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New Day

Biden Tells DeSantis, Abbott: Help or 'Get Out of the Way'; Louisiana Shatters Record for COVID Hospitalizations; Obama Cancels 60th Birthday Bash as Cases Spike; Florida Doctor Says Surge of COVID in State is 'Worst It's Ever Been'; Biden, Pelosi, NY Dems All Turn on Cuomo. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 04, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Brianna Keilar, alongside John Berman on this NEW DAY. and a potential game changer in the race to get more Americans vaccinated may come in two weeks as more hospitals are overrun with vaccinated patients.

[05:59:09]

Plus, just in, the Delta variant forcing former President Obama to call off his 60th birthday bash.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: He's a man on an island, the smallest political island you can imagine. What's next for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as everyone from President Biden to his neighboring governors calls for him to resign.

And they pointed guns at protesters, and now they're off the hook, thanks to a pardon from Missouri's Republican governor.

KEILAR: Good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Wednesday, August 4. And we begin this morning with an alarming new report about a substantial increase in coronavirus cases among children and teenagers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reporting that nearly 72,000 children caught coronavirus last week. That is an 84 percent increase over the week before. It is a five-fold increase since the end of June.

And the timing couldn't be worse. The Delta variant is on a collision course with the reopening of school for millions of families.

BERMAN; Nationwide hospitalizations now top 55,000. That's the highest number since February and a 27 percent increase since last week.

President Biden lashed out at Republican governors who have banned businesses and universities from requiring vaccines and masks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two states, Florida and Texas, account for one-third of all new COVID-19 cases in the entire country. Just two states.

Look, we need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it. I say to these governors, "Please help. If you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with these new details about the increase in coronavirus cases among children. You know, Elizabeth, is it just this increase in number or are we also seeing an increase in severity?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, we're just seeing an increase in number. But I want to be clear about this severity issue. I'm glad you brought it up, John.

Too many times we hear people say, Oh, so my child will get coronavirus. What's the big deal? They'll just be a little bit sick.

Why in the world would you want to watch your child suffer when you could have just vaccinated them? I was talking to someone who knows someone whose child got coronavirus, unvaccinated, lying in the bed for days with a 104-degree fever. Why would you want that for your child?

And you run the risk that that child, that things are going to get worse, that your child will end up in the hospital or even die. That happens to completely healthy children.

So let's go over these numbers again from the American Academy of Pediatrics that shows just how bad this is getting.

July 22 through the 29th, more than 70,000 new cases among children and teens. That's an 84 percent increase in one week. In one week. That's five times the number of cases among children and teens since June. That's an incredible rise.

So if you're thinking, you know, My children are going to be fine, I'm not going to worry about this, think again.

KEILAR: And then on CNN last night, the former surgeon general said something very alarming, Elizabeth. He said that this delay on FDA approval of the vaccine, rather than it being emergency-use authorization, that it's costing lives. What is the latest information that we have about when that is going to get full approval?

COHEN: That's right. So the reason why Dr. Jerome Adams said that is because there's sort of this cadre of people who are saying, Oh, it's only got emergency-use authorization. I'll feel better about getting the shot if it's got the full approval from the FDA.

Now, there -- there's no logical reason for them to think this. But they think this. And so the hope is that once there's full approval, that more people will roll up their sleeves. What CNN is hearing from a federal official is that the FDA is moving

and will get this done as soon as they can. "The New York Times" reporting that it will happen by Labor Day. CNN is told that there is no set date.

But let's take a listen to something that Tony Fauci told our colleague last night. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: I do hope it's going to be within the next couple of weeks. They said hopefully by the end of the month. I hope it's even sooner than that.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: If the full approval for the vaccine for over 12's is accelerated to a couple weeks from now, do you think that time frame changes for under 12's for an EUA?

FAUCI: It's going to be a regulatory decision, Erin. We're collecting the data right now for what we need to make that determination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So in response to Erin's question, what I've heard is that these are two kind of separate things: getting full approval for the shot for 16 and older, versus authorization for younger children.

And the reason for that is, with the younger children, you need to let clinical trials play out. That data needs to be analyzed. Those are two separate processes -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Elizabeth, thank you so much for that.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: In Louisiana, hospitalizations are surging to record levels. Administrators there report acute staffing shortages and emergency rooms packed beyond capacity.

Nadia Romero joins us now from Baton Rouge.

And Nadia, you just received new information from the largest hospital in that state. What have you learned?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the numbers just keep getting worse here in Louisiana. So I'm standing at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital, and we have ten children behind me in this hospital, battling for their lives.

At least one of them is in the ICU, needing help to breathe. Another one of those kids just 3 weeks old, a baby, battling COVID-19.

[06:05:07]

Now yesterday, the number was nine children. The day before that, just eight. So every day, we're adding one more child who needs to be hospitalized with COVID-19.

Across the street is the largest hospital in the state of Louisiana. And there they are at 100 percent capacity, 175 COVID patients. And they can't accept anyone else. There is a wait list to have more people transferred to the hospital.

So you think about somebody who has COVID-19. They need to be hospitalized here, where they can get the help that they need, but there's no beds.

Along with that, the influx of COVID-19 patients, there is a staffing shortage. So, even if they could find an additional bed, there's no one to help them, care for them, because there's not enough doctors and nurses to be on this rotation to help with all of these different COVID patients that are coming in from more rural and suburban parts of the area.

And it's not just here at Our Lady of the Lake, but also at LSU's healthcare system. They're battling the same exact issues, but they say there's an answer: Get vaccinated. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. REBEKAH GEE, CEO, LSU HEALTH CARE SERVICES DIVISION: Right now, we're caring for the patients, but we need people to get vaccinated. This -- these new numbers are good, but it will take a good month and a half to see the result of these new vaccinations.

And so, we're just going to have to -- to take care of people like we've done all along. But you know, message has to be please get vaccinated. If you're on the fence, take your chances with this vaccine. It's a lot better than taking your chances with COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And when you hear from those healthcare professionals, they are worn out with that same message: wear a mask, get vaccinated because they want to help people. And now they have to pick and choose who really needs their help, where they -- where they present their resources, because they're just overrun with COVID patients.

Now, Governor John Bel Edwards is starting a mask mandate. He announced it on Monday, but today is the official start.

But when I walked around and talked to different business owners, store clerks, I had one convenience store clerk throw his hands up and say, Don't even ask me about that, because he's on the front lines of having to enforce this mask mandate. None of them were provided with new guidelines or new messaging from the state, telling them how to enforce this mask mandate.

And we all remember the heated and at times violent exchanges from store managers and from people who refused to wear a mask. Here we go again was the sentiment that I received from so many people across the state of Louisiana -- John. BERMAN: If people would only get vaccinated, we don't have to go here. Nadia Romero, thank you so much for your reporting. Appreciate you being there.

So just in, "The New York Times" reported moments ago that former President Obama is canceling his huge 60th birthday bash that was scheduled for Saturday on Martha's Vineyard. That's as new COVID cases surge across the country.

"The New York Times" White House correspondent Annie Karni broke this story, and she joins us live.

Annie, it's great to see you this morning. Congratulations on the breaking news, as it were. This was going to be a big party. And until yesterday, as far as we knew, it was still going on. You know, hundreds of people heading to Martha's Vineyard for this. What happened?

ANNIE KARNI, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. As -- yesterday I spoke to guests who were literally on the ferry on the way to Martha's Vineyard. It was reported that Oprah was coming, George Clooney.

This was a hundreds of people, outdoors. The Obamas have been planning this for months.

It became -- The timing became increasingly awkward given what we've just been listening to hear on your report. Surging cases, President Biden trying to urge Americans to -- to take a step back. The CDC saying that the Delta variant is, you know, as transmissible as chickenpox.

And there's seemingly -- Obama up until yesterday, it seemed like he had a disregard for the optics of carrying ahead with this party.

It was to be outdoors. Everyone was required to be tested. The crowd was going to be fully vaccinated as far, as the Obamas knew, in terms of who they invited.

That being said, there was -- they were being pressed, I heard from a lot of Democrats yesterday, saying, I'm surprised he's not scaling it back. It seems like an unnecessary headache.

White House officials who were invited to go, like Ron Klain, the chief of staff, he had been planning to go. I heard yesterday he had decided to stay home. It was creating an unnecessary headache.

And I -- and then today Obama appears to have heard it and said he's significantly scaling it back. It will now be a party with family and some close friends, and he hopes to see everyone down the line.

BERMAN: I have a lot of close friends. How many close friends is he talking about here? I mean, are we talking now like, you know, single digits? Maybe 25 people? Or is this still going to be 20 -- you know, 250 of his closest friends?

[06:10:04]

KARNI: It's not going to be 250. They won't give me an exact number. We'll have to see. But it's going to be -- a lot of people talked to who were planning on going, said they're sorry to miss what was going to be kind of an Obama alumni reunion with celebrities. That's not happening anymore. They hope to see him next year.

The -- the Obama team is not giving out a number. We'll have to wait and keep an eye on the dial (ph) on Saturday.

BERMAN: The Ron Klain information that was in your story jumped out at me. The fact that Ron Klain, who's now the White House chief of staff, had planned on going and then decided not to, that really tells you everything about what the feelings were within the Democratic establishment.

I do want to add here, as you noted, they were all going to be vaccinated. Testing was required. I guess they had a COVID coordinator for this.

But as my -- my friend and partner in kind, Brianna Keilar, points out, that doesn't account for the traveling back and forth, all the people who had come in contact with everyone in this party. You know, it would have created a risk for a lot more than just the people there.

KARNI: Look, it -- they were abiding by all the CDC guidelines, but you can't be 100 percent certain, given what this virus is doing right now, given that it can spread among fully-vaccinated people. Given that you can't control the weather. What if it rains and has to be a tent or people move inside?

There's no being completely safe, except for maybe scaling it back to a much smaller gathering.

And like you said, Ron Klain, I mean, a lot of the current White House officials, current government officials are former Obama alumni who are very close to the former president. Ambassador Susan Rice is a close friend of his. A lot of people in the building now would have been -- were invited to this party.

And I -- it became almost untenable for a lot of these current officials. Joe Biden himself, the White House said last week, he looks forward to wishing Obama a happy birthday at some point in the future. Obviously, was not going to go.

So I think there -- there was relief among a lot of Democrats, saying, it would probably be safe. Optically, this was just -- who needed this distraction from the message that Joe Biden was trying to drive right now?

BERMAN: As of now, the party is off, at least the big party. Anne Karni -- Annie Karni with the breaking news.

I only hope that George Clooney can find alternative plans for the weekend. KARNI: We'll keep you posted.

BERMAN: Thank you, Annie. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: I hope so, too. You know, I think, John, it goes to the point of people are making plans, say, for now that they made a couple months ago.

BERMAN: Absolutely.

KEILAR: Right? And those conditions have changed. And so they're adjusting, right?

BERMAN: It has changed. Things change. They just do. And you have to be flexible. You have to be willing to adapt.

KEILAR: Yes. You had --

BERMAN: It took up until, like, the last few days for the Obama team to adapt, but they finally did.

KEILAR: Yes. They sure did.

All right. This morning, nearly one in five new coronavirus cases across the U.S. are being reported out of Florida. Hospitalizations across the state are up 29 percent since last week.

Joining us now is Dr. Ben Abo. He is EMS and emergency physician in south Florida, and he spent the last month helping on the scene of the Surfside building collapse. Now he is witnessing what he's describing as the worst it's ever been in Florida's hospitals.

Doctor, tell us what it is like on the ground there.

DR. BEN ABO, EMS AND EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN IN SOUTH FLORIDA: It's honestly going from one disaster to another. It used to be where I'd be really happy going into work, taking care of people, meeting complete strangers, and having them leave, for the most part, either with a frown that's a little bit less of a frown or a smile.

And now it's just onslaught of a majority being COVID patients. A lot of people just overrun. We don't have room for a lot of people.

And I luck out where I work at places where they do a terrific job to work with what we can and move people around, and we have plenty of PPE; and I feel safe myself. But it's really dangerous in terms of for the patients, because there's so many people waiting.

We're just -- we're literally running out of room, when you have people like terrific nurses and terrific paramedics that have limits on how many patients they can take care of at once. And we're trying to figure out what to put where.

I don't have any limits in terms of patients at once, technically. But it's straining, and I leave work absolutely drained. BERMAN: Look, I was down in Surfside, and I know how horrible it was.

What I find interesting is how you compare the two awful tragedies here.

One, you know, Surfside is just awful accident that took the lives of nearly 100 people. There was nothing they could do.

But this is different. What you're facing now is different. There is something that people can do. How frustrating is that for you?

ABO: Quite honestly, it's extremely frustrating. And it -- it really is a slap in the face. This is going from spending just under a month at Surfside where they couldn't do anything, just like you said, and I -- I personally lost four people and I had firefighters that are like family that lost people.

[06:15:07]

And to come back and do this, where just full gamut, where this essentially could have been prevented or -- it really could have -- it could have been prevented if people would just listen to proper information.

And there is a difference between listening and hearing. They're choosing to hear misinformation, and this is just -- it's -- it's a slap in the face. It really is.

KEILAR: There are certainly questions about whether the Florida state government is handling this correctly. The governor, Ron DeSantis, said something yesterday that I want to play for you, and then we'll talk about it afterward. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Our hospitals are open for business. Like I said, Jackson, the COVID patients are half of what they were last year. Even in places that have more, COVID patients represent a fraction of the overall hospital beds.

And so I don't want to see a repeat, because of some of the media hysteria, where people who have heart problems or stroke are not going in to get care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Is that accurate for what you're seeing?

ABO: There are only parts of that that are accurate. One, Jackson is in Miami. And we are getting a surge.

I mean, the rest of what he said is kind of preposterous, because whether somebody -- if you stub your toe, or you have a heart attack, or a stroke, or you know, a shark attack, anything, we're going to take care of you. And we're going to take stellar care of you.

And where the acuity for a majority of people might not be as bad yet, we still have all these people that are there. A lot of people that are there as patients. And so that still takes up a spot.

We have people in hospitals all over Florida that are boarding patients, where normally you'd be in the E.R. You'd be stabilized. You'd be there maybe a couple of hours with board-certified emergency physicians. And then you go up to the floor or the ICU or whatever.

I'm coming in for multiple shifts. My colleagues are coming in for multiple shifts with the same patients that have been admitted for a day or two still in the emergency program. That's what we call boarding.

I know one of the other counties down here, among five hospitals is boarding something like over 100 patients. And that's just -- that's -- the numbers are there.

So I don't know what he's really talking about and how he's playing those numbers, but I do not agree with that statement of what he said.

KEILAR: Dr. Abo, thank you so much. Good luck. We know that you have quite a challenge, as do your colleagues, ahead of you; and we wish you the very best.

ABO: Thank you. I appreciate it. And I hope you and yours are all vaccinated.

KEILAR: Oh, we are. Well, except for my little ones, but that's another story we'll be talking about that a lot of people are facing. Doctor, thank you so much.

After trotting out a bizarre slide show claiming to prove that he touches everyone, Andrew Cuomo's allies are turning on the governor. So what's next?

BERMAN: Plus, the results are in. Special elections overnight in Ohio. What they tell us about the state of both political parties.

And the white couple who waved guns at Black Lives Matter protesters, they get a pardon. The reaction ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is more isolated than ever after a damning report found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women.

Cuomo is defying calls to resign, calls that come from his state's senators, the congressional delegation, New York City officials, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, his neighboring governors -- which is honestly pretty unprecedented -- and now the president of the United States.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, live in Albany. I can't think of any prominent Democrats standing behind Governor Cuomo at this point. Where is it headed, Shimon?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Exactly right, John. Where is it heading? That's the big question. After the governor lost the support of top Democrats here in Albany who have indicated that they want to move to impeach the governor, saying that he can no longer be in office, that he's no longer fit to be in office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing mounting pressure after a damming report released by the state attorney general found Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women and created a, quote, "hostile work environment" for women.

President Joe Biden joining a growing number of Democrats calling on Cuomo to resign.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And if he doesn't resign, do you believe he should be impeached and removed from office?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's take one thing at a time here. I think he should resign.

PROKUPECZ: Neighboring governors adding their names to the list pushing Cuomo to quit. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand making clear Cuomo must step down.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We continue to believe that the governor should resign.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): These actions are inappropriate for the governor of the United -- the governor of New York state. And I do believe he should resign.

PROKUPECZ: Thirty-seven Democratic state assembly members have indicated they want impeachment articles introduced to the legislature. And at least 22 have confirmed publicly or told CNN they would vote to impeach.

Cuomo promptly denying the findings of the report and saying some things were taken out of context.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.

PROKUPECZ: But state attorney general Letitia James standing by the investigation, saying the evidence is damning.

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: These interviews and pieces of evidence reveal a deeply disturbing yet clear picture. Governor Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of both federal and state laws.

[06:25:14]

PROKUPECZ: One of Cuomo's accusers told investigators that Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life in June 2020. The governor says he was trying to help Charlotte Bennett, knowing she was a sexual assault survivor.

CUOMO: I thought I could help her work through a difficult time. I did ask her questions I don't normally ask people. Charlotte, I want you to know that I am truly and deeply sorry.

PROKUPECZ: Bennett pushing back.

CHARLOTTE BENNETT, GOVERNOR CUOMO ACCUSER AND FORMER AIDE: He sexually harassed me. I am not confused. And I don't want an apology. It's not necessary. It's fake. And his propaganda video was not only uncomfortable and inappropriate, but downright weird and unnecessary.

PROKUPECZ: The report also detailed at least two previously unknown accusations. One was from a state trooper who told investigators Cuomo touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions.

ANNE CLARK, SDNY SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR: She told us that she felt completely violated to have the governor touch her, as she put it, between her chest and her privates.

PROKUPECZ: And from a staffer identified as Executive Assistant 1.

CLARK: The governor hugged Executive Assistant No. 1 and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. There were also several occasions on which the governor grabbed her butt.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And John, other mounting problems, certainly, for the governor. The Albany D.A. saying that they have opened a criminal investigation. They're also going to review the evidence that the attorney general gathered in her investigation.

So this aspect of this is not going away. Of course, the big question is, what does the governor do with this mounting, perhaps an impeachment that could come as soon as September? What does the governor ultimately do, John?

BERMAN: Shimon Prokupecz, we are watching. Thank you so much for being there for us.

So a closely-watched series of special elections in Ohio overnight. What do the results tell us about the future for both parties?

Keilar: Plus, President Biden moving to block evictions in most of the U.S. after significant liberal backlash, but is it legal?

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