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CNN Live Event/Special

DNC Night 2 Midnight Oil Analysis; Biden Accepts Democrat Presidential Nomination; Clinton Attacks Republican COVID Response; DNC Speaks To Joe Biden's Decency; Progressive Voices Missing From DNC Rollout; DNC Convention, Second Night; Coronavirus Pandemic; Most Americans Don't Think Trump Would Concede. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 19, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

(CNN HIGHLIGHT)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rise in psychological problems in children.

RYAN MADIGAN, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, BOSTON CHILD STUDY CENTER: Children are sponges and they pick up on far more than we realize.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talking to your child about what they're feeling can also help ease the worry.

MADIGAN: If we can embody as a culture a way of listening, learning to listen to emotions rather than ignore, fight or dismiss them, I think we will all be a lot healthier in the long run.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN.

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR "CNN TONIGHT": All right. these are important times. So we have to take advantage of every opportunity we get.

Hence you get D. Lemon and me, Chris Cuomo, burning the midnight oil covering night two of the Democratic National Convention.

And the night is still young. Especially for both of us. Why?

A lot happened tonight. You had Joe Biden taking the nomination for the democratic party for president of the United States. Official on the second night at this convention.

And all of this happening in the midst of the worst situation we've dealt with collectively in our lifetimes. This pandemic.

That's what this election is about. And Don, they put some really interesting voices to the task tonight.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN TONIGHT": They did. They did put a lot of interesting voices.

But think about it, those voices all came over on video. Look at -- just like we are, sitting in different rooms, right? Or not even in the room at all, many of the speakers on tape.

But all because of a pandemic and the situation that we're in.

And as you said earlier, maybe the Democrats really did not have to hammer at home because this is the reality we're living in right now.

One of those speakers, Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton had the sharpest attacks on the night, tearing apart the president's COVID response.

Here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE OF AMERICA: How did Donald Trump respond? At first, he said the virus was under control. And would soon disappear. When it didn't, he was on TV every day bragging on what a great job he

was doing. When asked about the surge in deaths, he shrugged and said, "It is what it is."

At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center, there's only chaos.

If you want a president who defines his job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he's your man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Even got a message from the former president, Jimmy Carter, trolling Trump a bit, Chris, on his pandemic performance. Stressing that -- well, Biden believes in masks and testing at least.

CUOMO: Yes. This is a flat earth kind of situation where not believing in the science is almost -- has to be intentional.

Listening to Clinton -- let me go old-school on you. You remember the "Ghetto Boys?" Remember that rap group the "Ghetto Boys?"

LEMON: No. You're going way --

CUOMO: One of their guys was too short, and they ask him in one these songs, "What do you do when somebody messes with your size?"

And he says, "First I laugh then I just slap 'em in the ass, sound like a car crash." That's what the president did to us with this pandemic.

LEMON: You need some sleep right now.

CUOMO: First he said -- well, listen. Let me make my point.

LEMON: OK. All right. Go ahead.

CUOMO: "There's a pandemic, Mr. President." "No, no, no, no. It'll just go away. It's a hoax by my enemies."

Then he just slaps the country across the face, he just slaps it across the face. And says we don't have to do anything, everything's going great.

And does none of the things that the leaders in every other place that got it straight did.

LEMON: All true.

CUOMO: Right?

LEMON: All 100 percent true.

CUOMO: And that then resonate like a car crash across this country. Everything shut down, everything scrambled.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Look at the city that never sleeps in that we're in right now, that is just dead asleep.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: It is comatose in the city. These stories about how there are all these marauders and things going on -- look, crime is up in places, homicides are up in places.

This city is not in anarchy by any stretch of the imagination .

LEMON: Not at all.

CUOMO: But the pandemic brought us all low.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I haven't seen places boarded up like this, I haven't seen this country closed down like this, moving into the heartland. And it's about leadership.

LEMON: It's amazing to me every time I walk -- speaking of -- I walk through the city or at least go around the city -- well, walk or are in a car, what have you.

The city is not even half empty, it's more than half empty.

And it's not in anarchy, as you said, by any means. If you watch certain programs you'll think like, "Oh, my gosh, New York City, it's a war zone." It's not a war zone.

Are things bad off? Yes. Are there situations here in the city that we haven't seen in a long time? Yes. Are people in dire need in certain areas? Yes.

Can New York City get past it? Absolutely. Will we come back raging the city on the hill that we once was and will be in future? Absolutely. New York City will of course come back.

But I say all of that to say that this is -- the reason that we're here, much of the reason that we're here is because we did not have public buy in.

[01:05:00]

And why didn't we have public buy in from every place in America, from the bulk of America? Is because at the very top it was played down.

It's going to go away. When the summer comes, it'll just evaporate like the flu. It'll be gone.

CUOMO: They lied.

LEMON: Yes. Because of a lie.

CUOMO: Yes.

LEMON: And that's the reason that we still have cases, still have cases growing in the heartland, and so on.

And the question is, as you said, as I asked, did the Democrats make that point tonight? And you said they really don't have to because we're living that reality right now.

CUOMO: It's true. It's true. Look, you think it's a coincidence that almost exclusively Trump folk believe that I didn't have the virus?

LEMON: Oh, I told you that. You were like, "Oh, I want to" -- remember I said that on TV. You were like "Oh, I don't want to talk about that." Because they don't believe it's real.

CUOMO: Why is it that the only people who asked me for proof --

LEMON: Were the Trump people.

CUOMO: -- that I had the virus are Trump people.

LEMON: Did you ever tell the story about when we -- the hardware store in our town. When you were in the hardware store wearing a mask, what did the guy tell you?

CUOMO: I don't even remember. What did he say?

LEMON: You said that you were in the hardware store and the guy said, "You're just wearing that, why are you wearing it? You got the antibody --

CUOMO: Oh, yes. That's right.

LEMON: -- you're just making a political statement."

CUOMO: Yes, that's what he said to me. He's like, "What are you wearing that thing for, you already had it."

I said, "Because we all have to wear them, I'm wearing it for you. What if my antibodies are gone? I don't know."

And he was upset at me about it.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: He was like, "Look, you guys are just -- like you're putting this upon us. This is all a fake."

And look, they only believe that for one reason. I've never experienced anything like this before.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Where a president said this is bad for me, so I'm going to tell you not to do what's good for you. Because he believes that's bad -- no, the only problem with his own analysis was he was wrong.

If he had put his arms around this, this convention would be a lost cause --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- that the Democrats are having.

LEMON: He wouldn't be behind eight points in some places.

CUOMO: If the president had said, "Look the states can do what they want, man, but I'm big-footing. OK. This is a national disaster, here I come. I'm doing all the testing. Everybody comes through me, everything you want comes through me. I'm going to be this wartime president."

This convention would be an afterthought. But because of where we are -- their whole metaphor for change. Right?

Paul Begala made a good point the last hour. There are two main messages in the campaigns. Stay the course or time for change.

Time for change is obvious here because we're getting killed by a pandemic. That is as much about a lapse of leadership as anything.

I'm telling you the school thing is going to put it over the line for a lot of people who had a different mindset on this election before they realized that their kids were being compromised by bad leadership.

LEMON: But here's -- OK. So then how do you humanize that? You can't real humanize that.

Because I hear the criticism from the Republican side of the aisle and conservative media is that, "Well, the Democrats, the Democrats. They're making this about being human, about decency, about being a good guy."

Well, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, about human decency. Because the Republicans can't make that point about their guy.

CUOMO: Right. LEMON: Because there is no decency there.

CUOMO: They'll be about the economy there.

LEMON: That there is no --

CUOMO: That things were going great until the Democrats messed it up with this pandemic.

LEMON: The point I'm trying to get to is that -- Jill Biden tonight. She talked about her husband in a way obviously that nobody else can. And about the kind of person that he is.

How he picks himself up, even in the midst of a tragedy, and he gets back, stays the course and becomes a stronger -- maybe a better person for it.

And so I want to hear her -- but that's what she says this country needs. Is that sort of recipe.

Here she is right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF JOE BIDEN: After our son, Beau, died of cancer, I wondered if I would ever smile or feel joy again. It was summer but there was no warmth left for me.

Four days after Beau's funeral, I watched Joe shave and put on his suit. I saw him steel himself in the mirror, take a breath, put his shoulders back and walk out into a world empty of our son.

He went back to work. That's just who he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And went on to say -- paraphrasing here. That's what we need right now, that's what America needs. Especially after this administration.

CUOMO: Look, it's a low bar to compare character with Donald Trump. I'm sorry. People say, "Oh, you just don't like him." It's not true. You judge him on what he does and what he says.

Kamala Harris comes up, it's an obvious historic appointment, he puts out some B.S. about her not being qualified to run. Right back to the birther thing because he thinks it works for him.

That's where his character takes him.

Joe Biden has 1,000 people just like the --

[01:10:00]

-- two bubbleheads on this screen right now who can tell you personal stories about him reaching out when he had no reason to, in times of loss and suffering. Because of where he is in a place of empathy.

And I knew his son, okay? I know what his son meant to him . I can only wish that someday my son and I have anywhere near the bond that Beau and Joe had as father and son.

And it was extraordinary, because of the kind of father he was. Beau would say it all the time.

You don't have to make the case for Joe Biden as a person versus Donald Trump. It's almost a waste of time.

But it's not going to be the measure of this election, I don't think, Don.

LEMON: You had -- you've had communications I'm sure with Joe Biden --

CUOMO: Yes.

LEMON: -- facing a tragedy.

CUOMO: Yes.

LEMON: Right. Same here. Out of the blue -- I've told this story. He called me after my sister died -- I didn't believe it was him. And he starting talking -- and I was sitting there going, "Oh, my gosh. This is Joe Biden.".

I couldn't even get him off the phone because he was -- he talked so long. Not that I wanted to but he's just -- that's who he is.

And when his wife says he gives his cell phone number out to random strangers who he believes he can help, that's absolutely true.

Now on the flip side, I don't know about you, I've probably communicated with the current president Donald Trump and I've done more interviews certainly with Donald Trump than I have with Joe Biden.

Think he'd ever give me his cell phone number? No. I don't know about you, maybe you have it. But he hasn't -- he's never done that to me. Joe Biden? Yes.

And he's picked it up when I called him when I was in grief, as he asked me to, and he picked up the phone. There's no comparison.

CUOMO: There isn't. But look, here is going to be the basis of comparison. Joe Biden has to convince a small number of American people who are open-minded between the two men that he could do a job that Donald Trump is not up to.

Joe Biden also has to convince all the people who might see themselves as progressive Democrat and let them believe that he checks enough boxes for them.

And I'm telling you, that's not as easy as it sounds -- LEMON: Well, hold on --

CUOMO: If it were just who's a better guy, him or Trump, then anybody wins this election. But he's got a higher bar. I'm telling you, these Democrats --

LEMON: Yes, OK. I think you're right. He has a higher bar but maybe not so much when the current president is not expanding his base. He's not increasing his base, I think his base is shrinking.

Now within the kind of person who would vote for him, within that base, maybe through his -- through the rallies that had and through his -- the folks who does his research and so on and so forth, maybe they got some of those people who -- first-time voters or people who don't usually vote, I don't know.

CUOMO: Maybe. That's why Clinton lost. Clinton lost because they didn't come out. If it had been a poll, she would have won.

LEMON: Right.

CUOMO: But when it came to actual performance, she didn't. And that's why I'm pointing out the AOC thing.

Look, you can throw arrows at me all you want. It's one o'clock in the morning, knock yourself out.

What I'm saying is this. AOC is always welcome on my show, she's a dynamic speaker. She's emblematic of a change in that party the likes of which I haven't seen in my lifetime, and I grew up in that party.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: So I understand it for what it is. I'm telling you, it was either misplayed or it was a mistake that she didn't mention Joe Biden tonight as someone who is the face of the left part of that party. That's all I'm saying.

LEMON: She should have gotten more shine.

CUOMO: That's all I'm saying.

LEMON: I think she should have gotten more time and more shine.

CUOMO: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

LEMON: Because she represents a big segment of that party.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

LEMON: A big constituency in that party.

CUOMO: And if they didn't have Powell, if they didn't have Jill Biden the way she was, if they didn't have Cindy McCain, that would have been a big story.

But those are the things that deserve attention as well.

So we'll do that. Let's get to break.

Angela Rye and Karen Finney --

LEMON: Oh-oh.

CUOMO: -- how did they see it?

LEMON: Oh-oh.

CUOMO: Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:15:00]

LEMON: Jill Biden closing out the second night of the virtual Democratic National Convention. She got personal when describing how her husband rebuilt his family after tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN: He found that love holds a family together. Love makes us flexible and resilient. It allows us to become more than ourselves, together.

And though it can't protect us from the sorrows at life, it gives us refuge, a home.

How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding and small acts of kindness, with bravery, with unwavering faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. Joining me now, Angela Rye, Karen Finney. I've got to watch myself in this because you guys are tough. You're going to come at me if I get something wrong but I know you'll give me my shine if I get something right.

Hello to both of you, good to see you.

Angela, I've got to start with you because we talked -- the former first lady we discussed last night, the second lady now hoping to become the first lady.

So Jill Biden said her husband can heal this country with love like he did his family. How do you think she did?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think she did wonderfully. To see her in a classroom which is her choice of profession, to see her talk about her family experience with the Bidens and the many ways in which she served very much as the glue.

I think she made a compelling case tonight about not only why Joe Biden could help to heal a nation, but why Jill Biden, arguably, can serve in that role to.

What I think is really cool about what happened last night with our forever first lady, Michelle Obama, speaking first is at she always passed this "you're the closer now" opportunity to Jill Biden.

And I think Jill Biden just really rose to the occasion. It was one of the best moments of the night to me, again, because it was heartfelt, it was pure, it was authentic. And I really respected it.

[01:20:00]

I think the line about how to make a broken family whole -- knowing that she lived that. She literally came into the Biden family as a surrogate mother and adopted those kids as if they were her own and raised them as if they were her own.

And I think that is a narrative that is really, really tough for anyone to fight back against if they've been through any of type of trauma like that.

LEMON: Yes.

RYE: So I thought it was really, really well done.

LEMON: And did it after a tragedy that had happened to her husband. He had a previous tragedy, right, with a child and his wife.

You know, Karen, I want to talk about another speaker tonight, and that was George W. Bush's former secretary of state, Colin Powell.

Listen to this and then we'll talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our country needs a commander and chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family.

For Joe Biden, that doesn't need teaching. With Joe Biden in the White House you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries. Never the other way around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So look, Colin Powell has always been -- never at a loss for words. He criticizes when he needs to criticize. He is one of multiple Republicans the DNC is showcasing.

Do you think that Biden or the Democrats are at risk of overplaying Biden's ties to Republicans?

KAREN FINNEY, FMR. SNR. SPOKESPERSON, HILLARY CLINTON 2016 CAMPAIGN: Somewhat. Although I will say that I think Colin Powell we kind of have to put him in a slightly special category .

Because I think he occupies if we -- taking apart the Iraq war, he does -- his story and his persona does occupy something of a special place for a lot of people.

But I definitely thought that that was part of why it was so important to have so many wonderful young progressive leaders kind of tee off each other and do that keynote where they kind of all did it together.

Because it felt like we really did hear and see the new progressive leaders in the party. And I loved just giving them a platform for a voice.

And I do think Colin Powell does speak with authority and I think people respect his opinion, particularly when it comes to our men and women in uniform.

I think people believe that he is very committed to our troops. When he has spoken out, it has generally been about something that is related to how these men and women are treated.

And again, he made such a great personal case as well as the policy case. The policy case, we know Joe Biden has the foreign policy chops, he's got the relationships. He will help repair our reputation around the world.

But Jill and General Powell reminded us also that Beau was a soldier. And that pain of sending your child off to war and living that experience -- and that's a guy who is not going to let our military families suffer the way this president does with such indifference.

LEMON: You've had some really strong, Angela, powerful, authentic relatable women come out and speak for Joe Biden.

The former first lady -- as we say the Forever First Lady. You had his wife, Jill Biden. And then you had Cindy McCain as well, also speaking out about her husband's relationship with Joe Biden.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a friendship that should not have worked.

John, a former navy pilot just released from a North Vietnamese prison; Joe, a young senator from Delaware.

But in the 1970s, Joe was assigned a military aide for a trip overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCAIN (VOICE OVER): I was a Navy Senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips.

JOE BIDEN, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The son of a sun was supposed to carry my bags, damnit. But he never carried my bags.

(END VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John and Joe traveled thousands of miles together. The families got to know each other, gathering for picnics in the Biden's backyard.

CINDY MCCAIN, WIFE OF FMR. DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: They would just sit and joke. It was like a comedy show sometimes to watch the two of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, then it goes on, Angela, to say when they were both in the senate together, they would fight on the senate floor about issues. And then you'd see them having dinner later that night.

Angela, was that -- was this effective?

RYE: Yes. I think that, again, the convention is doing a great job this year of reaching out to people beyond the Democrat Party. I still think we've got some work to do within the party.

So, for example, tonight racial justice was only mentioned a few times. And two of the times were with some of the delegates who were speaking up in the roll call to nominate Joe Biden.

[01:25:00]

It was a big misstep to have Stacey Abrams on for, what 30 seconds? Stacey Abrams has this tremendous track record of galvanizing people of all colors but especially people of color.

And I also think, with the AOC discussion, I'm getting tons of texts from my team and my friends like, "What was that, they need her somewhere else."

And I know that we can write whole think pieces (ph) about that and why that was -- of course, she's a long time Bernie supporter but I just really want the party to gel. In order for the country to heal, as Joe Biden said, the party has to gel.

And that means bringing in folks who aren't necessarily Democratic leadership or part of governance committees or in any particular caucus in the party, but they are voters who normally voted Democratic and normally vote progressive.

It is very, very important to get that right this week. We are almost out of time.

LEMON: Well -- and we are out of time.

RYE: (Inaudible) right. The election is on November 3rd.

FINNEY: (Inaudible).

LEMON: (Inaudible) this seg --

RYE: We have a little bit of time. But it's -- LEMON: But --

RYE: But it's that much.

LEMON: No, no. I mean we're out of time for this segment.

FINNEY: Right now.

RYE: Oh.

LEMON: But I do have to say no, consider it -- come on now. Angela, it's early in L.A. So.

FINNEY: Right.

RYE: Well, let me tell you -- since we're out of time, let me just give you this little footnote.

Tell your boy, Cuomo, that Too Short was not in the "Ghetto Boys."

LEMON: Oh-oh.

FINNEY: Oh.

RYE: The "Ghetto Boys" -- that was Bushwick Bill in Houston, Texas.

LEMON: Oh-oh.

FINNEY: Oh.

LEMON: Bring him in. Bring him in.

RYE: And Too Short is from Oakland. Get it right, Cuomo.

LEMON: Bring him in. Is he there?

CUOMO: That's true. You're right. Angela, this is what it looks like when you're admitting that you were wrong about something, by the way.

RYE: Oh. I've never seen you do it.

CUOMO: Just for future reference.

RYE: Let me see it again.

CUOMO: Seeing how you've never done it ever in all the time I've known you. But I had the lyric right.

RYE: You are such a liar. You're a liar.

CUOMO: I had the big point.

RYE: Cuomo, you don't do it.

CUOMO: I had the big point right. LEMON: I was just sitting there looking at him, like "what are you talking about?"

CUOMO: First of all, you googled it --

RYE: You should have told him --

CUOMO: You googled it.

RYE: Bushwick Bill.

CUOMO: You weren't even alive for the "Ghetto Boys."

LEMON: Who me or Angela?

FINNEY: Oh, wow.

RYE: Cuomo, please.

FINNEY: Wow.

CUOMO: Angela. She's googled it.

RYE: Let me tell you. Let me tell you. That's a lie, Cuomo.

FINNEY: (Inaudible) there.

CUOMO: Look at them all yelling at me. Bring it on.

RYE: And here's the thing. Your mind is playing tricks on you. De- de-de-de-de-de-de.

CUOMO: Oh, here it comes.

RYE: De-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de. Hey --

LEMON: Ho. OK.

CUOMO: I can move. Go and sleep on it.

FINNEY: This is what happens on CNN at one in the morning.

LEMON: All right. Listen, I hate to break up this little thing. But I do have to say, Angela, I think you're right about the criticism about AOC.

Chris and I have been talking about that.

FINNEY: I know.

LEMON: And about some of the more progressive members of the party. They may try to get it right before the end of this convention, let's see if they do. Or at least add a couple more voices.

So -- they took Chris right off the screen, whoop, like that. He's gone. So. RYE: I took all Karen's time, can Karen say something?

LEMON: So, Karen.

FINNEY: The women have been bringing it. So the pressure is on the fellas to kick it up several notches.

LEMON: Why do you think I have both of you on? Karen, don't call the cops on us because we got to go.

FINNEY: No, no. I'm talking about for the convention, brother. I'm talking about the convention.

RYE: This is a shady crew. This is a shady crew.

LEMON: All right.

FINNEY: I tell you. This is what goes on.

LEMON: No. You started it by calling out Chris. So I got to go.

Thank you, Angela. Thank you, Karen. Thanks, Chris. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:42]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: You know, sometimes we dance around the obvious and there is no need. Of course, this convention is weird. We are living in weird times.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. We have a huge social activism movement going on that's barely getting any attention. Yes. Times are very weird.

So the parties, starting with the Democrats are going to try to adapt to that, try to use it. Try to find ways to resonate, to connect. Some will work. Some won't.

And we will catalog both with one of the best minds in the business. Chris Cillizza let's talk DNC hits and misses.

And I know you are a big rap afficionado. Yes, I was wrong about Too Short. And I was bad because he was West Coast and Ghetto Boys were Houston and I'm sure Bushwick Bill is going to come at me.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But just for point of reference.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER & EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Bushwick Bill -- no Bushwick Bill, RIP. If I'm not mistaken Bushwick Bill has passed away.

CUOMO: But I'm saying his fans -- I'm getting it on social media. CILLIZZA: Ok, right. Oh, yes.

CUOMO: And we all remember that song "My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me" -- I believe it was Isaac Hayes. I believe it was Isaac Hayes but I'm sure somebody will tell me.

But what were the hits and misses?

M1: It feels good to be a gangster, Chris Cuomo.

CUOMO: Of course, it does. What were the hits?

M1: All right. Hits.

You touched on it a little bit earlier, but I want to go back to it. I thought the McCain video, and I have written about this. You know, how I despise (ph) those. I'm not a big believer in Republicans at the Democratic convention or Democrats at the Republican convention like they (INAUDIBLE). I don't think it changes much.

But that video I thought was really powerful. Cindy McCain's voice there, hearing John McCain's. I think it also wasn't just powerful in the moment. It reminds people why Joe Biden -- the core message there. Joe Biden puts people over party politics.

And in the White House, what you have right now is the opposite of that. Now what do people want? That's an open question. But I thought that video, that for me and I will go to my second one, if you don't Chris, Ady Barkan (ph) someone who I think if you follow politics, you know, a guy who was struck down with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.

As a dad, the video of him playing with his son, talking about the necessity of health care -- put aside politics. I would say put aside politics a little bit and just watch this. The power of that video -- a guy who just had had a child with his wife and suddenly gets this diagnosis and is turned into a health care activist. I thought that was really, really powerful which is weird because I thought the two most powerful things were videos, right, not speeches.

The third thing that I thought was pretty good -- Angela touched on this last thing, Joe Biden. He's not Michelle Obama as a speaker, but like no one almost is with the exception of Barack Obama, right.

So I think that's ok. I think what she did, Don mentioned it, what she did was powerful testimonial that this is a guy whose life has been, in some ways, tragic but who has defines his life not by the tragedies, not by the loss of his wife and his daughter, not by the loss of his son Beau, but by what he did.

He got up, right. It's not how many times you get knocked down. It's how many times you get up. So I thought she was quite good in that regard.

Last hit, I thought that this roll call was better than the regular roll call --

CUOMO: Yes.

M1: I mean I like the roll call typically where they say like from the great Nutmeg State, home of blah, blah, blah --

[01:34:55]

CUOMO: Yes. I usually ignore it -- and this one worked.

M1: -- but it was way better.

CUOMO: Yes.

M1: And I think you will see that going forward, right.

Misses. I can go through this quick, Chris. I'll put John Kerry, Bill Clinton, Chuck Schumer all in the same group there. Just politicians -- sort of old-timey establishment. I didn't really see what they added. Candidly I think putting Bill Clinton in there is a little bit of a mistake.

This is -- obviously, we have George Floyd. We have to talk race. We have coronavirus. But let's not forget that, you know, one of the biggest changes in our country is the way --

CUOMO: Me Too.

M1: -- in which we are viewing men and men in power.

Bill Clinton, I don't think, is representative of that and I don't think he did that much with the speech.

I want to mention Alexandria Ocasio Cortez before we go, Chris. I don't think her speech was bad. It was, you know -- it was nominating Bernie Sanders to a job he was never going to get, Democratic nominee.

CUOMO: Right. Yes, I agree with you.

M1: But to me, I compared it to, you go to a Yankee game and Aaron Judge pinch hits. There is a lot of talent there that wasn't tapped --

CUOMO: I agree.

M1: I know that's not the face Joe Biden wants to put on the party right now, but she is someone of immense political talent --

CUOMO: Right.

M1: -- who has a real following --

CUOMO: She didn't even say his name.

M1: -- given 98 seconds. Right. I think that, I put her in the misses not because she missed but because I think it was a missed opportunity for the Democratic Party.

CUOMO: 100 percent. 100 percent. But I still think she should have said his name.

(CROSSTALK)

M1: -- younger generation. She probably should have said his name. But I do think there was Bill Clinton, John Kerry -- a lot of older white guys for a party that is young and diverse. And yes, I know we had the montage at the beginning, that 17 person keynote, all younger --

CUOMO: No, no, no. AOC should have had more time --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- given what this party went through in the primaries, so should have Stacey Abrams. Angela Rye's about that also. She didn't know the Hook from the Ghetto Boys song but you can't everything, you know, Chris. I mean sometimes people's strengths and weakness.

Chris Cillizza, you have no weaknesses except that you have too many strengths. Thank you very much for helping us kind of plus/minus this.

M1: My only weakness is -- my only weakness is that I care too much, actually.

CUOMO: Yes. That's it. That's what I meant to say. Take care.

M1: Thank you my friend.

CUOMO: First -- and look, I know I keep going back to coronavirus. Why? One, it is still getting me. And I'm hearing from more of you every day about long haul syndrome. And that these symptoms are not going away. And people are dying and now it's moving into the heartland. And we are still not doing the things that we need to do.

This president should have put his arms around it. Instead, he pushed it away. First he was taking advice from, you know, the demon semen doctor. I can't believe -- how many times have I said that? I can't believe I just said this.

These are the days we are living in. This is the kind of person the President of the United States is relying on. Now it's the My Pillow guy.

And I will tell you the truth. I don't know which one is more depressing a source.

So let's bring in Dr. Wen. She has facts. She wants to hear -- what does she want to hear from Biden? What matters for us through the lens of medical perspective? Next.

[01:38:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: So as a counter to the Democrats at the DNC, President Trump traveled to Yuma, Arizona to tout his achievements, his handling of the coronavirus crisis. However really wasn't one of them.

You can see how seriously he takes it but just, you know, everybody else is socially distancing at least, which is to say not at all. Look at that. Do you see any social distancing there? And how many people were wearing masks, not nearly enough there.

Never mind that the country has consistently had one of the highest infection rates in the country -- the county I should say. And it's just a couple of months ago that the states saw a dramatic rise that forced it to reimpose a slew of restrictions.

So if this is how seriously the President takes a crisis, where does this leave us in the coming months? The pictures tell the story. The reality tells the story right now.

There is Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst and former Baltimore health commissioner. She joins us now.

Doctor, thank you so much. You saw the video there. Not many people -- no one social distancing -- not many people wearing masks.

Let's open this conversation up by talking about your op-ed today. You said that you don't want to hear what Biden would do today if he were president. But what you would want to hear is what he would do in the winter when things are assumed to get worse.

You painted a bleak picture and I quote here, you said "Twindemics of influenza and COVID 19 could result in the deadliest winter in living memory. Hospitals already stretched to capacity by the flu could exceed their ability to treat the critically ill. Death rates could escalate. The economy could worsen and schools could all be closed with no path to reopening."

What is missing from what you are hearing from Biden now? What unanswered questions do you have?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I do think that Vice President Biden has already laid out a very comprehensive and thoughtful plan. But that plan is meeting the moment right now. It certainly addresses the testing failure that we are seeing and addresses the problems of the vaccine distribution chain and so many other factors.

But we have a long five months ahead of us. And we could be facing hundreds of thousands more deaths and a severe toll also on our mental health. There was a CDC study released last week that found that 40 percent of adults have experienced depression, mental health problems, substance use. That 10 percent of adults have considered suicide in the last 30 days.

I mean those numbers could so substantially worsen. And I would want Vice President Biden to be acknowledging these problems and anticipating what's ahead which are these extraordinary challenges facing us.

LEMON: And many of those people you talked about suicide are young people, which was surprising to me in that study, Doctor.

But I have been wanting to talk to you about this Oleandrin, ok. It's an unproven treatment and it is being touted by a Trump or pushed by a Trump ally, the My Pillow CEO. Not been approved by the FDA. No peer reviewed studies out there showing that it works.

What is your message to our viewers out there who are desperate for some kind of remedy and they may be listening to the President on this or this My Pillow guy on this?

DR. WEN: Well, this is my major concern here that for many people, President Trump is the most credible messenger. That people are listening to the President over doctors and public health experts.

[01:45:00]

DR. WEN: And I hope that everyone will help us to spread the message. Do not take untested treatments of any kind because there is going to be a risk involved.

And in this case, this particular extract, there are really serious risks. I mean this is a poison that we are talking about. It has cardiotoxic effects, meaning that it could cause permanent damage to the heart. This is something that reduces your breathing rate and can cause death.

And so please do not take this. and I really wish the President would spend -- would use his platform to be talking about the interventions that we know are effective. I mean we have masks. Masks can reduce the risk of transmission by five times. So why not talk about masks or social distancing and better yet, also be practicing those as well?

LEMON: Thank you Dr. Leana Wen, I appreciate it. We'll see you soon.

Anything can happen between now and November 3rd. Anything, but if Trump loses, is he going to pack up and go? What do you think?

Harry Enten, the wizard of odds. By the way, I knew that answer last night. That was rhetorical but I got cut off. Harry Enten has the numbers. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:50:07]

CUOMO: President Trump, out on the hustings -- the campaign trail, making the case he's somehow entitled to not just one but two more terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll probably be entitled to another four more years.

We are going to win four more years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, look, he uses hyperbole, that's ok. That's a style, thing. Either you like it or you don't. What isn't so subjective in terms of good/bad is him saying things to undermine confidence in our democratic process.

That is why the balloting issues matter. That's why his attacking of mail-in ballot matters. Not because of how he feels about it but what he could do to control it. And that is why these questions about the USPS and what the postmaster general has been doing that now he says he won't do anymore even though he had nothing to do with it in the first place.

Those questions become real because they undermine our confidence. So it's important for us to try to measure -- where's your head? The melding of your head and heart, your confidence in what's happening right now.

The wizard of odds is here to take us through numbers that quantify our feelings. What are you seeing, Wiz? Let's start with the CNN poll conducted by SSRS, August 12 to 15, in terms of perspective on what happens if Trump were to lose.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICS SENIOR WRITER AND ANALYST: Yes. So this is very interesting. And this I think sort of tells the story, right? If Trump were to lose, only 38 percent of Americans think that he would actually concede and accept the results. What I should point out is that's not very different than it was four years ago when it was 35 percent who said the same thing. So actually it's up slightly although it's just in the margin of error.

Versus say compare it to Biden, right, 68 percent of Americans say that they think he would accept the results and concede. But that's actually down from where Clinton was say four years ago at 75 percent.

But I think this just tells the story that Trump's rhetoric over and over and over again clearly is impacting how Americans feel. They think if her were to lose, the majority don't think he'd actually accept the results.

CUOMO: Voters are much more likely to say the loser has an obligation to concede than four years ago, especially among Trump voters. How do you see it in the numbers and why do you think this is?

ENTEN: This to me is very important, right, because it's not necessarily a matter of whether or not they think that, you know, Trump or Biden themselves will accept the results. It's much more important whether or not the Americans will actually accept the results.

And this to me shows that they will. 87 percent -- that's a huge number. I mean that just leaves 13 percent who don't, and I can 13 percent who don't think we've walked on the moon.

And more than that, the Trump supporters overwhelmingly say that is the case. That they believe that the person who loses shouldn't in fact accept the result. And I do think this just has to go on with the fact that I think last time, you know, Trump -- you know, even now if Trump is saying, you know, I don't necessarily trust the results, remember the last time how much rhetoric he had basically saying I'm not going to accept it. I don't know if I will accept it this time.

CUOMO: Right.

ENTEN: Now I think there's that much heated rhetoric which is so interesting. It just gives you an idea about how bad it was four years ago.

CUOMO: Well now, he has control over the process though. That's why it's more interesting this time.

Democrats trying to get people to hear them. Proof that Trump's message sinks in -- 60 percent of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about that casting a ballot is too easy. Explain this to me.

ENTEN: Yes. This I think is worrisome. You know, I have faith in the electoral process. You should have faith in the electoral process. Secretaries of states, boards of election are doing everything that they possibly can to make sure that the results are legitimate.

And the idea that Trump over an over and over again, you know, saying you can't trust the vote by mail, this I think gets at that idea very much. So 59 percent of it -- 87 percent --

CUOMO: Too easy? What does that mean? Too easy. Don't --

ENTEN: It's crazy, right. It's crazy.

CUOMO: Too easy. Or does it make it -- I wonder if this was in the questioning or maybe we're describing it in a way. You know, too easy doesn't make sense to me. Risky, maybe hard to secure or hard to count, inefficient, something like that. But how is too easy to vote a bad thing?

ENTEN: It's not. I guess they're just worried about fraud. I mean voters will obviously, you know, take into account certain things when they hear poll questions that they're not necessarily used to but, you know, even the Biden voters saying 32 percent of them say it's too easy? I mean that --

[01:54:50]

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, too easy to cast Fraudulent ballots. Look I get it a little bit. I mean what happens when you are not there in person? As soon as you move away from there in person you start to get a higher indicia potentially of people playing a game.

Now, the pushback is well, those people get caught though because you have signature verification and other methods of catching on paper ballot that you wouldn't have in person,. ENTEN: That's exactly right. We have very secure processes in place.

It's nearly impossible to cast a fraudulent vote in this country. The number of cases is so minimal. I just have to say that over and over again. It's so minimal.

I mean we have so many processes in place in order to catch those potential fraudulent ballots and the cases that there are, are so minimal in size so that is why I have a lot of faith in the fact that we can count those ballots faithfully come the fall.

And the people who answer otherwise are just being misinformed by their elected officials. And that's very unfortunate.

CUOMO: And the reason it matters is -- all of this -- is that a lot more of people are planning on voting by mail because of the pandemic, than we've seen in the past. And that is why we have to make sure that the system can support it.

But again, the USPS controls a tremendous amount of mail, it sends billions of pieces of mail, the right places, on a regular basis. And I joke, have you ever gotten a bill late? So they can do the job. They have to be properly resourced and not messed with.

All right. The Wiz, you are the man. You deliver at all times, 24/7. Thank you very much for joining me.

ENTEN: You're beautiful, Christopher. I'll see you later.

CUOMO: My mom agrees.

All right. Grab some coffee or whatever your caffeinated thing is because tonight, D. Lemon and I get another hour. We call it the wisely (ph) tour?

But also there is so much to deal with that it's going to take us an extra hour to unpack it.

How did Bill Clinton do in going directly at President Trump? This breaks precedent as a former president.

Ron Brownstein joins the power players. Stick around.

[01:56:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END