That is Denver. Crowds gathering there, we are showing cities through this hour, protests are growing around the country as there have been more troubling incidents involving police that had been caught on tape.

Miguel Marquez is OUTFRONT in Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Peaceful protests nationwide, demands for justice reform continue, but meaningful change won't come easy or fast.

GEORGE FLOYD: I can't breathe.

MARQUEZ: Today, a step forward. In Minneapolis, the city council banned use of police chokeholds and neck restraints like the one used on George Floyd, and requiring officers to not only report their use but intervene when they witness use of the now banned practice.

The use of nonlethal crowd control weapons like rubber bullets, flash grenades will require approval from chief of police. And discipline decisions must be timely, there now must be civilian review of body cam footage. In Buffalo, New York, Thursday, police knocked this 75- year-old man to the ground.

Blood poured from his head as an officer appears to be discouraged from checking on him.

MAYOR BYRON BROWN (D-NY), BUFFALO: The officers in the front formation are not supposed to provide assistance because there are medics a little further back.

MARQUEZ: The video contradicts the department's initial explanation that man tripped on his own. Buffalo mayor says two of the officers have been suspended without pay, the injured man is in serious but stable condition. Nearly 60 officers resigning from the unit, following the suspension.

In Georgia, video from "The Atlanta Journal Constitution" shows a woman thrown down by police, breaking her collarbone during an arrest as her lawyer said she was trying to leave a protest.

ANDRE WILLIAMS, FIANCE OF WOMAN IN VIDEO: They took my fiance, they pinned me against the car and slammed her, and then they put us in the car, made us sit, and they made her sit on a broke shoulder in handcuffs.

MARQUEZ: The Atlanta police department has not responded to CNN requests for comment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a blessed child, OK? He was blessed and did not deserve to be murdered at the hands of the police.

MARQUEZ: In Tacoma, Washington, new video shows Monroe Ellis held down by police. Ellis died that night last March in what the mayor called a homicide.

DET. ED TROYER, PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: He contacted the police, and obviously was in distress. They got out to talk to them. And when he did that, he assaulted one of the officers.

MARQUEZ: He can be heard on the 911 call saying "I can't breathe" before he died.

TROYER: He said he couldn't breathe, they rolled him on his side, and he was breathing and he was talking.

MARQUEZ: Autopsy reports show Ellis died from lack of oxygen, had methamphetamine in his system at the time. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave.

Mayor Victoria Woodards wants the officers fired and prosecuted. MAYOR VICTORIA WOODARDS, TACOMA, WASHINGTON: I don't get to take the

skin color off every day, and my life could be taken. And today, it stops in Tacoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Now, as if to put an exclamation point on the really tough couple of weeks they've had here in Minneapolis, thousands of protesters took to the streets once again today, demanding justice, despite gains they have made. These are just the first steps in a very, very long marathon. Back to you.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Miguel.

And OUTFRONT now, Amber Jackson. You saw her in Miguel's piece in that video being body-slammed by an Atlanta police officer. She's with me on the phone.

I'm also joined by her and her fiance's attorney, Mawuli Davis.

I appreciate both your time.

You know, Amber, let me start with you, explain what happened here. You and Andre were in Atlanta, you were marching with protesters. We'll show again the video that we have of what happened with the officer.

[19:35:01]

You know, tell us about it. What led to that moment when the video shows you being slammed to the ground?

AMBER JACKSON, SAYS ATLANTA POLICE SLAMMED HER TO GROUND (via telephone): Well, first we were at the continued protest, and then we went to the second protest at Lenox. You know, I saw there's something I didn't agree with, so, you know, I -- me and my fiance headed home. And, you know, I removed the barricade, and I get back in the car. All of a sudden, I could see hands out my window, trying to snatch me out. Snatches me out, pretty much slams me down.

We weren't part of any of the looting or anything. We were peacefully protesting and once that didn't, you know -- wasn't there, we pretty much were headed home.

BURNETT: So, Mawuli, the Atlanta Police Department hasn't responded to our request at this point for comment. You know, the president of the Georgia NAACP is calling for the resignation of Atlanta's police chief over this incident.

Do you think that goes too far or not far enough?

JACKSON: I believe that --

MAWULI DAVIS, ATTORNEY FOR AMBER JACKSON AND ANDRE WILLIAMS: I absolutely think that there has to be an escalation. We also represent the young man from Morehouse, his girlfriend, they were assaulted last Saturday. So, there's this ongoing pattern of misconduct and brutality at the hands of the Atlanta Police Department. So until there's a demonstration by the chief of police that this won't be tolerated, it will continue.

She has been in uproar about the six officers who have been charged in the assault of the two college students. She has to support the law. She has to support the prosecution of officers under her watch who are doing this level of police brutality, and if she doesn't, then she should go, she should resign if she feels she has to blindly support officers who brutalize our young people.

BURNETT: So, Amber, I know you're a dental technician, now you can't work because you have a broken clavicle. I know you're also in pain. What happens from here for you? You're now out of work, tell us?

JACKSON: Well, I'm a dental hygienist, have my bachelor's degree in dental hygiene. As you know, we need our hands. You need your shoulders. You need your back, stomach, you need everything. And the fact that, you know, that was taken from me after I earned it, you know, it's very life-changing and eye-opener.

BURNETT: How long is the recovery from your injury, I understand you have been told it is not going to be short, is that right?

JACKSON: Right. I still haven't had the surgery. Right now, my clavicle is broken. So I'm in pain as of right now.

BURNETT: So, Mawuli, has the police department responded at all to you about the violence? You see the image of amber being thrown, it is hard to watch, I can't imagine how it is for Amber to have to rewatch that, but, you know, she was obviously thrown very hard.

DAVIS: Well, absolutely. And what's disturbing is this video has been out for seven days. And so, at the very least, you would think that a statement would have been issued shortly after the video was released and made public, and there would have been some communication to the public that, hey, this particular officer is on desk duty while we investigate. We have received no word.

As far as we know, he's still on the street, moving around with young people who are protesting, and this is why they're out in the street, to be brutalized when you're struggling to try to get America to understand the fear, the pain and the anguish that we are all in as a result of police brutality and then during that protest, you are brutalized. I mean, it's just nonsensical.

BURNETT: I appreciate your time, Mawuli. And, Amber, yours as well. I hope for your speedy recovery that you can get back to your job you worked so hard for. Thank you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, our own Barbara Starr, she has learned just how close President Trump was to calling in U.S. paratroopers when protests were cleared to make way for the photo-op.

[19:40:00]

Plus, President Trump taking a victory lap on the better than expected economic numbers. One top economic analyst, though, says you got to look at these carefully, because that headline may not be at all what it seems.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: All right. These are live pictures of Los Angeles, protesters there. And they comes as a House Democratic aide tells CNN that Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley are refusing to testify before the house armed services committee next week about the military's role in responding to the protests.

And we're also learning tonight just how close the administration came to using paratroopers to control protests in Washington, D.C.

Barbara Starr is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Call in the National Guard, call me. We'll have so many people, more people, that you have to dominate the streets.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A possible threat to the Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who wants less National Guard on the streets.

The president tweeting in part, if she doesn't treat these men and women well, then we'll bring in a different group of men and women.

Trump's threats of military force and that photo-op walk to St. John's Church accompanied by Defense Secretary Mark Esper and General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, still being blasted.

[19:45:10]

Former White House chief of staff, retired General John Kelly.

GEN. JOHN KELLY (RET.), FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I would argue that the end result of that was predictable. I would have argued against it, recommended against it.

STARR: Coming just two days after his close friend, former Defense Secretary James Mattis ripped into Trump. Donald Trump is the first president of my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people, does not even pretend to try.

From those currently serving, the president's threat this week to use active duty forces has received no support. The entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, heads of all of the military branches, have each issued statements for an end of racism. ADM. MIKE GILDAY, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: Think about dignity and

respect.

STARR: None mentioning Trump's threats. Milley writing: We have committed our lives to the idea that this is America. We will stay true to that oath and the American people.

The chiefs first used strategy of carefully worded public statements after the 2017 white supremacist neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Each at that time issued statements against racism, even as controversy raged around Trump's handling of the violence.

The former chairman of the joint chiefs under President George W. Bush speaking of the challenges the military faces with this commander in chief.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS (RET.), FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I'm glad I don't have to advise this president. It would be I'm sure the senior military leadership is finding it really difficult these days to provide good, sound military advice.

STARR: Now, Defense Secretary Mark Esper under fire by the White House after laying down his personal marker about what he believes should not happen now.

MARK ESPER, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act.

STARR: Esper and Milley believe they have enough forces now in Washington, D.C., to prove to the president active duty force is not needed.

But the army secretary revealed just how close paratroopers came to being put on the city streets.

RYAN MCCARTHY, ARMY SECRETARY: If we had called them in to support Lafayette Square, that would have required the Insurrection Act. The only thing that really happened, you marshaled forces close, so that if something went bad, you were in position to act.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now, almost all of the active duty forces that were in the Washington, D.C. area have been sent back or are on the way back to their home bases. That's going to make it pretty difficult to even think about putting them on the streets here.

But tonight, Defense Secretary Mark Esper widely viewed many senior levels of the Pentagon, still being on the outs with the president of the United States -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Barbara.

And next, President Trump celebrating today's surprising jobs numbers. And they were a surprise. But the headline doesn't tell the whole story. Top economic analyst joins me to explain why, and it's an important reason.

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[19:52:25]

BURNETT: All right. These are live pictures in Minneapolis, 6:52 p.m. Central Time, coming after a jobs report that surprised just about everyone.

Now, analysts were looking for 20 percent unemployment in May. Instead, 2.5 million jobs were added. The unemployment rate is now 13.3 percent. It seemed bizarre, is it too good to be true?

Well, President Trump, of course, quickly went to the Rose Garden and touted the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The numbers are great, leads us on to a great period of growth. Go back to having greatest economy in the world, not even close, been talking about a "V," this is better, this is a rocket ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: OK. So, were those numbers real or not?

OUTFRONT now, Jim Bianco, he's president of Bianco Research.

And, Jim, you know, when we look at the jobless claims, the other numbers that track employment, this is just -- this was out of nowhere, right? I mean, this was like an asteroid. So, what explains it? Is this -- is this as good as it seems?

JIM BIANCO, ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, when you look at the other numbers, there was always a mystery in those numbers. Forty-one million people filing for unemployment claims since mid March, but only 21 million people were on continuing claims, meaning, they were getting them week after week. What happened at the other 20 million?

The answer came today. It was the purchasing -- the PPP, the Payment Protection Plan, employers got their loans, part of the rules of the loans as they have to hire back their staff, spend 75 percent of that loan on salary, so lots of people were called back to work. It does not mean they were necessarily working, it means they were called back to work, and they are getting paid through their employer.

That's better than getting unemployment insurance, you are still engaged in your job, but, now the question becomes, what happens when those loans run out? Has the economy recovered enough so that those employers feel that they're staffing levels are justified, or will we see another round of layoffs?

This is such an unprecedented time, will have to wait and see to see how much the economy does recover as the restart progresses.

BURNETT: All right. So, in the sense, the PPP worked the way it should, keep people off unemployment, have them paid by their employer, but essentially, they're still unemployed. I mean, there's no demand for their job, right? They're being paid not to work in many cases. So, let me just ask you, they did just stretch out now the terms of the PPP loans, so they have even longer to do that.

So, when are we really going to know?

BIANCO: Yes, they got 24 weeks, or, basically until the end of the year, to use all of the money.

[19:55:00]

Before it was you got the loan, you had eight weeks to get everyone back. We probably won't know until the fall, whether -- you know, once the economy is fully restarted, and we start talking about it in past tense, that it restarted, and we'll see how many people are actually called back to work, how many businesses have actually failed, how many people who think their jobs are temporary furloughed are permanently furloughed, how many people will be laid off, because maybe that restaurant that has 50 employees, does not need 50 when they start going, they only need 30, so there's going to be some kind of layoff.

So, it will be several months before it goes. Look, this is better than the alternative. It was better than us creating 20 percent unemployment, but it is a to be continued kind of story, with everybody kind of in a holding pattern, getting paid through their employer, not necessarily to work, but to wait and see what happens with the restart.

BURNETT: Basically, another six months until we know, which is obviously crucial.

All right. Thank you very much, I appreciate your time, Jim, as always.

BIANCO: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, in a week of so many emotional moments, one of the images that stuck with us.

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BURNETT: It has been a week of powerful, and poignant moments. As protests grow again across the country tonight, we want to leave you with some images. This one, two officers from Ocean City Police Department in New Jersey, one white, one black, both taking any alongside protesters. That city's police department thanking the protesters who came out, thanking them for their respect and their support, saying their voices were heard.

There were other moments like this across the country, and those are some of the most powerful. The ones we all want to remember, and celebrate, and be grateful for. A reminder that we can come through this together, and we can all agree that changes needed, and we can work together to achieve it. Thank you for joining us.

Our coverage continues now with "AC360".