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New Day
Trump Lashes Out in Final Days of Race, Biden Preps for Debate; New Cases Rise in U.S., Hospitalizations Highest in Two Months. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired October 21, 2020 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can come out of this moment stronger than before.
[05:59:45]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former President Barack Obama will hit the campaign trail in Philadelphia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump is presenting a familiar closing argument: attacking his enemies and firing up the base.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Before the plague came in, I had it made. We had this thing won. We were so far up. We had the greatest economy ever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The dreaded second wave, now washing over the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're facing a tough circumstance right now. We're going to see accelerating cases heading into the next four to six weeks.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: You're going to get scared. You're going to get depressed. This is a normal response to a very stressful situation.
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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, October 21. It is 6 a.m. here in New York. And this morning, the country needs to brace itself for what is coming.
Overnight, more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases were reported. Ten states reported record hospitalizations. The nationwide hospitalization rate is now reaching levels not seen for two months. So on its face, just these figures tell us the situation in the United States is dangerous.
The real problem, though, according to the former FDA commissioner, is that it's about to get decidedly worse. He says we are one week away from a rapid acceleration of coronavirus cases, even above the 60,000 we see today. Not one state is trending in the right direction. Twenty-six states are seeing an increase in cases.
The first lady had to cancel a campaign appearance because of ongoing symptoms from her battle with coronavirus.
Yet despite all that, the evidence in his own house and in the nation, the president continues to spread the demonstrably false claim that the U.S. has turned the corner in the pandemic.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump's strategy in the final days of the 2020 campaign appears to be to attack his perceived enemies, from Leslie Stahl to Hillary Clinton.
Joe Biden, meanwhile, has been off the campaign trail this week, preparing for tomorrow's debate. And attempting to portray a positive path forward for the country.
Overnight, new financial filings show Joe Biden's campaign with a substantial cash advantage, with nearly triple the amount of cash on hand than the Trump campaign has.
President Obama delivering a video message to young voters as he gets ready to hit the campaign trail today for Joe Biden.
We're less than two weeks from election day, and more than 33 million votes have already been cast. That, John, is 72 percent of all of the early votes cast in 2016.
BERMAN: It's 25 percent of the total vote from 2016, and we still have 13 days left to go.
CAMEROTA: We've been counting them by hand.
Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Jessica Dean, live in Nashville, the site of tomorrow's final presidential debate -- Jessica.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John and Alisyn.
Well, President Trump is hopping from must-win state to must-win state. In the lead up to this final presidential debate here in Nashville, which will likely be his last chance to really change the trajectory of this 2020 campaign and, try as he might, he simply cannot escape his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
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DEAN (voice-over): At President Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania, no signs of the coronavirus pandemic that's impacting much of the country, as supporters stood without practicing social distancing and very few wearing masks. Trump telling the crowd in Erie, he was not expecting to make a stop there at all this year. TRUMP: Before the plague came in, I had it made. I wasn't coming to
Erie. I mean, I have to be honest. There's no way I was coming. I didn't have to. I would have called you and said, Hey, Erie, you know, if you have a chance, get out and vote. We had this thing won.
DEAN: While the president continued to make false claims about the status of the coronavirus crisis in the United States --
TRUMP: We're rounding the turn on the pandemic. Normal life will finally resume.
DEAN: -- the truth is, cases are on the rise in at least 26 states this morning. And Pennsylvania has seen spikes in new cases in recent days.
TRUMP: Pennsylvania's been shut down long enough. Get your governor to open up Pennsylvania.
DEAN: The president's complaints come just nine days after the White House coronavirus task force urged the Keystone State to maintain aggressive community mitigation efforts.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is off the campaign trail to prepare for tomorrow's final presidential debate, but his biggest surrogate is making his first appearance in Philadelphia later today. President Barack Obama is looking to give the Biden campaign a massive boost, with election day now less than two weeks away.
This as Trump uses the final days leading up to the election to distract from the massive crisis at hand, attacking everyone from Dr. Anthony Fauci, to Biden, to journalists. Sources telling CNN the president abruptly walked out of an interview with "60 Minutes" at the White House Wednesday.
TRUMP: You have to watch what we do to "60 Minutes." You'll get such a kick out of it. You're going to get a kick out of it. Leslie Stahl is not going to be happy.
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DEAN: Meantime, Senator Kamala Harris telling voters, now is the time for the country to work together.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It is about building back up better. It is about unifying our country. We are all in this together. And we're going to get through this together.
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DEAN: For their part, a Biden campaign aide is telling CNN that they are preparing for President Trump to, in their words, "bully and deflect" on that debate stage. They're also preparing for personal attacks against both Joe Biden and his family, as well.
But Alisyn, they come back to what they wanted to do in the last debate, and that is speak directly to the American people. You can expect Joe Biden to look right into that camera again and talk about how he would handle the coronavirus pandemic and build back the economy.
CAMEROTA: OK, Jessica, thank you very much for the preview and all of the reporting.
So as Jessica said this morning, coronavirus cases rising in 26 states, including Illinois, where new restrictions on indoor dining and bars go into effect this week. As you can see, this is the second time that we have noticed no green at all on this map on your screen.
CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is live in Chicago with the latest on the pandemic -- Adrienne.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.
Illinois's governor is determined to stop the spread of the coronavirus. And that means part of the state are going to look a lot different starting Friday.
Indoor dining and bar service will once again be banned. That mandate takes effect in the southern part of the region on Friday. And that's not all. Gatherings will be limited once again: 25 people or less.
Chicago's west and south suburbs could see similar restrictions. This after an explosion of new cases.
The Midwest, as you all know, is struggling to get a grip on this virus. But the Midwest isn't alone. Take a look at your screen. I want to show you some of the other states experiencing record high numbers. For example, across the country, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin saw record hospitalizations on Tuesday.
This as new protocols take effect in California. Theme parks, their leaders are upset about the new guidelines. For example, places like Disneyland and Six Flags are saying these new guidelines affect people's jobs. The leaders of the theme parks saying they can open safely and the new guidelines really hurts people.
Bottom line, lawmakers know, doing what's right to keep the public safe is not going to make everyone happy --- Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Adrienne, thank you very much for all of that reporting.
So Joe Biden is rolling out a brand-new ad during game one of the World Series last night. And we'll show you what makes this one different. That's next.
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BERMAN: So this morning, the president is attacking Leslie Stahl, Anthony Fauci, Kristen Welker, the debate commission, science, Hunter Biden, Hillary Clinton, am I leaving anyone out? Ponies?
CAMEROTA: No, I think you got it.
BERMAN: That's a pretty conclusive list.
He's also telling Erie, Pennsylvania, that he wouldn't be there if the election were not close. This is a roving nationwide mayhem tour, presenting this kaleidoscope of chaos.
So what is Joe Biden doing? He's been off the trail in debate prep. It's a heck of a contrast. And most probably a deliberate one from the Biden campaign, which last night spent a heap of money to run this ad during the World Series.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden doesn't need everyone in this country to always agree. Just to agree we all love this country and go from there.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message.
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BERMAN: The voice of Sam Elliott, by the way, or as I like to call him, the guy from "Roadhouse."
Joining us now, Alex Wagner, the co-host and executive producer of the Showtime series "The Circus." Also with us, Laura Barron-Lopez. She's a national political reporter for Politico.
And Alex, I want to start with you, because I had this sort of epiphany as I was watching the World Series last night, and I saw that ad. First of all, it shows the cash advantage the Biden campaign has right now, but it also answers the question a little bit of, gosh, what's Joe Biden doing? He's taking these days off the campaign trail to prepare for the debate. What's he doing?
Well, he's presenting this stark contrast with the president, who is out there -- your show is called "The Circus." I mean, Joe Biden is running against the circus right now. And I think trying to provide that chaos. And if the president wants to be out there with this mayhem tour, so be it.
ALEX WAGNER, CO-HOST/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, SHOWTIME'S "THE CIRCUS": Yes, I mean, it is a study in contrast, also known as a view into the parallel universe where reason, logic, and science preV.A.il, John.
But the reality is, you know, the president, we look at these closing days, and we say, oh, each campaign has a strategy. Joe Biden most certainly has a strategy and is executing on that -- on that strategy.
The idea that President Trump has somehow hatched a multi-pronged plan to make a closing argument in the last remaining days of the election is a fallacy. He is hemorrhaging support among suburban women and seniors. And what is he doing? Taking on a fight with the elder statesmen of
the most venerable news brand in America. She is an older woman at precisely the time that he needs to be getting women and seniors.
He's also giving "60 Minutes" the best on-air promotion they've ever had, virtually guaranteeing that everyone is going to tune into what can only be imagined is an acrimonious interview. I mean, he is throwing so much spaghetti at the wall in these closing hours, there's going to be no left pasta left in the pot.
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CAMEROTA: Yes, Laura, I'm just not sure that vilifying Leslie Stahl is what voters put at the top of the list of their concerns for 2020.
But I think that we should also just talk about, Joe Biden is also employing an unorthodox campaign strategy, which is within these final two weeks, just lay low and stay inside.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "POLITICO": That's right. I mean, a big part of why Biden decides to call a lid some days as early as 9 a.m. is because of the fact that, yes, he's following this campaign adage that, if your opponent appears to be imploding or doing the work for you, then you let them do that.
But it's also because we still are in the middle of a pandemic. And that was the very reason why his campaign decided to be on the road less. And right now, we are starting to see increases in states across the board, in COVID cases. So, that's the main reason why his campaign has decided to hold smaller events, socially-distanced events.
But again, he's also allowing Trump to dominate the campaign coverage, which doesn't appear to be helping Trump, as Alex was talking about. Which is that Trump is attacking the most prominent infectious disease expert, Dr. Fauci, at a time when cases are rising. And also, Fauci is considered to be one of the most trusted people in government when it comes to the coronavirus. And coronavirus is the main issue for a lot of voters right now. So -- so that doesn't make sense in the closing arguments of this campaign.
BERMAN: I guess the point I'm making, is I actually now do think this is a concerted strategy from the Biden -- Biden team. I mean, the president was out yesterday in Erie, Pennsylvania, literally saying, Joe Biden will be so boring. And I imagine the entire Biden campaign erupting in cheers saying, Yes, yes, Joe Biden will be boring.
BARRON-LOPEZ: Right.
BERMAN: That's what we are now running on. It's this closing message of normalcy, as highlighted by, you know, the sonorous tones of Sam Elliott. One other thing -- sorry, Alex.
WAGNER: I would just say it's not just boring; it's responsible. It's what you do when there's a surge in a deadly virus across the country.
BERMAN: And there's something else I think that's increasingly obvious, which is where the Biden team is focused.
So former President Obama is -- is making his first appearance on the trail for Joe Biden tonight in Philadelphia. He has a new campaign video out to accompany that. Let's just take a quick look at that video.
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OBAMA: Your generation can be the one that creates a new normal in America. One that's fairer, where the system treats everybody equally and gives everybody opportunity.
I know Joe better than almost anybody. I trust him to be a great president. He's different. He's on the right side of the issues. He'll get the job done.
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BERMAN: So, as much as what he's saying, it's where he's saying it that interests me. He's going to Pennsylvania, Alex.
And if you look at the map, all you need to know is what Joe Biden needs to do to win is flip Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. If he wins all Hillary Clinton states and just flips those three back to the Democrats, he gets 278 electoral votes. That is the simplest, clearest path for the Democrats to retake the White House.
And it seems that the Biden campaign is saying, you know what? That's where we're going to put President Obama. Everything we do is going to try to get the clean, sure hit.
WAGNER: Yes, that's the brass ring. They realize that they need to make an uplifting, optimistic, forceful argument in the closing days of the race. If Biden is not going to make it, then you bring in the best closer there is, and that's Barack Obama.
That message that you played, John, he's talking a lot to young voters. And the Biden campaign knows, look, the animating factor in this race, the reason we have seen early voting numbers where they are is because Donald Trump is a huge motivator.
But you also need to have a message beyond just, it won't be Donald Trump in office for four more years. And they clearly think that the most effective messenger to articulate that is Barack Obama. He has a long history of getting young people excited about voting. And it is not a surprise --
CAMEROTA: All right. We lost Alex for a second.
Laura, let's talk about for a second the cash on hand and the story that that tells. And so at the end of October, Joe Biden had basically three times as much cash in his coffers as Trump did.
So Trump was $63 million. Biden, $177 million. What does that tell us? And can the RNC supplement that for Donald Trump and pick up the slack? BARRON-LOPEZ: So a lot of the grassroots money that's going to Joe
Biden, you can see it, potentially, as a sign of enthusiasm among Democrats in this campaign, despite the fact that up until this point, you know, polling has shown that Biden appears to have a bit of an enthusiasm gap. But it's just an obscene amount of money, Alisyn.
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And so Biden is spending it in places like Phoenix, Arizona, which for about four weeks running, was the top media market for the Biden campaign.
So even though he has focused, as John was saying, on the blue wall states, rebuilding Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, he is keeping an eye on those expansion states like Arizona, which a Democrat hasn't won since 1996.
And you're seeing that Trump's campaign is struggling to keep up. They're having to spend in states that they never expected to have to spend that much money before. Florida being one example, where they're dropping far more money there in the final stretch than they thought they were going to have to at this point in the race.
BERMAN: Laura Barron-Lopez, Alex Wagner, we employed new debate rules to you and cut off your mic inadvertently.
CAMEROTA: And camera.
BERMAN: Thank you so much for being with us this morning.
So Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off tomorrow night in the final presidential debate. This is so important. CNN's special live coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
So several states now putting back new restrictions as the nationwide coronavirus hospitalization trends hit levels we haven't seen for months. And we're getting these stark new warnings from experts. We'll tell you what they are, next.
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DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER COMMISSIONER OF THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: So we're about a week away from starting to enter a period where we're going to see a rapid acceleration in cases. And I think November and December are going to be tough months. We're seeing hospitalizations go up in 42 states right now. Cases are going up in 45 states. And there really is no backstop.
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CAMEROTA: That's the former commissioner of the FDA, warning that the coronavirus pandemic is about to get worse. This morning, there is not a single state that is trending in the
right direction. That would be green on your screen, of which there is none. Twenty-six states are seeing cases increase. Overnight, ten states reported record hospitalizations. The nationwide hospitalization rate reaching levels not seen for two months.
Joining us now is CNN medical analyst Dr. Reiner. He's a professor of medicine at George Washington University and the cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Dr. Reiner, what does that mean? The rapid acceleration that Dr. Gottlieb -- Scott Gottlieb is predicting, what would that look like?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, we're already having that. If you look at states, you know, throughout particularly the Midwest and Plains, we're seeing record cases almost every day.
If you look at states like Idaho, South Dakota, Nevada out in the west, we're seeing positivity rates, for instance, in Idaho, it's almost 30 percent. In Nevada, it's 46 percent positivity rates, which means two things.
First of all, it means that we're not testing enough in those states, but moreover, it means that there is an enormous amount of virus in the community.
So we're already -- already seeing this. We're averaging almost, if you look at the seven-day moving average, it's about 60,000 cases a day, but it's on the rise. Soon it will be 70,000 cases.
But the -- obviously, the major implication of this dramatic rise in cases will be, in two weeks, a dramatic rise in deaths. And the rough way to think about how many deaths a daily case of 60 or 70,000 cases translates to is to multiply that by about 2.5 percent.
So, you know, yesterday, we had about 900 deaths. You know, once we start to get, you know, 70,000 plus cases a day, you'll start to see closer to 2,000 deaths per day. Really a horrifying turn of events.
BERMAN: Yes, we had one day of 70,000 new cases. That was last Friday. There is every reason to believe that we will be averaging that number before too long, if not higher. It's just headed in the absolute wrong direction, as we sit here this morning, Dr. Reiner.
Some interesting new facts and figures out of the CDC that I do think bear repeating. The CDC put out a study. It compared coronavirus to the flu, COVID to the flu. And I think this is important. And one of the main findings was, is that people who go to the hospital die at five times the rate if they have coronavirus. Five times more frequently than with the flu.
In other words, it's five times more deadly than the flu. It's the first type of study like this to be rather definitive. And I think it's worth telling people, because they keep getting misinformation here, just how dangerous this is. REINER: Right. One of the, I think, most damaging myths propagated by
the pandemic deniers has been that this is not much more than just the seasonal flu. It's kind of the bad flu.
But we've known that, using the most optimistic projections, the mortality rate for COVID-19 is about five times seasonal flu. So seasonal flu has a mortality rate of about 0.1 percent. We think, if we knew the denominator, and we obviously don't, because we don't test everyone, we think the mortality rate for all comers would be about 0.5 percent.
So in that V.A. study you mentioned, looked at 4,000 patients. So you were twice as likely to need the ICU, five times more likely to die. Twice as likely to get pneumonia or have myocarditis, inflammation of the heart.
And disturbingly, the COVID-19 affects underrepresented communities at a much higher rate than the flu. So you know, for instance, in that V.A. study, almost 50 percent of COVID patients were black or Hispanic, compared to about 25 percent for influenza admissions. So it's a disproportionate afflicter in this country.
CAMEROTA: Dr. Reiner, how about kids? There's a new report out by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They've seen a 13 percent increase in cases just since the beginning of October.
