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New Day

Kamala Harris Accepts Historic V.P. Nomination; Joe Biden to Accept Nomination for President Tonight; Schools and Colleges Struggle to Reopen amid Pandemic. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 20, 2020 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day.

What will Joe Biden say tonight? We have breaking details.

Also this morning, no one alive has ever seen anything like this. It was that historic, that unprecedented. A former president declaring republic is at stake, that the current president might tear the democracy down, his words. That was one part of the history. The other, the first woman of color to ever accept the nomination on the ticket of a major party, Kamala Harris touching on her past and addressing the challenges facing the country today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), PRESUMPTIVE VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And let's be clear, there is no vaccine for racism. We have got to do the work, for George Floyd, for Breonna Taylor, for the lives of too many others to name, for our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: So the other part that was historic was former President Barack Obama breaking this unwritten rule by sharply criticizing his successor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead, millions of jobs gone, while those at the top take in more than ever, our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Right. Let's bring in CNN Political Commentator Karen Finney, she's a former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign, CNN Political Analyst Maggie Haberman, she's a White House Correspondent for The New York Times, and CNN Political Commentator Jen Psaki, she's a former White House Communications Director under President Obama.

And, Jen, I want to start with you, because what we heard from President Obama last night was the likes of which we have never heard before from a former president or from President Obama. There were moments where it looked like he was emotional to the point of tearing up. What do you see, Jen? What do you think drove it and what do you think the impact will be?

JENNIFER PSAKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that's right, John. And I worked for him for ten years and you don't see that emotional outcry frequently or that emotion on his face. I can only remember a couple of times over the course of the long period of time I worked for him.

But I think what we saw last night was somebody who, you know, a former president who had a lot of pent-up feelings and emotions about what he's seen over the last four years. He has picked his moments very carefully to speak out against Trump over the last few years on purpose, but this was bigger than a political speech. This was speaking to this moment we're living in, a warning of sorts, but taking a bigger -- really defending our democracy.

And, you know, as long as I worked for him, he always saw himself as kind of a person who's a part of history, as much as he was, of course, the first African-American president, but I think he took the opportunity to speak out about this moment in history and really call on people to change the course of the direction of where we're going.

CAMEROTA: And he really spelled out what he sees as President Trump's failings. So let's play for everyone that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously. But he never did.

For close to four years now, he has shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends, no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job, because he can't. And the consequences of that failure are severe.

[07:05:03]

170,000 Americans dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Karen Finney, were you surprised that President Obama was so specific? KAREN KINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I wasn't, because I think the times demand both that level of specificity and the kind of emotional intention that Jennifer was just talking about. I think you saw that on Monday night with Michelle Obama.

I thought it was quite clear that President Obama felt it was very important to sort of cut through all of the usual political flowery language and just get right to down to it, be very specific and very intentional in saying, this is the moment.

This is the all hands on deck moment. This is the time to get out there, to have a plan and trying to speak to those folks who may be somewhere on the fence to say, I know the job, I've done the job, I'm telling you, this guy can't do it, in just very plain language.

So I was not surprised. I was frankly very pleased to see the president really rise to the -- this moment, where, really, our democracy does feel very much under siege.

BERMAN: It is interesting, Maggie, because one message you got from President Obama, and you heard it with Kamala Harris also, and you've heard it to an extent all week, is that President Trump is not willing to do the work. And Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and others have said, we are going to do the work.

In a way, I suppose, that sets something of a trap for President Trump in the coming days as he heads into his convention. How do you think that lands inside the White House?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I don't think it lands happily. You saw President Trump's Twitter feed last night, which was a feast of all caps tweets, responding to his predecessor, really laying into him. And I think that what he's said here is the key, it's not that President Obama was just making broadsides, it's not as if he was only talking about the president's penchant for admiring dictators, although he certainly did talk about that.

He said, and Michelle Obama had said two nights earlier, this is a person who's just essentially fake, who's not up for the job. And that gets under President Trump's skin more than almost anything you could say about him.

So I think what he's going to do is swing wildly at it for the next couple of days, whether that carries over into his speech remains to be seen. I know that his own team thinks that they can -- and the Democratic Convention is saying, look, that's what we've had before.

And you've seen President Trump saying some version of this in the last few days. That's what I've inherited and I've made it better. Their clear argument to people to explain why this is different from 2016 is, you have a theoretical version of a Trump presidency in 2016 that a lot of folks hoped we would grow into. And they are (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: Jen, let's talk about Kamala Harris. She talked about her experience as a prosecutor and how she basically said that she can recognize a criminal. So listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I have fought for children and survivors of sexual assault. I fought against transnational criminal organizations. I took on the biggest banks and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges. I know a predator when I see one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What did you think of that?

PSAKI: I mean, I know a predator when I see one, I think we all sat on our couches and thought, wow, good for her. But what I loved about her speech, I mean, obviously, she's an historic figure and will be forever, because she's the first African-American woman, first Asian- American woman to accept the vice presidential nomination, but what we learned last night from her speech is more about her, more about her biography, her child's eye view of the fight for racial justice. And I think that was really needed.

Historically, the speech, the vice presidential nomination speech is spent attacking, you know, would have been spent attacking President Trump, attacking the opponent. But she didn't really need to do that. Others had done that for her and it gave her more space to introduce herself, her biography, her history of fighting for justice from childhood. And I think that was really important for the entire ticket, and for her too.

BERMAN: And I am always curious, Karen, who do you think was the target more this speech? During it, there were a few things I noticed. First of all, she referred to her sorority, AKA, from Howard University, which is huge, which is a giant deal in their sorority sisters around the country.

And the other thing, this is all over social media and I'm going to mispronounce it because I didn't grow up in a South Asian household, but she referred to her family her chikis (ph), which I think is tantamount to her aunties. And that just lit the internet on fire with people who could identify directly with that.

[07:10:00]

FINNEY: And I have to tell you, as a black woman, I mean, it was ugly crying. I'm so moved and excited and it was so powerful and it was particularly powerful on the same night that you have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, two figures, I mean, the arc of history soft watching her on the stage, knowing where black women have come from in this country and the history and the (INAUDIBLE), as she was so beautifully embracing all parts of her family, beginning with her niece and her stepdaughter of her sister.

That is what American families look like today. We are kind of mixed families with different backgrounds and we come together in different ways. So I think the audience, again, was meant to be broad and create this bridge and this opening to different voters who are maybe still not quite sure if they're voting for Joe Biden. But to her, it was also very intentionally for black women and putting herself in that line of history, talking about her ancestors and her mother, in particular.

It was just incredibly powerful and something we would say, she called the roll, right? She talked about the powerful black women who have come before her. She talked about the key women in her family. She called it out and talked about her experience as a black person in this country. And that line where she said, you know, there is no vaccine for racism, I'm getting the T-shirt, it's already being made. I mean, it was just -- it was so powerful.

And so the audience, I think, was also really made to say, to people who are black and brown in this country, who are Asian-American, who feel left out and left behind and don't always see their story reflected in our national conversation, I see you, I have that lived experience, I won't get you, I am here for you, and I am an embodiment of the culmination of all of these experiences and I will bring that to making sure Joe Biden gets elected, making sure we put his vision into place, and making sure we prosecute the case against Donald Trump.

BERMAN: So the question now is what does that leave for Joe Biden? We have new details on what he plans to say tonight and I'm very curious as to what the three of you think he needs to say and who he needs to address. Maggie Haberman, you're up first.

CAMEROTA: Get ready.

BERMAN: We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

CAMEROTA: We are just 75 days away from Election Day. Tonight, Joe Biden officially accepts the Democratic nomination for president. And some of his former primary rivals will also speak on his behalf tonight. Back with us, Karen Finney, Jen Psaki, and Maggie Haberman.

So, Maggie, our reporting is tonight, Joe Biden will focus less on Donald Trump than some of the previous speakers. What should we expect?

HABERMAN: That's our understanding as well, Alisyn. And, look, I think that Joe Biden is going to try to make a case that is broader and bigger than just being against Donald Trump, which the other nights of the convention have spoken pretty effectively to.

Where I think that the Trump campaign has set the bar so low for Joe Biden over and over and over again, so when he comes out and when he delivers, which I believe he will, a pretty complete and clear speech, I think that is an area where you're going to see the Trump campaign intentionally regretting having minimized his abilities over such a period of time. Look, Joe Biden is not a storyteller the way President Obama is, he is not an orator the way he is or Michelle Obama is, but he does have this calling card of empathy and compassion. And I think you'll see that come through tonight.

BERMAN: Yes. To what extent, Jen? And it's interesting, there have been people who have written over the last few hours that, in some ways, the 2020 convention isn't drastically different than 2016, in the sense that in 2016, it was, Donald Trump, bad, and we've heard a lot of Donald Trump bad at the Democratic Convention. So how much does Joe Biden need to focus on Joe Biden and what specifically he will provide in an affirmative way?

PSAKI: I think the majority of his speech should focus on Joe Biden. One thing I would disagree with on that analysis is that the videos, which we've all been watching at home and you wouldn't be watching if you weren't in a convention hall, they probably wouldn't make it on to television. And if you were attending the convention, like all of us, you would probably have been going to get a drink or going to the ladies room during that time. They have been really powerful introductions to the American people about substantive issues and also about Joe Biden.

But I think tonight, you know, there are only two things most people know about Joe Biden in the country, that he was Barack Obama's vice president, which is a pro for Democrats and many independents, and that he's not Donald Trump. He actually has an incredible personal story, not just the tragedy he's been through, but how he grew up, how he's persevered, issues he's pushed for, he needs to tell that story and also set a more optimistic vision of the alternative.

Yes, this election is about Donald Trump because he's sitting in the White House. But also, people need to feel good about what they're voting for. A lot of Democrats do, but he needs to bridge a few more across the finish line. I think one of the lines that people haven't talked about a lot from Barack Obama's speech was that Joe Biden made him a better president. I hopefully will see what that means and what that looks like in his speech tonight.

CAMEROTA: That's what Joe Biden needed, Karen. I mean, that's what he needed to hear, or that's what, I think, that people who have wondered about Joe Biden needed to hear, because, you know, President Trump is trying to -- he's putting out all of these press releases and trying to paint the narrative that Joe Biden wasn't effective, that he wasn't helpful, that he had all of these failings. And so that line from President Obama, I'm sure, really helped.

And so do you think that tonight is really just biography? Will there be policy that he weaves in there, or is this really just telling America who he is?

[07:20:00]

FINNEY: Well, I think he does need to do some policy and vision, is the way that I would say it. Because, you know, I'm going to do a baseball analogy, and bear with me, this is a little out of my depth, but it's like bases loaded. It is time, Joe Biden has it all set up knock it out of the park. We have been talking about the fact that character matters, leadership matters. What does that look like? Joe Biden is that person.

We've been hearing about what a good, decent human being he is, and why that actually matters in leadership and our president. Jill Biden, I think, told us and showed us a human side of Biden that we know about, because we know his stories of tragedy and triumph, but I think she kind of really brought us into that heart.

So, tonight -- and we've had others really make the case against Donald Trump. So, tonight, it is for Joe Biden to take all of that together and say, and this is how I will lead. This is the vision of this country that I'm fighting for. Join me. And he was so pressured all of those months to go to say this is about the soul of America. Tell us about what your vision is for how we do this and how we move past this moment in history into a bold, bright future. That's the job. No pressure, but that's the job for tonight.

BERMAN: No question, it's the fourth quarter, the bases are loaded, you have to put the puck in the net. I think that's exactly the right metaphor.

Joe Biden has the benefit of consistency, which is that the day he announced, he said this election was about character, he said it was about Charlottesville, he defined the election from the beginning in that way, and now it's come to this moment, so he can say, I've been consistent from the beginning here.

Maggie, one of the things you write that I find very interesting is the difficulty with which the White House has had in defining Joe Biden and also now Kamala Harris. Talk about that.

HABERMAN: So, it's absolutely right, John. This has been the challenge that the president and his team have found. The president, you know, last year, early into this year, was telling people very boldly, you know, I'll be able to define Joe Biden as Hillary Clinton as the man (ph), those were his words. They are two different people, they are two different public figures.

2020 is not the same year as 2016. And the president's campaign has basically been throwing a bunch of things against the wall trying to make it stick and really none of them have. We've actually seen them start to change their messaging in the last couple of days to try to talk about record as opposed to painting him as a radical, which is what they were doing for a while. While, alternately portraying him as a mastermind who's going to harm government and can't string a sentence together, these two things are in conflict.

In terms of Senator Harris, she is also difficult (INAUDIBLE). They believe she is going to be here for them. I don't see any evidence of that right now. She's not seen as somebody who has tacked more to the left, certainly when she was running for president. She is a former prosecutor. She has credentials that are going to be harder to caricature as a puppet of some other force. And I think you are going to continue to see them struggle with how to approach this. CAMEROTA: And, Maggie, very quickly in our waning seconds, tonight, President Trump is counterprogramming, in a way, or this afternoon, I should say, by going to Scranton, Joe Biden's hometown. Do they think they're going to -- I mean, have they researched this and advanced this? Do they think they're going to get a huge crowd, a warm reception? What's the plan there?

HABERMAN: Look, their hope is just to draw media attention, Alisyn, away from what Joe Biden is going to get. It is not unusual to have counterprogramming from the other part during a convention. It is unusual to have a president trolling in this way, the way you're seeing President Trump doing, where it's really just about that and less about trying to drive home a counter-message. I expect we'll see a very similar set of statements tonight from President Trump as we've been seeing from everyone else.

CAMEROTA: Maggie, Karen, Jen, thank you, great to talk to all of you, great to have you here.

One state requiring flu vaccines for all K-12 students. So will that help avoid the possible twindemic this fall we've been hearing about? Will parents go along with this? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: There is new concern this morning about the safety of schools reopening, Massachusetts now requiring all K-12 students to get flu vaccines before the end of the year. It comes as the daily death toll topped 1,000 for the 22nd time in the past month, more than 1,300 new deaths recorded.

Joining us now is CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, I'm very interested by what Massachusetts is doing. The only thing important to so many parents right now is how schools, whether they will reopen. Why do this? What does it tell you?

GUPTA: Well, first of all, I'll point out that Massachusetts is a state that we should all pay attention to. I mean, they've done a really good job on various aspects of controlling this, including having contact tracing and more testing in place. And now, as you point out, K-12. So everybody has got to get a flu shot by the end of the year.

I mean, there have been other school districts around the country, as you know, that have had some implementation of flu mandatory vaccines in different age groups. But this is going to be much more widespread.

I mean, the concern as you go into the fall, you've got coronavirus and you've got flu. This is all about the idea that if you start to have this double-whammy, as Dr. Robert Redford has talked about, you could start to overflow hospitals again. This is that flatten the curve sort of model.

And also, in places where you don't have adequate testing, somebody comes in with these symptoms, you don't know. Is this coronavirus, is this flu? Everyone's got to put on the personal protective equipment, assume that it's coronavirus. You remember all of this. This is the same discussion we were having at the end of last flu season.

[07:30:01]

So they want to try to obviate some of that going forward.

CAMEROTA: Parents in New York City, obviously one of the hugest public school systems in the country, if not the, are still confused.

END