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Trump Intensifies Effort to Create Mistrust Around Election Results; CDC Forecast: 20,000 More Deaths in Next 3 Weeks. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired September 25, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): The president telling the country he will not accept the results of the election if he loses. That he will throw out some number of ballots. If he can't throw them out, he won't go peacefully.

[05:59:46]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to make sure the election is honest, and I'm not sure that it can be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be a peaceful transition. No matter what anybody says.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The virus is raging in these places, and it's not going to go down unless we do things differently.

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I want to reassure you and the American people, politics will play no role whatsoever in the approval of a vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The four companies revealed their strategy for testing a vaccine. It's not a test. It's basically a rubber stamp.

(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 --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Promise?

CAMEROTA: It is Friday, I assure you. And it is NEW DAY. If there are two things I'm certain of. And it is September 25, 6 a.m., I think, here in New York.

So this morning, American institutions are pushing back on the president. Election officials, the head of the Postal Service, the Senate, and the head of the FBI all reassuring Americans about the safety of the election and mail-in voting 39 days before the election. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Now, we have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: On Thursday, the United States Senate felt it necessary, after the president's comments, to hold a vote to uphold a peaceful transition of power.

President Trump, though, still trying to sow doubt about the election. He's refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. He's making baseless claims about mail-in voting. But at the same time, he's encouraging Florida voters to do just that. It's confusing, John.

BERMAN: It's not, though. Not at all. There is a continuing strain through this. Let it sink in. It's not just the FBI director, U.S. Senate, and postmaster general, who are saying the system is legitimate and trustworthy.

The president and Trump campaign have so much faith in mail-in voting, they're pushing their voters to do it now. Fill it out and send it in, they're whispering to their voters, even as out loud, he's trying to sow doubt.

Look at the actions. Look at what they're doing, pushing voters to go to the mail to send in their ballots, even as he's saying this crazy stuff out loud and even as his lawyers around the country are trying to limit legal access to the ballot box for traditionally Democratic voters.

Look at the actions.

And you want to talk about numbers this morning? More than 900 new deaths reported from coronavirus overnight. New guidance from the CDC now forecasts that more than 20,000 additional people could die in just the next three weeks.

More than 44,000 new cases reported in the last day. That's more than quadruple the number that Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks is safe. And this morning, nearly half the country, all that area in red, is seeing a rise in new cases.

So Joe Johns this morning joins us live from the White House, where, Joe, the president and the Trump campaign trying to get their voters to go vote by mail, no matter what other nonsense he's saying.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And also, John, for the second day in a row, the president of the United States refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election. Once again, repeating baseless claims of election rigging, even as his own hand-picked FBI director reassures the public that there is no fraud and has been no fraud.

And people up on Capitol Hill, members of the president's own party, reassuring the public that there will be a peaceful transfer of power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): FBI director Christopher Wray making clear there is no proof of widespread voter fraud in the United States, including through voting through mail.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Now, we have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.

JOHNS: President Trump warning he may not accept November's election results.

TRUMP: We want to make sure the election is honest, and I'm not sure that it can be. I don't -- I don't know that it can be, with this whole situation.

JOHNS: Still, the White House insisting Trump will follow the rules.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president will accept the results of a free and fair election.

JOHNS: But just listen to what the president had to say back in July.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Can you give a direct answer, you will accept the election?

TRUMP: I have to see. Look, you -- I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say "yes." I'm not going to say --

JOHNS: And on Wednesday, he once again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

TRUMP: Well, we're going to have to see what happens. You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.

JOHNS: Joe Biden's campaign saying this is all an effort to distract from Trump's catastrophic failures. Meanwhile, the president continued to attack mail-in ballots as an option for voters during the coronavirus pandemic.

TRUMP: So, we have to be very careful with the ballots. The ballots, that's a whole big scam.

JOHNS: Without mentioning the president's name, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there's nothing to worry about.

[06:05:04]

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We've had an orderly transfer of power every four years. That will happen again to the winner of the November 3 election.

JOHNS: Trump's refusal followed by the Senate unanimously passing a resolution reaffirming the commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power.

Meanwhile, other GOP lawmakers even tried to spin the focus on Biden, and even 2016's Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): There will be a very peaceful transition. I hope you ask the same question of Hillary Clinton, who simply said out there, never concede the race.

JOHNS: For Democrats, it's a serious concern, with many saying democracy is at stake.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): You are not in Russia, Mr. President. And by the way, you are not in Saudi Arabia.

SCHIFF: He was making it as clear as he can. No one should be surprised, therefore, that if we get through the election and the president loses, that we have a chaotic aftermath.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: Despite the president's attacks on mail-in voting, robocalls from his own campaign and the Republican National Committee are urging Republicans to vote absentee as the best way to support the president. They're also claiming Democrats are against it, which is clearly false -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, look, if they're telling their voters to go do it, clearly, they think it's OK. And it means that the reason the president is sowing doubt out loud is for a different reason altogether.

Joe Johns at the White House, thank you.

New guidance from the CDC forecasts that more than 20,000 more Americans will die from coronavirus in the next three weeks. Nearly half the country seeing a rise in cases, include almost all the west and Midwest. More than 44,000 new cases reported just yesterday. CNN's Lucy Kafanov live in Colorado, where we're seeing spikes in cases all around the state, including in college towns, Lucy.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. The numbers nationwide are going in all the wrong directions. We're seeing at least 23 states now seeing an increase of at least 10 percent in new COVID cases. And that's just over the last week. If you look at the map, you can see that the Midwest is overwhelmingly in the red.

Here in Colorado, we saw a 54 percent spike in new cases last week. The governor here attributing this surge in cases to what he called a significant outbreak among college-aged people.

And the epicenter of the crisis here in Colorado is Boulder. That's home to the University of Colorado, Boulder. That school began classes on August 24. Since then, 80 percent of the cases have been linked to that school.

Now, authorities tried a number of different ways to curb this spread. They asked students to voluntarily stay at home. They switched to digital learning. That didn't seem to stop large gatherings. And so yesterday, Boulder actually issued a ban on gatherings of any size.

They've also issued stay-at-home orders for 36 addresses where they've seen repeat gatherings, parties, if you will. Those addresses largely sorority and fraternities.

Now, all of this, of course, comes as the CDC is now projecting 226,000 deaths by October 20 -- pardon me, by October 17. That is 20,000 lives that could be lost in the next three weeks. Those numbers, Alisyn, huge.

CAMEROTA: I -- Absolutely, Lucy. And it makes sense, since we're losing about a thousand people a day. Thank you very much for that report.

Overnight, the attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor accusing Kentucky's attorney general of a cover-up in the investigation into her killing.

There was a second night of protests, overwhelmingly peaceful, in Louisville and across the country, because a grand jury failed to charge police officers in Taylor's death.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is live in Louisville.

What's the latest, Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn, good morning.

Protesters marched well from the afternoon into the evening, even past the 9:00 curfew that the city of Louisville has set. There was actually a tense exchange between police and protesters at one point, at a church which deemed itself a sanctuary church, allowing protesters to march there and essentially, resist -- not have to be arrested. And that exchange did end peacefully, so that is good. Everyone did go home.

But of course, this was a much better night in Louisville than the night before when two officers were shot. We know one of those officers is still in the hospital recovering. And we know the suspect charged with that shooting is expected to face a judge later today.

We know, also, that that curfew is going to be extended now through the weekend, anticipating more protests. So where do we go from here? As you mentioned, there are these claims from the family of Breonna Taylor and their lawyer, essentially saying that there was some sort of cover-up by the attorney general. What sort of -- asking the questions, what sort of evidence was presented during those grand jury proceedings? Was Breonna Taylor's name ever even mentioned? Well, we know that the mayor of Louisville is working with the attorney general and the FBI to try to get more information released. The family asking to get the transcripts released of those proceedings. So we'll see where that goes from here.

But we should note that later today, we are going to hear for the first time from Breonna Taylor's family ever since this indictment was handed down. Of course, we've been hearing from their attorneys about how emotional this has been for them, but we'll hear it in their own words later today -- guys.

CAMEROTA: OK, Brynn, thank you very much for that.

So the Senate election officials, the FBI and the Postal Service all pushing back on President Trump's attempts to add chaos to the election. How will Biden respond in next week's debate? We have new details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:05]

BERMAN: So this morning, the president has so much faith in mail-in voting, he's begging his supporters in Michigan and Florida to go do it now. Fill it out and send it in, he says.

Joining us, Abby Phillip, CNN political correspondent; and Susan Glasser, CNN global affairs analyst and staff writer at "The New Yorker."

This is what the president is saying, Abby: "Vote-by-mail ballots in my home state of Florida begin going out today. Make sure to request yours. Fill it out and send it in! Request yours today!" All right.

And then this is Michigan: "Attention, Michigan! Early voting has started, and absentee ballots are being mailed out. Take advantage of the early voting and absentee calendar. Vote in person today or request an absentee ballot here."

I thought he didn't like it?

That's my point. He does, Abby.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BERMAN: And doesn't this tell us everything we need to know? This is what's happening. These are the actions, not the circus, that he has, I think, instigated for entirely-different reasons.

PHILLIP: And then on top of that, the Trump campaign is issuing robocalls across the country, urging their supporters to vote by mail and then falsely blaming Democrats and claiming that Democrats are somehow trying to restrict vote-by-mail. That's just not true.

You know, this is the Trump campaign and the president really trying to play both sides of this. In the campaign, you know, they need their voters to vote by mail. They understand that it doesn't make sense to encourage people to vote by mail, especially those who are elderly, who are at risk of the coronavirus.

And so they're doing what they can to get a turnout to be increased. And in some cases, they actually have to do that, because the president's words have been so effective in convincing his own voters that there's something wrong with it.

You know, I think that this is clearly one of those cases where the Trump campaign is not being honest with the American people about what's happening here. And the consequences is -- the consequence has been that voting and how people vote has become so politicized that we'll see this on November 3, that you'll see a bunch of Democrats voting by mail, a bunch of Republicans voting in person. And that's going to create just this distortion in when we get the results from the election, even though there is absolutely nothing fraudulent about the mail-in voting process.

CAMEROTA: Susan, I do want you to comment on the upside-down world that President Trump is creating there. But I also want you to comment on what Kayleigh McEnany said about, Oh, yes, we support fair and free elections. That's a slogan. I mean, that is straight from the playbook of FOX, of "fair and balanced news." It can mean anything. And if you repeat it over and over, a free and fair election, it sort of sounds good. And maybe it makes people feel a little better. It means nothing. I mean, it's meaningless. It means whatever the user wants it to mean.

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, especially in the context of the president over the last two days offering, probably, the most sustained attack, using the bully pulpit of the White House against the American system of elections that, you know, we've ever seen from an incumbent president of the United States.

And we tend to lose sight of that, because as Abby pointed out, there's a lot of everyday hypocrisy in our politics and campaigns and officials who say one thing in one state and another state in another state.

But let's not lose sight of the fact that you actually have the president of the United States over the last two days saying, No. 1, that he refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.

This is not a trick question, folks. This is not meant to be a difficult thing to answer.

And then following it up, a second day, yesterday, doubling down on that and saying he refuses to commit to the idea that he'll accept the results at all. And he's not sure there can be a fair election in the United States.

The foreign correspondent in me would point out that that is the language of election observers that we use in places like Belarus, where, by the way, there is an uprising going on more than a month after a genuinely rigged election. Why? Because it wasn't free and fair. And that's what the western election monitors -- I just never thought we'd be using this language in my own country.

BERMAN: But the language is the end, and that's my point. And you look at the banner we have on the screen there: "Trump intensifies efforts to create mistrust around election results." That's what he wants, right? He wants that banner right now. What he doesn't want is a banner that would say, and the one I think that should be up, the Trump campaign pushes voters to go vote by mail.

CAMEROTA: I hear typing.

BERMAN: OK?

CAMEROTA: They're going to change that.

BERMAN: Because that's what's also happening. It's the language, Susan, as you point out, that's the end here. Because on the one hand, he wants his voters to go vote by mail. And on the other hand, the Trump campaign and Republican lawyers are actively trying to create obstacles to Democrat -- traditionally Democratic voters to cast their ballots. And by this banner, mistrust around election results, that is a form -- and Abby, let me put this to you, because I know you've been doing reporting on that, this doubt is a form of voter suppression.

[06:20:04]

PHILLIP: Yes, absolutely. I mean, look, one of the differences about this year, compared to past years is, you know, there's been -- we've had elections where the results have been very, very close, 2000, 2004 where, you know, after the election, you have both sides wanting to claim victory.

But before the election, you rarely -- I mean, I would argue, you know, in modern political history, you really have never had a president or a major party candidate going into the election, claiming that it is rigged. I mean, this is really a completely different kind of environment.

And we're already seeing it in Trump voters, you know. Our colleagues were at rallies this week asking those voters about whether they believe these claims that the election is going to be rigged, that voter fraud is rampant with mail-in ballots, and they do believe it. So it's already having an impact.

But you know, I also do think that this president, you know, he has been saying this for many, many years. There is not a scenario in his own mind in which he could lose an election unless there is fraud. And in fact, even when he wins an election, as he did in 2016, he still claimed that there were three million fraudulent ballots, even though there was absolutely no proof of it.

CAMEROTA: So, Susan, now it falls on other institutions to box this in. And you saw that happening yesterday. And it was interesting, all of these bedfellows that, you know, sort of banded together to try to box in this -- all of this talk.

And so it was the Senate. It felt compelled to have a vote that, yes, we actually do have a peaceful transfer of power here. And it was election officials. It was even Louis DeJoy, who of course, is you know, the -- the big Trump supporter, head of the Postal Service, who said, No, we can do this. We will be effectively delivering mail-in ballots.

And so what do you make of that? GLASSER: Well, Alisyn, look. First of all, I would note that we've

gotten so used to this dance by Republican senators on Capitol Hill we tend to lose sight of the fact that over and over again, they're essentially forced to condemn the unthinkable from the president.

Notable is that most of them failed even to mention President Trump in their statements reaffirming the peaceful transfer of power, as if that was just a random thing to do on a September Thursday afternoon, right? And their inability even to be able to look at a leader of their own party and to affirm basic principles of our democracy is one of the notable and sort of sad facts of the moment, No. 1.

No. 2, I think they've left all their options open. Lindsey Graham, Trump's sort of faithful confidant, kind of let the play out a little bit in an interview in which he suggested, Well, we'll see. You know, if the Supreme Court says it's free and fair, then we'll go ahead and, you know, transfer power, if that's what has to happen.

So I don't think that they really constrained Trump from this strategy at all, even if they're not joining in actively. That's sort of a part of the deal.

BERMAN: I also do wonder -- and we're out of time, but I also wonder, Mitch McConnell's very carefully-worded statement: I have faith in the November 3 election. Why not just say "the election." Is he suggesting that somehow ballots that are counted legally after November 3 aren't part of the election? I have a lot of concerns about the way he framed that going forward.

And one more thing. I'm just not sure why we would trust anything Lindsey Graham says about the Supreme Court at this point. But, anyway, Susan, Abby, thank you.

BERMAN: Spine of steel --

CAMEROTA: Very much.

BERMAN: -- on that man.

All right. Coronavirus cases. The CDC now warns that 20,000 more people could die in the next three weeks. What are they seeing in the numbers that has them so concerned? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:11]

CAMEROTA: This morning, nearly half the country is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. Take a look at this map. What you see there in red and orange are the spikes just throughout the west and the Midwest, primarily.

The CDC forecasts that 20,000 more people will die from coronavirus in just the next three weeks.

Joining us now, Dr. Carlos Del Rio. He's an executive associate dean at Emory Medical School and a contributor to the NIH Moderna vaccine trial.

Dr. Del Rio, thanks so much for being here. There was another projection that really got my attention. And that is that almost 200,000 more people -- this is according to that IMHE model that we -- the White House relies on, we've all relied on for these past months -- we're almost going to double our numbers by the end of this year, they predict. So it's taken us these nine months to get to 200,000, and that was a shocking, jaw-dropping number, and then they predict we're going to be at 371,000 by the end of this year.

But, if 95 percent of Americans wore masks, we could bring that number down by 100,000 people. However, they project that only 48 percent of the country wears masks.

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, Alisyn, I think this is really sad. And the reality is that we are seeing close to a thousand COVID-19-related deaths per day in our country. So you can make the math from there.

We are about a hundred days away from the end of the year, so that probably is, you know, another 100,000 people.

We also are seeing, however, an increase in cases now, as we show it. And in most of the country, we've seen in the past week an increase of about 7 to 10 percent in the number of cases, where right now about 50,000 new cases per day in our country. So the deaths may be more than a thousand coming up.

So it really is up to us to change this.