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The Situation Room
Should Schools Reopen?; President Trump Holds White House Press Briefing; Trump: Pandemic Will Go Away, Hopefully Sooner Rather Than Later; Texas Reports 235 New Deaths And 8,700-Plus New Cases; Food Insecurity In The U.S. On The Rise As Prices Soar And Stimulus Money Running Out; At Least 135 Dead, Dozens Missing After Huge Explosion In Beirut. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired August 05, 2020 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:19]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We're following breaking news on the coronavirus crisis.
We are standing by for President Trump to take reporters' questions, as his grasp on the severity of the pandemic is coming under fire.
A source close to the White House task force telling CNN Mr. Trump just doesn't get it. At this hour, more than 157,000 Americans have died over the past six months. More than 4.8 million Americans have been infected, the nation seeing the highest one-day death toll in two months just yesterday, as the rate of the new coronavirus deaths rises in 22 states.
Dr. Anthony Fauci now acknowledging Americans are dangerously behind in the fight against this pandemic. He says the U.S. has suffered from the coronavirus, in his words, as much or worse than anyone.
Let's go to our National Correspondent, Athena Jones.
Athena, there is a new red flag tonight about the risk of allowing kids, students to return to school. What are you hearing? What is the latest?
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
That is exactly right. We have been talking about how schools can reopen safely, when coronavirus is so widespread. And we just got one more example of why this is going to be challenging; 116 students in one Mississippi school district are now quarantined, after six students and one staff member tested have positive for COVID-19.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONES (voice-over): America is number one in the most dangerous of ways, more COVID-19 cases and more deaths than any other country, the death toll topping 1,000 for the 10th time in two weeks.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: When you look at the number of infections and the number of deaths, it is really quite concerning. The numbers don't lie.
JONES: All this raising the stakes for school reopenings. Students in Chicago, the nation's third largest school district, will be learning remotely for at least the first quarter, which ends in early November.
LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Combined with the trends we're seeing, the decision to start remotely makes sense for a district of district of CPS' size and diversity.
JONES: In Georgia, where hundreds of school employees in Gwinnett County and five in Marietta City schools tested positive for the virus, a second grader is now infected after attending the first day of school.
A worried teacher in Milwaukee using homemade tombstones to protest in-person classes.
JOHN FLEISSNER, TEACHER: Should schools reopen these are the people that would potentially die.
JONES: And there are new concerns about COVID-19 in children, a 7- month-old baby in New Jersey testing positive for COVID-19 after dying.
GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): God bless the 7-month-old.
JONES: But there is promising news on the treatment front.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: All right, let's interrupt that.
The president getting ready to answer reporters' questions.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
QUESTION: Could you lay out and tell us exactly where the evidence is right now that mail-in ballots in Nevada and other states will lead to widespread fraud?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, if you read, even "The Washington Post" had a terrible story on a mail-in, and "The New York Times," and many -- many newspapers have had terrible stories. You see them all over the Internet.
They've had some just horrible stories on mail-in ballots. You look at Arizona, you don't even have, you don't even have to have -- as you know, they have a provision where they don't have to check signatures.
So, you sign it, and you could have a totally different signature. It's OK. It won't be approved. They have the right to go seven days after the election for approval, so you're not even going to know who won the state of Nevada.
QUESTION: I just wanted to point out, we did call Nevada's Secretary of state's office, election division, and the spokeswoman there said that that simply isn't true, Mr. President, and that Nevada will continue to check ballot signatures against voter registration cards.
It's done at the county level.
TRUMP: OK, but that's not what they said when they approved it. They said they're not going to check signatures. They're not going to be able to. And their machinery, which is old, doesn't allow them to. So, they're going to -- it's going to be physically impossible for them to do that, especially in a short period of time.
In addition, you have the November 3 election, and they're allowed to count votes until seven days after the election.
So, what does that mean? If Nevada, which is a big state and a great state, a state I like very much, and I think we're going to do very well there. Are we going to wait a week after November 3, if it comes down to Nevada, which it could very well?
I don't think so. I don't think it's appropriate.
So, with all of the bundling that you're going to have, with the harvesting you're going to have, with people being sent ballots all over that have maybe nothing to do with the state anymore, it's a terrible thing.
In New York, they had the Carolyn Maloney situation. And I criticized it badly over the last two years and -- two days. I mean, I gave it some very, very strong criticism.
[18:05:10]
And, all of a sudden, like a miracle, they just approved the winner. Well, what happened? Did the person that was second concede the race, even though it was very close and all mixed up?
They have a terrible situation in New York with the ballots. You know that. And as soon as I said, well, I think you should have a new election, because the election, obviously, they're not going to know what to do. I think you should have a new election.
They, all of a sudden announced a winner. I assume it was her, but they announced a winner.
Well, I don't agree with it. Did somebody speak to the person on the other side, the opponent? Did they do something for the opponent on the other side?
Take a look at Paterson, New Jersey. Take a look at many things. It's all over newspapers, what's going on with the mail-in ballots.
They -- they send out millions of ballots, millions of ballots. They're totally unprepared to do it, and then they come back in the millions. It's going to be a disaster.
I'm doing our country a big favor by bringing it up. And, you know, from a common stance point, even -- commonsense standpoint, if you look at it, just out of common sense and pure, basic, beautiful intelligence, you know it can't work.
Now, Florida has worked very hard for years and years in developing a system, and I'm sure they probably have problems also.
But absentee ballots are different than mail-in ballots, what you call universal mail-in ballots, much different. You have to apply for it. You have to do different things, and it's a much better system, and it's a system that can be reasonably accurate.
But there's no system like going to the poll and voting. So, I would like to find out why, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in the midst of all of this grief, why is it that they approve the New York race, why you asked that question?
QUESTION: In the Maloney race, sir, there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Which one? Oh, really? Well, then you're reading a different newspaper than me.
Go ahead, please.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION:... delivery and the postmark...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Go ahead, please. Go.
QUESTION: Sir, you said in an interview this morning on the coronavirus: "This thing's going away. It will go away, like things go away," despite ongoing cases and death.
Isn't that...
TRUMP: It's going away.
QUESTION: Isn't that...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: It's going away.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION:... reality?
TRUMP: It's going away. No, it'll go away. Things go away, absolutely. It's no question in my mind. It will go away.
Please. Go ahead.
Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Mr. President, you have praised Governor's Ducey's handling of the epidemic in his state.
One of the things that he did was delay the start of public schools opening. Is that a model that governors and states experiencing hot spots should do, as the beginning of school does approach?
TRUMP: Well, I would like to see the schools open.
I think many of the schools, most of the schools will be open. I can say that Republican areas want to see them open, and the Democrats probably want to keep them closed until after November 3, because they think it's good for them politically.
I actually don't think it's good for them politically. Parents want the schools open. We want them open. We want them open safely. We're going to practice very strong hygiene, and all of the other things that I have enumerated many times.
But we want to see the schools open.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION:... states to follow Governor's Ducey's model here.
And what part of that model was...
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP:... his model. I just think he's done a very good job. I mean, he's really done a great job. You look at the numbers, you look at how it's dropped, and very rapidly, he's done a great job. He's a great governor.
Please.
QUESTION: In an interview this morning, Mr. President, you were talking about opening the schools, and you said children are virtually immune from COVID-19.
But children have contracted this virus, and some have died from it.
TRUMP: Well, when I say that, I'm talking about from getting very sick.
If you look at children, I mean, they're able to throw it off very easily. And it's an amazing thing, because some flus, they don't. They get very sick, and they have problems with flus, and they have problems with other things. But, for whatever reason, the China virus, children handle it very
well.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: And they may -- they may get it, but they get it, and it doesn't have much of an impact on them.
And if you look at the numbers, the numbers of -- in terms of mortality, fatality, the numbers for children under a certain age, meaning young, their immune systems are very, very strong. They're very powerful.
And they -- they seem to be able to handle it very well. And that's according to every statistic.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Mr. President, at least two people connected to Kanye West's effort to get on the ballot have been connected to the Republican party. Is this...
TRUMP: Whose ballot?
QUESTION: Kanye West.
TRUMP: With Kanye West. Oh.
QUESTION: He's getting on the ballot, including in swing states.
And, as you know, his wife has raised issues about whether he's having mental issues right now. So, my question to you is...
TRUMP: That Kanye West does? I don't know that.
Who said that?
QUESTION: His wife said that his wife might be going through an episode.
TRUMP: I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: I like him.
QUESTION: But, in any event, my question to you is...
TRUMP: I mean, I like him. He's always been very nice to me.
QUESTION: Are you aware of...
TRUMP: He's talking about Kanye West.
QUESTION: Are you aware of or have you encouraged anyone in the party to help him get on the ballot, including the swing states? TRUMP: No, not at all. No, not at all, other than I get along with him
very well. I like him. I like his wife.
His wife recommended certain people, as you know, for -- including Alice Johnson, who is a fantastic woman. But his wife recommended certain people to get out of prison. They were in prison for a long time, a long, long time. It should have never happened.
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And I took what she said very strong, Kim, Kim Kardashian, and got a good heart, very good heart. And I like Kanye very much. No, I have nothing to do with him getting on the ballot.
We'll have to see what happens. We'll see if he gets on the ballot, but I'm not involved.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Mr. President, I wanted to ask you.
The group of Republican senators are backing $25 billion in payroll assistance to keep the airlines being able to pay their payrolls. Do you endorse that plan?
TRUMP: What Republican senators are doing...
QUESTION: Republican senators want to go ahead with another $25 billion for air -- airlines to keep their payrolls going.
TRUMP: Well, if they need it, certainly, that's a business Some businesses are doing better than they would normally. Obviously, we know what those businesses are.
And, obviously, the airline business is not doing very well. You have shutdowns all over the world, and you have airlines that are essentially shut down. Some airlines are doing modest -- the best they're doing is modest.
I think it's very important that we keep the airlines going. They'll be very good times very soon, I hope. And we don't want to lose our airlines. So, if they're looking at that, whether they're Republican or Democrat, I would be certainly in favor. We can't lose our transportation system.
Yes, go ahead.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask you two On Beirut.
So, there's been some question about your comments yesterday saying that it was an attack, and that you'd heard from military officials that there was an explosion that looked like some sort of a bomb.
TRUMP: Well, they don't really know what it was.
I can tell you, whatever happened, it's terrible, but they don't really know what it is. Nobody knows yet. At this moment, they're looking. It could have -- I mean, how can you say accident? Somebody was -- left some terrible explosive-type devices and things around perhaps. Perhaps it was that. Perhaps it was an attack.
I don't think anybody can say right now. We're looking into it very strongly. Right now, it's -- you have some people think it was an attack, and you have some people that think it wasn't.
In any event, it was a terrible event. And a lot of people were killed, and a tremendous number of people were badly wounded, injured.
And we're standing with that country. You know, we have a very good relationship with that country, but it's a country under a lot of turmoil, a lot of problems. But we stand with them.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Thank you.
You said earlier today that you are considering using the White House as the venue for your nomination speech.
TRUMP: Right.
QUESTION: Senator John Thune questioned whether or not that's actually legal, given the Hatch Act. Is this something that you would get clearance for before proceeding?
TRUMP: John Thune did, right, the Republican John Thune? Oh. OK.
Well, it is legal. There is no Hatch Act, because it doesn't pertain to the president. But if I use the White House, we save tremendous amounts of money for the government, in terms of security, traveling.
If we go to another state or some other location, the amount of money is very enormous. So, that's something to consider also.
I think it would be a very convenient location. And it would be by far the least expensive location. There would be very little in terms of that tremendous traveling security, with airplanes and everybody flying all over the place. So, I think it would be a very convenient idea. It's something that we threw out. It would be very cost- conscious by comparison to any other location.
Yes, please.
QUESTION: Yes.
Your son Don Jr. tweeted yesterday asking you to direct the EPA to reject the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. It's a giant copper and gold mine. And the thinking is that...
TRUMP: Reject it in what way?
QUESTION: Just reject its construction. The Army Corps of Engineers two weeks ago suggested it would be OK to
proceed with the project, but sportsmen like your son are saying that it would be harmful for fisheries.
TRUMP: Well, I would listen to both sides. I don't know of the argument yet, but I would certainly listen to both sides.
My son has some very strong opinions. And he is very much of an environmentalist. And he was very impressed with what we did yesterday, because that's one of the great environmental bills, and beyond that, ever signed, since -- since, well, I guess over 100 years, if you think about it. It's been a long time.
But I will look at both sides of it. I had heard about it. I will be -- I understand they're going to be doing a briefing sometime over the next 48 hours. It's going to go very quickly. I have done a lot for Alaska.
I love Alaska. It's a special place. ANWR was one thing, the highway, Cove highway, or whatever the new name is, whatever the old name is. We -- we're getting approvals for a tremendous highway that's been sought. For 40 years, they've been trying to get it approved, and I'm getting it approved.
[18:15:00]
We've done a lot for Alaska. It's a special place. And I will take a look at that. It's interesting.
Yes, please. Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Two brief questions.
First, your administration has praised ambulance drivers and the ambulance service for their role in dealing with the coronavirus.
TRUMP: Sure.
QUESTION: And, recently, there has been scuttlebutt that the ambulance association's drivers and all have not been fully reimbursed for the work they're doing.
They said they are owed $2.89 billion, and they've only received $300 million from the Provider Relief Fund.
TRUMP: Not $300 billion, no. Not 300...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Million.
TRUMP: You mean $300 million?
QUESTION: At the Provider Relief Fund at HHS.
Are you going to look into this or... TRUMP: I will. I just heard of it for the first time.
The ambulance people have done an incredible job, as have the doctors, the nurses, the front-line workers. Law enforcement has been incredible, the military, FEMA. I could name almost every group.
I can't tell you of a group that's done poorly, but the ambulance people have done a very -- it's a tough job too, very dangerous job, very tough job.
I will certainly look in -- I mean, you're telling me something, that for the first time. Nobody is complaining about not getting paid too much, but we'll take a look at the ambulance drivers.
QUESTION: The other thing, Secretary Esper said today that, based on what he had heard, the incident in Beirut, he felt, was an accident.
Now, he's disagreed with you on other things before. Do you have any comment about his remark?
TRUMP: Yes, you know, whatever he -- if he -- if that's what he heard, I think that -- I have heard it both ways too.
I have heard accident. I have heard explosives. And, obviously, it must have been some form of explosives. But whether it was a bomb intentionally set off -- it ended up being a bomb.
But, no, I have heard it both ways. It could have been an accident, and it could have also been something that was very offensive. And I wouldn't be very happy with that.
QUESTION: And you have no problem with him...
QUESTION: Just a follow-up on that, Mr. President.
Even if you just have suspicion that the Beirut explosion is a bomb, do you have any plans pertaining to U.S. assets in the region, for example? I mean, how are you looking into this?
TRUMP: We're working very closely with the government, and we're working very closely with many different agencies, including the military, and we'll be able to figure it out.
We already probably have figured it out.
Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: What did you mean when you said" It is what it is" about 1,000 Americans dying a day?
BLITZER: All right, the president walking out of the Briefing Room after answering reporters' questions for about 15 minutes or so.
Jim Acosta is with us. Jim, a couple things stood out to me, the president repeating what he
said earlier in the day about the coronavirus: "This thing is going away. It's going away, absolutely, no question in my mind."
And then he defended his statement earlier in the day that children are virtually immune from coronavirus: "They may get sick. It won't have much of an impact. They seem to handle it."
And on Beirut, he was sticking by the possibility it might not necessarily have been some sort of horrific accident; it could have been a deliberate attempt at a bombing, if so.
But what stood out to you?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think that's all correct, Wolf.
And, you know, one thing I will note, when the president says -- and he repeated this during this briefing a few moments ago -- it is going away, it will go away, things go away, hopefully soon, rather than later, I will just point you to what Dr. Anthony Fauci testified last week up on Capitol Hill.
He said: "I do not believe it would just disappear. It is unlikely to just disappear." That is what Dr. Fauci testified up on Capitol Hill last week.
On the subject of whether children are virtually immune to the coronavirus, as the president mentioned, we have medical experts who are on CNN on just about an hourly basis who will dispute that. Not only do children get sick from the coronavirus, perhaps not at levels that we see with adults around the country, but they can bring the virus home from school and infect people in their homes.
And we're already starting to see, in school systems where they're reopening classrooms, where there are now coronavirus fears in those schools.
And so the president is engaging once again in magical thinking. And we have heard this since the beginning of this pandemic.
It should not be breaking news that the president is saying it is just going to go away, it's going to disappear. He has been saying that, Wolf, as you and I can remember all too well, since March and April, when he was saying it was going to disappear by the summertime.
The other thing we should point out, you were just saying a few moments ago the president talking about the massive explosion in Beirut. The president did seem to back off of this comment that he made yesterday that perhaps it was an attack or a bomb, and that is what military leaders are telling him.
[18:20:03]
Our Pentagon correspondents Barbara Starr and Ryan Browne are both reporting that Pentagon officials are telling them that that is not the case. And you heard the president say during this briefing, they don't really know what it is.
So, the president seemed to be backing off of that. And I thought, at the very beginning of the briefing, it was notable, Wolf, because he was challenged on these statements he continues to make about the safety of mail-in balloting, the security of mail-in balloting, the president continuing to try to paint this picture that you are going to have massive fraud across the country and in states like Nevada, where he is taking exception to how they're doing things in Nevada, while he's supporting mail-in voting in Florida.
One thing we should point out to our viewers -- I know we have done it and we should do it again, Wolf -- the president has voted by mail. Other members of this administration have voted by mail. The president's family members have encouraged Trump supporters to vote by mail.
And so the president sounds like he is trying to preemptively pick and choose which states get to do mail-in balloting, which, of course, a lot of Americans around the country will say, that is just not fair -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, he says, this mail-in balloting, in his words, it is going to be a disaster, he says.
But he seems to say, if there is a Republican governor, like a Republican governor of Florida, mail-in balloting is fine. If there is a Democratic governor, like the Democratic of Nevada, it is really bad.
ACOSTA: That's right.
And he was meeting with the governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, earlier this afternoon. And during that photo opportunity, the president was asked about mail-in balloting in Arizona, and initially he said, well, he wasn't sure. And then Governor Ducey from Arizona said, no, we have been doing mail-in voting for some time in Arizona and it's just fine.
And then the president chimed in and said that he trusts what is going on in Arizona. So the president is almost -- it's just sort of obvious what he is doing here. He is saying that he trusts mail-in balloting in places where there are Republican governors, but not in places where there are Democratic governors.
Obviously, that is just not the system we have in this country where the president gets to pick and choose which states get to have mail-in voting, based on who is in the statehouse and the governor's office at any given point in time -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes. He also didn't back away from his suggestion earlier in the day maybe he will give his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, which is not going to take place really, at the White House.
He said it would be very convenient and least expensive as far as security.
All right, I want to bring in Gloria Borger.
Gloria, you were listening as closely as anyone was to what we heard from the president.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.
BLITZER: What jumped out at you?
BORGER: Well, in addition to everything you have talked about, one thing that really jumped out at me was the way the president characterized the public and how it feels about sending your kids back to school.
And he, again, said, most of these schools are going to be open. But he characterized how parents feel through a partisan lens. And he said, Republicans want to keep the schools open, Democrats want to keep them closed, and the parents want to keep the schools open.
And if you look at all of the polling that's been done on the question of whether schools should reopen, parents are nervous about it. Strong majorities of parents are really worried about the risk of sending their kids back to school, because they're worried there won't be the resources to distance the children. They're worried whether the state is ready to send the kids back.
So, you know, I think the president sees this as a political issue: I want to send the kids back. That's what Republicans want to do.
And I think he's jumping to a very difficult conclusion here, because I don't think parents look at sending their kids back to school through a partisan lens. Parents, of which I am one and you are one, parents look at sending their kids back to school through the lens of safety and what is best for their child, and how can they guarantee that their child isn't going to get sick or isn't going to bring home the virus that will get them sick or get their grandparents sick?
So I think he's looking at this in a wrong way, particularly since he sees it all through this political lens. And I am wondering, Wolf, whether this emphasis on let's just send them all back is going to boomerang on him.
BLITZER: Yes. Yes, I think you are probably right.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us as well.
The president not backing away from his statement earlier this morning on an interview on "FOX & Friends" that kids are virtually immune from the coronavirus. That is absolutely not true is it, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, it is not true.
And I am starting to sense that maybe he doesn't know what the word immune really means. Kids clearly get infected. We were just looking up some of the more recent statistics. Between 250,000 and 350,000 young people, people under the age of 18, have become infected with this virus.
The risk is lower for them getting sick or dying, but it's not zero, by any means. And, as you pointed out, Wolf, in your interview with Mark Meadows, kids can still transmit the virus. Kids 10 and older transmit this virus just like adults do.
[18:25:12]
Kids younger than that, frankly, I don't think we know enough, because these kids have been largely at home since the middle of March, or they have very few contacts.
So, I think we will learn more about the transmissibility, but it's no question, Wolf, fourth, fifth grade and above, kids can transmit just like adults do.
Also, Wolf, we don't have the resources. Gloria was talking about this, but the resources in place in terms of being able to distance kids within the schools, being able to have adequate ventilation.
A lot of school districts simply don't have some of these basic resources. And we still don't have adequate testing. I mean, if we had enough testing, at least you could identify people early, isolate them, and quarantine contacts as necessary. That would keep the numbers from exploding.
There's no question, Wolf, as we open schools, we're going to see an uptick in numbers. The question is, is it going to be little blips that are politically controlled, or are we going to see these massive spikes?
And so far, as you know, Wolf, already, here where I live in Georgia, there was one school district where I think 260 people now, either because of testing positive or coming in close contact with somebody who tested positive, are now quarantined for 14 days.
BLITZER: And we don't know about the long-term impact of coronavirus on kids.
GUPTA: That's right.
BLITZER: Even if they have no symptoms at all, even if they're totally asymptomatic, we are simply learning.
You guys, the medical profession, the scientists, the doctors, are learning more and more about potential long-term impact on kids. It is a question that people are trying to study, right?
GUPTA: Yes. No, this is a very good point, Wolf.
We tend to flip into this binary mode. People have either lived or they have died. But there are people who fall in between, in the sense that they become sick, and they may have long-term impact on lung function.
A new study came out just today talking about cardiac function. That was in adults. But you're right, Wolf. Even in kids, what is the longer-term impact on their on their bodies as a whole?
It causes -- there's just about every organ system in the body, in some ways, has been affected by this virus. But let's put it this way. This is not something you want to gamble with. You don't want to get this virus, even if you're a kid. This is not one of those things where we say, well, kids will be fine, let's just have at it.
We should be doing everything we can to prevent them from getting the virus, because they can transmit it, because they might get sick from it, and, as you point out, because there may be longer-term ramifications that we still don't know, we still haven't been able to figure out yet.
BLITZER: We have only been studying it for, what, six months or so.
You are a neurosurgeon. There could be long-term ramifications on someone's brain, right?
GUPTA: Yes.
I have been really -- it's been really remarkable to look at some of this impact on the brain. You don't think of a respiratory virus, for example, causing in some cases isolated loss of smell. Why would a respiratory virus do that?
We're starting to learn more about the impact of the virus on the supporting cells around the nerves that control smell, that we have seen reports of people, young people developing strokes because of clotting disorders, so having longer-term impact on their brains in that way.
So, Wolf, this is a very strange virus. Calling it a coronavirus in some ways may almost be a misnomer. It is a coronavirus, but it behaves so differently in terms of what it does to the body.
And I was talking to Dr. Fauci about this earlier, that sometimes it seems like a randomness. One 30-year-old got it, was totally fine, had no symptoms. Another 30-year-old got it, ended up on ECMO and becoming very, very ill. Why?
They were both perfectly healthy beforehand. We still don't know. So there's a lot to learn before we start sort of randomly putting people into situations where we know that they're going to be at greater risk of getting the virus.
BLITZER: And that's why the president shouldn't be saying that kids are virtually immune if they get the coronavirus.
I want to bring in Daniel Dale, our CNN reporter and fact-checker.
He answered questions, Daniel, for about 15 minutes. What jumped out at you?
DANIEL DALE, CNN REPORTER: Wolf, I have to say, the president is using these briefings to tell the same lies over and over. We fact-check these over and over. No, children are not immune. You
covered that. No, the virus is not going away. Dr. Birx has noted it is extraordinarily widespread right now. No, there is no evidence of widespread fraud with mail voting.
And the president vaguely quoted "Washington Post" and "New York Times" articles that were not about fraud, but were about other problems of just rejected ballots with mail-in voting. No, there's no substantial difference in most states between absentee voting and other kinds of mail voting. In fact, many states like Florida don't make any distinction at all.
No, there's no evidence of big fraud or any fraud in the New York primaries that were just called. No, there's no evidence that New York called that Carolyn Maloney race because Trump had demanded a new election.
And we have to say, again, this Beirut stuff, I mean, the president did back off a little bit, but what he's saying -- he said some people still say it was an attack, some people don't.
There is just no evidence at this point that this was an attack. And so it's dangerous and entirely baseless, at least at this point, for the president to speculate about something like this, based on apparently nothing at all, Wolf.
[18:30:07]
BLITZER: Yes, that's an important point as well.
I want to bring in Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
When the president says, Dr. Hotez, you and I have spoken many times, about coronavirus, this thing is going away, it is going away, absolutely, no question in my mind. Yes, eventually, it will go away, I assume, if there's a vaccine, if there are therapeutics. But when you hear the president say that, what goes through your mind?
DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, there is a tone deafness and a lack of sensitivity. Yes, eventually, and if you look at the course of years, it will go away, but it is going to be around for a while several years if you look at some of the models out of Harvard School of Public Health and elsewhere.
And in the near term, it is only getting worse. We have plateaued at a very high level across the southern states. We are seeing still around 1,000, 1,500 deaths per day. And now it is moving up into the Midwest, into Tennessee, into Ohio, Indiana. This thing is terrible. And we're going to at 160 deaths by the end of the week and 180,000 deaths in a couple of weeks after that and 230,000 deaths by the end of October.
And so this is pretty awful, and now they want to open schools. And here is the problem. We cannot open schools in areas where there are high levels of transmission. Yes, it is true the children, on average, will handle the virus very well. But the point is we have relatively new data coming out of the Centers for Disease Control finding that about 20 percent of the deaths from COVID-19 occur in people under the age of 65.
So why do I bring up that number? I bring up that number because we will have kids coming home to their parents. We will have school teachers, they will have school staff, in the cafeteria, bus drivers.
And if you try to open schools in areas where there is lots of COVID transmission, that means most of the south and now moving up into the Midwest, what that means is teachers will get sick and go to the hospital, possibly worse, same with the bus drivers, same with the parents.
And all it takes is a couple terrible things to happen in a school district and the whole thing will collapse. It will be a catastrophic failure. And there still seems to be this tone deafness about this.
And also you had Mark Meadows on a little bit earlier. He gave this false number, saying it is only people over age 75 that are at risk of dying or severe illness and, again, 20 percent under the age of 65. And if you're Hispanic, it's 35 percent of the deaths under the age of 65. So I am very worried about the parents and I'm very worried about the teachers and the staff, especially in the low-income neighborhoods.
BLITZER: There are things that all of us can do even if before there is a therapeutic that will prevent people from getting very sick or, God forbid, dying. And before, there is a real safe and effective vaccine. But I don't hear the national leadership, you know, really speaking out from the president on down as powerfully and strongly as they should be telling the American public to do X, Y, and Z, right?
HOTEZ: That's absolutely right. There is no federal strategy to bring all of these states where COVID transmission is widespread back down to a containment mode where we can safely open schools. And this is what I find so frustrating.
The federal government does not want to lead an initiative to do the hard work to bring containment down across the country. In some states, they are already there, but many states, we have a lot of work to do. They don't want to provide that leadership.
So, instead, what they're doing is they are telling the schools to figure it out. They're saying, teachers, you figure it out, or the principals, or the superintendents. And it's just so profoundly unfair that we're setting up teachers and staff to fail.
And I find it unacceptable and this is why I'm speaking in very strong terms.
BLITZER: They're certainly are and we are grateful to you for joining us. Dr. Peter Hotez, thank you very much.
There is more news we're following. We just got very disturbing new coronavirus numbers out of the State of Georgia. The Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, there you see her, she is standing by. We'll discuss right after this.
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[18:35:00]
BLITZER: We're following all the breaking news on the coronavirus crisis here in the United States. We just got a new snapshot of the pandemic in Texas. Our National Correspondent, Ed Lavandera, is on the scene for us in Dallas right now.
So, tell us how Texas, Ed, is trending right now. What is the latest?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Wolf. Well, another startling day of deaths being reported here in Texas by health officials. The amount today, 235 deaths being reported, that's one of the higher numbers we've seen during the course of this pandemic.
This comes at a time when, overall, the number of new cases of coronavirus being reported here in the state, were starting to show signs of plateauing, even dipping a little bit for most of July. We're seeing numbers of over 10,000 cases per day. Now, we're seeing around the 9,000 mark. So, not spiking at record levels the way we've been seeing but still stubbornly high.
And one other number that is a cause of great concern is the positive infection rate. Among those new cases being reported, it was at 17.5 percent at its worst time. It dropped last week to a about 12 percent. But that number, again, is back over 15 percent.
So -- and this comes also as the hospital situation overall in the state, hospitalizations dropping but there are parts of the state where you're seeing the severe stress on hospital systems in South Texas in particular where the McAllen Convention Center has been turned into a makeshift hospital with room for 250 patients.
[18:40:08]
And health officials are in the process of opening up a similar second location just like that in a neighboring town of Arlington, Texas.
So, even though the numbers plateauing, showing some signs of dipping overall, they still remain stubbornly high and in very dangerous situation here. Wolf?
BLITZER: You're absolutely right. Ed Lavandera in Dallas, thanks very much.
From Dallas, let's head over to Florida where the total number of coronavirus cases has hit the half million mark. That's alarming, certainly an alarming number that puts Florida's pandemic in league with only one other state. We're talking about California right now.
CNN's Randi Kaye is joining us from West Palm Beach. Randi, so what's behind these new numbers?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a grim milestone, Wolf. That is for sure. 502,739 cases here in the State of Florida. We've seen another 5,400-plus new cases in the last day and another 225 deaths. So this is the 11th day in a row, Wolf, that we've seen the case numbers, the daily case numbers drop, but we're staying pretty steady on deaths. Many days in a row, we've seen more than 200 deaths in a single day. Statewide, more than 7,600 Florida residents have died.
But, Wolf, we are getting some good news in terms of testing. We now know there are two new rapid antigen testing sites that have opened up as of today. This is the first in the State of Florida. They're both in Miami-Dade, the hardest hit county, one at Marlins Stadium, one at Hard Rock Stadium.
These are really targeting those who are symptomatic and those who are 65 and older. It's a drive through lane specifically to reach those people and they supposedly can get their results in 15 minutes. That's the goal instead of waiting a couple weeks, like we've seen some people have to do in this state.
We're also keeping an eye on the long-term care facilities and nursing homes. We've also learned that 43 percent of all the cases here in the State of Florida, all the deaths related to COVID have been linked to these long-term care facilities. And now, we're also getting word that the governor would like to allow those who have tested positive for antibodies to be able to go back inside then and see their loved ones. Wolf?
BLITZER: Lots going on in Florida right now. Randi Kaye on the scene for us, thank you.
And there is also breaking news out of Georgia. The state just surpassed 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. We are joined by the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms. Mayor Bottoms, thank you so much for joining us.
You said your state remains in what you call the red zone. Cases in Georgia continue to surge, as you point to the positivity rate, which is now over 10 percent statewide. Why is your state continuing to be hit so hard by this pandemic?
MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA, GA: I think it is very simple, Wolf. We opened up too soon and we have ignored the science in this state at the state level and it's not really a secret as to why our numbers are continuing to rise. We can't go forward as if it's business as usual when it's not. We are in the midst of a pandemic.
And I would venture to say that our numbers would likely be much worse had the City of Atlanta and other cities throughout the state not taken aggressive actions to try and slow down the spread, but this is very disturbing. Our ICUs are at and beyond capacity in many of our hospitals and we don't seem to be slowing down any.
BLITZER: Well, let's talk about that for a moment, because you say these ICU beds are at capacity right now. Give us an update on what hospitals in Atlanta right now are facing tonight.
BOTTOMS: Well, there was a letter written to the governor from 2,100 -- over 2,100 healthcare professionals imploring the governor to please follow the science and the data as it relates to COVID-19, and to allow municipalities to take steps that would help their respective cities. It is a concern because when our state reopened, people got back on the roadways, so you have traffic accidents that are back up there, any number of things that are sending people into emergency rooms, and on top of that, COVID-19.
So it continues to be a challenge for our healthcare professionals. And it's my hope -- I know the governor has publicly expressed his desire for people to wear masks and for our numbers to decrease, so it is my hope that that will be backed up with some substantive steps throughout the state.
BLITZER: Because you've been entangled, as you know, with this lawsuit with the governor -- the Georgia governor, Kemp. What is the latest on your effort to mandate masks at least in the City of Atlanta?
BOTTOMS: As of now our mask mandate still stands, and there are other cities throughout the state who have also issued mask mandates. We are continuing our negotiations and mediation with the governor's office.
[18:45:04]
We've made some progress but we just aren't there yet. So, it's my hope that we can come to agreement soon.
But as of now, we are still requiring masks in the city of Atlanta and we will continue to do that.
BLITZER: We've just learned and this is very upsetting that the second grader in Georgia, second grader, has tested positive for coronavirus after the first day of school.
Does this further your concerns that schools in Georgia will not necessarily be all that safe for these young kids and potentially for their families, because kids can transmit this disease even if they're asymptomatic?
BOTTOMS: Absolutely, Wolf. And I think my family is probably representative of a lot of families across America, if you are fortunate enough to have a grandparent who can help care for the kids.
That's what happens at my households. When my kids come home from school each day, my husband and I are at work. And it's my mother who receives them at home daily.
So I know that is a concern because as you know, I had a child in my house who was asymptomatic. So I have personally opted not to send my children back at the beginning of the school year. None of us are happy about it, but we will be doing virtual learning at the beginning of the school year and hopefully at some point our numbers will go in the right direction and we'll be able to send all of our children back to school safely, and so that our teachers and custodians, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers can be safe as well.
BLITZER: That's so important. One final question, Mayor, before I let you go. As you know, our
viewers know you're on the short list to become Joe Biden's running mate. If the choice for some reason isn't you, which of the names being floated out there right now would you like to see him pick as his vice presidential running mate?
BOTTOMS: Wolf, you know, I have two lovely puppies in my back yard. If those two puppies would help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump I would offer them up.
So I want him to pick whomever he thinks is best qualified but I know from the -- there's a long list of very qualified women. I'm honored to have my name mentioned, but this is more about electing Joe Biden and less about who his running mate will be.
BLITZER: You're very diplomatic. If your a he not going to be vice president maybe secretary of state. You could be a good diplomat on that front.
Mayor, thank you so much for joining us.
BOTTOMS: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And you can see the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic right now in your grocery store where food prices are rapidly rising along with food insecurity.
CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us.
So, Brian, hunger in America was a problem before this crisis, but right now, it seems to be getting worse.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is getting worse, Wolf. You know, tonight, we've got analysts who monitor food security openly worrying about Americans being able to put food on their tables and worrying about the fallout that that is going to bring months and years down the line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): For Marguerite Camacho, putting food on the table for her and her two children is more of a daily challenge than ever. She lost her job as a massage therapist in California's Bay Area and lost a second job with a tech company to the pandemic. Her $600 a week unemployment stimulus benefit expired a few days ago. Just buying food, she says, is stressful.
MARGUERITE CAMACHO, LOST TWO JOBS DURING PANDEMIC: Now with the loss of the $600, it is a lot harder to be able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, the meats, and the milk.
TODD: Camacho can't return to her job at a spa because California has renewed its restrictions on indoor personal care establishments. Her tech company is not bringing employees back until next year. So she has turned to her mother for help. CAMACHO: My mom is on limited resources herself with her own rent and
bills, so she is using a credit card to help me once a week to be able to purchase milk, fruits, and vegetables, and meats for my family.
TODD: And tens of millions of other Americans are feeling the same pinch tonight -- food insecurity, bringing long lines at food banks and pantries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People don't realize just how important stuff like this is.
TODD: The crush of unemployment and expiring stimulus benefits comes as food prices in America have been rising faster than they have in decades.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, beef and veal prices have gone up more than 20 percent just since February. Eggs have gone up 10.4 percent. Poultry 8.6 percent. Pork 8.5 percent.
JOSEPH LLOBRERA, CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES: About 30 million adults are saying that they can't put enough food on their table in the past week. That's roughly 1 in 8 adults in America.
TODD: The reasons for the price spikes according to analyst Joseph Llobrera, coronavirus outbreaks among workers at meat processing plants forced many of them to shut down, choking off supplies of meat, pork, and poultry.
[18:50:03]
And, he says, panic buying. During the first weeks of the pandemic, many Americans are over-buying and hoarding food. Llobrera says food insecurity is now prompting many Americans to cut corners nutritionally, eating fewer and smaller meals, which he says could have a frightening long term effect.
LLOBRERA: If kids aren't eating well now, they don't grow up to be as healthy. They don't do as well in school. And that has impacts further down the line. They don't make as much as adults.
TODD: Observers say this food insecurity is made all the more painful as Americans watch Congress struggle to pass another stimulus bill.
MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": People not asking to make them rich. They're just saying can you give me a little money so that I can make sure that I can keep a roof over my head and food on the table?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Still, some members of Congress are balking at extending that $600 a week unemployment benefit, worried that it might disincentivize people are looking for a job.
Marguerite Camacho, that woman in California we spoke to, disputes that notion passionately. She says because of her cost of living in California, for food, for rent, for insurance, those stimulus checks were just a way to survive. She wants to get back to work -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting, very important story indeed, thank you.
Just ahead, we're following breaking news in Beirut as investigators now find possible clues about what caused that deadly explosion.
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[18:56:09]
BLITZER: We'll have more on the latest coronavirus developments coming up, and we're getting some new information right now about a possible Russian connection to the deadly Beirut explosion, which killed at least 135 people and injured thousands more.
Our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. He's got the latest.
Now, what are you learning, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that the initial investigation into what possibly happened in the port of Beirut yesterday evening just after 6:00 p.m. is that there is or there was 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate that had been seized six years before from a Russian vessel that was bound for Africa.
And it basically sat there for six years, that the head of Lebanese customs had told the port management repeatedly that they need to remove that material because of the danger it posed to the densely inhabited areas around the port. But we also heard from the port manager who told local TV that he didn't realize it was quite that dangerous.
Now, as a result of the initial investigation, the senior officials in Beirut port have been put under house arrest. And we have heard the president of Lebanon pledging that the investigation into the incident would be swift and transparent.
There is a good deal of skepticism about that, however, Wolf, because as you well know over the last few decades, there have been a series of high-profile assassinations here at Lebanon. And no local investigation ever got to the bottom of it.
So, many people I spoke to today say that probably this time the result of the investigation, or lack thereof, will be pretty much the same -- Wolf.
BLITZER: You know, it's interesting. I'm curious what the reaction has been in Lebanon, to what we heard yesterday from president Trump, what we just heard about an hour or so ago from President Trump. He says it could have been an accident. It could have been a bomb. He says he's getting all sorts of information.
What are they saying about -- about what President Trump has said? WEDEMAN: Well, on the one hand, there is a community here in Lebanon
that very much subscribes to the idea that perhaps Israel was behind this attack, given the tensions between Hezbollah here in Lebanon and Israel. We have not heard from any Lebanese official, however, that they believe it's an attack -- was an attack.
The consensus at the moment is that it was an accident, the result of incompetence, perhaps, or carelessness. But when President Trump comes out -- I mean, this has been three years now, or more, that President Trump has been in power. I can tell you as a journalist, when we get information, as you know, you need to double check it.
I think Trump has the entirety of the American intelligence community behind him and people in Lebanon know that very well. So, it's somewhat puzzling to say the least to hear him come out say yesterday it was an attack and essentially today nobody knows. He is, after all, the president of the United States.
BLITZER: Yeah, it was a little strange to hear that from the president.
Ben Wedeman, our deepest, deepest condolences to all the people in Beirut. You've got a great city there. And our heart goes out to everyone for this horrific, horrific explosion.
Be careful over there. We'll stay in close touch.
To our viewers, thanks very much for watching.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
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