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Top Democrat In Crucial Swing State Of Florida On U.S. Election; Fed Chief Urges Trump, Congress To Help Economy; Storm Slams Into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula; Joe Biden: We Need To Renew The Spirit Of Bipartisanship; Tech Giants Accused Of Wielding "Monopoly Power"; Debate Organizers Looking At Debate Safety Options. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 07, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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ANNOUNCER: CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: This hour Donald Trump itching to get out of isolation and back into the West Wing even as more and more
infections are revealed amongst his staff at the White House. Infections are at levels so high they exceed those of entire nations.
The main building at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue eerily silent, emptying faster than you can see Halloween and a president who seems intent on
spending the day re-tweeting about well, any passing thought other than COVID-19.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the White House. Oh, and not sure if we mentioned, but we also happened to be less than a month from an election
that will shape the face of the world's future. First things first, at least 21 people in Donald Trump's inner circle have now tested positive for
Coronavirus.
That is more than the numbers reported in the past few days in Taiwan, Vietnam and New Zealand combined. Trump's Speech Writer and Senior Adviser
Stephen Miller is the latest to test positive yet his colleague Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany who is also infected is defending the late
September gathering in the Rose Garden that is being blamed as a super spreader event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was an event outside. Some people wore masks. Notably several photographers there wore masks and
they all tested positive, so with any event you take a certain amount of risk. Nominating the Supreme Court article II, section II that's an
obligation of the president to do this and we'll continue to fulfill his constitutional duties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, be that as it may America's top infectious disease expert says the impact of that meeting could have been prevented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Take a look at what happened this week at the White House? That
is a reality right there, and every day that goes by more people are popping up that are infected. It's not a hoax. It's an unfortunate
situation when you see something like that because that could have been prevented.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And beyond the White House, of course, this is still a critical matter of life and death. Dr. Fauci says that the current U.S. death toll
of more than 200,000 could almost double.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. FAUCI: The models tell us that if we do not do the kinds of things that we're talking about in the cold of the fall and the winter, we could have
from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths that would be just so tragic if that happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Mr. Trump's rival for the White House is calling on the president to leave the politics aside and get behind the science.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Wearing a mask is not a political statement. It's a scientific recommendation. Social distancing isn't a
political statement. It's a scientific recommendation. This pandemic is not a red state or blue state issue. This virus doesn't care whether you live -
where you live, what political party you belong to. It infects us all it will take anyone's life. It's a virus. It's not a political weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, my next guest is a Biden/Kamala Harris surrogate and the highest-ranking elected Democrat in Florida, Nikki Fried. A remind their
Florida of course is crucial not just because the next presidential debate is scheduled there but because it is a crucial swing state where each side
has passionate and outspoken supporters.
It's a pleasure having you on. Just in the last hour preparations have been made for the president's return to the Oval Office, including positioning
respirator masks and plastic goggles for any visitors. He says this is necessary as Commander in Chief to get back to work. What do you make of
that?
NIKKI FRIED, FLORIDA COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES: You know, first of all, we are delighted that the president is out of the
hospital and that he is getting better, but his reaction and his comments afterwards are so reckless and so dangerous.
And the fact that he has told people to not be afraid of this virus and seeing how we're having tests after tests coming out positive from the West
Wing, you know, this is something that we should all be and completely agree with Vice President Biden.
This should never have been a political issue, and the fact that he is telling people that this is no big deal, I can tell you that we have over
14,000 people here in the State of Florida who have lost their lives, and so to not tell people to take all the proper precautions is again an
example of the poor leadership on this issue.
ANDERSON: In a recent Monmouth post-debate Poll, I'm talking about the first debate or disgrace as one of my colleagues called it, Joe Biden's
lead has grown in Pennsylvania, 54 percent of registered voters there support Biden, 42 percent support Trump.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: One of the key issues that I thought was important in this is that voters say they trust Biden on more - more than Trump on the
Coronavirus pandemic. However, after the president's diagnosis another poll shows that only 21 percent of poem who were spoken to were more likely to
wear a mask. I wonder what that tells you, and does it concern you?
FRIED: Yes. You know, we've had the same issue here in the State of Florida that our Governor has refused to wear a mask, has refused to order
statewide mask mandates and even as of last week opened up our entire state and has told our local government that they can no longer enforce the mask
mandates that are in our local communities.
And so, we're going to see spikes back here in the State of Florida and that does certainly concern me because we know that the science is behind
wearing a mask and keeping social distancing. That's the only way that we're going to slow down the virus.
But there's no known cure, no vaccine yet. We've got to be taking all of these precautions. We even had two individuals, three individuals here in
the State of Florida, one being the University President who happened to be the past Speaker of the House here in Florida and an icon in college
football, Coach Bobby Bowden of FSU, all test possible this woke.
And Coach Bowden is, unfortunately, in the hospital. This is not something to be taken lightly. There are a lot of people dying and a lot of people
who are getting infected and spending a lot of time being away from family and friends, and this is something that should never have been partisan to
begin with, but, unfortunately, the president made this a partisan fight and I'm hoping that people wise up to realize his tactics and his way of
dealing with the COVID is not beneficial to the country.
ANDERSON: Well, he certainly hasn't taken advantage of the president's - the president getting infected in the way that he's going about things at
present. He has, and I'm talking about here Mr. Biden. He's moved to take down negative advertising, for example, while the president remains
infected with Coronavirus.
I do though want our viewers to have a listen to Former First Lady Michelle Obama speaking in one of his ads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: It's painful to think those months into this crisis this is still where we are, with no clear plan, no peace of
mind, and the worst part is it didn't have to be like this. Look around the world.
So many other countries aren't experiencing this level of extended suffering and uncertainty. These countries were hit by the same virus as we
were. They have the same kind of resources to contain it as we did, but what they didn't have to contend with was this president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That is pretty direct and quite uncommon. Some might say unseemly from a Former First Lady. What do you think?
FRIED: I - I think that she is spot on, and to show how much - you're exactly right. This is unprecedented, but this is unprecedented times, that
we have a president who is sitting in the White House because of his lack of leadership on this contracted COVID himself and has put into jeopardy
not only people that were in the Rose Garden on Saturday.
But we're seeing clips of all of the events that happened inside the White House afterwards, that fund-raising dinner that he had in New Jersey, the
fact that he continued to travel and was a super spreader himself.
So we're in unprecedented times, and I am so grateful to President Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama for standing up and reminding the
American people what leadership looks like and steady leadership, people that have a plan, individuals who are going to put the American people
first.
And this president has never done that and never will, and so grateful that we have Vice President Biden and our next future Vice President Kamala
Harris who is going to show the American people tonight exactly what steady leadership and what somebody has - what that it is going to do for our
country?
ANDERSON: This is the vice presidential debate, of course, tonight. The second presidential debate, if it happens, is scheduled for Miami next
week. Let's just have our viewers have a listen to what Joe Biden had to say about that.
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BIDEN: He still has COVID. We shouldn't have a debate.
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ANDERSON: The American people deserve to hear from both camps, of course. Is the Biden camp exploring other ways to do this should the president
still have the virus, possibly a remote debate?
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: It's certainly been done before. I was showing our viewers an image of JFK and Nixon for example debating remotely.
FRIED: Yes look, certainly, I think that it's important to have an actual debate, not an opportunity for the president to - to be disruptive like he
was in the last debate, to actually talk about the issues that Americans are talking about at their dinner tables.
We haven't heard from the Mayor of Miami earlier today saying if the president is still testing positive don't come to Miami because it is just
going to spread the virus to those involved. So certainly, they need to be looking into other avenues and an opportunity for an actual policy debate
and not a yelling match from the president.
ANDERSON: With that we will leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us at what is an extremely busy and messy time. Thank you. Joe
Biden has an important message for Mr. Trump. Get off Twitter. The presidential hopeful released this video following a late-night tweet
session by the President, Mr. Trump.
And over the past few hours he's posted, that being Donald Trump, dozens more tweets and re-tweets. Well, speaking of tweets, President Trump sent
markets into a tailspin with a click of the mouse on Tuesday. He tweeted that he was ending economic stimulus talks. What does that mean?
Well, the Paycheck Protection Program, PPP, empties hopes to save thousands of airline jobs gone, unemployment checks that can actually feed a family
not happening. With more than 26 million Americans out of work now, the president said there would be no stimulus deals until after he wins re-
election.
But then hours later he began tweeting again, this time saying he might consider some targeted stimulus instead of a wide package. His Chief of
Staff reiterated that just a short time ago, have had a listen.
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MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE, CHIEF OF STAFF: The stimulus negotiations are off. Obviously, we're looking at the potential for stand-alone bills. There
are about ten things that we agree on, and if the speaker is willing to look at those things on a piece-by-piece basis, then we're willing to look
at it.
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ANDERSON: Let's talk about the state of the U.S. and indeed global economies. We've got Julia Chatterley and John Defterios with me which
makes for a great team. Julia, let's start with you. We know that the markets certainly didn't like what they were hearing last night in the
first Twitter storm by the - by the president. How are they reacting today?
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're going in the opposite direction. I would call it perturbed yesterday. We saw losses for what 1.5 percent for
the U.S. majors. That the suggests to me that there wasn't a great deal of expectation that some kind of financial aid bill would get done anyway or
there was skepticism that Donald Trump would follow through on this threat to end these talks, and that would be it.
Remember, we've been here before with the trade talks. He does this kind of thing a lot. Fast forward today, and the remainder of that Trump tweet
storm and we're back up again now. Targeted stimulus, I'm not sure we get it, but it's a reason for a reverse of the selloff that we saw yesterday.
ANDERSON: Let's have a listen, Julia, to what Jerome Powell, the Head of the Federal Reserve, had to say.
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JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: Too little support would lead to a weak recovery creating unnecessary hardship for households and
businesses. Over time households and solvencies and business bankruptcies would raise harming the productive capacity of the economy and holding back
wage growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He also warned of an economic downward spiral if America can't control the Coronavirus which does beg the question why would Donald Trump
pull out of these talks now?
CHATTERLEY: Trying to get inside the mind of President Trump at this moment perhaps harder than it's ever been quite frankly. This whole situation
feels like politics before people. The only logical explanation I can come up with here is that President Trump simply felt like the Democrats were
not going to budge despite the fact that they set the $2.2 trillion.
We're willing to do pieces like the airlines as well and so he simply pulled the plug. What the American people are owed now is transparency.
What was so unpalatable to the Republicans in this Democratic deal?
Explain, and on the Democrats' side as well. The why can't you just do the $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion that the Republicans are calling for and go
ahead, win the election and come back and do more? The bottom line is for so many reasons the U.S. economy does need further aid and actually that
plea from Jay Powell was as strong as it gets to say do more.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Yes. I'm really pleased that you made the point. Look, we're - we're pointing the finger and rightly so and interrogating what Donald
Trump did last night, but there are two sides to this, and at this point it does feel like these are politicians letting down the people.
You talk about the economy needing more. How much help does the U.S. economy need at this point, Julia?
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I'll reiterate, Becky. You're so right. Compromise is what's required here. Most analysts I speak to say around $1.5 trillion at
this stage so compare and contrast to the $1.3 trillion that the Republicans are talking about and the sort of idealistic $2 trillion to $3
trillion that the Democrats want.
But the heartbreaking part of this, and there are many damaging elements of this, is that they do have agreement on lots of different things. Look at
airlines, for example. Nancy Pelosi the House Speaker on Friday said imminent, support is coming and it's imminent whether he have to go it
alone or do it as part of a bigger package.
The Republicans, Donald Trump last night saying give money to the airlines. It underscores the issue. I spoke to a Representative Sara Nelson. She
represents some airline attendants. We had a very heartbreaking conversation earlier. Just listen to what she had to say about this issue
now.
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SARA NELSON, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: We know that we're fighting for our jobs. We know that airline jobs support 1 in 14 jobs
in this country so if we let this go, we're not only hurting ourselves we're hurting the rest of America, and we also know that this critical
infrastructure that provides connectivity to all of our communities is at risk as well if we don't get this in place. So it's very sad to us because
so much more relief could have gotten to so many more people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Becky, you can hear the emotion in her voice. She was saying we've been calling these layoffs, not furloughs in America, layoffs because
these people lose their medical insurance women going into the hospital right now without medical insurance. Just the back and forth on this just
insane, compromise is required.
ANDERSON: You make a very good point. John, the IMF Managing Director struck a - it has to be a more optimistic tone for the global economy. She
did though have a caveat built into what she said. It won't be easy. Just explain what she said and how the U.S. fits into this scenario.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes. Good point and a good narrative there, Becky. We're starting to see global economic updates.
That's the good news here, both from the World Trade Organization who says we're going to see a drop in trade in 2020 and healing in 2021 but not as
bad as we thought.
The International Monetary Fund said the same thing. But you can almost hear the hesitation in the Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva tone
here. This is a speech he gave ahead of the autumn meetings.
Let's take a look at the quote. But you can just get the sense of what have she's trying to get across here. The global economy is coming back from the
depths of the crisis, she said, but this calamity is far from over.
All countries are now facing what I would call the long descent, a difficult climb that will be long, uneven and uncertain, and this is where
the U.S. fits in. Donald Trump adding to the uncertainty that suggests he's going to walk away from the table when it comes to the still plus plan.
How do we get to the fourth quarter growing right now in the United States and the recovery we see in the global economy because of stimulus spending?
$12 trillion overall, a quarter coming from the United States, but if you look back from the figures here in the last month or so, the retail sales
from July and August starting to slow down after that May and June recovery.
You talked about it in your lead-in. 26 million Americans on unemployment benefits. That's one out of six of the working population right now, and if
you dig into the numbers they were getting on average $900 a week before, Becky.
That's been cut because there's no stimulus package down to $300. So you can understand there's just no leadership in the United States when it
comes to having continuity is what the IMF is talking about here. Don't lower the guard.
That's what Jay Powell is saying. Keep on spending. Get us through to April when the vaccines come back on to the market and then you get global
distribution. This is not the number up economy leading the world right now.
ANDERSON: $12 trillion of stimulus spending compare that to the $10 odd trillion being made by the billionaires like Jeff Bezos during COVID. It's
an odd comparison, isn't it? What do Donald Trump's unpredictable actions mean for Washington's global standing, John? This was no small decision to
halt bailout talks and move to this stand-alone or piece meal approach as they are describing it.
[11:20:00]
DEFTERIOS: Look at the market reaction, Becky, a shot across the bow on Wall Street last night, right? And then Donald Trump tries to walk it back
and get on a call with Senate Republicans saying I still want a deal.
The reaction in Asia was almost nonexistent when I covered it earlier in the day and the same thing in Europe. Why? Because they don't believe the
bravado that they think its antics and not action from Donald Trump, right?
So they are waiting for something to be concrete, and it is quite I think pathetic if you look at any of the G-7 or G-20 economies around the world,
not up of them, Becky, had fought over a stimulus package like this.
In fairness if you look at the key players, Nancy Pelosi, Steve Mnuchin and Mitch McConnell, the Democrats put up a $2.2 trillion package, passed it in
June, no discuss until September. Senate Republicans didn't put up a package they wanted something below $1 trillion.
The White House comes in at $1.3. As Julia was saying you can't close the gap between $1.3 trillion and $2.2 trillion and then you miss the deadline?
That's not leadership, and this is the alarming side of it I think from the United States and I think others are looking at this stage can the U.S. do
better?
Not with bravado, with negotiation, a settlement and compromise? And now they fail. It's going to be a piecemeal approach going forward.
ANDERSON: Yes. John Defterios and Julia Chatterley, always a pleasure to both of you, thank you very much indeed. How bigger role will the COVID
economy play in a vice presidential debate? Remember, we're looking forward to that next, that's Mike Pence, of course, and the woman hoping to take
that role as Vice President, Kamala Harris.
CNN's special coverage begins at 3:00 am Thursday morning here in Abu Dhabi. That is 7:00 pm Wednesday night in New York. There is a tremendous
amount of news coming out of America, as you can see, and that's not all yet, another hurricane heading there. First though it is slamming into
Mexico, more on that coming up.
Then from a dangerous storm to accusations of dangerous monopoly power, why lawmakers on Capitol Hill are preparing today's tech titans to the era of
all-powerful oil barons more than a century ago? I'll explain why a little later.
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ANDERSON: People are hungering down in Southeast Mexico as Hurricane Delta sweeps across the Yucatan Peninsula. Just hours ago it slammed into the
tourist hot spot in the country as a category 2 storm.
In the coming hours the storm is expected to quickly move back out into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It's expected to pick up power and then
barrel towards the United States. Let's connect you to what is going on, on the ground as we speak.
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: Matt Rivers is in Playa Del Carmen this hour. We had some tape from you earlier on showing the conditions while it was still dark out
there. It's daylight now, and it does look a little calmer, dare I say, it behind you. Is that fair?
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's a very fair assessment, Becky. We're definitely through the worst of it, at least in this part of the
Yucatan Peninsula. Now the storm, as you mentioned, continues to cross over the peninsula, and it eventually will go to the Gulf of Mexico.
But I think at this point it's fair to say that we kind of dodged a bullet here in terms of how bad this was? The Governor of - which is the state
where we are right now, says that so far there are no reports of deaths, no reports of serious injuries or damage widespread to different structures.
And that was not a guarantee, Becky. I mean, it was Monday that this system was just a tropical depression and in fast forward 24 hours into Tuesday it
became a hurricane and there was talk that it was going to make landfall here as a category 5 hurricane.
People were very nervous around here scrambling to put up preparations for a storm that they were not expecting, but thankfully as it moved closer to
land the winds did die down to the point where it landed as a category two hurricane.
Still very intense winds and it could have cautioned a lot more damage I think had it not be a fast-moving storm moving 15, 16 miles per hour
towards the Gulf of Mexico and as a result for now, they are still assessing damages, but it does appear that this didn't do a lot of damage
here.
That said. It is going towards the United States. It could pick up steam once again in the Gulf of Mexico and the warmer waters on the western side
of the Gulf and most models are showing it taking a westerly track, eventually ending in Louisiana which we know is a state that's dealt with a
lot of hurricanes this year alone.
ANDERSON: How have people coped, and what's - what's been sort of the situation where you are? Is there much damage?
RIVERS: I mean, I don't think there's a ton, Becky. From what we're getting from authorities so far, there doesn't appear to be a lot of damage, and
that's a good thing because you had people here very nervous despite the fact that we're on the Atlantic seaboard here.
You would think that this is a play more used to storms. They do get a lot of tropical systems, but they don't get a lot of hurricanes. In fact, major
hurricanes there are only been a handful of them in the last 100 years that have landed in this part of Mexico.
The last one was in 2005 Hurricane Wilma did a tremendous amount of damage here and that was a name being bandied about by locals here, 8:00, 9:00
last night as they were frantically trying to tack up plywood over windows and things like that. Thankfully it didn't play out that way. Maybe you
could call it a rare bit of good news in 2020 for once, right?
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Matt, thank you, and do ensure that you and the team stay safe there. It's - you can never tell what's going on. Thank you.
Dozens of White House and Pentagon officials are working from home this hour. Coming up, we'll look at how that will affect the spread of the virus
and the all-important upcoming election?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: The White House says it is preparing for President Donald Trump, still infected with COVID-19 remember, to return to the Oval Office. Mr.
Trump's Chief of Staff earlier said that the president is doing really well, and he is itching to get back to the office. He'll be nearly alone
there though.
The White House is a virtual ghost town as the outbreak at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue grows. At least 21 people who work at or who have
recently been to the White House have tested positive for COVID-19. The latest is senior Adviser Stephen Miller.
Meanwhile, the people running the most powerful military in the world are all working from home. The heads of the army, the navy, air force, marines,
even the coast guard and space force leaders are quarantined.
Paul Begala knows a lot about working at the White House as he served as Counselor to President Bill Clinton. His latest book is called "You're
fired: The latest guide to beating Donald Trump." He also serves as CNN's Political Commentator or one of them and joins us live from Virginia.
Welcome to the show sir. So tell us, how do you beat Donald Trump?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you don't focus on Trump. You focus on the voters. I think that's what Democrats like me got it wrong
last time. Attacking his character is a target-rich zone, but you have to make sure you make the case that this is why it matters to you if you're a
farmer in Wisconsin or a retiree in Pennsylvania, office worker in Michigan.
And I think Biden is doing a very good job of that. I don't think my colleagues and I did a very good job last time though.
ANDERSON: You have said in the book you write, and I quote, I have some personal responsibility here for failing to stop the worst man who has ever
been president, and I think also the worst president we've ever had. Here's what I got wrong. I was so appalled by Trump's sewer level character I
couldn't avert my eyes. Explain, if you will, what - what would or should you have done differently?
BEGALA: Well, it is what Biden is doing. I hope he's read the book. I think he is a busy man. But it focuses - not every narcissist, every egomaniac
wants it to be about him, and I fed into that as a strategist for a Super Pac that was supposed to be critiquing Trump and opposing him.
It really is about for example - and this is why he's in so much trouble? COVID ended the era of - of politics as theater, as spectacle, as show
business for ugly people. Now it's real. What he does and fails to do can affect my life, my job, my family, and it is.
And when we have 210,000 Americans dead we now see what he does and fail to do these mistakes and character flaws have a real impact on my life, and I
think that's why he's struggling so desperately in the polls.
ANDERSON: Some people blamed Hillary Clinton's loss in 2016 on the bitter infighting between what are known as moderates and progressives in the
Democratic Party who voted for Bernie Sanders. There were fears of a repeat of that in 2020.
But it does seem that the party has been relatively united behind Joe Biden and even if it isn't it's not about the party at this point, because as you
rightly point out it literally is about characters here. You said it in an interview nothing unites the people of earth like a threat from mars. Is
that mars threat Donald Trump that you speak of?
BEGALA: I mean, in the eyes of Democrats and great many Republicans, it is true the common threat that everybody, I was not alone when I was convinced
that Hillary was going to win. Everybody, including Donald Trump, by the way, thought Hillary would win.
And I think that did give a pass for some on the left of the Democratic Party to take a walk and third and fourth-party candidates in the last
election got 6 percent or 7 percent in a lot of states. You're not seeing that anywhere today.
[11:35:00]
BEGALA: 2 percent or 3 percent and my hat is off I come from the Clinton wing of the party and I worked as you said for President Clinton in the
White House. The Sanders Wing, the socialist wing, they have been so hard working and so loyal and so unified behind a guy who is probably their
fourth or fifth choice in that Democratic field, so my hats off to him this Democratic unity even reaches out to a great many Republicans.
This is a coalition that spans from four-star generals to Black Lives Matter and that's a pretty broad spectrum in America.
ANDERSON: Well, you would hope that that is reflected in the polls. You have said or wrote that a lot of Obama voters that decided to take a chance
on Donald Trump in 2016, you say you believe this time around these people will reverse course and vote for Joe Biden.
On this day back in 2016 Hillary Clinton was 12 points ahead in the polls. It ain't over until it's over. What makes you so confident that those
former Obama voters will definitely swing back to Joe Biden this time around?
BEGALA: Well, I don't want to be overconfident to people. You have to make the case to people, right? That it's their interest. Trump's closing
argument actually was quite brilliant. It was not just build a wall, that's how he got this base the anti-immigrant stuff.
At the end he said what have got to lose? Well, the country was pretty strong as Obama was departing. The country was doing pretty well and I
think there was a slice of former Obama voters, who thought, well, yes, what do I have got to lose?
This guy is wrecking ball and he'll tear up stuff in Washington. Well, now we know the answer to what have you got to lose? And I think that a whole
lot of Americans, I just saw Defterios' report with you Becky, he says 26 million Americans are on unemployment now, 26 million?
Eight million almost have been infected with this COVID. 210,000 are dead. We now know what we have to lose, and I think that that argument has
snapped back against Trump.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Well, we are inside a month and counting. We've got a vice presidential debate tonight which will be perhaps more interesting,
I'm sure it will be interest, but oftentimes we don't necessarily give much time to those.
But we will tonight and indeed we have two more debates to come inside what will be if they happen a pretty eventful 27 days. It's a pleasure having
you on, sir. Thank you so much for joining us.
BEGALA: Good to see you again. Thanks.
ANDERSON: Well, I want to get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And Poland reporting a record number of
confirmed Coronavirus cases and deaths in the last 24 hours now, the country says it is seeing its worst daily tally since the pandemic began.
Poland is also now on England's quarantine list. And the Czech Republic reporting its highest number of daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. More than
4,400, raising the total number there to more than 40,000. A state of emergency was declared on Monday. Officials say the Czech Republic now has
more cases per 100,000 than any other country in Europe.
These are remarkable numbers, aren't they? This second wave is truly with us. Take a look at these knew photos though from Beijing. Crowds swarming
to the Great Wall of China during Golden Week, an eight-day national holiday. This scene would have been unthinkable months ago but China has
reported COVID-19 numbers have stayed low since this spring.
Meantime, Jordan in this region of the Middle East putting a strict lockdown in place on every Friday and Saturday as it attempts to control a
rising level of cases. The government there says it is seeing an unprecedented spread of the disease with a record number of 1,800 new cases
on Monday. I wish I had better news for you, but as far as COVID-19 is concerned, I don't.
Well, up next, why some U.S. lawmakers see the power of big tech as a threat to American democracy? We're going to do that story after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: I want to show you some satirical cartoons of the people known as the Robber Barons of the United States. They were the oil and railroad
tycoons of the gilded age more than a century ago, and critics say they used their sweeping commercial power to grab the lion's share of profits,
crushing smaller competitors.
But this is no history lesson, folks. Fast forward to today. Members of the U.S. Congress are wondering if big data is having its own gilded age moment
with company owners wielding vast and unregulated power over what is now an essential part of nearly every economy and culture.
Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, they are the biggest names in tech and House lawmakers have spent more than a year looking into how they go about
their business? Well now, House members are calling for the most sweeping changes to U.S. antitrust laws in half a century.
Antitrust monopoly, call it will what you will, but this isn't only about suspected abuse of power. These tech giants are also being accused of not
doing enough to safeguard the public from manipulation. That's you and me, of course.
Finally, after three years Facebook says it will ban any pages, groups at Instagram accounts representing the conspiracy theory QAnon from its
platform. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan recently went to meet some QAnon followers. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Do you follow QAnon at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do. Yes, I love QAnon.
O'SULLIVAN: So if I'm describing QAnon I say it is a conspiracy theory that believes that there's a cabal of pedophiles linked to the Democratic Party
that are eating children and the FBI has said that it's a dangerous conspiracy that could inspire domestic terrorism? How would you describe
it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say absolutely not. I would describe it as a global awakening.
O'SULLIVAN: Can you believe some have QAnon and not for all of it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: What for you is the stuff of QAnon that you don't believe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a whole lot of different rabbit holes it goes down. Yes, the backbone of it is just patriots from all over the world.
O'SULLIVAN: This vendor who sells Trump hats and T-Shirts outside the president's rallies says more and more people have been asking for QAnon
merchandise. When did people start asking for QAnon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since July people have been asking us heavily for QAnon. People started to wake up, people started to see it and then it became a
movement and now it's almost turned into some sort of cult-like figure, you know, and that's just what happens in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Gene Kimmelman is a Former Senior Antitrust Official at the U.S. Department of Justice. He is standing by for us in Washington. Wasn't that
fascinating to hear some sound there from those interviews that Donie conducted?
We are talking, sir, about most sweeping changes to antitrust laws seen in half a century. From your experience, just how significant are these
changes, and how effective will they be?
[11:45:00]
GENE KIMMELMAN, FORMER SENIOR ANTITRUST OFFICIAL, U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Well, I think they are extremely significant in the U.S. political context.
We have antitrust law that has become very difficult for prosecutors to use. The courts have been making it much more difficult to bring cases, and
the laws haven't been updated in many years, and there are also many gaps in the law.
There are many anti-competitive practices leveraging of potential competitors, buying up small players who could compete that are very
difficult to get to through antitrust, and so this - this bipartisan report demonstrates, first of all, the harms in the marketplace to other
commercial players and most importantly to consumers and citizens in a democracy.
And brings sweeping recommendations to the table at a time when the U.S. hasn't looked at this but Europe has been looking at it and with the
Digital Services Act under consideration, with reforms in the UK on the table, the U.S. is behind, and so this is a major step to - I recognize
that there are problems and begin to consider what the remedies might be?
ANDERSON: Again, I'm really pleased that you noted ultimately the importance of the impacts on consumers because that is you and me, right?
And it's our families and it's our extended families. It's everybody, and the impact of this anti-competitive behavior is clearly important to all of
us.
Supporters of these laws say they will allow for a more competitive industry. Amazon, however, says they could end up harming small businesses
and, again consumers, you and me, saying "Far from enhancing competition, these uninformed notions would instead reduce it". You would expect them to
say that, wouldn't you? But what do you make of that?
KIMMELMAN: Well, I believe you have to use competition tools carefully. This should not be a sledgehammer against four companies that offer frankly
quite wonderful services and great innovations. It should be used more as a scalpel.
Where they have oversized power, where they leverage against competition, where they harm small innovators, where they deny consumers choices, those
are the places where both antitrust and competition rules should be stepping in.
ANDERSON: Right.
KIMMELMAN: But these need to be applied very careful, and in the U.S. this will be the beginning. This will launch a long debate about how to update
the laws and how to balance these concerns?
ANDERSON: Apple and Facebook have also both rejected the report, and let me just have our viewers have a look at what Apple said, for example. The app
store has enabled new markets, new services and new products that were unimaginable a dozen years ago.
Facebook similarly saying acquisitions are a part of every industry and just one way, just one way that we innovate new technologies to deliver
more value to people, and you can argue that these are valid points, are they not?
KIMMELMAN: They are absolutely valid points, but they are valid in a competitive landscape where there are many players and there are many
choices for consumers. Once companies like Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google become dominant and possibly through their own business acumen, it's
not always a violation of the law.
But once they become dominant, these kind of very aggressive behaviors to hold back competitors, to make it difficult for consumers to switch
applications, to switch service providers, they are harmful to competition overall, and it's in that circumstance when you need these strong antitrust
and competition regulation tools to intervene.
ANDERSON: These companies are run ultimately, owned oftentimes by many of the world's billionaires who have never been richer. Their wealth has
reached a new record high. $10.2 trillion and that is in the middle of a pandemic when millions of people around the world are jobless.
In fact, the IMF has had to spend $12 trillion on stimulating the COVID economy. This pandemic has accelerated the divide between the rich and the
poor, hasn't it, especially those in innovation and technology? What are your thoughts?
KIMMELMAN: Well, absolutely. The pandemic, it's become quite clear that broadband services and the critical platforms that ride on them, our
ability to search, our ability to use and get apps, all driven by these four companies are essential for business, for education, for our
democracy, for our societies overall.
[11:50:00]
KIMMELMAN: And when services are that important, it's like the railroads of Yesteryear. We need to make sure that they are open, available to all, not
discriminatory and not putting their thumb on the scale to benefit themselves against competitors.
And that is why this report is so important. It's a first step in the U.S. to launch a deeper inquiry about how to solve the problems of domination in
a service environment, a digital economy where four companies are overwhelmingly powering the entire economy?
ANDERSON: Yes. Their critics will not find it difficult to put together an argument that says that these tech jobs are the Robber Barons of this era.
Thank you sir and it's been a pleasure speaking to you.
KIMMELMAN: Thank you so much.
ANDERSON: Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD there will not be a glass ceiling at the U.S. vice presidential debate but there will be a plexiglass wall.
We'll preview the matchup between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The great VP debate, the first and only debate just hours away. Normally, they are not exactly earth-shattering events, but this no
ordinary American election, given that the President of the United States is suffering from COVID, it is, this being the VP event, taking on a whole
new level of importance.
Kamala Harris' skills as a prosecutor and Senator and Mike Pence's as Governor and now Vice President will be on display. The Coronavirus
pandemic is likely to or at least should dominate down to the safety of the debate site itself.
Pence, of course, the Head of the President's Coronavirus Task Force COVID- 19 precautions are at least at the top of everyone's mind at University of Utah. Jason Carroll is in Salt Lake City for the debate. What can we
expect, sir?
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, even before the debate gets started there was a debate about whether or not there would be a
plexiglass partition between the two candidates? Vice President Pence's team raised objections to having the plexiglass up, but it looks like now
that is in fact going to happen.
A lot of critics were surprised that the president, the vice president was going to do this and raised these objections, simply because when you look
at the fact that he's been exposed to a number of people who have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus.
So some were saying why raise the objection to something as simple as plexiglass? But, again, this is something that has been settled. One other
point of contention here, when the candidates will be tested?
What they are basically doing is the debate commission is relying on candidates' teams to let them know when the test results come in Kamala
Harris' team has already come forward and says that she has tested negative today. Yesterday's Pence's team also came forward and said he has tested
negative it.
[11:55:00]
CARROLL: The Head of the Debate Commission talked a little bit more about the testing and the timing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK FAHRENKOPF, CO-CHAIR, COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES: I think the doctors of the Cleveland Clinic have been in touch with both campaigns and
talking with them about what necessary testing has to be done? And they are satisfied, so that's - you know, we're not doctors on the commission. We
rely on those people who give us professional advice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Becky, very quickly, just a little bit more about the format of tonight's debate. There will be no opening or closing statements. The
candidates will be about 12 feet 3 inches apart from each other. It will last 90 minutes, and it will be broken up into ten-minute segments. Becky?
ANDERSON: Thank you, sir. Well, the chaos of the first U.S. presidential debate got many people wondering how do we turn down the noise? Will there
be say a mute button.
(BEGIN VIDEO CCLIP)
FAHRENKOPF: That decision hasn't been made, but I'll tell you - one thing that's been made and it will go for tonight, too. You have to have a mask
to get in this hall. You must have been test. If you get in the hall and you take the mask off, you will be approached and asked to put the mask
back on. If you do not put the mask back on, you're going to be removed from the premises, and that will be true for all of the remaining debates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Well, the current news cycle can seem a little bit overwhelming at times, and it doesn't get easier when you add a raccoon
into the mix. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No events on the president's schedule today and it's important to say the White House,
especially--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like that.
JOHNS: --in raccoons, man, God, again. That's the second time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's my colleague Joe Johns, one of our brilliant White House Correspondents just before coming on air. I don't really have to explain
though, do I? A raccoon attacked, both correspondent and animal, I have to say were fine.
When I say stay safe, I mean it in every way. Thank you for joining us wherever you are watching in the world. It is a very good night from Abu
Dhabi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
