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The Situation Room
Trump Again Refuses To Explicitly Condemn White Supremacists Even As He Attempts Damage Control After Disastrous Debate; Trump Denies Knowing Who The Proud Boys Are After Telling Far-Right Group To "Stand Down And Stand By;" U.S. Surpasses 206,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Tops 7.2 Million Cases; Wisconsin Reports Its Highest COVID-19 Hospitalizations On Record; Notre Dame Football Team Outbreak "Spread Like Wildfire" After Players Shared Pre-Game Meal. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired September 30, 2020 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, nearly 24 hours after the most disastrous presidential debate in recent history, President Trump is once again refusing to explicitly condemn white supremacists as he desperately tries to clean up his pan performance.
Joe Biden is calling the President's behavior at that debate and I'm quoting him now, a "national embarrassment."
And the commission in charge of the debate just announced it's coming up with new protocols for the next presidential debate to prevent another shameful display like the one we clearly saw last night.
In just a few moments, I'll speak live with the legendary journalist Bob Woodward, who spent hours behind the scenes with the President over the last year while writing a devastating account of his presidency. Standby for that.
But first, let's begin our coverage this hour with our Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. He's on the campaign trail with President Trump right now in Minnesota.
Jim, the President is obviously very desperate right now to try to clean up the mess from last night.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. President Trump is doing some damage control claiming today he doesn't know anything about the fringe right wing group, the Proud Boys, adding he's always condemned white supremacy. But that's not true. Privately, some Trump campaign advisors are nervous about the fallout from the debate.
One Trump campaign advisor was furious that the President botched the question of white supremacy. As this advisor put it, and this is a quote "f the Proud Boys".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): After turning the first debate of the 2020 campaign into a dumpster fire President Trump is trying to put out the flames before they torches reelection chances. President is insisting he's not familiar with the right wing group, the Proud Boys, the same organization he declined to criticize when he refused to condemn white supremacy at the debate.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know who the Proud Boys. They have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.
ACOSTA: The President gave the group a past in a moment that even had fellow Republicans cringing.
TRUMP: You want to call him -- what do you want to call him? Give me a name. Give me a name.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: White supremacist and right Proud Boys.
TRUMP: Go ahead. Who would you like me to condemn.
BIDEN: White supremacist and right Proud Boys.
TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right wing problem.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like the Proud Boys now?
ACOSTA: Members of the Proud Boys of violent group embracing racist views celebrated Mr. Trump's comments, posting images on social media stating they are standing by.
GOP senators quickly called on Mr. Trump to clarify his remarks.
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): I think he misspoke in response to Chris Wallace's comment, and he's asking Chris what he wanted to say. I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, should the President have condemned white supremacists last night at the debate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, of course.
ACOSTA: The President's decision to clean up his comments came after White House officials maintained Mr. Trump's response was perfectly fine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because they're celebrating it, the group.
ALYSSA FARAH, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR: I don't think that there's anything to clarify here.
ACOSTA: Still, one Trump campaign advisor was outraged telling CNN, "F the Proud Boys. There I said it. Not that hard."
The President is also claiming he's always denounced white supremacy despite his history of equivocating over neo-Nazi violence in Charlottesville.
TRUMP: I've always denounced any form, any form, any form of any of that.
ACOSTA: Democrat Joe Biden's message on the subject was more succinct.
BIDEN: My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is cease and desist.
ACOSTA: As for the rest of the debate, there were so many interruptions mainly from Mr. Trump.
TRUMP: Question is -- the questions is -- the question --
BIDEN: Will you shut up, man?
TRUMP: Who is your -- listen, who is on your list, Joe?
BIDEN: This is so --
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS, ANCHOR: All right. Gentlemen, I think we've ended this.
BIDEN: This is so un-presidential.
ACOSTA: That the Presidential Debate Commission released a statement saying additional structures should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.
One member of the President's debate team said Mr. Trump probably went too far.
CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: And yes, I think on the Trump side was too hot. With all that heat, as you said before you lose the light. That potentially can be fixed. Maybe, maybe not.
ACOSTA: The President also played fast and loose with the facts, claiming he's paid millions of dollars in taxes after "The New York Times" obtained his tax returns and found that's not the case.
TRUMP: Millions of dollars.
WALLACE: You pay millions of dollars --
TRUMP: Millions of dollars, yes.
ACOSTA: Team Biden is dodging the question of whether he would pack the Supreme Court. Republicans are successful in seeding their nominee, Amy Coney Barrett,
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINNE: The Republican leader of the Senate together with Donald Trump are -- in the spirit of hypocrisy, trying to push through a nominee while the American people are voting. And so Joe has been really clear. Let's focus on what's happening right now. Deal with later, later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[17:05:00]
ACOSTA: And the President claims he's receiving tremendous reviews for his performance at last night's debate. But not everybody in Trump world feels that way as one source close to the President told me, it was a great night for Joe Biden. Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jim Acosta reporting for us. Thank you.
Let's get some more of the latest developments in the campaign from CNN Political Correspondent, M.J. Lee.
M.J., what is a Joe Biden think about possible changes to future presidential debates that keep them from going totally off the rails? This clearly happened last night.
M.J. LEE, CNN POLITCAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the debate last night was so utterly chaotic. There isn't really anybody in the Biden campaign who thought that that kind of chaos was a public service to the voters, many of them wanting to hear from the two candidates last night on very serious issues.
And earlier today, we heard Joe Biden described Donald Trump's conduct last night on the debate stage as a national embarrassment. He also said that he hoped that the debate commission could find some way to ensure that future debates going forward can be a little bit less out of control. Here's what he said earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I just hope there's a way in which the debate commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruption. I'm not going to speculate on what happens in the second or third debate. My hope is that they're able to literally say, the question gets asked to Trump. He has a microphone. He has two minutes to answer the question. No one else has a microphone.
The President of United States conducted himself the way he did, I think was just a national embarrassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now in terms of what Joe Biden's day to day has looked like he is on a multi tour, multi stop tour, I should say, on a train through parts of Ohio, parts of western Pennsylvania. And tonight, he is going to end up here in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for his last stop. He is going to be doing a drive in rally of sorts.
And just keep in mind, you know, these are parts of those two states where Donald Trump performed very well back in 2016 when he was competing against Hillary Clinton. So we are seeing Joe Biden really make an appeal to these white working class rule voters.
And just in terms, Wolf, of what the Joe Biden campaign feels like, happened last night and whether it went their way. They basically are saying, look, this could not have been a more stark contrast between Biden and Trump on the debate stage. They did not feel like President Trump was able to get out a clear message, a clear vision.
And there are two things that they are pointing to in particular that they feel like Donald Trump failed to do last night. The first is talk clearly about the coronavirus pandemic that has caused so much suffering across the country. And second, of course, is the issue of white supremacy. And the fact that President Trump failed to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night. Wolf.
BLITZER: M.J. Lee reporting for us. Thank you, M.J.
Let's get some analysis right now from Bob Woodward. He's the associate editor at "The Washington Post," the author of the bestselling brand new book, "Rage," a book on the Trump presidency.
Bob, thanks so much for joining us. You've covered --
BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, "RAGE": Thank you.
BLITZER: -- presidential debates for decades, going back to the Nixon presidential debates. Have you ever seen any debate, anything, like we saw last night?
WOODWARD: Nothing. It's extraordinary. But people are talking, Wolf, about the debate commission. And, you know, this goes -- the debate commission is not in the Constitution, we now have a constitutional problem.
The executive branch is the president. He clearly cannot stabilize the electoral process. In fact, he's stoking it, let's make it unstable. The Supreme Court really has no power at this moment. But the Congress does.
And it seems to me it's reached a boiling point. I mean, we are teetering here. And the Congress needs to step up. I mean, maybe, McConnell and Schumer from the Senate, Pelosi and McCarthy from the House getting together. I mean they can't get together on a covered relief bill, but this now is important.
And they need to sit down and say what -- the ball is in their court, they have to do something and to stabilize this. Maybe they could come up with the bipartisan agreement on constitutional and electoral stability and actually say this is what we need to do. This is what we need to get the candidates to pledge.
[17:10:00]
They -- Listen, with all this talk and all of the uncertainty, we are heading right into. They've got to find some way to get this come down.
BLITZER: Because --
WOODWARD: What are you going to do? Go ahead. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
BLITZER: No, I was saying what you're saying is that the country right now, the U.S. democracy needs some adult supervision, because what? Because of the President. You saw that headline in the "New York Times" that's out there. Right now, debate showed the biggest threat to the election is Trump himself. So, what's the point, Bob, that you're trying to make about the danger to the American constitutional system? The elections, the U.S. democracy right now?
WOODWARD: Well, it's teetering Wolf. And it's obvious. I mean, look at what the President has said. And this to reiterate, it's not debate commissions, I mean, the absurdity about white supremacy and so forth. I mean, that's so embarrassing.
But the basic issue is, can you go out and vote in some coherent way? Can there be the high expectation, if not the inevitability that is, your vote is going to be counted? The Congress has to do something. They can't just sit by and say, oh, not our problem.
Now, you mentioned adults, these people are adults, they understand the broad responsibility they have. And somehow, somehow somebody has got to get some spine and step up and say this rests with us, because it does. Executive Branch, that's Trump. He's not doing anything. The Supreme Court, there's no case before them, they can't step in, in any way in in the short term.
So where is the spine? And where are the brains? And where, sorry to use this, where's the moral compass for the country? Congress has it? And they can do something instantly if they can reach agreement. Good luck.
BLITZER: Well, do you have any confidence in members of the Cabinet stepping up to the plate and doing something? Right now, clearly, you're concerned that if members, the leadership in the House and the Senate are the adults, what I hear you saying is the President may be the child?
WOODWARD: Well, you know, let's -- I mean, it's not even -- you can't label it. It's just become irrational. He's got no sense of what his responsibility is, unfortunately.
The Cabinet under the 25th amendment could do something, but they're not going to do that. They're too slow moving. They, I mean, it would have to be organized by Vice President Pence. He could -- I mean that's not in him talk about not having spine.
Congress has -- I mean I remember having a discussion, Wolf, with a number -- many years ago with Justice Scalia. And we were at some reception, he came up and said, how come you always write about presidents? And I said, because that's where the power is.
And he lectured me in his very unfriendly way, no, no, no. What is Article One of the Constitution? The legislature, he said, see, that's Article One of the Constitution. But in the modern times, the President has exercised his power in an extraordinary way. It's time in the name of Justice Scalia, for the Congress Article One, the legislature to step up and do something. It is, I mean, you ought to call him, Wolf, you know, how to get in touch with them and say, what are you going to do?
BLITZER: Well, what happens, Bob, if, let's say, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer can't get together, can't reach some sort of agreement. Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy can't reach some sort of agreement to do something at this critical moment, only a few weeks before the November 3 election. What's your worst case fear?
WOODWARD: Well, I mean, that they don't do something and we just, you know, I mean, we're, you know, the electoral process is running around the edge of a cliff that goes into an abyss. There should be pressure on McConnell from people.
In my book "Rage" I talk a great deal and have many scenes of Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, now he is a big Trump supporter. But I have seen after seen in the book where he tries to bring Trump down to earth and say, you know, you're always playing for division, you were doing things that are hurting your own case.
[17:15:20]
You know, maybe Republicans in the Senate could get together and say, let's do something here.
Anyway, you know, this is where we are. You do THE SITUATION ROOM, Wolf, it is teetering. And the walls are crumbling or about to crumble, and somebody better think about it. And just to repeat myself, where's the spine? It's called leadership and courage.
Sorry, but that's the way I see it having done this for 50 years.
BLITZER: The President granted you 18 interviews totaling, what, nearly 10 hours for your book "Rage," is the man we saw on stage last night, the same person that was described to you by his advisors. What we saw last night was that the same man behind the scenes, working with his top advisors, at least as your reporting showed?
WOODWARD: A great and important question. But like many leaders, there are many faces that Trump has. The one that -- as I watched the debate last night, as I've said, getting texts from our daughter, Diana saying, you know, what the hell is going on in this debate.
Trump, his, you know, go to the, as you always -- you know, let's see exactly what Trump said when the impeachment and Mueller came up, he's just in endless rage about this. It almost disables him in a way. And I had a talk with him about it. And I said, you are letting that get in the way of you doing your job, particularly on the coronavirus.
And, you know, he doesn't really want to talk about it. But there is that side to him where he is in a rage. He can make a case that he was treated unfairly. Fine. You got to move on. And we saw again last night he -- I mean, that's the moment for Trump, when he says they did all these things on his campaign, they spied on him, the hoax and so forth. And you know, this has been explained, but not to his satisfaction.
And as we learn in our own personal lives, when something calamitous happens, something that is just so unfair people have you know, anyone in our business, Wolf, people say things that are unfair, or that we disagree with.
My wife, Elsa says, you know, move to have a glass of water and move on. We have a president who can't intellectually and emotionally move on.
So, hard times I'm sorry to be so pessimistic, but I -- you know, if we can't get the electoral system to work, if there is at least can't be some sort of predictability and fairness and certainty, you know, what are we going to have, Wolf? You know, you've done this for almost as many years as I have.
BLITZER: Yes. And many years ago, you and I work together on some of these stories. So we go way back.
What do you think America's adversary --
WOODWARD: The power of spy case.
BLITZER: Right. I mean, you help me with that. What do you think America's adversary --
WOODWARD: No, no. You helped --
BLITZER: When I was reporting -- you helped me when I was reporting for "The Washington Post" about that case. And I remember, you work closely with me on that.
WOODWARD: No you helped me. You had facts. You were in Israel, you were digging and finding out what really was behind this. And the "Washington Post," we learned a lot from you --
BLITZER: Well, thank you.
WOODWARD: -- not from ourselves.
BLITZER: I was a young reporter, and you guys, and Ben Bradlee --
WOODWARD: How old were you then?
BLITZER: I was -- who knows, but I was in my 20s. But in any case, you were in your 20s. You were in your late 20s.
WOODWARD: You better know.
BLITZER: You were in your late 20s when you broke Watergate with Carl Bernstein. That seems to be a great age for journalists to break stories. What do you think America's adversaries, Bob, took away from that debate last night, whether they were watching in Russia or China or Iran or anyplace else?
WOODWARD: Yes. You know, they -- I thought -- maybe they thought it was the late night comedy show early or something like that. I mean, they could make no more sense out of it.
[17:20:02]
The problem is you so well know under the Constitution, the president controls foreign relations. He is the face of the United States to the world.
And he has this -- I mean, Joe Biden now running for president. I don't think he can go abroad now, because then there will be questions. He's trying to subvert the president. He's trying to act like the president.
The President has such control on Foreign Relations and he's decided let's have good relations with Putin, with China for a while he was subservient and kowtow into China for a while. Now he realizes what he was told the end of January by his national security team, that the Chinese lied, the Chinese can't be trusted and the Chinese did not protect the world from the coronavirus and.
And so we have Trump with all of this domestic power, all this foreign relations power. And I hope somebody's going to find some way to work out something so we don't run. You know, the chaos now is not having an immediate impact. Wait till we get to November 3, then the chaos is going to say, gee, do we have a functioning democracy? Big worry.
BLITZER: Yes.
WOODWARD: We better be worried about it.
BLITZER: You're absolutely right. This is really, really scary stuff right now. And let's hope we get through this smoothly.
Bob Woodward as usual, thank you so much, and thanks for writing your new book "Rage."
WOODWARD: Thank you.
BLITZER: There it is. There's the cover. It's a huge bestseller as it should be, really amazing book. Bob Woodward of "The Washington Post." Thanks very much.
WOODWARD: Thank you.
BLITZER: Up next, President Trump tries to clean up his failure to condemn a right wing group at last night's debate. I'll discuss with the president of the NAACP Derrick Johnson.
Plus, the latest on the coronavirus pandemic now headed in a very worrisome direction. At least 26 states are now reporting a spike in new cases. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:26:42]
BLITZER: We're following breaking news, President Trump today tried to clean up some of his debate comments about white supremacist but still won't explicitly condemn those groups. Let's talk about it with the President and CEO of the NAACP. Derrick Johnson along with CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger.
Derrick, the President was given a lot of opportunity last night to denounce white supremacy. He didn't do it. What's your response to this most recent refusal for him simply to condemn hate?
DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: Wolf, when I stepped into this role in 2017, I said it then that this President is a racist. He had all the signs of being a racist, the state does his actions.
And last night, the question was simple, would you condemn white supremacy groups? And he could not answer the question. And here we are some 14 hours later and he still has not answered two questions.
We have a problem as we are walking to this election cycle.
BLITZER: You know, Gloria, the President now says he doesn't even know this far right group, the Proud Boys as it's called. But just last night, he told them to, in his words, stand back and stand by, I don't know what that means. But a longtime --
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
BLITZER: -- Trump advisor, who was furious with the President's response, told CNN, and I'm quoting him now "F the Proud Boys" adding that it's not that hard simply to say the right thing and condemn this group. So what does that tell you?
BORGER: Well, first of all, what the President did not say a cease and desist, which is what Chris Wallace gave him an opportunity to say. And when he came out today and said, I don't even know who they are, you have to ask the question, even if you believed him sort of last night, which I personally don't, but say you believed him last night, you think that after that debate, when he went back to the White House, when he talked to his advisors today, that the topic of the Proud Boys did not come up?
And if the President did not know, again, I believe he did. But if he did not know, you think that it wasn't explained to him? Who exactly this far right Neo fascist group is? Of course it was.
And what he was doing today was what he has always done, which is to sort of say, oh, I don't even know who they are. I mean, when Jake Tapper asked him about David Duke and condemning David Duke back in 2016, the President may believe, then candidate Trump may believe, oh, I don't even know who David Duke is. That's the way he behaves.
He knows exactly what he is doing. He did not tell them to cease and desist for a reason. BLITZER: You know, Derrick, regardless of the President's attempts earlier this afternoon, to try to walk back a little bit of his remarks, he clearly didn't go as far as he should. The damage already is done, because these comments are out there. These groups clearly have been emboldened. Is that what you're seeing?
JOHNSON: Well, he has been embolden white supremacy hate groups ever since Charlottesville. They existed because he create the space, hatred, xenophobia. Anti-Semitic messages have been germinating from the White House from the day he took office. He still have Steve Miller in the White House.
The question was simple.
[17:30:00]
Would you condemn white supremacy groups? He still has not answered that question. We have a problem. He's counting on these terroristic groups to protect his presidency, we are on the brink of something that we should not be looking at in this country. Our democracy will not survive another term of this President.
I am afraid that our democracy is being stretched to the limits and the outcome of this election must be as wide a margin as possible to send a clear, clear message from all Americans, not just African- Americans, that racial hatred, tribalism division should not be a part of the consideration for this Presidential campaign.
BLITZER: You know, Gloria, the President also used last night in the debate to sow distrust in the U.S. electoral process, again, refusing to accept the results of the election. You heard what Bob Woodward was just saying how concerned he is, how he's calling on the leadership in the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans to get together and to save the U.S. democracy, the electoral system. What sort of damage is potentially out there from your perspective?
BORGER: Well, there's a tremendous amount of damage. And first of all, let me say, I agree with Bob Woodward. And what Republicans in particular ought to be doing is trying to save the democracy. Instead, they're trying to save themselves. They're running for re-election, and they're afraid that they're going to lose.
You have a President Think about it, who in a debate that was watched by 65 million people refuse to tell his supporters not to incite violence. And then he came out and said, you know, if he were to lose, he said, this is not going to end well. Wolf, what does that mean, this is not going to end well? Is that threatening?
Should people be scared of going to the polls? Should they be afraid of what's going to happen? Should Donald Trump lose? I mean, this is a President of United states who is threatening our democracy. And as Bob said, I think members of Congress need to get together and say, what can we do to ensure that this election, not only is fair, but that this election is safe for the American public?
BLITZER: Gloria Borger, Derrick Johnson, we're going to continue this conversation. Obviously, a critical moment in American history right now. Thanks to both of you.
Coming up, President Trump politicizes face masks during the debate, again, mocking Joe Biden for wearing one so often. And as the President schedules more rallies, his Coronavirus Task Force is warning people to maximize their social distancing. But will his supporters even listen? He's got a big indoor rally later tonight, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:37:42]
BLITZER: Breaking news, the U.S. sadly, once again, heading in the wrong direction on the coronavirus. At least 26 states are now reporting a spike in new cases as the American death toll now surpasses 206,000. Another 914 Americans died yesterday from the virus.
CNN's Erica Hill has more on all the late breaking developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. TONY EVERS (D), WISCONSIN: We have got to put the brakes on this pandemic.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wisconsin just reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations.
DR. PAUL CASEY, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, BELLIN HOSPITAL: Brown County, we're in a deep trouble. Over the last three weeks we have had remarkable surge in COVID patients.
HILL (voice-over): The White House Task Force recommending the state increase social distancing to the maximal degree possible and boost testing at universities.
CASEY: It's safe to assume that the virus is everywhere. So everyone needs to be change their behavior.
HILL (voice-over): It's one of 26 states reporting an increase in new cases over the past week, nearly the entire northern half of the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And those trends indicate increased activity, increased transmission of the disease and places where we really need to test and trace and lock down and make sure that we get it in check.
HILL (voice-over): New York City focusing on several neighborhoods where cases are surging.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: The numbers can change rapidly in the right direction. So, we're going to keep working daily, hourly to make that change.
HILL (voice-over): Hundreds of police officers and city employees dispatched to those areas offering free masks and reminders about how to stop the spread. Meantime, restaurants can now open for indoor dining at 25 percent.
ANDREW SCHULMAN, CO-OWNER, TANNER SMITH'S: We need more to survive, but this is a step in the right direction.
HILL (voice-over): New numbers from the CDC show infections in 18 to 22 year olds increased 55 percent in August and early September as many returned to campus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colleges have been frankly a real challenge point for transmission.
HILL (voice-over): And outbreak among Notre Dame's football team spread like wildfire after a pregame team meal, according to head coach, Brian Kelly. At least 39 players are now in isolation or quarantine.
Ohio's largest public school district plans to start in-person learning October 19th. Miami Dade staggered re-entry begins October 5th.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: He (ph) should always try to get the children back to school. The risk of going back is really dependent on where you are.
[17:40:02]
HILL (voice-over): Researchers say phase 1 data from Moderna's vaccine trial shows an immune response in older adults as seven former FDA commissioners warn. The Trump administration is undermining the agency's credibility and public confidence. Political intrusion, they write, only prolongs the pandemic and erodes our public health institutions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: We learned today a fourth Tennessee Titans player has tested positive for the virus, that's in addition to five staff members. Of course, Titans were set to host the Steelers on Sunday that has been pushed until at least Monday or Tuesday.
The NFL sending a memo to coaches reminding them of the need to follow the rules and wear face coverings noting that if there is not compliance in that department, they could face suspensions even forfeiture of a draft pick. To date in the shortened season, Wolf, five head coaches and teams have been fined for not wearing masks.
BLITZER: It's also worrisome. Erica Hill in New York for us, thank you.
Let's bring in our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta for more analysis. Sanjay, during last night's debate, the President contradicted the experts on when vaccine might be available. I want you to listen to this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have spoken to the companies and we can have it a lot sooner. It's a very political thing because people like this would rather make it political than save lives.
JOE BIDEN (D), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: God.
TRUMP: It is a very political thing. I've spoken to Pfizer, I've spoken to all of the people that you have to speak to. We have great Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others, they can go faster than that by a lot. Become very political, because the left or, I don't know if I'd call them left. I don't know what I'd call them.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: So you're suggesting that the head of your Operation Warp Speed, Dr. Slaoui?
TRUMP: I disagree with him. Yes. No, I just agree with both of them. And he didn't say that. He said it could be there, but it could also be much sooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So Sanjay, you've actually spoken with the head of Operation Warp Speed, Dr. Slaoui. Set the record straight for us.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, and keep in mind, Dr. Slaoui is somebody who has developed vaccines in the private sector for some time. That's part of the reason he was brought in. And this very question was raised a couple weeks ago. How quickly could the vaccine be available to the general public? Take a listen.
So, I think we're missing that sound, Wolf. Basically, what he said is that after the trial is completed, it still takes a period of time to analyze the data. The FDA is recommending even up to two months to make sure that there's no adverse effects that sort of puts you end of November, early December. And at that point, you might have 10 million, 20 million doses available but not, you know, it would be, you know, next summer before you really start to be able to vaccinate the general public.
So, ready for who, you know, ready for the general public, still talking some time away, Wolf.
BLITZER: And if you need two doses, that even takes longer --
GUPTA: Right.
BLITZER: -- to get through it. And if it's only 70 percent effective, that means 30 percent of the people who do get the vaccine will still potentially be eligible for coronavirus. The President also, and this was very disturbing, Sanjay, he actually again mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask as his task force is currently trying to convince Americans to simply do the right thing and wear masks and save lives. How important is it that the American public take these precautions seriously, cover their faces while this virus still remains such a serious threat? GUPTA: Yes. Well, it's very important, Wolf. And I think there's two main points. And I think maybe a lot of people realize this, but the guidance around masks did change. And it change because some -- the science evolved mainly, that we understood that people who don't even have symptoms who are asymptomatic, can spread the virus and that they were a large source of the spread of the virus.
Typically, you think of respiratory viruses, Wolf, you're coughing, you're sneezing, that's when you're spreading the virus. In this case, something very unusual. By the end of March, you know, middle of March, end of March, it was clear that this could spread asymptomatically. And that's why the guidance changed to recommend masks.
Let me show you how effective. I think we may have these numbers to basically say viral transmission with a mask on, without a mask. People like numbers, OK? So if you're wearing a face mask, what's the chance you're going to transmit the virus if you have it? Three percent roughly.
If you don't have a mask, 17.4 percent, so, you know, roughly six times greater. I mean, maybe that gives it more context, Wolf, but it's clear. Places where you've had mask mandates, mask usage, you've had less spread of the virus for that very reason I showed you.
BLITZER: Yes. We'll see how many people wear masks tonight at the President's rally out there in Duluth. Sanjay, as usual, thanks very, very much.
Coming up, President Trump claims he always denounced his white supremacy despite his repeated failure to explicitly do so. I'll discuss that and more with the Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, there you see her. She's standing by live. We'll discuss when we come back.
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[17:49:30]
BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump has a major damage control mode after he refused to condemn white supremacists at last night's presidential debate.
Let's continue the conversation right now with the Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot. Mayor Lightfoot, thanks so much for joining us. Just to remind our viewers, here's what happened last night when President Trump was specifically asked to condemn white supremacist and far- right groups. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace.
WALLACE: Well, then do it, sir.
BIDEN: Say it, do it. Say it.
TRUMP: Do you want to call them -- What do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name.
[17:50:02]
WALLACE: White supremacist and --
TRUMP: Go ahead. Who would you like me to condemn?
WALLACE: White supremacist and right-wing militia.
TRUMP: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by, but I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what. Somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The President, Mayor, now says this far-right group should stand down to let law enforcement do its job. And when asked specifically if he condemns white supremacists, the President said he always denounced any form of what he calls any of that. Do you buy his explanation?
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), CHICAGO, IL: No, I don't. And I -- in particular, where's the ban? These groups have been threatening elected officials. They've been threatening public health officials all over the country. In Michigan, they went to the Capitol, armed and ready for a fight because the governor of Michigan was trying to do the right thing to protect the residents of our state. They've been in California, they've been in Seattle, they've been in Portland.
He had many, many opportunities to condemn these folks, tell them to stand down, and that he was going to take action. If they didn't, he never has. And when he had the opportunity in primetime last night to really make a statement, and separate himself from the white supremacist, he utterly failed. And if anything, he incentivize them even more.
BLITZER: Yes.
LIGHTFOOT: Look, this guy's been blowing the dog whistle on white supremacy. From the moment he came down that escalator in 2015, climbing all the horrible xenophobic (ph) things that he said about the Latinx community, and he's never stopped, because in his heart, that's where he is. Let's not forget what he did after Charlottesville that cause many in his inner circle to just shut her and discuss and some to just leave, because they knew it was hopeless.
This guy is not going to change himself. He thinks that that's its constituency, that is the base that he's playing to.
BLITZER: Joe Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris said the President is, quote, dog whistling through a bullhorn. What do you think, is the intended message that he's trying to send out there to his supporters?
LIGHTFOOT: Well, look, you know, when you prepare for a debate, you try to play up your strengths, and really highlight your opponent's weaknesses. He can't win on leadership, he can't win on policy, he can't win on the economy. So what did he do? It was a scripted attack to create chaos so that no message that Joe Biden gave tried to get through. That was what he e -- that was clearly a planned attack.
I think we're going to see more of that. And we've got to make sure that the moderators step up, lay down the law, and then are prepared to enforce the rules of engagement throughout the next debate. If not, we're going to see more of the same. And people left that with author (ph) discuss. Whether you're Republican, whether you're a Democrat, whether you're an independent, whether you're undecided, you didn't get anything last night, other than glimmers that Joe Biden was able to break through. But it was a disgraceful display. I've never seen anything like it.
BLITZER: As you know, Mayor, the President keeps pointing to shootings in your city of Chicago to make his case that the law -- that he's the law and order candidates (ph). Murders are up about 50 percent over the last year. Did you hear any specifics from the President or the Democratic presidential nominee for that matter, how they would address, help you address the violence?
LIGHTFOOT: Look, I think Joe Biden has a plan. And what I also know is he's not going to demonize cities, is going to reach out his hand in partnership. We've had enough discussions, both informally, but also in other groups, that I don't worry about a Biden presidency. I welcome it.
But, look, this is all happening on President Trump's watch. I've sent him a letter on July 20th, outlining specific things that the federal government is uniquely qualified to do to really help cities address this rampant problem of gun violence. I still have not gotten a response, because a guy just isn't serious. All he thinks he can do is ramp up his base, scare suburbanites and costs -- create this picture of cities that is unrecognizable from what we truly are.
And look, in Chicago, we're tough. We've seen goofs before, we've seen people try to take our name in vain. We're not going to stand for it. We know who we are. Yes, we have our challenges, but we're not going to stand back and be cowered by somebody like Donald Trump, who really doesn't have any desire to be helpful to urban centers anywhere in the country. We are the heart of America. And so, when he attacks us, he attacks America.
BLITZER: Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, good luck to you. Good luck to all the folks in Chicago. Thanks so much for joining us.
LIGHTFOOT: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Coming up, President Trump tries to clean up some of the political mess caused by his debate performance last night.
[17:55:00]
But he still won't explicitly condemn white supremacist groups.
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