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Erin Burnett Outfront
State of Emergency Declared in Wisconsin, Natl Guard Presence Increased Amid Protests Over Police Shooting of Black Man; Justice Dept and FBI Agents Reviewing Police Shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black Man Shot Multiple Times in the Back; Hurricane Laura Expected to Hit U.S. as Category 3 Storm; FDA Chief Apologizes for Overselling Plasma's Effectiveness as Virus Treatment. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 25, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next breaking news, Wisconsin's Governor increasing the number of National Guard troops tonight as the city of Kenosha braces for more unrest. The family of Jacob Blake says he is paralyzed after police shot him seven times in the back as we have obtained a new video of the incident.
Plus, the House opening an investigation into Mike Pompeo's speech tonight at the RNC. How can a sitting Secretary of State speak at a party convention? Is it actually illegal?
And a QAnon candidate for Congress calling the Charlottesville white nationalist rally an inside job. Tonight, she's been invited to join President Trump for his acceptance speech. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening to you. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight the breaking news, the Governor of Wisconsin declaring a state of emergency and increasing the number of National Guard troops on the streets of Kenosha tonight where Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man was shot multiple times in the back by police.
And tonight, we have obtained some new video of the shooting from a different angle. I do want to warn you this as disturbing, any video of this incident is. But as I said, this is a different angle than you've seen and what it's going to show is Blake on the ground with officers before the shooting. So that's what you're looking at, now you can see.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, get back. Mom. Mom. Mom, you have to get back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And you hear several shots fired at the end there before we freeze that. Jacob Blake's parents holding a very emotional press conference tonight. They reveal that they now understand Blake is paralyzed from the waist down and it is unclear at this time if that paralysis is permanent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIA JACKSON, JACOB BLAKE'S MOTHER: I asked him, "Jacob, did you shoot yourself in the back?" He looked at me and he said, "No." I said, "Then, why are you sorry?" He says, "Because I don't want a burden on anybody. I want to be with my children and I don't think I'm going to walk again, mom."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Those powerful words coming as the Justice Department announces the FBI is now reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Omar Jimenez begins our coverage. He is OUTFRONT in Kenosha once again.
And Omar, the Governor where you are, sending a strong message trying to prevent more clashes between protesters and officers tonight, so many of those images that we've seen.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is, Erin. Gov. Tony Evers issuing a statement where he very clearly says there is a line between peaceful assembly and putting individuals, families and businesses in danger. It's part of why he is now doubling the number of National Guard. He is now authorized up to 250 along with about a hundred additional officers from other jurisdictions to assist in what they anticipate based on what they've seen in previous nights.
But at the center of it all is the Jacob Blake family who they've also called for peace, but are also trying to process and understand why one of their own is now clinging for life. And again, a warning some of the video you're about to see may be considered graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: My son has been fighting for his life. We really just need prayers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): Another family cast into the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB BLAKE SR., JACOB BLAKE'S FATHER: They shot my son seven times, seven times like he didn't matter. But my son matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): His father, trying to process police doing this to his son. Twenty-nine-year-old Jacob Blake remains in the hospital currently suffering from paralysis from the waist down, a traumatic injury that could be permanent. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CRUMP, BLAKE FAMILY ATTORNEY: It is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again. He is currently in surgery as we speak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom, get back. Mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): A new video emerging from a different angle during those now infamous moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN BLAKE, JACOB BLAKE'S UNCLE: Thank God he's alive. So we're just praying for a great recovery that he may have a great quality of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): The community's reaction to the shooting has been much like what we've seen in many places across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Jacob Blake. Jacob Blake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): Largely peaceful demonstrations in the hundreds by day, anger and frustration by night.
[19:05:05]
As demonstrators battled with police in front of the courthouse Monday. And as multiple parts of the city began to burn. Some fires engulfing entire buildings in the late night hours Monday, a second night in a row of flames for the city and outside the city leaders across the country from politics to sports calling for justice in Jacob Blake's name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: It's just, quite frankly, it's just f---ed up in our community. I know people get tired of hearing me say it, but we are scared as black people in America. Black men, Black women, Black kids we are terrified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ(voice over): All of this as multiple investigations play out, including by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office over what exactly led up to the shooting. The Kenosha professional Police Association says people shouldn't jump to conclusions based on the video alone, but the Blake family says they've seen enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J BLAKE: Anybody that is white that is doing an investigation about a black young man that was shot seven times in his back and haven't come up with an answer or comment at this point is not welcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: The family feels they only have so much in their control. The rest lies in the hands of investigators, which as we understand now includes the U.S. Department of Justice. And as for Jacob Blake's condition, he was in surgery today.
But as we got more details, it wasn't just damaged to his back in vertebrae, he now has holes in his stomach. He had to have nearly his entire colon and small intestine removed. He was also shot in the arm. In the words of his attorneys, it is a miracle he is still alive. Erin.
BURNETT: Omar, thank you. I want to go now to Patrick Salvi Jr. One of Blake's family attorneys. And Patrick, we just heard Omar there talking about the horrible situation that he is now in. I know that he has another surgery scheduled tonight or at least I understand that. And now there's questions about his paralysis and whether he will ever walk again. What is the very latest that you are able to share about his condition?
PATRICK SALVI JR., FAMILY ATTORNEY FOR JACOB BLAKE: Sure. And thank you very much for having me. The latest on Jacob's condition is that he's currently in surgery. The press conference began about three hours ago and he was in surgery at that time. So as you might be able to imagine, given the length of the surgery, it's a very serious surgery that's intended to stabilize his spine to prevent any further injury.
Our understanding, although the details still need to be confirmed, is that a bullet literally traveled through his body and through his spinal cord. And if that's the case, then the likelihood is that he will be permanently paralyzed. But, of course, with as good rehabilitation and care going forward as possible, hopefully he can maximize his recovery, whatever that can be.
But he's in surgery right now. It's probably not his last surgery. And so we continue to hope for the best. We weren't even sure he was going to survive, so that news alone was heartwarming to the family yesterday.
BURNETT: I'm sure, but this is - I mean, yes, it's heartbreaking. I know with what he's going through, his mother said he just doesn't want to be a burden on anyone. I know that they've been able to communicate with him, but obviously he is in an incredible pain and distress and, as you say, multiple hours in surgery even today. Have you been able to communicate with him at all to hear him explain what happened?
SALVI: The answer is no. And let me give a bit of an explanation on that. First of all, he's been in the hospital ever since the incident. So from Sunday until right now, he's been in the hospital. For the first many hours of him being in the hospital for various reasons, one of them being COVID related, access to Jacob was very much restricted and it took tremendous effort from this legal team, along with some of the folks in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, just to get Julia, his mother, to be able to go and see him.
And so she was able to spend some time with him yesterday. She did not spend that time interrogating him on what occurred, that is coming and hopefully relatively soon.
[19:10:00]
Of course, he's in tremendous pain. He's on heavy pain medications. And for a lot of the time since this happened has been anesthetized and in operation.
So that opportunity has not yet been had. But unlike so many of these other tragic events that have occurred, at least there is a hope that we'll get to hear Jacobs side of the story. And just to bring up one example, the way we didn't get to have George Floyd, his side, for example.
So hopefully we get there. Hopefully he didn't suffer a brain injury and we can get to the point where we can figure out what his memory of the events are and what his side is.
BURNETT: So, yesterday I spoke to Raysean White who filmed one of the videos of what happened. And I want to play again, Patrick, for you the new video that now we're getting from a different angle. It is disturbing. I just want to play a very specific part of it in order to ask you what you know at this point.
This is a video taken from the other side of the car than where Raysean White was. So you see Jacob on the ground with police. At some point he is able to break free, stands up, he goes to the other side of the car. That's when they sort of grabbed him by the shirt he was shot several times.
Now, you've explained why you've not been able to speak with him. Obviously, there are people who filmed this video and other people who were there that I'm sure you have been trying to speak to. Do you have any sense, Patrick, at this point what led to this incident, beginning, what led to him being on the ground as we see there with the officers?
SALVI: So we don't have the detail that you just asked for why he was on the ground with the officers. Our understanding and I believe it's been confirmed by some of the witnesses or at least one of the witnesses was that Jacob initially was a peacemaker, that this was a dispute amongst others. So the details of all of that are still being gathered.
Part of the holdup is not only that Jacob has not been able to communicate with us as lawyers or that we've had enough time to get in and talk to them in detail, whether it's us or family. But also because of the fact that Kenosha, the City of Kenosha, Kenosha County, they've not shared the details that they're aware of with us.
And so we are anxiously awaiting and we'll continue to pursue that. So, again, the details as to how all of this began, but at the same time, as people try to dig into what the details are, it's certainly in no way shape or form justifies Jacob having been shot at least seven if not eight times. So in other words, whatever was going on before, did he deserve a death sentence or an attempted death sentence and I would hope that the answer from all of those watching would be no.
BURNETT: All right. patrick, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much for everything that you're able to tell us as frankly tragic and disturbing as so much of it is with Mr. Blake's condition.
Next, Hurricane Laura headed toward the Gulf Coast right now expected as a category three storm, major storm, massive flooding, hundreds of thousands under mandatory evacuations. That picture is from space.
Plus, an investigation now opened just hours before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses the RNC. Is his speech even legal?
And QAnon, a candidate for congress who called the Charlottesville rally an inside Job says she has just been invited to the White House to join President Trump for his acceptance speech.
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[19:17:49]
BURNETT: Tonight, major hurricane gaining strength off the coast of Texas and Louisiana. Hurricane Laura expected to hit land as a category three storm as early as tomorrow, a massive storm.
These images taken today from the International Space Station. At least 300,000 people in Texas already under mandatory evacuation orders during the pandemic, Tom Sater is OUTFRONT in the CNN Weather Center. So Tom obviously that's a massive storm by the picture. Where is it headed? How big of a monster is it?
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND WEATHER ANCHOR: Well, let's put it this way, typically on a hurricane season one or two tropical systems go through rapid intensification. This is going to be one of the two.
Just to remind you three weeks ago Isaias knocked out power to 3.3 million. It was deadly and that was a category one moderate damage. Look at category three, winds up to 129, gust 140, devastating damage and that's what we've got going on here.
This came off the Coast of Cuba this morning, at 8 am it was a hurricane. Yesterday, wind shear eroded Marco start of its energy. That wind shear is nowhere to be found. In fact, it's just the opposite. All of the ingredients for Laura to rapid intensify to get all the cylinders roaring here.
Look at the sea surface temperatures, low 90s. Thanks to climate change and the warming climate, not only are the sea surface temperatures warmer than they should be, the air temperatures are as well. Nothing is in this way. It is a way for Laura to come in on a perpendicular angle and just punch this wall, punch this coastline with devastating winds, storm surge. It could possibly be a category one as it makes its way into Arkansas.
In red are the hurricane warnings. Look how far inland, over 100 miles the hurricane warnings. It does not include Houston, but don't let your guard down, because you're going to have hurricane gust, you're in a tropical storm warnings, any deviation to the west will put you into this mess.
Storm surge right now just outside Galveston over and toward Louisiana, this is the heart and soul of the gas and oil industry, 80 percent of the platforms have been evacuated, 9-13 feet storm surge, high tide at 4 am when we could have landfall, flooding all the way in 20-25 miles. But the winds in this area from midnight to 4 am we're looking at the landfall, Erin.
[19:20:03]
And again, wrong possible time in the darkness of tonight. Do not plan on staying on the coast. Leave early because obviously the highways are going to be jammed. This is a dangerous, dangerous storm. Worst of the year so far, no doubt.
BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much.
And I want to go now to Craig Brown, Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman for the City of Galveston. Your city, obviously, has a long history with storms. The beginning of hurricane tracking, obviously, starts in Galveston. And tonight, you're under a mandatory evacuation order. Have residents been heeding the warnings that are out there? I mean, are people leaving?
CRAIG BROWN, MAYOR PRO TEM AND CITY COUNCILMAN, GALVESTON, TX: Very much so. We went through Ike in 2008. We learned a lesson and a lot of people don't want to have a repeat on that. So many of our residents, most of our residents are heeding the warning and we have provided transportation for those that need assistance also.
BURNETT: So look at it for your family's perspective, Mayor Brown, are you and your family planning to evacuate as well?
BROWN: Well, being the Mayor Pro Tem of the city, we will be sheltering in place with city staff at one of the hotels here on the island that serves as our command center for the hurricane and our first responders and city personnel will be there also.
BURNETT: So the State of Texas, Mayor Brown, has been hard hit by coronavirus, more than 600,000 cases, about 12,000 deaths, Galveston County, 10,000 cases. So now you have this potentially devastating human catastrophic storm heading your way, residents headed to shelters. How are you handling this? I mean, are the shelters going to be able to protect people from the storm in the time of this virus?
BROWN: Well, it was added a complexity to this that was difficult and it was challenge. But we have buses for those that needed assistance. We had extra buses so we could social distance those individuals in the buses. We're moving them to hotels on the mainland and those hotels were putting one per person in a hotel room to keep them separated.
We did have ambulances available for those that needed isolation as they were being transported off the island. So it does add a degree of complexity also and it also adds a degree of - effects our decision making. That's one of the reasons we had to weigh very seriously if we wanted to go ahead and call for a mandatory evacuation.
But as we saw the weather reports coming in, especially early this morning, we had to do that because this hurricane could be devastating to this area.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Mayor Brown. I appreciate your time.
BROWN: Be well.
BURNETT: And as I just mentioned, the storm is now heading towards a major virus hotspots which, as Mayor Brown was going through, complicates the efforts to combat the virus significantly. Nick Watt is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice over): Some COVID-19 test sites are closing in Texas and Louisiana as Hurricane Laura approaches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R) TEXAS: People need to be prepared and get prepared right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT(voice over): Meanwhile, record average case counts in Kansas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. LAURA KELLY (D) KANSAS: Our positive infection rate from this weekend continues an alarming trend in the wrong direction for Kansas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT(voice over): And record death tolls in Kentucky, why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D) KENTUCKY: To the day we can pinpoint where we
got tired or we stopped trying or we let our guard down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT(voice over): One expert telling CNN that in the absence of a strong federal response, there is a hodgepodge of policies that don't necessarily fit the task in many states. Today, the FDA Commissioner was backpedaling his incorrect spin on some crucial test data.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN HAHN, FDA COMMISSIONER: And I personally could have done a better job and should have done a better job at that press conference explaining what the data show regarding convalescent plasma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT(voice over): And Anthony Fauci just told The Washington Post, "I am sometimes referred to as the skunk at the picnic but pence never directly asks me, the skunk, to be quiet or leave."
Nationwide, average new case counts have tumbled more than 20 percent in two weeks, but it's the seesaw situation which will likely now be our newest normal. At the moment, cases rising in parts of the heartland but falling in the south and west, why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. AMY COMPTON-PHILLIPS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: They shut down the bars and restaurants. They started making masks more mandatory. They started increasing rules around social distancing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATT(voice over): July 24th, Arizona logged 3,357 new cases, August 24th, 311. They've shaken off pariah status. New York no longer requires incoming Arizonans to quarantine, but ...
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DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROF. & DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Now we're pushing very hard to open schools in many parts of the southern U.S. even though we probably shouldn't and the numbers are then going to go back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:25:01]
WATT(voice over): Many millions of even younger people now back at school while still at home. No one's arguing this is ideal, but most experts say in hard hit areas, it's necessary.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WATT: And Erin, this is extraordinary. Researchers now I think that
one biotech conference in Boston way back in February attended by a couple hundred people might have led to as many as 20,000 COVID-19 infections. Now, no one is blaming anyone because back in early February very few of us knew about masks, distancing or, frankly, the dangers posed by COVID-19. Erin.
BURNETT: That's incredible, go from 120 cases to 20,000 just to give people a sense of what exponential growth really means. Thank you so much, Nick.
And OUTFRONT next, Jerry Falwell Jr. finally resigns, again, from Liberty University after revelations of a sordid affair and posting a picture of himself with his pants on zipped and a woman hers also.
And a congressional candidate who embraces QAnon conspiracy theories said she just got invited to the White House and she called the Charlottesville rally, the one which turns deadly, an inside job.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:30:10]
BURNETT: New tonight, Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro announcing investigation into Secretary Pompeo's speech during the RNC just hours before it airs -- the speech Pompeo says is absolutely OK because it's just personal even though he happens to be the secretary of state and recorded in Jerusalem in official trip in that capacity.
He says, quote, it is highly unusual and unprecedented for a sitting secretary of state to speak at a partisan convention for either of the political parties. It appears it may also be illegal.
Jim Acosta is OUTFRONT at the White House.
Jim, the White House not backing down on this at all.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And neither is the Trump campaign. The Trump campaign is brushing off concerns that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's address at the Republican convention tonight violates any laws or ethics rules for the administration. A Trump campaign official told me just a short a while ago that any cost resulting from Pompeo's address this evening from Israel, even though it's happening during an official trip will not be picked up by taxpayers and instead will be covered by the campaign.
The official went on to point out that Hillary Clinton was making moves toward running for the White House in 2016 while she was secretary of state. Now, setting that argument aside, it is highly unusual, obviously, for a current secretary of state to make this kind of overt address, during a political convention. It's also hypocritical, Erin, as Pompeo just sent a directive to diplomats around the world, warning them to steer clear of overt political activity, and Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro, who just mentioned, he cited the Hatch Act in his letter to the State Department, informing officials there that he has launched this investigation.
The Hatch Act, as we know, is signed into law to bar government officials from engaging in politics. Sources tell CNN this decision was cleared through administration lawyers.
But, Erin, critics say this is just another example of the Trump administration using the federal government to help President Trump get reelected from the State Department to the post office to the Food and Drug Administration, to the convention itself being staged here at the White House tonight and on Thursday night and all week -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jim, thank you very much.
And Jim mentions the hypocrisy here which I want to get to in a moment. I, first, though, David Chalian, want to start with you.
David Chalian is with me, our political director, along with Amanda Carpenter, former communications director for Ted Cruz. She is, though, voting for Joe Biden. Scott Jennings, who was special assistant of George W. Bush and is now supporting President Trump. And former Republican Congresswoman Mia Love, not supporting Biden but undecided about Trump.
All right. So, David, let me start with you. Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, records this speech in Jerusalem. He's there as part of an official trip as secretary of state. Jerusalem, obviously, has great meaning to Trump and his platform, right, because, you know, he moved the embassy there. But he says it's no big deal because he's just Mike Pompeo, regular American dude.
Does that logic fly at all?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No. It's inextricably linked. I mean, listen, this is a norm-busting president, and his secretary of state is following suit. His secretary of state, who, by the way, not that long ago was talking to a very politically influential conservative group in Iowa.
Mike Pompeo, no doubt, has his eyes set on the potential future presidential run, speaking at the Republican conventional run is a good place to start, but except that he's on a taxpayer funded diplomatic mission to one of our country's strongest supporters and allies and he's going to use that perch to advance Donald Trump's re- election campaign, not advance America's interests in the world. He's standing there and taping a speech for the convention, purely a political thing.
I know he says he's doing it in personal capacity. He's going to be introduced as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
BURNETT: Right, I mean, that's his title.
And, Congresswoman, this is the hypocrisy here. Secretary of State Pompeo sends a cable to diplomats just the last month and it says, quote, presidential and political appointees, of which he is one, and career secret executive service, senior executive service, are subject to significant restrictions on their political activity. They may not engaged in any partisan, political activity in concert with a partisan campaign, political party, or partisan political group even on personal time and outside the federal workplace.
OK. So, he's completely breaking his own rule because he's not doing it on the personal time. He's doing it in the workplace and, oh, yeah, he's a presidential appointee. How does this add up? How is it OK, Congresswoman?
MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He is obviously working. Pompeo is obviously working and as much as I love Mike Pompeo, you have to ask yourself if it is really necessary? I mean, do you need to headache that much? Is the speech going to be that riveting, that moving for the American people that you would risk blurring those lines?
On the congressional side, it's different. You've got the campaign side and then you've got a congressional side. You've got an official side.
[19:35:01]
On the official side, that's all you have. This is not an elected individual, this is an appointed individual sent to Israel to do -- to do the people's work, and they should just focus on that. If they really wanted to do that speech, he can come home and do it on his own time. Not while he is working.
So I don't think it's worth a headache, really.
BURNETT: So, Scott, you know, this comes in the context of the convention where President Trump promised the convention would be very uplifting and positive, his words. But this is a bit of what we heard last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make no mistake: no matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats America.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): It's a horror film, really. They will disarm you, empty prisons, lock you in your home and invite MS-13 to live next door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't let them destroy your families, your lives and your future.
DONALD TRUMP, JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: It starts by rejecting radicals who want to drag us into the dark.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was a pretty terrifying grouping of comments, Scott. If that's uplifting and positive, what is negative?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I didn't see any tape of Nikki Haley there. I don't see a tape of Tim Scott. There were a lot of things that were said last night by the speakers and others that were extremely optimistic.
Look, this convention has to serve two purposes though. They had to draw a contrast between Donald Trump, his agenda and his record and what the Democrats want to do. And they also, frankly, have to -- have to put some meat on the bones of a second term agenda for Donald Trump. So, you know, having a campaign starting now without a contrasting message is not an option for them.
So, my suspicion is you're going to see more contrasting messages tonight. But simply saying something about the other party does that mean he did not also say something that we're optimistic about your own agenda.
BURNETT: OK. So, to be fair, Amanda, what I played there was pretty terrifying. However we did hear a lot of fear and darkness from the Democrats convention as well. Let me play some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: We need numbers overwhelming so Trump can sneak or steal his way to victory.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The current president has cloaked American darkness for much too long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Donald Trump Jr. says dragging into darkness, Joe Biden says cloaking America in darkness. Is there a double standard here, America?
AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, all campaigns play into emotions on some level, and the Democrats clearly are saying Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, and Donald Trump is saying the liberals are a threat to the country. I mean, they are just playing a few different ways.
But kind of what is stunning, I think the difference is at the Republican convention, there is no real governing underlying philosophy at play. The Democrats are really making a play for the heartstrings saying Joe Biden is a caring, empathetic guy at the end of the day. And the Republicans are saying, well, Donald Trump is a guy who will be back on people you think are building you.
So there is kind of a total difference there. I think that does play out, but we have to look at what is happening in the Republican convention. There's so many norms being busted. You talk about Mike Pompeo, a man that has the biggest trick in the book, you book some official business so you can go somewhere for a campaign to make yourself look good. He is running in 2024 and he wants that big stage so he can look like
the grand world leader. I mean, it's such a Trumpy move. You watch all the speakers make such Trumpy moves that are about themselves and not the underlying philosophy and bigger goals.
BURNETT: Right, and I just emphasize again with Mike Pompeo. I mean, Jerusalem, right, it isn't like he's in Buenos Aires or something, right? He's in Jerusalem where President Trump made that whole stink, right, about the embassy. I mean, it is core here.
So, let me ask you, David, about the ratings. Night one of the RNC, 15.9 million viewers. So, overall, that's down 28 percent from 2016. So, that's a plunge. It is 15 percent less than the first night of the DNC, which featured Michelle Obama. But it was the most watched on Fox News, which ha become a proxy for President Trump, right? They set a cable record for the first night.
So what do you make of that?
CHALIAN: Yeah, I mean, I don't think the Fox News ratings will surprise anyone. It's the home team convention for Fox News and Fox News serves as a gathering place, so that makes sense. In terms of compared to 4 years ago, Barack Obama did not see that kind of a plunge, as you described there, but he did see a dip between his '08 convention speech and his '12 speech.
There's something here about, you know, being the reelect and no longer the new guy on the block. But there is no doubt that these ratings will impact one person more than anybody else, and that is Donald Trump who is completely consumed by television ratings and seeing him versus what the Democrats did last week on week one, there is no way that went over well at the White House today.
BURNETT: All right. All of you please stay with me.
[19:40:01]
Next, Trump supporter Jerry Falwell Jr. gone as Liberty University president after a sex scandal, now on the list of course the peoples surrounding the president. But do supporters care?
And Millennia Trump take-two. After accusations of plagiarizing Michelle Obama overshadowed her speech in the last convention, she's up back tonight.
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BURNETT: New tonight, a QAnon candidate for Congress says she's been invited by the White House to attend President Trump's acceptance speech on Thursday. This comes as CNN's KFILES has uncovered disturbing comments made by Marjorie Taylor Greene before she ran for office. She called the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that led to the death of a protester, quote, inside job. She also promoted that crazy pizza-gate theory that alleges Democratic Party leaders run a human trafficking and pedophilia ring from a pizza restaurant in Washington. Our panel is back with me.
Scott, let me start with you. The president did embrace Mr. Greene after she won her primary, calling her, quote, a future Republican star who is strong on everything. She now says she has been invited to the White House to join him for his acceptance speech.
How big of a problem is this for your party?
[19:45:02]
JENNINGS: I don't think it's a huge problem. I mean, I think both parties have people on the fringes that sometimes get elected to Congress and say and do things that party leaders wish they wouldn't do. I think Trump should take Mike Pence's advice on QAnon and sort of dismiss it and say that it's not part of our orthodoxy.
I think conspiracy theories are a dead end for both parties. I don't think Republicans or anyone else should embrace them and I think would be smart to sweep all this away and get serious about the problems facing the American people. This thing right here is nonsense and Republicans ought to say so.
BURNETT: Right, and, obviously, you say so, but the president, does it worry you that he called her a future Republican star who is strong and everything?
JENNINGS: I mean, it doesn't worry me. I wish he wouldn't do it. But in the pantheon of things I worry about in life, no, it's down the list a little bit.
BURNETT: So, Amanda, to this point, the president was asked about Qanon. He did not denounce the group. You know, Scott is saying he wished he would. Instead, he said this.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What's your reaction, Amanda?
CARPENTER: It worries me a lot. The reason why, Donald Trump chooses to support and elevate people like QAnon, conspiracy theorists, over good people like Mia Love who should still be in Congress, who should still have Donald Trump's support.
And people can say it doesn't matter, but this is who Donald Trump is. He campaigns and governs in conspiracies. And people want to act like we can separate that. What was birtherism? What was the deep state hoax about? What was calling people concerned about coronavirus engaging in a hoax to take down the presidency? This is who he is. This is the farm team, his style and brand of
politics. And this is who he is literally bringing into Washington. And so, this is the Republican Party under Trump. And you cannot separate this crazy QAnon conspiracy, which is dangerous, and will hurt people. It's already hurting our democracy, from Trump.
BURNETT: Congresswoman, since Amanda brings you up, let me ask you this. Greene is not the only Republican running for Congress who has embraced QAnon, OK? According to our count, five other House or Senate candidates have expressed support for is sympathize specifically with QAnon. That's five.
Is this the Republican Party that you recognize, Congresswoman Love?
LOVE: Absolutely not. I agree with Kevin McCarthy, Leader Kevin McCarthy, when he says that there is no room in the party for people that are on the fringes like that then embrace what I would say is pretty disruptive and can be potentially dangerous rhetoric out there.
You know, the people, that for me to represent the party are people like Tim Scott, the people that stood up and are concerned about what's going on in the country. You have to understand, QAnon, what they're worried about is nothing that the country really should be concerned about right now. They are outrageous conspiracy theories.
BURNETT: Yeah.
LOVE: And I agree with Scott. He should -- I mean, the president should just dismiss it instead of saying I don't know, I hear they like me.
You don't want to be associated with a group like that, and Republicans certainly don't want to be associated with a group like that when we've got other things to worry about. We've got the economy. We've got to make sure that people are being fed and that they're healthy, that they're able to get a job.
I mean, I just want us to get away from the nonsense and start focusing on the things that are so important to the American people.
CHALIAN: It comes from the top.
LOVE: We have so many problems. QAnon should not be in the picture at all.
BURNETT: David, go ahead.
CHALIAN: It comes from the top. He didn't just not dismiss it, he said he appreciates that they like him. I mean, this is why Ben Sasse, no squish of a Republican, conservative senator from Nebraska, who says real leaders would call this nuts, nuts. And Liz Cheney, you know, calling it lunacy that has no place in American politics. It doesn't.
But Donald Trump is giving it a place, literally on the south lawn of the White House for his acceptance speech. BURNETT: And, you know, so, Scott --
CARPENTER: Erin --
BURNETT: Yeah, go ahead, Amanda.
CARPENTER: I just have to say, we can act like, oh, Kevin McCarthy said no, but all the people that play into this deep state conspiracy kind of thinking that Donald Trump asked them to, they are responsible for this too. This didn't happen out of nowhere.
BURNETT: So, Scott, can I just ask you one question here, though, to the point? You know, Mia is talking about Kevin McCarthy. He did disavow Greene, but his office told CNN when they were asked, his office, their first instinctual response was, quote, they looked forward to her winning in November.
You have a point about it coming from the top. What does it say that the people in these offices, their first thing is to defend this crazy crap?
JENNINGS: I suspect what Kevin McCarthy and others in Congress will have to do is wait and see who actually wins these races. If she comes to Congress and espouses those views, I suspect she's going to find herself in the same spot as Steve King did from Iowa. You know, Kevin McCarthy --
LOVE: Just about the same time.
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: -- didn't wait anytime in excommunicating Steve King. So, I think he has --
BURNETT: It took decades.
JENNINGS: -- actually a pretty good track record of pushing people out that don't have views that are well representative of the Republican Party. I would hope he would do that in this case.
And again, I think conspiracy theories are a dead end. I think he has said the right things on this. Mike Pence has said the right things. And I hope that after the elections, they don't allow these things to fester within the conference if these -- any of these people make it there.
BURNETT: So, David, Jerry Falwell Jr., I mentioned him as I came to the commercial, I want to ask you about this. There are now 10 Trump associates who have been charged with crimes or convicted of crimes since he took office. The latest being his former strategist Steve Bannon.
Of course, Jerry Falwell Jr., this is a personal indiscretion. That seems too minor of a word, but it's a personal thing.
Does this negatively reflect on the president at all among his supporters? When they see from the original campaign chief to Steve Bannon to the personal misbehavior of Mr. Falwell?
CHALIAN: I doubt that it's going to cause erosion among his supporters, Erin, but I do think it's the kind of negative headline and noise that has sort of been part of what has driven independents away from the president over the course of the last three and a half years, precisely at a moment when he's trying to win some of them back. I just think the noise and the chaos around the president like this is not welcome 10 weeks out from the election.
BURNETT: All right. I appreciate all of you. Thank you.
JENNINGS: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: Next, a second chance for the First Lady Melania Trump. She's up to that tonight to speak with the RNC. What will she do? Last time they were accusations of plagiarism over her last convention address. Presumably this one will be quite different.
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BURNETT: First Lady Melania Trump hoping to erase memories of 2016 after she was accused of plagiarizing from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech. Her remarks tonight expected to be uplifting and positive as she shuns the help of professional speechwriters. Her chief of staff told us that she wrote, quote, every word and it has not been vetted by anyone in the West Wing.
Kate Bennett is OUFRONT.
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KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than three years as first lady, and Melania Trump remains one of the most mysterious and private first ladies in modern history.
MELANIA TRUMP, U.S. FIRST LADY: Good morning, everyone.
BENNETT: A 10-year mark thus far by a platform helping children and an independent streak that at times doesn't sync up with the West Wing. Whether speaking out against bullying on social media --
MELANIA TRUMP: I have been criticized for many for tackling this issue, and I know that will continue. But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right.
BENNETT: Or as the first Trump to publicly endorsed wearing a mask during a pandemic back in April.
After the killing of George Floyd, calling for peaceful protests that almost exactly the same time as President Trump demanded crackdowns and law and order.
Melania Trump, never before a political spouse, forming different East Wing than most other first ladies, more by instinct than experience. ROBIN ROBERTS, TV HOST: I know that Laura Bush reached out to you and
said if you need any help, I'm a phone call away. You wrote about how you extended that same courtesy to Melania Trump. Has she reached out to you?
MICHELLE BARACK, FORMER FIRST LADY: No. No, she hasn't.
BENNETT: Melania Trump, a former model, met Donald Trump in 1998. She was 28, he 52.
PRES. TRUMP: I was actually supposed to meet somebody else. There was this great supermodel sitting next to Melania and I was supposed to meet the supermodel. They said, look there is so and so. I said, forget about her. Who's the one on the left? And it was Melania.
BENNETT: They married in 2005 and had son Barron in 2006. Melania Trump remains a reluctant campaigner, hasn't engaged in Trump's heated political rhetoric, and doesn't always take his lead.
Still, she remains one of the president's most influential advisers.
MELANIA TRUMP: I give him my honest opinion and honest advice and sometimes he, listens sometimes he doesn't. But I have my own voice and my opinion.
BENNETT: Awkwardly, there remains intense curiosity often about the first couple's relationship, not only the moments of awkwardness, but how she weathered headlines about alleged infidelities, remaining quiet.
INTERVIEWER: You mentioned you still have a good marriage. Do you love your husband?
MELANIA TRUMP: Yes, we are fine. Yes. What the media speculate and its gossips is not always correct stuff.
BENNETT: Melania Trump has used her unflappable demeanor and affinity for children to demonstrate a softer, at times more compassionate, counterpart to her husband's bluster, a chance to address the nation Tuesday night, and an opportunity to shift focus from her 2016 convention speech, where portions of her remarks were plagiarized from Michelle Obama's 2008 speech.
MELANIA TRUMP: Work hard for what you want in life, that your work is your bond, and you do what you say and keep your promise.
M. OBAMA; You work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, that you do what you say you are going to do.
BENNETT: Melania Trump will have to make her own case about what she's done as first lady, and why she wants to stay.
Kate Bennett, CNN, Washington.
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BURNETT: Our thanks to Kate. And thanks to you for joining us.
Don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT anytime. Just go to CNN Go.
Our live special coverage of the second night of the Republican National Convention continues now.
