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Disastrous Trump/Biden Presidential Debate; Trump Refuses To Condemn Right-Wing Extremist Group During Debate; U.S. Surpasses 206,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Tops 7.2 Million Cases; Eleven Democratic Governors Warn Against "Intimidation Or Harassment Of Voters" After Trump Urges Supporters To "Go Into The Polls". Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 30, 2020 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM with breaking news on the fallout from the disastrous Trump/Biden debate, thrown into chaos by the president's ugly and unruly performance.
Tonight, Mr. Trump again refusing to explicitly condemn white supremacists, doubling down on one of his worst debate moments, even as he seems to be attempting at damage control.
The former Vice President Joe Biden is denouncing his opponent's debate tactics as a national embarrassment.
The commission that sponsors the debates now is promising to change its format, in hopes of bringing order to the next two presidential face-offs.
All this as the nation remains in the grip of the pandemic that now has killed more than 206,000 people and infected more than 7.2 million, with the cases on the rise right now in 26 states.
Let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He is in Minnesota for us, where the president getting ready for a large campaign event later tonight.
Jim, even some Trump allies privately are admitting that he crossed the line in the debate.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Wolf.
And President Trump is doing some damage control, claiming today he doesn't know anything about the right-wing fringe group Proud Boys, adding he has always condemned white supremacy. But that's not true.
Privately, some Trump campaign advisers are nervous about the fallout from the debate. One Trump adviser was furious that the president botched the question on white supremacy. As this adviser put it -- and this is a quote -- "F the Proud Boys." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): After turning the first debate of the 2020 campaign into a dumpster fire, President Trump is trying to put out the flames.
The president is insisting he is not familiar with the right-wing group the Proud Boys, the same organization he declined to criticize when he refused to condemn white supremacy at the debate.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know who the Proud Boys are. They have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.
ACOSTA: The president gave the group a pass in a moment that even had fellow Republicans cringing.
TRUMP: Do you want to call them -- what do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name. Go ahead.
CHRIS WALLACE, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE MODERATOR: White supremacists and ...
JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: White supremacists ...
TRUMP: Well, who would like me condemn?
WALLACE: White supremacists and...
BIDEN: The Proud Boys.
TRUMP: Who?
WALLACE: ... right-wing militia.
TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.
But I will tell you what. I will tell you what. Somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like the Proud Boys now?
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ACOSTA: Members of the Proud Boys, a violent group embracing racist views, celebrated Mr. Trump's comments, posting images on social media stating they are standing by.
GOP senators quickly called on Mr. Trump to clarify his remarks.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): I think he misspoke in response to Chris Wallace's comment. He was asking Chris what he wanted to say. I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak.
QUESTION: Senator, should the president have condemned white supremacist last night at the debate?
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): Of course. Of course.
ACOSTA: The president's decision to clean up his comments came after White House officials maintained Mr. Trump's response was perfectly fine.
QUESTION: Because they're celebrating it, the group.
ALYSSA FARAH, WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: I don't think that there is anything to clarify here.
ACOSTA: Still, one Trump campaign adviser was outraged, telling CNN: "F the Proud Boys. There, I said it. Not that hard."
The president is also claiming he's always denounced white supremacy, despite his history of equivocating over neo-Nazi violence in Charlottesville.
TRUMP: I have always denounced any form, any form, any form of any of that.
ACOSTA: Democrat Joe Biden's message on the subject was more succinct.
BIDEN: My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is, cease and desist.
ACOSTA: As for the rest of the debate, there were so many interruptions, mainly from Mr. Trump...
BIDEN: The question is...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: The radical left...
BIDEN: Would you shut up, man?
TRUMP: Listen, who is on your list, Joe? Who's on your list?
BIDEN: This is so unpresidential.
ACOSTA: ... that the Presidential Debate Commission released a statement saying, "Additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues."
One member of the president's debate team said Mr. Trump probably went too far.
FMR. GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ): And, yes, I think, on the Trump side, it was too hot. With all that heat, as you said before, you lose the light. That potentially can be fixed. Maybe, maybe not.
ACOSTA: The president also played fast and loose with the facts, claiming he's paid millions of dollars in taxes after "The New York Times" obtained his tax returns and found that's not the case.
TRUMP: Millions of dollars.
WALLACE: You paid millions of dollars?
TRUMP: Million of dollars.
ACOSTA: Team Biden is dodging the question of whether he would pack the Supreme Court if Republicans are successful in seating their nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The Republican leader of the Senate, together with Donald Trump, are, in the spirit of hypocrisy, trying to push through a nominee while the American people are voting. And so Joe has been really clear. Let's focus on what is happening right now. Deal with later later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:05:01]
ACOSTA: And the president claims he is receiving a tremendous review for his performance at last night's debate, but not everybody in Trump world feels that way.
As one source close to the president told me earlier today, it was a great night for Joe Biden.
Now, the president will be here in Minnesota for a rally later on this evening. This is one of those states, Wolf, that he would like to peel away from the Democrats, but after last night's debate, that job may have gotten more difficult -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, certainly seems that way.
Jim Acosta in Minnesota for us, thank you very much.
There is more breaking news we're following on how the off-the-rails debate is impacting Joe Biden's campaign.
I want to bring in our political correspondent, Arlette Saenz. She's covering the Biden campaign. She is in Pennsylvania for us.
Arlette, so what are you learning?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Wolf, we're learning tonight that the Biden campaign brought in a major fund-raising haul last night during that debate.
A campaign official saying the Biden campaign raised nearly $10 million during a three-hour period last night, pointing to that as some of the enthusiasm that they are seeing from supporters during this debate.
Now, the Biden campaign saw their single greatest fund-raising hour between the 10:00 to 11:00 hour, bringing in $3.8 million. This is just one of those enthusiasm signs that they are pointing to.
And earlier today, Joe Biden was here in Alliance, Ohio. And he gave an assessment of that debate last night, saying that the president made it about himself with his constant interrupting and was not speaking directly to the American people.
And I had the chance to ask Biden about his upcoming debates with the president, whether he would participate in those, and whether he wants to see any changes made by the commission ahead of those debates. Take a listen to what he had to tell me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I just hope there is a way in which the debate commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruptions.
I'm not going to speculate on what happens in the second or third debate. My hope is that they're able to literally say, the question gets asked of Trump. He has a microphone. He has two minutes to answer the question. No one else has a microphone.
SAENZ: What do you have to say to those undecided persuadable voters who were watching last night and were just completely turned off by politics?
BIDEN: I can understand it. It was -- I kind of thought at one point -- maybe I shouldn't say this -- but the president of the United States conducting himself the way he did, I think it was just a national embarrassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: So, a very frank assessment there from Joe Biden after that debate, where the president constantly was interrupting both him and the moderator.
Now, right now, Biden is on this Build Back Better Express Train Tour. That is what the campaign is billing it as. They started in Cleveland, Ohio, the site of the debate, and are making their way now through Pennsylvania, deep into Trump country.
Biden is visiting areas of Pennsylvania that the president won pretty decisively against Hillary Clinton back in 2016. We have heard Biden over the past few weeks say that he wants to directly reach out to those Trump voters, saying that the president ran on this campaign, that he was trying to appeal to the forgotten man.
But Biden is arguing on this tour that the president forgot those people in office. We are going to see him later tonight in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for a drive-in rally, as he is looking to boost his support in that critical battleground state of Pennsylvania that helped President Trump win the election back in 2016 -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Arlette, thanks very much, Arlette Saenz reporting. Let's bring in our political commentators, David Axelrod, Van Jones, and John Kasich.
You know, Van, the president was given the chance to denounce white supremacy last night. Once again, he didn't do that. What does his refusal to condemn hate tell you?
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's terrifying people across the country.
I have had people contacting me, people I haven't heard from for years, saying, do you think that I should purchase a firearm? What is going to happen? What does he mean? What does he mean stand by? Does that mean that he is going to launch some kind of attack on Election Day?
I mean, people are really terrified. And I think it is just highly irresponsible for him to -- most people, anybody, the person sitting next to you and the movie theater would be happy to denounce white supremacists, racists, Nazis. That is not a hard thing. You can't pass that test and that bar, something is really, really wrong.
BLITZER: You know, David, the president now says he doesn't know who the far right group is, the so-called Proud Boys, after telling them, in his words, to stand back and stand by. He said that last night.
[18:10:00]
A longtime Trump adviser now tells CNN it is not that hard to condemn the group, saying, "F the Proud Boys."
It might not be hard, but the president hasn't done it. Why do you think he hasn't done it?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, his denial about knowing them doesn't really stand up.
And it is in keeping with his practice. We remember, four years ago, when David Duke expressed support, and he said he didn't know anything about David Duke. This is what the president does when he is confronted with these kinds of situations.
But here's what we know as well. If you say good things about the president, the president will say good things about you. That is the judgment, that is the prism through which he passes everything. And it doesn't matter whether you have repugnant views, whether you are QAnon or the Proud Boys.
As long as you stand with Trump, Trump will stand with you.
Wolf, when I was in the White House one thing that we were very clear on, not just the president, but everyone who worked for the president, that the words a president speaks matter. And when a president of the United States refuses to roundly denounce white supremacist organizations, anti-Semitic organizations, it has an impact.
And, sadly, it had an immediate impact last night. So, it is tragic, but it's also familiar.
BLITZER: Governor Kasich, the president claims he is getting tremendous, tremendous, his word, reviews for his debate performance last night.
But we know that so many of your fellow Republicans are voicing their opposition to at least some of his comments. You were pretty critical of the president long before last night's performance, but what does this dissatisfaction from other Republicans now tell you?
FMR. GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH): Well, Wolf, look, this is all a pursuit of power, frankly, by both parties.
People wonder. They scratch their head. Well, why don't the Republicans say something about this? Well, it is all about power. The problem is, as you can see that Biden maintains a very strong lead, Republicans are going to have to lie in the bed that they made.
There are a lot of Republicans that are like, what has happened with Kasich? Why did he do this?
Look, from the beginning I was concerned about this man dividing the country all the way back in the campaign. And then, at the very beginning, we had Charlottesville. We have one thing after another.
And anybody who watched that debate last night, they were just, like, horrified. I haven't spoken to anybody today that had one good thing to say about it.
You know what else is interesting. The entire world now is scratching their head. And they're saying, what the heck is happening in America? So, Wolf, it is causing people to doubt.
But I tell you, last night, the very few people who are undecided, I think, after last night, they are moving towards Biden. But the Republicans that are solid for Trump, because this is a power game -- it's a power game on all sides.
That is the problem with American politics today. It is about, we win and you lose, instead of, hey, you know what? You may have won this one. We can win the next one. And in the meantime, let's build a better country.
BLITZER: You know, it is interesting.
In the last hour, David, I spoke to Bob Woodward, who has got a new book, "Rage," on all of this, on the president, as we know. And he is deeply concerned that right now we potentially are heading into a real constitutional crisis only weeks before the election that could undermine U.S. democracy, and he's publicly urging the Republican and Democratic leadership in the Senate and the House to do something to contain the president.
What do you think?
AXELROD: Well, I think that would be great. But going back to what John was saying, there is a resistance for people to come together. This would be a splendid time for Republican and Democratic leaders to lock arms and say, we stand for the sanctity of the American electoral process. We are going to make sure that this is an orderly process, a peaceful process, that every vote is going to be counted, and that the winner will be installed as president.
It seems outrageous that in America we should even have to have that kind of statement, but that would be very useful.
But the politics of the moment suggest to me that that is not likely to happen. But you connect up what the president didn't say last night about the white supremacist organizations with what he did say in casting doubt about the vote and suggesting widespread fraud, as he did four years ago, by the way, before he won, and after he won, because he was unhappy that he had lost the popular vote.
He does these things casually. But, again, when a president of the United States says them, they have impact. And I think it would behoove other elected officials of both parties to stand up and say, that's not who we are, and that's not what we're going to tolerate.
BLITZER: Van, what do you think?
[18:15:00]
JONES: I agree.
And I'm just glad we have leaders like Vanita Gupta from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Sherrilyn Ifill from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, who are gearing up legally to make sure that we don't have a constitutional crisis that winds up with us having even millions of votes eliminated.
There's a lot of things that could go down. But to have the president of the United States say and continue to cast aspersions on the electoral process itself is very chilling.
When you put that next to seeming to give some kind of a shout-out to far right-wing extremists, you're starting to scare people. And I think, rather than being afraid, we should be determined we are going to have a great election, we're going to get to the other side, whoever wins, and we're going to come back together.
But we have to stand up for groups that are standing up for democracy, like the Leadership Conference For Civil Rights, like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and other organizations.
BLITZER: Van Jones, David Axelrod, John Kasich, guys, we will continue this conversation, for sure, down the road. These are critical moments in American history we're watching.
Just ahead, I will speak to two former top Trump administration officials about the style and the substance of the president's debate performance and how it squares with what they saw behind the scenes. And New York City takes a big step on reopening, as parts of the
state, nearly half of the country are seeing a very disturbing rise right now in coronavirus infections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:39]
BLITZER: We're back with breaking news on the president's refusal today to explicitly condemn white supremacists when asked about his stunning debate remarks from last night about the far right group known as the Proud Boys.
Let's talk about that and more, specifically the debate performance by the president, with two former Trump administration officials, CNN Contributor, Miles Taylor. He served as chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. And Olivia Troye, a former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence and the Coronavirus Task Force.
Miles, members of this far right group interpreted the president's comments in the debate last night as encouragement. You previously told me President Trump didn't prioritize white supremacist violence or domestic threats in general.
How did that become clear in your meetings with him and your work deep inside the Trump administration?
MILES TAYLOR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Wolf, I will tell you this.
From the beginning of the Trump administration, we had a sense that the numbers were going in the wrong direction. And by the numbers, I mean the number of terrorist plots we were tracking in the United States.
When we first came in, ISIS was the big threat. That was obvious to everyone. But there was a surging threat from violent extremist groups that were here domestically, primarily focused on white supremacy. And that was a big concern for us.
The FBI and our own DHS intelligence analysts came to us and said, this is worrying.
We went to the White House and we said, the numbers are headed in the wrong direction. The response we got was the president put his head in the sand. The president and his senior advisers did not want to pay attention to the threat. They didn't want to talk about the threat. They told us to not use certain terms having to do with the threat, such as right-wing extremism.
And, at the end of the day, they refused to actually include this in any meaningful way in the national counterterrorism strategy. The message from the White House to us could not have been clearer. It was, do not focus on this, do not prioritize this.
Now, I'm glad to say that the secretaries that I served, John Kelly and Kirstjen Nielsen, didn't listen to that. They did prioritize the threat. We worked extremely closely with the FBI on this.
But it is important that the White House care, because the White House can muster a whole-of-government response against a threat like this. The White House never did. And as a result, we have named cities that remind us how bad the threat actually got, Charlottesville, El Paso.
We could go on down the list. And those events happened in part because our government wasn't as focused as it should have been on the threat, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, that is so disturbing.
Olivia, last night, the president also said he did a great job responding to the coronavirus pandemic and that, if Biden had been in office, he said two million people would have died.
You worked there. You were on the Coronavirus Task Force. You worked for Vice President Pence. Should the American people believe that these more than 206,000 American deaths over these past seven months or so were inevitable?
OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: I mean, the president's comments last night were once again offensive to me.
He is personally responsible for a lot of these deaths, for the perpetuating of myths and lies that he has told the American public and his messaging. And to hear him try to campaign on it last night on his record of success, I don't know how you do that, when we're still struggling on a number of areas here domestically to get control of this virus.
BLITZER: When you say he was personally responsible for many of these 206,000 deaths, just elaborate a little bit, Olivia. Tell us what you mean.
TROYE: From the very beginning, the president told the American public this was a hoax, this wasn't real.
And then he made the mask a political device. And he made it a political debate, which it didn't need to be that way. He could have taken a different approach. He could have utilized the mask in terms of a safety precaution and what -- it would really make a difference for American lives.
And, instead, he chose the opposite route, regardless of what people on the task force and inside the White House were advising him to do.
BLITZER: Miles, the president also refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. He is telling his supporters to go watch the polls. He is discouraging people from voting by mail.
Behind closed doors, does the president show a commitment, from your perspective, and you worked on the inside, to the basic principles of our democracy?
[18:25:09] TAYLOR: He doesn't, Wolf.
And let me tell you why. A lot of people were offended by last night's debate. But I took it personally in particular, and I thought it was one of the worst political moments of the 21st century, which is really saying something, because serving in the Donald Trump administration was a pride-swallowing siege every single day.
But it was one of the worst political moments for this reason. We spent so much time trying to explain to Donald Trump what our foreign adversaries were trying to do in the United States to divide Americans, that it would be my hope that Donald Trump would have heard some of that and avoided some of the rhetoric that would have aided and abetted those foreign enemies.
There were three things we were worried about when it came to election security and what our adversaries wanted to do. One was they wanted to spread misinformation about candidates. Two was they wanted to undermine the integrity of the vote and question the actual electoral process itself.
And, three, they wanted to generate civil unrest in the United States. Donald Trump materially contributed to each of those last night. And, as a result, the president of the United States has fulfilled the dreams of America's enemies.
BLITZER: Miles Taylor, Olivia Troye, guys, we will continue this conversation, for sure.
Just ahead, we're learning more about the far right group President Trump told to stand back and stand by during last night's debate. We are going to take you inside the world of the Proud Boys.
And New York City restaurants, they are reopening for indoor dining, but the mayor isn't ready to make reservations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
BLITZER: We're following an alarming increase in new COVID-19 infections, as the total number of cases and casualties continue to rise here in the United States.
CNN's Brian Todd is joining us. Brian, 26 states clearly right now heading in the wrong direction, we're seeing some communities actually loosening restrictions. What is the latest?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. Hot spots popping all over the place, as you mention, the upticks in new coronavirus cases now cover more than half the states, New York, which got some high marks for its handling of one of the worst outbreaks this past spring is now seeing worrisome signs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD: New York City takes a major step at a vulnerable time. The city starts to reopen restaurants for indoor dining to 25 percent of their normal capacity and with rigorous inspections. But Mayor Bill de Blasio isn't ready to take that step himself just yet.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY, NY: My outdoor dining experiences have been amazing. I'm going keep doing that for the foreseeable future and then, of course, shift to indoor when the outdoor isn't as prevalent because of the weather.
TODD: This comes as New York City and other parts of the state see upticks in coronavirus cases that, while slight at the moment, are concerning. The mayor says, in at least six specific neighborhoods, the positivity rate continues to rise. Certain businesses and neighborhood institutions may have to close. America's top voice on the pandemic warns about those smaller upticks in test positivity.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: -- which is generally a predictor that you're going to start seeing surges. So we've got to now double down and make sure that we're very conscientious without shutting down.
TODD: But should New York City pause its reopening of schools and restaurants, which it started this week?
ANNE RIMOIN, EPIDEMIOLOGIST, UCLA SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I think it is very important that New York weigh the risks of opening up at this point. We all know that when the virus gives -- has an opportunity to spread, it takes that opportunity. And I would hate to see all of the hard work that New York has done to keep this virus at bay be undone.
TODD: Today the trend nationwide is a major concern among experts, more than half the States now seeing a rise in cases.
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We're also heading into flu season. We're also seeing more schools reopening for in-person teaching, university campuses opening for students as well. So all of these factors are converging to increase cases in some places but also just to make it a much more vulnerable time.
TODD: The Midwest states are almost all seeing rising case numbers, the spike in Wisconsin particularly alarming, record hospitalizations there. The coronavirus task force warning of a, quote, intense period of viral surge in Wisconsin and pleading for more social distancing.
But President Trump is still planning on holding back-to-back rallies in that state this weekend despite being pressed in the debate over why he continues to hold large events.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Because people want to hear what I have to say.
TODD: College campuses tonight continue to be major drivers of transmission. An outbreak on the Notre Dame football team that infected a dozen and a half players, according to their coach, spread like wildfire. The University of Central Florida has residents of three sorority houses under quarantine, attempting to head off an outbreak there. And Georgia Tech has canceled spring break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And we have this just in, some positive news for Major League Baseball. The baseball league has announced that fans will be allowed in the stands this fall for the national league Championship Series and the World Series. Major League Baseball making the announcement just a short time ago. They're going to be making tickets available, about 11,500 tickets available per game.
The National League Championship Series and the World Series both being played at Globelife field in Arlington, Texas, so about 11,500 fans will be allowed per game.
[18:35:06]
They'll be socially distanced, Wolf, and masks will be required. But there are going to be live fans in the stands for baseball's biggest moments this fall.
BLITZER: All right, we'll see what happens on that front. Brian Todd reporting, thank you.
Joining us now, Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hotez, thanks as usual for joining us.
As you heard last night, the president contradicted the experts on the timeline for the coronavirus vaccine. He is actually accusing politics of slowing the vaccine process down. What is a realistic timeline for a vaccine to be developed and who should the American people be listening to on this critically important subject?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, the irony, of course, is yes there is politics and the president is the one who is introducing the politics. Look, we've got a very robust, scientific program. Operation Warp Speed has a very carefully orchestrated system of clinical trials. They're being done at the highest level of scientific rigor and integrity. 30,000 people trials. We were involved through with our NIH vaccine active working group in helping with organizing those trials and looking for possible safety events.
So everything is all set to release safe and effective vaccines to the public but you have to give it the time. You have to let -- giving two doses of each of those vaccines to 30,000 people or at least half of those groups, or two-thirds of those groups, compared to a placebo and then giving it adequate time to show the vaccines actually work and are safe. That's what's paramount. And we will have that data by the end of the year.
And then if one of those three vaccines is shown to be safe and effective, or maybe all three, and then they can be released to the public. But that is how it works. And any attempt to derail that or interfere with that can only be counterproductive. BLITZER: It certainly can. You know, the president also made fun, and this was very disturbing last night, Joe Biden for wearing a mask, at the same time the White House coronavirus task force is pushing states to encourage mask-wearing. So how damaging is it, Doctor, that the president is mocking a practice that health officials insist is absolutely necessary and can save thousands of American lives?
HOTEZ: Well, it's just tragic at this point that we're still debating masks. And we won't have vaccines until well into 2021 when a significant percentage of the population could get vaccinated. This is one of the few tools that we have to limit transmission. And so by mocking it, or we heard the Florida governor now is no longer going to require it, this is -- this only makes people at risk.
And what we should be having is a president and a White House that is setting a national tone for wearing masks. Instead, he has helped to heavily politicize it, so that this has become now part of people's political identity not to wear masks almost in defiance. And it's having tragic consequences.
A significant number of the 60,000 people who have perished during that second peak of our epidemic this fall across the southern states in part because people were refusing to wear masks. So we can directly translate this into human lives. And there's no excuse for it and we've got to fix this right away.
BLITZER: It's not that hard to simply put on a mask and save lives. Dr. Hotez, thank you, as usual, for joining us.
HOTEZ: Thank you so much, Wolf.
BLITZER: Just ahead despite the president's claim that he's getting tremendous reviews for his debate performance, some Trump allies privately admit they're furious with his response on white supremacy.
Plus, we're digging into the far-right group President Trump told to stand by. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: Right now, we're learning more about the far-right group President Trump told to stand back and stand by during the debate last night. It's a group the Anti-Defamation League calls misogynistic, Islamophobic with members that espouse white supremacist and anti- Semitic ideology.
CNN's Elle Reeve is digging into this group for us, speaking with some members at one of their rallies over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ENRIQUE TARRIO, CHAIRMAN, PROUD BOYS: We're a drinking club with a patriot problem. As Proud Boys, I think our main objective is to defend the west. MILKSHAKE, PROUD BOY MEMBER: Do I look scary with this? I would never use this to hit someone out of just a blatant attack. It would be only self-defense.
ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at the Proud Boys rally in Delta Park.
REEVE: The Proud Boys are a far right group with ambiguous beliefs. But a clear record at street fights.
TARRIO: We're not punching each other in the face.
REEVE: But part of the culture is to be lightly punched while naming five breakfast cereals.
TARRIO: Five breakfast cereals, yes.
REEVE: They planned this rally after a far-right activist was killed here a few weeks ago. Many worry that their presence in Portland will result in clashes with anti-fascist protesters, who planned their own rally as a response.
Ahead of this, the governor declared a state of emergency. There at least 300 people here although they hyped up to 3,000. And the ratio of journalists to Proud Boys is very high.
Are you here to get in fights with Antifa?
TARRIO: Absolutely not.
[18:45:00]
REEVE: But you guys are sort of dressed in the aesthetics of political violence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aesthetics and actually what we are is two different things. We're all wearing protective gear.
REEVE: It just seems like every time there is a Proud Boys event, it ends with some people getting beat up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If our mere presence causes people to want to commit acts of violence, we're not afraid to defend ourselves.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know what you do, bro, calling (ph) people white supremacists and (INAUDIBLE). But it's not a white supremacist and a Nazi --
REEVE: The Proud Boys all tell us they're just here to drink beer and barbecue, but there have already been a couple incidents that have teetered on the edge of violence, including our own crew being threatened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get out! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) camera.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) CNN. Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) wrong place to be.
REEVE: Just filmed that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got something to say?
SAM, TRUMP SUPPORTER: We had one Antifa come in here. He only openly admitted he was.
The camera may capture it all. Wow, look, they're being so violent.
We didn't touch him. He wasn't bleeding. He wasn't marked up. He didn't get punched. He didn't get spit or nothing.
And so, I told him earlier and I said, hey, you're lucky.
REEVE: Well, if you're not here for violence, it wouldn't be lucky, it'd be the plan, right?
SAM: Oh, yeah. I mean, if --
REEVE: It wouldn't be a stroke of luck?
SAM: Sure, but --
REEVE: If you weren't expecting to be violent?
SAM: But it's just me, but I can't speak for everybody else.
REEVE: The sheriff's department estimated about a thousand people came to Delta Park throughout the day. Meanwhile, about a thousand counterprotesters gathered three miles away.
What do you think the Proud Boys represent?
CHARLIE WESTLEY, PROTESTER: Fear, fear of losing power. They feel like they are just losing everything they have thought that they are the superior race.
We call us the proud little peanut boys.
REEVE: And why is it important to, like, have a counter rally to the Proud Boys? Why not just ignore them?
ANTIFASCIST PROTESTER: We're out here to show them that we're not afraid and we're not going to back down in the face of tyranny, especially when our president is amping up this whole situation.
REEVE: At the nightly anti-police protest, people waited wearily for the Proud Boys to show up but they never came. Instead, the only clashes that occurred were the same ones between police and protesters that have happened nearly every night since May.
In the end, it was just another night in Portland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: CNN's Elle Reeve reporting for us. Excellent report indeed.
Just ahead, we're taking a closer look at the president's repeated false claims against voting during the debate and the possible strategy behind these attacks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:52:23]
BLITZER: We're following breaking news. Eleven Democratic governors are now raising the alarm about intimidation or harassment of voters after President Trump urged his supporters to go into the polls after last night's debates.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown is joining us.
Pamela, you're learning why the president is now making these attacks on voting.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's absolutely right, Wolf. And today, Trump campaign officials are having to play clean up from what the president said at the debate, saying the president was merely urging his supporters to register to become poll watchers.
But election officials across the country view the president's words as encouragement for voter intimidation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): President Trump seemingly outlining at the debate a three-prong strategy to win re-election, disinformation --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a disaster.
BROWN -- intimidation --
TRUMP: Watch carefully.
BROWN: -- and relying on realigned courts.
TRUMP: I think we're counting on them to look at the ballots, definitely.
BROWN: Trump calling on supporters to watch people at the polls, not always in official capacity, which Democrats fear could intimidate voters, something the Nevada attorney general said will not happen in his state. Warning in a tweet, you will be prosecuted.
Trump also is magnifying minor mail-in ballot issues, wrongly calling them --
TRUMP: Fraud like you've never seen.
BROWN: -- pointing to his allies being denied entering at an early voting site in Pennsylvania which state rules don't allow, and railing against mail-in noting with more misinformation.
TRUMP: Take a look at West Virginia, mailmen selling the ballots. They're being sold. They're being dumped in rivers.
BROWN: A false claim, prompting West Virginia's Republican secretary of state to clarify in a statement, a postal carrier altered absentee ballot applications, not ballots.
TRUMP: This is a horrible thing for our country.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: There is no --
TRUMP: This is not --
BIDEN: There is no evidence of that.
TRUMP: This is not going to end well.
BROWN: Trump also made clear his hope that pushing through his Supreme Court justice nominee Amy Coney Barrett will tip the scales at the high court in his favor.
TRUMP: I hope we don't need them in terms of the election itself. But for the ballots, I think so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Barrett was on Capitol Hill again today meeting with GOP senators, Wolf. She has avoided telling her she would recuse herself over reelection matters.
Meantime, we should note, there is high interest in early voting this year, Wolf, with more than 1.2 million Americans already casting their votes.
BLITZER: That's amazing.
All right. Pamela Brown, thank you.
And we're going to have much more news right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Finally tonight, we honor some of the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.
Steven Silverman of Florida was 71 years old, an OB-GYN doctor who delivered thousands of babies, treating patients with care and compassion, a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was an avid runner, cyclist and photographer. His wife of 43 years Valerie (ph) says she lost her best friend. Myron Dominey was 81, also from Florida. A career military man, he was
honored for his army service in Vietnam and Korea. We're told he raised one of his granddaughters after her mother's death and that he never missed an event with his large family, including 13 great grandchildren.
May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
[19:00:00]
