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Trump Tries to Move Past Pandemic in Renomination Speech; Family: Jacob Blake Handcuffed to Bed Despite Being Paralyzed; Athletes Fight for Social Justice after Jacob Blake Shooting. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the most important election in the history of our country.

[05:58:54]

My administration has a very different approach. To save as many lives as possible, we are focusing on the science, the facts and the data.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His whole speech was about a big lie about where we are in this country. We have 180,000 dead.

ANDREW YANG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: His son is handcuffed to the bed and was very angry at that.

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): I would have no personal understanding why that would be necessary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police arrested 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A young white man who killed people is not shot and is taken alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, August 27, 6 a.m. here in New York.

And this morning, the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. approaching 181,000 Americans. The CDC predicts that number will grow to 200,000 Americans in the next few weeks. Since just the start of the Republican National Convention Monday, more than 4,000 Americans have died, more than were killed on 9/11.

But those tragic numbers were overlooked at the Republican convention last night, and social distancing rules were also overlooked last night. One thousand people packed tightly onto the South Lawn of the White House. Very few, as you can see, were wearing masks. A senior White House official tells CNN, "Everybody is going to get this thing eventually."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Really? They actually said, everybody is going to get this thing eventually. That is the White House explanation. Everyone's going to catch it. Might as well be at the White House, the taxpayer-funded seat of the executive branch.

And about that, for the first time in history, the White House served as a convention backdrop. This shatters all precedent, a political rally at the White House, which by CNN's count, included at least 20 lies or misleading claims.

Now, the goal of the convention was crystal-clear, to smooth some of the president's edges, make him acceptable to some voters. But more than anything, to make this a so-called choice election. Not just a referendum on his presidency, but a choice between Trump and Joe Biden.

The president mentioned Biden by name 41 times. It was really, in many ways, a speech about Joe Biden, trying to create fear and division.

Now, one photo from the conclusion of it really captures the dichotomy of this all. You can see the fireworks there. By the way, late at night. I mean, if you're a Washington resident, how psyched are you for fireworks at 11:45 on a work night? Fireworks there with protesters highlighting the impact of the pandemic on Americans.

Let's begin, though, at the White House with CNN's Jeff Zeleny. The president asking for four more years. Sometimes it felt like the speech would last that full time. This was a very long speech, Jeff.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

It was a long speech, and you could certainly hear those fireworks across town, I can tell you.

But President Trump did begin the general election campaign right here on the ground grounds of the people's house. He misrepresented his record repeatedly, particularly on coronavirus, but he did offer a stark frame of the general election ahead.

He said that, without evidence, that no one is safe in Joe Biden's America.

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ZELENY (voice-over): President Trump formally accepted his party's renomination, turning the White House South Lawn into a full-blown Trump rally.

TRUMP: I profoundly [SIC] accept this nomination for president of the United States.

ZELENY: On the final night of the Republican convention, the president spoke before more than 1,500 supporters, with few masks and no social distancing. This after months of the Trump administration's own health experts urging people to avoid large gatherings, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump praised and misrepresented his handling of the crisis, while the U.S. continues to face a high human cost from the pandemic.

TRUMP: We are meeting this challenge. We are delivering life-saving therapies, and we'll produce a vaccine before the end of the year or maybe even sooner.

ZELENY: He also warned a Joe Biden-led response would cripple the economy.

TRUMP: Instead of following the science, Joe Biden wants to inflict a painful shutdown on the entire country. Joe Biden's plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather, it's a surrender to the virus.

My administration has a very different approach. To save as many lives as possible, we are focusing on the science, the facts, and the data.

ZELENY: Yet Biden has only said he would shut down the country if scientists recommend it.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives. Because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus.

ZELENY: As the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, tried to soften his image --

IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER/WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: I recognize that my dad's communications style is not to everyone's taste.

ZELENY: -- people gathered outside the White House to protest racial injustice.

Trump did not mention Jacob Blake, who was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, earlier this week. Or two of the people allegedly killed by a 17-year-old during protests. But he did warn a Biden presidency would lead to an attack on public safety.

TRUMP: We must never allow mob rule. We can never allow mob rule. In the strongest possible terms, the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting arson, and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities, all, like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, and New York, and many others. Democrat-run.

ZELENY: It was one of many blistering attacks on Biden, a moderate Democrat, whose record Trump repeatedly mischaracterized as radical.

TRUMP: Biden is a trojan horse for socialism.

ZELENY: Ahead of a fireworks celebration, Trump told voters, November's election could have historic consequences.

TRUMP: At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas. This election will decide whether we save the American dream or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny.

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[06:05:24]

ZELENY: Now, the president came into this Republican National Convention trying to reset his candidacy. Even some top Democrats tell me overnight there are signs he may have done that, through his message of law and order. So look for a response from the Biden campaign later today.

But the campaign is beginning now in earnest. There are 67 days until the general election, no question. But it starts sooner than that.

Next Friday, a week from today, the ballots start going out in North Carolina. It unfolds from there throughout the month of September and October. So for the president's part, he's flying to New Hampshire later today. He lost that state by only 3,000 votes in 2016.

As he's away, there's a protest here in Washington, the 57th anniversary of the march on Washington. No question now, John, this race is finally joined.

BERMAN: That's right. All right. Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much for being with us this morning, laying out what we all saw last night.

This morning, the 17-year-old charged with killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will appear in court for the first time. He now faces six charges.

Meanwhile, Jacob Blake's family tells CNN that he's handcuffed to his hospital bed, despite being paralyzed.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live outside the courthouse in -- with the very latest. And now Kyle Rittenhouse, his cause being joined, kind of a cause celebre in some conservative circles now, Shimon.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly that is the case, John.

And you know, on the Jacob Blake case, it's been five days since he was shot by police, and we are still getting very little information from officials and investigators on his case.

But we have learned new details on that 17-year-old gunman, who is now accused of killing two people.

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PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Jacob Blake's family says he is lying in his hospital bed, handcuffed after Officer Rusten Sheskey shot him in the back seven times.

YANG: Jacob Blake's father said that he was glad to see his son awake, but that his son's first question or first words to him were, Daddy, why did they shoot me so many times? And he said, Why is my son chained up?

And there's obviously no reasonable explanation for why someone who is paralyzed from the waist down would have handcuffs on.

PROKUPECZ: Wisconsin's governor, Tony Evers, says he doesn't know why either.

EVERS: He's paid a horrific price already, being shot seven or eight times in the back, so I can't imagine why that's happening.

PROKUPECZ: Still very few answers from authorities. Officials choosing not to take questions after saying very little in a press conference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the shooting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief!

PROKUPECZ: Meanwhile, more charges have been filed against 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who is accused of fatally shooting two people and seriously injuring another.

Along with first-degree intentional homicide and reckless homicide, Rittenhouse faces three additional felony charges, plus a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18. If convicted, Rittenhouse could face life in prison.

LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES (D-WI): These armed men who have no connection to even the state. That guy is from out of town. So think about how ridiculous that is. Who was he accountable to? Nobody.

And for him to even be able to shoot somebody and still walk away from the scene, I mean, you know, they talked about finding a knife inside of the car, not even on Jacob's -- Jacob Blake's person. But this guy is carrying around a long gun, kills somebody, just walking freely, was able to get back home to Illinois. Then, you know, we've got a much bigger problem on our hands.

PROKUPECZ: The two victims from Tuesday's shooting are 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum and 26-year-old Anthony Huber. Huber's great aunt tells "The New York Times" Anthony knew Jacob Blake. His girlfriend, Hannah Gittings, on why Huber charged the gunman.

HANNAH GITTINGS, ANTHONY HUBER'S GIRLFRIEND: I will not let him have died for nothing. Like, people are going to know exactly why we were out there and exactly what he was fighting for. He was going to protect me and protect everybody around him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And Kyle Rittenhouse is due in court here behind me later this morning. He will appear via Zoom. Because of the coronavirus, the courtroom behind us is closed. He is -- this is an extradition hearing. He, at some point, will be brought back to Kenosha, where he's going to face charges, and eventually, perhaps, a trial -- Alisyn. CAMEROTA: OK, Shimon, thank you very much for that update.

So the NBA playoffs could resume as early as today, after a two-day boycott that disrupted all professional sports in the U.S. Andy Scholes has more now.

Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yes, good morning, Alisyn.

So, you know, games in Major League Baseball, the NHL, NBA, WNBA, all again called off on Thursday as athletes across the country continue to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

[06:10:08]

And there was a very powerful moment at Citi Field in New York City last night. The Mets and Marlins taking the field. And then before the first pitch, all players coming out of the dugout. They then held a 42-second moment of silence in tribute to Jackie Robinson. That's the number he wore on his jersey. And today the league will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day.

Everyone then left the field, leaving only a Black Lives Matter shirt at home plate.

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MICHAEL CONFORTO, NEW YORK METS OUTFIELDER: This is unprecedented and, you know, I think it's -- I think it's for -- for the good of, you know, inspiring change and making the world a better place, we hope. So I think there's a lot of work to be done, but, you know, at least --

DOMINIC SMITH, NEW YORK METS OUTFIELDER: What people -- what people don't understand, like, this is way bigger than baseball. You know, this is life, this is humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: In all, a total of seven Major League Baseball games were postponed on Thursday in a show of solidarity.

In the meantime, WNBA players locking arms in a show of unity in their Florida bubble, as three more games were postponed for the second day in a row.

L.A. Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike telling ESPN, This is not a strike, this is not a boycott. This is affirmatively a day of reflection, a day of informed action and mobilization.

The players say they're planning to play today.

The National Hockey League, meanwhile, which came under fire from some of its players for continuing to play, made the decision yesterday to postpone playoff games scheduled for last night and tonight. They will resume play tomorrow.

The NBA players, meanwhile, have reportedly made the decision to continue the playoffs. Three more games were called off last night. The league says they hoped to resume tonight or tomorrow.

The players continue to meet with the officials to formulate a plan of action to further address racial injustice issues. Michael Jordan, who serves as the league labor relations committee chairman and is the only black majority owner in the league, is a big part of those talks. So Alisyn, we should hear more from the NBA today on when they plan to resume the playoffs and what changes will be made.

CAMEROTA: OK. Keep us posted, Andy. Thank you very much.

Well, everybody is going to catch it eventually. That was the message from a senior White House adviser after a thousand people gathered on the White House lawn, mostly without masks. Is that the long-awaited plan from President Trump? That's next.

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[06:16:31]

CAMEROTA: This morning, the coronavirus death toll in the United States is nearing 181,000 people. The CDC projects that number will grow to more than 200,000 in just the next three weeks.

But President Trump's speech at the White House last night packed more than 1,000 supporters together, most without masks or any social distancing, for the president's convention's acceptance speech.

A senior White House official explained the lack of protocols by telling CNN, quote, "Everybody's going to catch this thing eventually."

Joining us now, CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp; CNN senior political analyst John Avlon; and Dr. Ali Khan. He's the dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Public Health. Great to see all of you this morning.

Dr. Khan, I'm sure, as a doctor, when you see that scene, it makes your head want to explode. But I think that philosophically speaking, this is part and parcel of the president's -- you'll remember, he promised a big plan that was going to be unveiled. This was weeks ago, and we've never heard it.

And so hearing his senior adviser say, Well, everybody's going to get it eventually, it's that sort of fatalism, I think, that we've heard before. That sort of, not being proactive. There's nothing we can do. We're sort of helpless, so let's just all take off our masks.

DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: Absolutely. And so, yes, it is disturbing to see a mass gathering event, people without masks or social distancing. And we have lots -- at this point, we know this causes infection in other people -- the Sturgis rally is the most recent example -- and can cause super-spreading events.

But I think the bigger issue -- you nailed it -- is the strategy. And this is now the spoken strategy which we've discussed multiple times. There's a herd immunity strategy in the United States that says people are going to get infected. We're going to let them get infected, and we're going to wait for the vaccine.

Well, unfortunately, because of this mistake that was made back in January, we see a thousand deaths a day. And we can't afford a thousand deaths a day until the vaccine. We need to adopt a control- and-containment strategy in the United States.

BERMAN: I will note that the new CDC forecast for three weeks from now is at 200,000 deaths, which is an average of about 900 deaths a day, which is still extraordinarily high. And this comes on the same day -- came out while the president was speaking, basically, last night at the convention, and it was really extraordinary to see. The administration itself admitting that we're going to lose 900 people a day, while the president was claiming some level of success.

One other thing I want to do is read you the masking guidelines for the city of Washington, D.C., which again, I know they're not subject to at the White House. But it says, "Persons leaving their residences shall wear a mask when they're likely to come in contact with another person, such as being within six feet of another person for more than a fleeting time."

Well, S.E., I mean, the 70-minute speech the president gave last night was more than a fleeting time, and they weren't six feet apart. They were sitting near each other.

But clearly, it was the image the White House wanted. This was deliberate.

KHAN: So --

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think, and I've used -- I've used this before, the -- you know, the classic George Costanza line. It's not a lie if you believe it.

I think what the White House was trying to do and the RNC was trying to do was say, Look, we believe that COVID's gone and we did a great job handling it. We want you to believe that, too. And so, COVIDfest, the maskless, you know, display of idiocy last night, I think was an attempt to sell that very idea.

[06:20:00]

And what's interesting and kind of alarming to me is, in addition to the health ramifications, is that you could -- you could make an argument, if you were President Trump, that COVID's not gone, it's not completely handled, but a disruption in administrations at a crucial time would be a bad idea.

Now, that's not a salable argument to me, but it's more salable, I think, to more people than, COVID, bye-bye. We -- we got this thing. CAMEROTA: John, do you see this as Exhibit "A" of their philosophy or

their plan?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the stagecraft speaks to their strategy and what they believe in. I think S.E. is right. This is the Trump White House trying to say, Everything's fine. Nothing to see here. We're moving forward.

You saw Donald Trump try to sort of put lipstick on a pig last night with regards to the Trump administration's response to COVID. Talking about his being heroic, talking about all the things they've done. And of course, entirely glossing over the fact that his personal denial at the top of this pandemic is one of the things that's created that terrible statistic from John Hopkins. We've got 4 percent of the world's population, but 22 percent of the world's deaths.

That's a sign of failure. Not a stunning success.

BERMAN: One of the things the president said, clearly misspeaking, one of the several times he misspoke, he said, We're pioneering the death rate.

AVLON: Yes, I noticed that, too, yes.

BERMAN: And you know what? Daniel Dale couldn't fact check that, because it's true.

AVLON: Yes.

BERMAN: The United States is a pioneer in terms of the number of people killed by this virus. We lead the world in deaths and cases.

Doc -- Dr. Khan, another thing which I do think now we can clearly state is a strategy, a campaign strategy, is to lean into what the president wants us to believe is the eventuality of a vaccine, coming soon. He said we'll have one by the end of the year, maybe even sooner. What do you think of that message?

KHAN: So I'm very optimistic that the significant investments are going to lead to a vaccine by the end of the year or early spring. But that's still a thousand deaths a day while we wait for this vaccine.

And John, we've talked about this. I like the word preventable deaths. Every time we talk about these tragic deaths, each and every one is preventable. And you don't need to be a math wizard to add, you know, 20 days times 1,000 people to say, yes, we'll get to 200,000 people next -- dead in the next 20 days. Remembering that that's an underestimate by at least a quarter of what the true deaths are in the United States.

CAMEROTA: Yes. But S.E., if they do have a vaccine, God willing, by the end of the year, it's not for us. It's not for regular people. It's for the frontline healthcare workers. So pretending, in your speech to America, that it's going to be widely available, that is not true. No company has ever said that.

KHAN: It's not true. Not until somewhere in the spring.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Go ahead, S.E.

CUPP: Yes. It's not true. And it's -- it will cost lives, because people will act -- psychologically, there have been studies. People will act more reckless as they believe they are getting closer to an end point. And while you saw that recklessness among our leadership last night, that will trickle down.

And so there are -- in addition to just messaging -- a messaging bad look, there are real implications for pretending that this will all be over soon. Gosh, I hope it will be. But we are, by all accounts, a ways away from having a vaccine that is readily available to the masses. We need to act like it.

BERMAN: John Avlon, I left this view, because you will like the rhetorical flourish here. The president, as you've often noted, often just takes charges against him and says, I know you are, but what am I? And he did it very much with coronavirus and Joe Biden. I want you to listen to what Biden said and then what the president said.

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BIDEN: And it seems like our wartime president has surrendered, waved the right flag -- white flag and left the battlefield.

TRUMP: Joe Biden's plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather it's a surrender to the virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Yes, there you go.

AVLON: Pitch perfect. Pitch perfect project and deflect.

But we saw that consistently in the speech last night. Not just that line, but you saw the president slamming China for the outbreak of the virus originally in Wuhan. And talking about how tough he'd been when we all know, initially, he praised China's response.

And Biden was out front in saying, we need to take this thing seriously, when the president was in denial and primarily worrying about its impact to the economy.

We reap what we sow. And we all hope there's a vaccine as soon as possible. But we also see this administration denying science and meddling in science and undercutting some of the things at CDC, which is very troubling.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Khan, S.E. Cupp, John, great to see all of you.

BERMAN: Mask on, Dr. Khan.

CAMEROTA: Thanks.

KHAN: It's on. CAMEROTA: OK. It's on!

That's -- that's a nice one.

AVLON: It's all right.

CAMEROTA: Thank you very much.

[06:25:02]

President Trump hammering his law-and-order rhetoric, accusing Joe Biden and Democrats of supporting the lawlessness that we're seeing on his watch. So is that effective? We discuss it, next.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon -- and I mean, very soon -- come to an end.

There is violence and danger in the streets of many Democrat-run cities throughout America. No one will be safe in Biden's America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So what was interesting about that is that was President Trump back in 2016 with a campaign promise. And then last night, which seemed to be some kind of a tacit admission that the law and order he promised in 2016 wasn't exactly delivered. And he tried to pin that on Joe Biden, who responded on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: If you think about it.