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Inside Politics

One Dead After Shooting During Protests In Portland; Trump Attacks "Democrat-Run Cities" In Convention Speech; Health Groups Criticize CDC For New Testing Guidelines; Interview With Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes (D-WI); Back with a Message; College Towns Close Bars, Restaurants amid Coronavirus. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired August 30, 2020 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROTESTERS: What do we want?

Justice!

When do we want it?

Now!

JOHN KING, CNN HOST (voice-over): Jacob Blake is added to the protest roll call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's never has been more clear than change right now. It is happening because we demand it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see our black brothers being shot and killed on a daily basis doesn't make a lot of sense to us.

[08:00:03]

KING: Plus, pandemic politics, the president ignores coronavirus guidelines and experts worry campaign pressure, not science, is behind new policy changes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are further eroding public trust, which is essential to containing this virus.

KING: And the conventions framing the 2020 choice.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No one will be safe in Biden's America.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We want to talk about safety. Look at the biggest safety issue in the nation, COVID.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Welcome to INSIDE POLITICS. I'm John King.

To our viewers in the United States and around the world, thank you for sharing your Sunday. We begin this Sunday with a tinder box moment that already has the

president's Twitter attention this morning. A man was shot dead in Portland last night, a night you see some images there that included some tense confrontations between racial justice activists who've been staging nightly protests for three months now and a caravan of Trump supporters who rolled into town for a demonstration of their own.

There was a large caravan of Trump supporters on the outskirts of the city, and some decided to drive into downtown, "The Oregonian" newspaper reporting the fatal shooting occurred after most of the Trump caravan left.

Mike Baker, a correspondent for "The New York Times" was right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BAKER, CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Decided to come through into downtown where they left a bunch of protesters who were there wanting to confront them. And during the hours that -- of that happening, there are reports of gunfire, went over to the scene, and police blocked it off. There was a man who had been shot in the chest, who was being treated at the time, and it appears to have been wearing a "Patriot Prayer" hat on his head, patriot prayer is a far right group here in the Portland area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Members of that "Patriot Prayer" group have been involved in several violent clashes with protesters over the past several weeks. The Portland Police Chief Chuck Lavelle appealing for help from witnesses. He called the violence, quote, completely unacceptable.

President Trump this morning busy retweeting content critical of city leaders, including a tweet that says the mayor and police chief now have blood on their hands. And the president added this to another retweet: The National Guard is ready, willing and able, all the governor has to do is call.

With us to share some reporting and insights, Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times."

Maggie, number one, there is a tragedy in Portland, we're far from it, we'll wait for the details there. But this comes at just this already incredibly fragile moment in the country and in the campaign. We know the president plans to go to Kenosha on Tuesday. A lot of Democratic and African-American leaders there say, sir, please don't.

Now, you have somebody shot dead in Portland, the city the president is focused on perhaps the most.

MAGGIE HABERMAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: That's exactly right. Look, John, this comes right on the heels of the convention where the president talked up law and order as his theme. You have seen the president repeatedly embrace police officers, we heard him condemn the protesters, last night tweeted an account that described the protests as a coup against him. It is not language that is used in this country about elections, which is what is coming.

So, the president, look, there are going to be questions electorally about him trying to change the subject from the coronavirus, there are questions about what Joe Biden can do to combat that. And at the moment, you have violence in the streets and the president who has been eager to act as if he has a spectator and just keep tweeting about it as opposed to the president in office. If Joe Biden were in office right now and this were happening, Republicans would be condemning him.

KING: As they would be, you're right about that. It is a moment that this president is not known for being a calming voice and so I stick to your point about the convention.

The president, look, the president blames this on Democratic mayors and Democratic governors. He's the president of the United States. But during the convention, he made quite clear he thinks this issue plays to his advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The strongest possible terms the Republican Party condemns the rioting, looting, arson and violence we have seen in Democrat-run cities all, like Kenosha, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago and New York and many others, Democrat run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Then he goes on, he goes on, Maggie, that's his criticism of the Democratic mayors. He goes on and let's listen to how he finishes the sentence, he says elect Joe Biden and things will get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Make no mistake, if you give power to Joe Biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across America. They will pass federal legislation to reduce law enforcement nationwide. They will make every city look like Democrat-run Portland, Oregon. No one will be safe in Biden's America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You just have this moment in the campaign, again, where the president sees this issue as helping him in the campaign. You mentioned perhaps a distraction from the coronavirus.

The presidency is a tough job.

[08:05:01]

You have to do a lot of big things at once. The challenge now is, what does he do at this moment? I recall in 1992, traveling to Los Angeles, with then Governor Bill Clinton who beat the former Vice President George -- President Bush, he beat President George H.W. Bush out there. He went first to the scene there, trying to calm things down after the Rodney King riots. HABERMAN: That's been something, John, that the Biden campaign has

been a bit slow in doing, they did set up a travel for him next week, he barely traveled this summer. He didn't go to Wisconsin for the nominated convention for his own nomination. It was done virtually. They tried to keep the focus squarely on the coronavirus.

You know, the question is could they have been doing more to try to -- this. I think he physically could have been out there more, but the president says Biden wants to defund the police, Biden said he doesn't want to defund the police, but that's not going to stop the president from saying it.

So, I think that Biden is discovering what a lot of people who've run against Donald Trump discovered, which is that it's extremely hard to fight this kind of asymmetric warfare against someone who is willing to say whatever he wants.

KING: Say whatever he wants, also has the power of the presidency. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is joining --

HABERMAN: Exactly.

KING: -- CNN's Jeff Zeleny is joining our conversation.

To that point, Jeff, you know, the former vice president Joe Biden has thought, you know, I want to make this about the pandemic, a referendum on the incumbent, but you do have a crisis, a racial reckoning across the country since the death of George Floyd. The Jacob Blake shooting a week ago and now a deadly violence in Portland, a city that had demonstrations now for three months.

Joe Biden, when the safety issue comes up, here's what he told Anderson Cooper the other day, if the president says you would make America less safe, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: These guys are rooting for violence. That's what it is all about. To prove that you should be scared of Joe Biden, they're pointing to what is happening in Donald Trump's America, want to talk about safety, look at the biggest safety issue in the -- in the nation, COVID.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: There is to Maggie's point a challenge for the former vice president, Mr. Biden here, because the president is going to say this is your fault, you would make it worse or this is because the Democratic Party is weak.

How does Biden, especially now again, Jacob Blake shooting, now deadly violence in Portland, what is his plan to respond?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: There is no question that he knows he has to respond and Senator Kamala Harris I'm told will be a key part of this response as well. We heard her give a speech on Thursday, just hours before the president accepted his renomination.

And she said, quite clearly, that Democrats are -- you know, support peaceful protests, but not violence or riots or other matters. We will, of course, have to hear that again and again from Joe Biden as well. They're very well aware of this. They're assessing this in real time.

It is why he's going to start traveling much sooner than he ever anticipated. They believe that this election will still be won on the competence of leadership, largely because of the pandemic, but, you know, elections change. Elections don't always end with what they're starting out with.

So this is a very dynamic situation and he knows he will have to speak more on this. I think we will see him more in the coming days, but there's no question, the sort of anxiety and fear here in the suburbs is something that is affecting voters of all stripes. It's affecting Democrat as well.

So, this is something the Biden campaign has their eye on. But they cannot -- you know, just sit back and watch this happen. So, I do think we'll see much more of Joe Biden and other surrogates talking about this as well, John.

KING: And, Maggie, we're having the conversation earlier, you know, this is a power and responsibility that comes with incumbency. We might be having this conversation anyway today if not for the deadly violence last night, but it is even more important now. President said over the weekend, as he was traveling in New Hampshire, that he's talking to his chief of staff about trying to find some way he can use federal forces like the National Guard, normally need an invitation from the governor to do such a thing.

The mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, has told the president, please, sir, don't. That would make it worse. He was mad when there were federal agents there before.

Is that a serious conversation that the White House or the president is looking for my words an end around to send the National Guard into the cities or is it just the president talking?

HABERMAN: I think it is -- I think right now, John, it is the president talking. This has been a conversation within the White House for a while. If you go back to June 1st and those protests around the White House that concluded with the -- used against mostly peaceful protesters when the president walked to the church for a photo-op, there was a question that day about could we federalize the national guard, could there be some way to essentially, you know, take over for -- I'm being precise about this, to take over police force in D.C. So, this is an ongoing conversation that they have been having.

The more that you see that kind of a presence, there are -- there are people in the White House who argue that will help, there are many others who argue that's only going to enflame the situation. We have yet to hear a single word from President Trump calling for the situations, any of the situations to de-escalate. [08:10:04]

And I do think another problem for Joe Biden is that as you have seen only support for Black Lives Matter movement, it has gone down since George Floyd. This represents another challenge. I think that, you know, whether it comes back up remains to be seen, but I think when the race was -- the president was at his lowest point of support, the president was in a different moment and shifted as Jeff said, there's a shift.

KING: There's a shift, and it's a challenge for both gentlemen, the incoming president of the United States and his Democratic challenger as we watch this play out. Again, a tinderbox moment in the country.

Maggie Haberman, Jeff Zeleny, very much appreciate the reporting.

Now to another important story, White House intelligence power play that has Democrats furious. The director of national intelligence informed lawmakers on Saturday he no longer plans to offer them briefings on foreign election interference. The DNI John Ratcliffe instead said he would send written reports to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

In a joint statement yesterday afternoon, the Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff called it a betrayal of the public's right to know about how foreign powers are trying to subvert our democracy. They went on to say the American people have both the right and the need to know another nation, Russia, is trying to help decide who their president should be.

This echo from Senate Intelligence Committee member, Angus King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): It is a real abdication and it just doesn't smell right with one of the president's, you know, big supporters is now the director of national intelligence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, it's no secret the president opposes those briefings and no secret he bristles at any talk of how Russia helped him in 2016 and is doing so again in 2020. That is the conclusion, though, of the Trump intelligence community. But the president is still blaming Democrats for this change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Director Ratcliffe brought information into the committee and the information leaked. Whether it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leaked the information before it gets in, and what is even worse, they leaked the wrong information. And he got tired of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: President said quite there not exactly right. CNN's Vivian Salama is here with us on why this matters so much.

And it does, Vivian, matter very much.

VIVIAN SALAMA, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Of course, John. It was an extraordinary revelation that came first from CNN actually when our own Jake Tapper obtained a letter from the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, let's remind viewers, was a lawmaker himself and an outspoken Trump ally in Congress until just a few months ago.

He informed Congress that he will no longer be delivering any of this person or sending officials to deliver these in person briefings but rather would be submitting them in written form. Now, the implication from ODNI was that they're concerned about leaks and the president there echoing that concern, saying that some classified information might get out.

However, to be sure, this is a break from precedent. You have these in person briefings where members of Congress would be able to ask questions and get some answers in real time on pressing issues and especially one that involves our election security just two months out from the election. Lawmakers also like to hold the administration accountable to be sure that they're doing everything possible to protect the elections.

Now, John, remember, this comes less than a month after the top election security official in the U.S. intelligence community found that China, Iran and Russia are all trying in their own ways to tip the scales, maybe in favor of either President Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden, saying that one or the other is favored by those countries.

And, of course, we know from overwhelming assessment from the intelligence community that in 2016, our elections were meddled with by Russia. In fact, Senate Intel a couple of months ago endorsed that finding.

And so, for this to be coming up now is pretty extraordinary, but also, remember, the actual electoral process right now is also the subject of major partisan wrangling. President Trump himself pointing to mail-in ballots, saying that they might be subjected to some sort of foreign interference.

Now, the intelligence community is actually ruled that out and said that is probably not the case, that foreign countries and specifically Russia are trying to meddle with mail-in voting, that is not the case and the president stated that several times. However, if the president is concerned about this, members of Congress are saying we should be doing more, not less, to protect our security and that includes these in-person briefings -- John.

KING: More distrust, closer to the election is the opposite of what the country needs.

Vivian Salama, very much appreciate the reporting and the context there for us.

Up next for us, the CDC changes the coronavirus testing guidelines and public health experts say it is the wrong policy at a critical time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:19:11]

KING: There is turmoil at the CDC, controversy at the FDA, and reporters digging to find out why keep getting directed to the White House. That turmoil comes as the president and top allies paint a coronavirus picture that doesn't quite match the coronavirus reality.

Let's look at the latest trends and start with our 50-state trend map. 18 states right now, that's the red and the orange, a lot of them out here in Middle America, reporting more cases today than a week ago, 18 states trending in the wrong direction. You see 23 states, that's the base from coast to coast, holding steady, only nine states at the moment reporting fewer cases than a week ago. Importantly, they do include Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. Those are the states with the big drivers of the summer surge. They're in better shape now as compared to earlier in the summer.

If you look at the case curve, this is where we are right now, averaging 40,000, 42,000 cases a day this is day. This is the peak of the summer surge, 67,000 cases a day.

[08:20:03]

Just before that peak, one day before that peak, is when the president finally showed up at the White House briefing room to hold up a mask and say masks are good. That was after this giant summer surge.

You go back to June, we were down to 20,000 cases a day, then that. We have Texas reopening here, to remind, the reopening started with Texas, Florida soon after, other states started to reopen, we have gone through this for seven months. Couple of weeks, up we go.

So, here is where we are now. And this is -- if you look at it from this perspective, 42,000 cases a day. You need tests to get eyes on the virus. Well, we're averaging 700,000 tests nationally, 16 states trending up, more tests now than a week ago, 15 states trending down. Fewer tests now than a week ago.

And if you look at it this way, this is what gets interesting, the positivity rate, still 12 percent in Florida, 15 percent in Mississippi, 18 percent in Iowa, 14 percent in Missouri, 15 percent in North Dakota. A lot of these states have a high positivity rate. You want that rate down 5 percent or lower, as you watch this play out.

I just want to bring up a couple of quick other points here, where are we watching? Cases rising. Down in Florida a bit, down in Texas a bit, down in California, but look at Illinois, look at Kansas, look at Kentucky. Middle America now we're seeing the cases come back up.

And because of that, because of the rising cases in the middle of the country, the IHME now increasing its projected death roll, it projects 317,000 Americans will die by December 1st, 1,400 deaths a day.

Joining me now is Dr. Margaret Hamburg. She served as FDA commissioner under President Obama, also a former New York City health commissioner.

Dr. Hamburg, I'm grateful for your time.

One of the challenges has been if you look, the American Medical Association, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Association of American Medical Colleges, all objecting to the new CDC testing guidelines, the guidelines essentially saying fewer people need to get a test. If you're asymptomatic, don't have to worry as much as we thought you did months or so ago.

If all of these organizations that do public health are saying bad idea, why is this happening?

DR. MARGARET HAMBURG, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: It is hard to understand some of the recent decisions. CDC is an extraordinary agency, you know, considered by many to be best public health agency in the world. It is historically trusted and trustworthy.

But we're seeing decisions come out in ways that frankly undermine confidence, undermine confidence of public health officials and medical care experts, and the confidence of the public. This is a time on the testing question you just mentioned when we need more testing.

The truth is we don't have enough tests, so we have to a testing strategy, a plan as well to use test wisely and to make more tests available. But right now, we need to be testing to break the transmission of this virus, to get this pandemic under control, and to achieve the goal we all want of being able to get out from under COVID-19.

KING: Especially you mention the testing dilemma, when you see 18 percent in South Dakota, 18 percent in Iowa, 24 percent in South Carolina, still in the teens in Florida, Texas, states that drove the summer surge, everyone would say you need more testing to keep good eyes on the virus. When you were here in Washington, look, there is a controversy at the FDA, the administrator there, the commissioner had to apologize they rolled out the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma, he said wildly optimistic thing about the effectiveness, they then fired a woman who the White House had put in there as the top spokeswoman.

You worked here in Washington, she's still at the agency, but they pushed her out of the job. You worked in Washington in the Obama administration. There is always politics in Washington, and especially politics in re-election year. Is this normal what you're seeing or is it over the top?

HAMBURG: This is not normal. Certainly, yes, there is always politics in Washington and there is always a set of political pressures that come to bear on important agencies like the FDA or the CDC. FDA in particular is subject to many different competing priorities and pressures and you're working -- if you're at the leadership of FDA at that critical perilous interface of science and politics, but the job of the FDA is unique and essential and the public has to be able to rely that it is making decisions based on the best available science on real evidence.

And if that is not the case, then we are in serious trouble. And we are seeing a level of political intrusion that is really quite remarkable and it is coming at a really worrisome time, because over the next weeks and months, we're going to see data emerging from clinical trials about COVID-19 vaccines.

[08:25:11]

We need to rely on the scientific integrity and independent scientific judgment of FDA. We need to know what the data is that they're looking at, how they're making decisions, and we need to know that FDA is also working with external experts and subjecting the data and their analysis to broader review as well.

So these processes can go forward and I am guardedly optimistic that they will, but we have to be sure. Otherwise, we'll undermine trust and confidence in FDA, trust and confidence in the products that they're evaluating and when we need a vaccine more than ever to help enable us to move forward and get back to work, get our students and in school, get our lives in order and rev up our economy, we need a vaccine that is proven to be safe and effective, we also need a vaccine that people trust and are willing to take, because even a good vaccine will not make a difference if people don't trust it and won't take it.

KING: That is absolutely critical. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, grateful for your expertise and insights this Sunday. We'll continue the conversation, thank you so much.

HAMBURG: Thank you.

KING: Up next for us, new marches to demand justice for Jacob Blake and now word President Trump will travel to Kenosha early this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:04]

KING: What you see very much depends on where you look.

This is Saturday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The family of Jacob Blake at the head of a march, demanding police reforms and broader racial justice. The Blake family also had a role in Friday's march on Washington, urging peaceful protests.

57 years after Martin Luther King delivered his most famous speech, his granddaughter took up the baton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) YOLANDA KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S GRANDDAUGHTER: Less than a year before he was assassinated, my grandfather predicted this very moment. He said that we were moving into a new phase of the struggle. The first phase was civil rights. And the new phase is genuine equality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The president looks at this moment of reckoning and sees anarchy, saying a tougher approach to law and order is needed in cities run by Democrats. The president this morning tweeting and retweeting that deadly violence in Portland, Oregon overnight proves his point.

With us this Sunday, the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes. Governor Barnes, thank you for joining us at this stressful time, an important time in your community.

The president of the United States is coming to Kenosha on Tuesday. I want you to listen to the former head of the NAACP who says please don't, sir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORNELL WILLIAM BROOKS, FORMER NAACP PRESIDENT: This case, it is absolutely alarming. It is frightening. The president is really going to Kenosha, turning Air Force One into a gasoline truck. That is to say he's bringing gas to a fire. The president is going to make a bad situation worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Do you agree with that?

LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES (D-WI): I completely agree with it. You look at the incendiary remarks that the president has made, they centered an entire convention around creating more animosity and creating division around what is going on in Kenosha. So I don't know how given any of the previous statements that the president made that he intends to come here to be helpful.

And we absolutely don't need that right now. We had a beautiful celebration yesterday, people from all walks of life, showed up in Kenosha, marched peacefully through the streets. But, you know, the besides the peaceful part, the presence was felt because there are people from so many different backgrounds, different races, religions, you know, sexual orientation -- it didn't matter. People wanted justice, but most importantly people wanted unity.

KING: What do you to need to hear from Joe Biden at this moment in time? We know he's going to come out, he wants to deliver a statement about all of this as well. At a time where he wants to focus on obviously racial justice. He wants to focus police reforms.

There are a lot of Republicans including the current president of the United States saying the Democrats are weak. The Democrats need to have a tougher message. The Democrats need to tell these mayors, stop the violence. What should Joe Biden say at this moment?

BARNES: Well, there are stages in protest and there are stages in organizing. I think that we need to come to some sort of resolve and Joe Biden needs to clearly outline his plan, which he's been doing. He's been talking about the need for us to have our racial reckoning and talk about the issues that are important and address them as well, especially the more deep systemic ones, you know.

We talk about police violence a lot. There are so many other issues that are systemic violence, like lack of access to healthcare, education issues, environmental issues. We have so much work to do.

And I hope that when Joe Biden does visit that he lays out clearly, very plainly as he does speak very clearly and plainly about these things.

And, you know, meeting with the family, having a chance to talk to them. I know they spoke on the phone for like an hour but, you know, being able to communicate directly to the folks who are feeling so much hurt and pain, (INAUDIBLE) the family members, Kenosha community members who are left confused or left wondering what is next, a lot of people are left hopeless in this moment.

[08:34:55]

BARNES: And that's totally understandable. And it is up to a leader and I think that, you know, Joe Biden has to step up to the mantle in this moment, and talk to them and say, you know, better is possible. We don't have to be this way, but we also can do away with what got us here in the first place. You know, what led to the uprising what led to all the frustration that is happening in Kenosha right now and make a vow to never, ever go back to that again.

KING: So help me understand the community right now in the context of the week ago, the Jacob Blake shooting. You had the police union put out, you know, that there were warrants, you know, a knife in the car. A lot of people took that as the police union trying to get out ahead of the investigation, saying, you know, everybody should calm down, this was a bad guy. This is a bad guy, so the police had every reason to be on edge, if you will.

You also had after, of course, the young man from Illinois who crossed into your state, he's now charged with homicide, as part of the protests there.

I want you to listen to Jacob Blake's father who says he's watching the investigation plays out into the shooting of his son seven times in the back, and the investigation of this young white man from Illinois who walked right by the police in Kenosha, he sees two different worlds. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB BLAKE, SR., FATHER OF JACOB BLAKE: The man walks down the street and kills two people and blows another man's arm off. Had that been a black man, he would have been dead right on the spot. He never would have been able to make it back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What is the answer? Where is the circuit breaker to build trust? The vital missing trust?

BARNES: Yes, the circuit breaker to build that vital trust is to actually acknowledge what happened. I hadn't heard that condemnation of the person who actually killed two people. And that's the most frustrating part.

And if you're going to serve a community, you to have to have trust. You to have trust established and there is no way that you can have that established if you continue to just find an excuse or find some sort of justification that you seemingly pull out of thin air, in these sort of situations.

Like I said before, you know, this is a moment for, you know, law enforcement, especially in Kenosha, to step up and take ownership of what happened. And show a desire to -- for things to get better.

I don't feel that desire personally. That's why, you know, I'm stepping up my calls for them to do everything that they can to show transparency and show some accountability, so that the community, the entire community in Kenosha across the state and even across the country because Kenosha can serve as an example.

But they have to take ownership of that mistake first and admit to, you know, something did go wrong, say something went wrong and we want to fix this. We want to better serve communities.

But for them to, you know, not step up into leadership that way and acknowledge what looks wrong to so many people and instead say this is a bad guy or so many people across -- all across the world saw a man get shot in the back seven times, it doesn't -- it doesn't provide the help. It doesn't provide the comfort that we need.

And this is a new day. We have to, again, address policing. Like I said, policing is -- it can be challenging. Sure, I get it. But it can be even more challenging for communities who are quite frankly afraid, especially right now because they don't know what is going to happen with the next interaction. We just want things to be better. We want the trust to be repaired because we all have a lot of work to do and it is a whole lot of people who are counting on them to do the right thing.

KING: You and the governor tried and so far you can't get Republicans in the legislature to agree to take up a police reform and broader plan for racial justice.

And for your comments there about the need for trust in the city of Kenosha. In your view, does Kenosha need a new police chief?

BARNES: I've been disappointed by Kenosha's police chief, you know. I can't take a vote of confidence or vote a lack of confidence, but if I could, probably would take that vote because it is -- it is -- it is distressing.

Like I said, there is no condemnation hardly for the person who actually killed two people. And on the topic of legislature (INAUDIBLE) the governor called for a special session to be held tomorrow. People are ramping up their calls to their legislators to demand that they act. Because the last time they gaveled in and they gaveled out without taking up any of the legislation.

This time must be different. And while I have a chance to speak to your broader audience, I want the world to know that the legislature has a choice, the Republican majority legislature has a choice tomorrow. They can either act and work to solve these problems that we're facing here in Wisconsin and across the country. Or they can gavel in and gavel out and go back home and face no consequences if we let them.

And that will be the most unfortunate thing that can happen in this moment because people deserve answers, and people deserve leadership. And I would hope that for them to have this majority that they have, 63 Republicans in the assembly to 36 Democrats, I hope that they will use that majority for good.

[08:40:00]

KING: Well, we'll certainly watch that, track that tomorrow. Also the former vice president and the president setting foot in Wisconsin at this very tinder box moment in the country.

Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, grateful for your time, sir. We'll keep in touch in the week ahead and we wish you and your state the best at these difficult moments.

BARNES: Thank you.

KING: Thank you, sir.

Up next, the NBA and WNBA are back with a racial justice message.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: The NBA returned Saturday with a message. The Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic kneeling for the national anthem, a show there of solidarity with Jacob Blake and the larger cause of racial justice.

It was the Bucks who brought the league to a halt for a few days, a Wild Cat strike that was quickly joined by other NBA teams, as well as Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and beyond.

Back on the court, but with a promise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBORN JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS: In solidarity we stood with our brothers from Milwaukee, under what is going on with their situation that is going on in their hometown. So we stood with them as a league.

[08:44:58]

JAMES: And then we tried to -- well, not tried -- we put together a plan. And we had action. And we want to continue that, so. It is great to be back on the floor but more importantly it's great to be able to have a game plan, be able to execute it and then put it into action right away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Broadcaster and former NBA all-star Chris Webber joins us now. Chris, it is good it see you, I appreciate your time this Sunday.

You were in the bubble covering these games. You obviously talked with your friends, the former players, as you cover them. Do they feel they accomplished something significant here? What is their test for a month from now or year from now to whether this Wild Cat strike succeeded?

CHRIS WEBBER, SPORTS BROADCASTER: Their test is -- first of all, thank you for having me -- but this test is for generations. This test is to mark change in 5, 10, 15 and 20 years. We know the change, there's an app in overnight, the stages of change and the first stage of their change was to passionately plea with the country to hear their cry and they got attention.

The second is Lebron there with the great leadership of himself and the great leadership of Lebron, great leadership of Chris Paul and Adam Silver our commissioner. Now they have a plan. That was the second stage. That leadership.

So I really think that if done the right way, and I believe that it will, that this should impact communities for generations to come, or as long as there is an NBA to be able to entertain people from those communities in which those players come from.

KING: And you know, like it or not, this is playing out in the context of a political campaign here, not just this summer of George Floyd and Jacob Blake and the racial reckoning and the march on Washington. But also with an election around the calendar.

The president of the United States saying this to reporters on Air Force One. "I think what they're doing to the NBA in particular is going to destroy basketball. I can't -- I don't even watch it. When you watch sports, you want to sort of relax.

This is a whole different world. It is going to be very bad for football and I think it's very bad for the NBA. Maybe even NBA threatening. And it is going to be very bad for baseball."

The president doesn't like it, Chris, when players take a knee or when players talk about things outside of their sports. He forgets sometimes that we all have First Amendment rights including athletes.

But inside the bubble, do the players view this as a Trump thing or do they view it as much bigger than that? WEBBER: No, I think the players -- it is much bigger than that. If you

look on the back of the jerseys, international players, we have equality and we have education reform. So I think people need to understand that, yes, it is triggered by the unarmed killing of black men and women on the streets, but because we're from these communities, my mother was a teacher in the Detroit area over 20 years. She taught in Detroit public schools.

Because I'm an athlete, I got a chance to go to one of the best college preparatory high schools in our city. Being young I always wondered why I thought it was unfair I got that opportunity and not people that live next door to me on Six Mile where I grew up.

So education reform is big. You shouldn't be able to tell where kids are going to end up by their zip code or what books they get in their school or that lack of resources that they get. This is much bigger. These are -- these are issues that affect us and our families.

It is much more personal and this fire has been sparked in some of us since we were children. And now through social media and having our own platforms, we're able to speak about it and sometimes act upon it.

KING: And in the sports world, obviously the first person to do this four years ago was Colin Kaepernick and a couple of other NFL players and at the time, in the black community, people cheered, but most of America kind of viewed that as kind of a fringe protest, what is that.

Now, listen here, you have Doc Rivers, an established coach in the NBA, Major League Baseball as well, this message is across sports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOC RIVERS, LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS HEAD COACH: We're the ones getting killed. We're the ones getting shot. It is amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back.

DOM SMITH, NEW YORK METS: People still don't care. And for this to continuously happen, I mean, just shows just the hate in people's heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: How much in your view does that magnify this? That it is across sports?. We've seen tennis, we've seen baseball, some in hockey, of course basketball.

WEBBER: It warms my heart to see beautiful tennis players, soccer (ph), other people get in the fight. But I just want to remind people that basketball has always started from a place (ph) of protest.

I got a chance to speak with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, my mentor, yesterday. Let's remember that he boycotted the Olympics. Let's take into context that when you talk about the top five players, his name never comes up and he's the all time leading scorer and he's most decorated winner ever, but his name doesn't come up. Or you talk about Dr. John Carlos. Kareem told me yesterday that, you know, he got what he learned from Jackie Robinson and also Bill Russell.

[08:49:52]

WEBBER: And so my mentors passed the baton down to others. And that's why I'm proud of these younger generations because it has been coming. But the older generation didn't have the power or the cache of money or the followers or Instagram and other things to get to their followers.

So this is not something new. You know, these young people are taking it to a new place, but we really need to honor those that came before us. Jackie Robinson when he passed away, he was really ticked off at baseball because they didn't have any black managers. Well, today I think they have one.

So this is a big conference that goes from black women dying in childbirth at the hands of white doctors. And those are (INAUDIBLE) our queens, our mothers, it goes to education reform, it goes to so much. It's not just one story, anything that affects our community, that affects our family, and affects our friends, it affects us. That's what we go through.

And so it's broader conversation, but I'm definitely proud of the sporting community and wait until it -- wait until it catches fire in one of most racist places overseas where they throw bananas and things like that at soccer games. Wait until it catches fire around the world. It's going to be something -- it's going to be something awesome to watch.

KING: It will be something we will watch, I promise you.

Chris Webber, appreciate your time and insights this morning. Take care in the bubble, sir.

When we come back, a freshman in quarantine, the Ivy League from the West Coast, the coronavirus makes back-to-campus anything but routine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:54:52]

KING: Back-to-campus is another ritual disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Some colleges and universities are beginning the school year all online. Others are trying a hybrid mix of online and in class. Still others are trying for old normal in these new normal times with mixed results.

Look at this in "The New York Times". It surveyed more than 1,500 four year colleges and universities. And "The Times" found more than 26,000 cases at 750 of those schools. And as you can see, coast to coast.

We reached out for some firsthand perspective of what college life looks like during this pandemic. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACH BERMAN, JUNIOR, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally it would be syllabus week, it would be packed and right now both the quad and campus as a whole are just filled with this eerie aura of just silence. Getting that news that, yes, Mizzou was reopened and I was filled with a sense of excitement, but also dread.

How would they handle the fact that the whole reason we shut down to begin with was because of this crazy contagious global pandemic.

JESSA REID BOLLING, GRADUATE STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: Personally I did not think that the University of Alabama would have in person class for the fall semester. I've seen some students on campus not wearing masks, not really prioritizing social distancing, anything like that.

I only have one class that requires me to go to campus. I was given a designated entrance to go into the building I'm supposed to have that class in, the desks were all six feet apart. I wear my mask as well as my face shield before I go in. Because I'm extremely nervous of getting sick.

WYATT HELLMAN, FRESHMAN, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: After an unprecedented senior year of high school, I was excited to return to school for what I hoped would be a fairly normal first semester of college. However, less than 48 hours after arriving, these illusions were shattered as I was informed that I had come in contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 and would be required to complete a 14-day mandatory quarantine.

Rooms were unprepared and I was given no info about conduct expected of me as a quarantined individual. I was also told that I would not be tested unless I developed symptoms.

RONALD YOUNG, SENIOR, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE: I've seen that with the way that UT is handling it compared to some of our other peer institutions such as the University of Alabama who has over 500 cases right now. When you come to campus, most students are socially distancing.

I mean if you go into classes, the desks are spread out, most people are wearing their masks. And truth of it is that campus is truly empty right now for the most part. It is sad to see, but it is the reality of it if we want to -- if we want to get back to normal next spring.

BETHANY VILLARUZ, FRESHMAN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: I had my first online lecture today. And it was a little bit weird to have my first college class not be in person and be meeting other students and be sitting in a lecture hall, listening to a college professor for the first time. and it was a little bit sad. At the end of the day, it is what it is and we're just kind of trying to make the best of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We appreciate that perspective. We wish all of them the best of luck.

And that's it for INSIDE POLITICS. Hope you can catch us week days as well. We're here at 11:00 a.m. and noon Eastern.

Up next STATE OF THE UNION. Dana Bash in for Jake this week.

Her guests include the House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, the Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman, Ron Johnson, Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass and the FEMA chief Pete Gaynor.

Thanks again for sharing your Sunday, have a good day.

Stay safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:07]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Dana Bash, in for Jake Tapper in Washington.